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Darche Making Early Impression

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

TAMPA - Absolutely, Mathieu Darche remembered his first NHL assist. Simply by pushing his memory's play button, every detail flickered like a home video in his mind's eye.

It was 2002. It was with the Blue Jackets. Darche was 25 then, two years out of McGill University, trying to prove his worth during a 14-game call-up with Columbus.

'It was Grant Marshall, in Dallas,' Darche said. 'I gave it to him at our blue line. We skated two-on-one. He kept it the whole way and he went top shelf on Eddie Belfour.'

Those 14 games (when he also scored his first NHL goal) were his 'Crash Davis Moment' - his brief brush with the big leagues, his tantalizing taste of the good life. He settled in for a nice, little career bouncing around the AHL, all the while hoping to get another chance in the NHL.

That chance has come for the Montreal native on the Lightning's third forward line with veterans Chris Gratton and Jason Ward.

Three games into the season, Darche, who turns 31 next month, has a new memory to relive: He recorded his third NHL point Wednesday, assisting on the first of two goals by Gratton in a 2-1 victory against the Panthers.

Not bad for a career minor-league winger who, at the end of training camp, had one foot out the door on his way to the Lightning's AHL affiliate in Norfolk, Va., before being told to stick around. Darche's reprieve came when forward Andreas Karlsson suffered an abdominal injury that continues to keep him off the ice, even for practice.

'You know, we have some injuries and the guy steps in,' Lightning coach John Tortorella said. 'It'll be awfully tough to take him out of the lineup right now if someone gets healthy.'

It's only three games, and it's only one assist. Darche hasn't locked up a spot on the playoff roster just yet.

But there is reason to believe that this chance he's gotten might be the big break he's wanted. For one thing, he's found a place on Tortorella's radar - for the right reasons.

For another, Darche has begun to earn the respect of his veteran teammates. Gratton even paid Darche the compliment of calling his speed 'game-breaking.'

'He's making it awfully hard here for them to make decisions, and good for him,' Gratton said. 'He's great in the dressing room and a real positive guy, and it's nice to see him get a break. And he's making the most of it.'

Darche said he is in the best shape of his career after working out during the summer with trainer Stephane Dupe in Montreal. The types of exercises Dupe prescribed - towing heavy weight to build endurance and strength; getting snapped forward quickly on the ice by a large bungee to develop agility - prepared Darche for what he knew would be a grueling physical and mental test when he reported to training camp.

Couple his improved physical capacity with residual confidence built up during an 80-point season (35 goals, 45 assists) last year for Worcester of the AHL, and Darche seemed primed to take the next step.

Still, it took Karlsson's injury for his chance. And even after that, Darche found himself in Tortorella's doghouse after losing a few puck battles in the season opener against New Jersey. The time on the bench after that was an unmistakable lesson.

'I got the message,' Darche said. 'I'm a quick learner, and I learned.'

'And that's what earns you more time,' Tortorella said. 'And that's why he's gotten more time.'

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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