Greg Hawgood broke into the NHL as a Bruins defenseman in the late 1980s, but as we quickly found out, there wasn't a lot of defense to "Hawgie Hockey's" game. He liked to motor with the puck, try to make things happen, and for a couple of years, he was an interesting little dynamo on the Boston backline.
These days, Hawgood is a coach, the top man behind the Kamloops Blazers, his old junior club in British Columbia. And hockey of 2007 being what it is, the 39-year-old former whiz kid constantly must preach defense to his young bunch of NHL hopefuls.
"So, why are you laughing?" said Hawgood, breaking into a pretty good chuckle himself when reached by phone Friday morning. "C'mon, what's so funny about me and defense?"
The humor wasn't lost on the coach.
Hawgood took over the Blazers Nov. 8 when head coach/general manager Dean Clark was shown the door. If the squad was going to recover from a 6-9-1-1 start, Hawgood knew that defense - something he picked up in fits and starts over the course of a playing career that lasted through the 2005-06 season - had to be improved.
"We all know that old wide-open game doesn't work anymore, as much as the fans may like it," said Hawgood, whose prolific scoring as a junior, including 473 points in 310 games, remains a Western Hockey League record for defensemen. "And, really, the defensive thing comes down to limiting the other side's shots, that's all. I had to get them to concentrate on the defensive zone, which mostly means protecting the middle, the high-risk area. If we're coming back, that means get to the middle first, and then spread out toward the wall. Before, they were coming back along the wall, and then heading to the middle."
The early results were dramatic. The Blazers, now back in playoff contention, won seven of their first eight with Hawgood directing.
"We'd all like to have a 50-goal scorer," mused Hawgood, who saw the advantages of having a top gunner during his Boston days that had Cam Neely hammering down right wing. "But, hey, they just don't seem to be around anymore."
Hawgood called it quits to his playing days following a one-year tour in Finland in 2005-06. He said he could have played at least one more year, but he spent the final season alone in Europe, while his wife and children remained in Chicago, their home for a couple of years while he played with the AHL Wolves.
"I liked it in Finland," said Hawgood, "but the tough part was going home every day, and not seeing them . . ."
Last year, his playing days done, the Hawgoods all moved back to Kamloops, which is about 3 1/2 hours out of Vancouver, on the way to Edmonton. In search of work, about a year ago he became manager of a local private rink, the Ice Box, and quickly learned the fine art of skate sharpening, scheduling, driving the Zamboni, running an ice plant.
"The boss was terrific, and I got to learn a lot," said Hawgood, referring to the rink's owner, Gary Hartnell (no relation to Flyer winger Scott Hartnell). "Long story, but he got full ownership of the rink one day, and there we were one Monday morning, flying by the seat of our pants. You learn a lot in a hurry that way, let me tell you."
Less than a year in the apprenticeship, the Blazers opportunity came his way. Four NHLers, Mark Recchi, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, and Darryl Sydor, are among the Blazers' ownership group, and Hawgood and Recchi were teammates on the Blazers. The morning of Nov. 8, Hawgood went to work as the Ice Box rink manager, and by the end of the day he was his old club's new bench boss.
"That's how quickly the whole thing happened," said Hawgood, who had no prior coaching experience. "I was at the rink, Gary went to lunch, and when he came back, I had to tell him . . . which I don't think he was so happy about, but . . . but he understood I couldn't pass up the opportunity."
Officially, the job is Hawgood's on an interim basis, but he is hopeful that a strong season will turn it into a full-time gig when the investors shape plans at the end of the season.
"And even if I'm not the head coach, I'll still be on the bench as an assistant," he said. "I want to see where this can go as a career. Right now, the title's not all that important.
"Whatever they want . . . that doesn't bother me."
Greg and Kirste Hawgood, who lived in Danvers during their Bruins days, have three children, a boy, Logan (14), and girls Karson (12) and Sawyer (8). Logan, who is now playing AAA Bantam, is a conservative, shot-blocking, open-ice-hitting defenseman.
"Don't ask me where he got that!" said his father.
Logan is full of surprises. For reasons even he can't explain, he declared one day recently that he'd like to play hockey for the Boston University Terriers. Kirste is a huge Red Sox fan, and ballcaps with the familiar "B" are all over the house in Kamloops, and Greg believes maybe the constant drone of "Red Sox Nation" has influenced Logan's hockey career path.
