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About Brett Friedlander
Brett Friedlander became a hockey fan in the heart of the deep south in the early 1970s. He became hooked the first time his father, a charter Atlanta Flames season-ticket holder, took him to a game at The Omni. His first job covering hockey was with the Annapolis Capital, where he covered the Washington Capitals and learned to do an uncanny imitation of coach Bryan Murray from 1984-93. He's also covered the Carolina Hurricanes and Fayetteville FireAntz of the Southern Professional Hockey League for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He has also been a regular contributor to Rinkside magazine and Faceoff.com. The highlight of his writing career came on June 19,2006, when the Hurricanes beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 to win the Stanley Cup. His first book, "Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dreams' Doc Graham" was released by John F. Blair, Publisher, in April 2009.
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| Maurice has had a whale of a ride |
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| Southeast | |
| Written by Brett Friedlander | |
| Friday, December 03, 2010 05:21 | |
Coaching his 1,000th NHL game gave Paul Maurice plenty to reflect on this week. At 43, the Canes' boss is the youngest coach ever to reach the milestone. He ought to have much to look forward to.
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Funny how things work out, but Paul Maurice may never have made it to the NHL had he not been hit in the eye by a puck shortly after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1985.| AROUND THE SOUTHEAST |
Fourteen years later, Maurice’s early start allowed him celebrate a unique milestone.
When he stepped behind the bench for the Carolina Hurricanes’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Capitals in Washington, the still youthful 43-year-old became just the 19th man – and youngest ever – to coach 1,000 games in the NHL.
It’s an accomplishment he admits he never thought he’d be around long enough to achieve when he was first thrust into the leadership role of the old Hartford Whalers way back in 1995-96.
“I honestly haven’t given it much thought except for the occasional realization that it feels like an awfully long time ago,” Maurice of his longevity. “I wouldn’t say it went by fast, because you live every single one of those games.”
Maurice got his coaching start thanks to his team owner Peter Karmanos, who offered him the opportunity to coach the Detroit Junior Red Wings of the Ontario Hockey League as a way of helping out of a popular injured player.The youngster proved to be a natural at the job by leading the Junior Red Wings to a second-place finish at the Memorial Cup tournament in his second season.
A year later, when Karmanos bought the Whalers, Maurice followed him to Hartford as an assistant coach. Within a year, he was promoted to head coach, even though at the age of 28, he was younger than several of his players.
To put into perspective how raw he was at the time, Maurice remained the NHL’s youngest coach for the next six seasons.
Even now, as he embarks on his second 1,000 games behind the bench, he still has seniority over just six other coaches around the league.
That’s probably why, despite 412 wins and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in two tours with the Hurricanes and a short tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Maurice still feels as though he’s learning on the job.
“To be quite honest with you, I feel like I’m just coming into it,” Maurice said. “I’m just getting to that feeling where I’m comfortable now.
“A thousand games is so much experience, but I was so young and I needed it to get to the point where you feel like you’ve seen enough positive and negative situations to handle them when they arise.”
Notes
The Hurricanes won in their first trip to the shootout early this season, beating the Minnesota Wild in Finland in their second game of the season. But they’ve lost their last three, all coming within a five-game stretch in late November. … The Washington Capitals made a move to bolster their suspect defense by acquiring veteran Scott Hannan, one of the league’s best shot-blockers, from Colorado in exchange for F Tomas Fleischmann. … Medical tests have revealed that the persistent ringing in the right ear of Tampa Bay forward Mattias Ritola is being caused by Meniere’s disease, a condition in which fluid builds up in the inner ear. It is being controlled by medication. … Despite suffering through a four-game scoring drought, the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos still finished November tied with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby for the league lead with 21 goals. … Atlanta teammates Ondrej Pavelec and Dustin Byfuglien earned two of the three spots in the NHL’s weekly three stars last week for their roles in helping the Thrashers tie a franchise record with a six-game winning streak. … In one of the most unique promotions in NHL history – if not all sports – the Florida Panthers will celebrate the seventh night of Hanukkah on Tuesday by giving away team logo Yarmulkes (a Jewish skull cap) to every ticket-holding fan attending their game against the Colorado Avalanche.Photo by Getty Images
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