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Lightning's Darche Making Impression In More Ways Than 1

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

BRANDON - For any player coming into his first training camp with a new team, getting noticed is one of the primary goals.

Veteran Mathieu Darche did just that Tuesday, though for two very different reasons.

First the good: In the final of four intrasquad scrimmages at the Ice Sports Forum, Darche was the offensive star, scoring all three goals for Team White.

'Everybody tries to get noticed and that's my game,' said Darche, who had 35 goals and 80 points with Worcester of the American Hockey League last season. 'I try to be reliable in my own end and chip in goals. If I can open some eyes, well, that's what training camp is all about, trying to get a chance.'

Now the bad: Toward the end of the scrimmage, Darche gave Andre Roy a slight push as Roy was skating backward. Roy was already a bit off balance, causing him to fall into the open door near the hinge in front of the bench area. Roy was face down on the ice for several minutes after suffering a bruised tailbone.

'I felt bad about that because I didn't know what happened. I know I didn't hit him hard and then somebody told me the door was open,' Darche said. 'I'm friends with Andre; you don't wish that on anybody. It looks like he's going to be fine. I just hope he's all right.'

Roy got up and skated off under his own power, taking one worry off Darche's mind.

Now he has another - to continue to make a positive impression. He'll get that opportunity tonight when he suits up in Tampa Bay's preseason opener against Dallas on a line with Blair Jones and Kyle Wanvig.

Tuesday's hat trick aside, Lightning coach John Tortorella said Darche has been impressive in training camp. And though Tortorella admitted Darche has a 'long road' to travel to make the team out of training camp, evaluations are not made just for the team that will break training camp after next weekend.

'With our minor-league system the way it is, we look for players not only to start the year for us, but we're looking for people we can call up, too,' Tortorella said. 'That's the spot he's in right now and he's equipped himself very well. So, he's going to get a game and we'll see where it goes from there.'

Darche, 30, a Montreal native, has played in 12 NHL games with three organizations. In the minors he has been a consistent scorer, reaching 20 goals five times.

Lightning forward Eric Perrin - a high school classmate of Darche, along with Tampa Bay's Marty St. Louis - told Darche that if he had the opportunity, he should sign with Tampa Bay because of the organization's reputation for giving players an equal shot, regardless of age, salary or draft spot.

'He told me that they give you a chance. They don't care if you are a draft pick or a signee, they don't even care about age. They look for whoever deserves it,' Darche said. 'So when July 1 start of free agency came, they were one of the first teams to call and I didn't even hesitate. I didn't even wait for other teams to call.'

Now he hopes to take advantage of his opportunity in a game situation.

'One of my goals is to stay here and it's one step at a time,' he said. 'I know they say they evaluate practices and scrimmages and all that, but there is nothing like a game to make an impression.

'When you play a game, it's against different competition and it's more of an evaluation. I just want to try to keep going the same way and make another impression.'

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

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