"Great by me," said Hawgood. "I want what's best for him, and a lot of people here think I'd want him to go the Canadian junior route. Well, you know, I don't think I'd want him to be a sixth or seventh defenseman in the Western League for three years, then go try to make it in the ECHL. That's a tough way to go. He's got good grades, and if he's lucky enough to go to a good college, that would be fantastic."
Hey, he's a Hawgood. Expect the unexpected.
Time to put his game on ice?
Whatever demons exist within Chris Simon, now on a 30-game suspension for using his skate blade like a Swiss Army knife on Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu, it's time for him sort them out. In a hurry. Either that, or time to find another line of work.
"Time for him just to go away," said one NHL veteran. "He's always out there, telling guys, 'I'm going to kill you.' You know, all that kind of stuff . . . well, you know what, enough. See ya."
Ruutu was en route to the bench when the 6-foot-3-inch, 232-pound Simon cocked his left knee, aimed his blade, and stomped one of the Finn's ankles. Ruutu was not seriously injured, but with enough force and more precise aim, Simon's slice could have inflicted serious harm - if, say, it severed the Achilles' tendon.
"A repugnant and totally unacceptable act in the game of hockey," said league disciplinarian Colin Campbell.
True, but not any worse than the crosscheck to Ryan Hollweg's face Simon delivered late last season. Simon was sent off for 25 games for that bit of contact, the last games of which he served this season. Now he's gone again, which will cost him $292,683 in lost wages.
Campbell, upon announcing the supplemental discipline, errantly stated Simon also would meet "with drug and alcohol doctors," but Campbell should not have put such a fine point on the nature of care.
"A stereotypical comment that people say about ethnic races," said Isles coach Ted Nolan, who, like Simon, is a member of First Nation. "For Colin Campbell to come out and say something like that, it's idiotic."
True enough. Campbell, a decent guy, is guilty of being too specific, possibly violating protocol surrounding patient confidentiality. However, to kick up silt over ethnic stereotypes is dodging the issue here - players who deliberately try to wound opponents should, at the very least, have their heads examined.
Okposo at center of mudslinging
The fallout of L'Affaire Simon had yet to settle, and the Isles landed in another curious brouhaha, one that had GM Garth Snow accusing the University of Minnesota of failing to nurture the development of top Islander prospect Kyle Okposo.
"They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player," Snow told the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "and they were not doing that."
The 19-year-old Okposo, whom the Islanders selected No. 7 overall in the '06 draft, earlier in the week announced he would not return to the Golden Gophers upon returning from his Team USA stint at the World Junior Championships. Instead, he will sign with the Islanders, and report directly to Uniondale or the club's AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, Conn.
It is extremely rare for even top college players to turn pro during the season, which, in part, prompted UMinn coach Don Lucia to say, "It's unfortunate that the Islanders put him in a very difficult position."
With that ill-disguised charge of meddling in the air, Snow fired back with the incompetence charge. Lucia didn't bite, instead referencing the number of NHLers (see: Phil Kessel) and good citizens the school has produced over the years.
Okposo, who had 40 points in 40 games as a freshman, moved from wing to center this season and was only 6-5 -11 (and a minus-9) through 18 games. If he is NHL-ready, the Isles can use him. As weekend play approached, they stood 14th overall in the East.
"It's my understanding," UMinn AD Joel Maturi told the Star Tribune, "they now have a roster spot for him, and therefore our coaching is bad."
Etc.
Lightning, Kings looking for help
The NHL is in holiday-roster-freeze mode until Friday morning, and then it's fewer than two months (Feb. 26) to the annual trading deadline. Two clubs primed to do some business are the Lightning and Kings. Tampa Bay has the league's worst road record (an anemic 3-12-1). The Kings, after a 3-2 loss in Nashville last night, are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. How might either club match up with Boston's need for a center? Not very well. The Kings aren't about to move Anze Kopitar or Mike Cammalleri. The Bolts likely would be only too happy to ship off Brad Richards, but he is in Year No. 2 of a five-year deal that pays $7.8 million (a touch better than Zdeno Chara's $7.5 million).
They can see the light
Just as Greg Hawgood is trying to encourage his Blazers to play defense, Bruce Boudreau is stressing the importance of a three-zone game to his Capitals. Thus far, it's paying off. The Caps were a morose 1-8-1 for the month of November when they fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving, and they are a respectable 7-6-2 under Boudreau's tutelage after they lost 3-2 in overtime last night to the Islanders. Ex-BU defenseman Tom Poti, now a member of the Caps backline, told NHL.com: "He's given us direction and shown us the light at the end of the tunnel." The light isn't likely to lead to a playoff berth, which could determine not only whether Boudreau's "interim" tag gets dropped, but also whether George McPhee remains as GM. "After 32 years of basically up and down in the minors," said Boudreau, "you're not going into [McPhee's] office every day, saying, 'Hey, we won, what about now?' "
Davis will be missed
Sad to see the passing of longtime Oiler scout Lorne Davis, who played briefly in the NHL, including a stint with the Bruins in 1959-60. Davis, 77, succumbed Thursday to a fight with cancer. He was instrumental in touting a number of the Oilers, including Glenn Anderson, who became part of the franchise's dynasty. In '94, the determined Davis stayed up all night to try to convince GM Glen Sather and scouting boss Barry Fraser not to use their No. 4 pick on Jason Bonsignore (Bustsignore), arguing that Ryan Smyth was the better choice. He only convinced them to go with Smyth at No. 6. Bonsignore quickly fizzled, while Smyth turned himself into Mr. Oiler, before being dealt to the Islanders at last February's trade deadline.
Roenick a nice surprise
Onetime Thayer star Jeremy Roenick, back in the Sharks lineup Thursday night, picked up his seventh goal this season. JR is fulfilling his promise to make an impact, with marks of 7-8 -15 in 27 games. Not overpowering numbers, but as of yesterday morning, he was second only to Joe Thornton (13-27 -40) in Sharks scoring. Not the kind of balanced attack GM Doug Wilson or coach Ron Wilson envisioned. They'll need to make a deal, especially given the disappointing contributions of Patrick Marleau (15 points) and Jonathan Cheechoo (9 points).
Loose pucks
Ex-Bruin Wayne Primeau, wheeled to Calgary with Brad Stuart in the February deal for Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference, is back in the Flames lineup after missing nearly two months with a high ankle sprain. He played in the final two games of a recent six-game road sweep by the Flames - only the third club in league history to collect six W's on the same trip . . . Wild sensation Marian Gaborik, he who rarely stays healthy long enough to be considered a true impact player, potted a franchise-high five goals (and picked up an assist) Thursday night in a 6-3 win over the Rangers. The speedy, slick Slovak became the first NHLer to pick five since then Red Wing Sergei Fedorov collected a handful against the Caps Dec. 26, 1996 . . . The Rangers put Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr back on the same line (along with Martin Straka) for the first time since Nov. 2, and the trio combined for 5 points in a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh Tuesday. Jagr credited Gomez's speed and "sneakiness" for making the line click. "You cannot hit him," claimed Jagr, who is not putting up the numbers he needs to have his one-year contract extension implemented. "Remember, I tried once, and I spent five months in the hospital." Actually, in the '06 playoffs, when Gomez played across the river for the Devils, Jagr attempted to punch him, which left Jagr with a separated shoulder and a trip to the operating room . . . He has a deal in place to return next season to Ak Bars Kazan (Russia), but ex-Yale defenseman Ray Giroux could be a nice fit for any of the two dozen or so NHL clubs in need of a puck-moving defenseman. Giroux, 31, had 10 goals and 21 points in his first 35 games with Ak Bars . . . Ex-Bruin prospect Sergei Zinovjev, in 19 games with Ak Bars: 3-18 -21 . . . Key in Calgary's turnaround: Jarome Iginla's suggestion to coach Mike Keenan that the Flames captain should ride on a line with Kristian Huselius and Daymond Langkow. In four games, the trio piled up 29 points . . . Perhaps the Flyers were listening when the league said they were on the "watch" list for overly aggressive play. The Broad Streeters last week dealt one of their thugs, winger Ben Eager, to the Blackhawks for former Flyer defenseman Jim Vandermeer. Eager led the league last season with 233 PIMs, and made a particular nuisance of himself Nov. 26, dealing out a number of cheap shots when the Bruins visited
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com. Material from personal interviews, wire services, and league and team sources was used in this report.
