TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Vinny A Senior Among All-Stars

ADVERTISEMENT

By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

ATLANTA - Vinny Lecavalier rattled on and on early Saturday morning during media availability for tonight's All-Star Game when asked about some of the up-and-coming young stars that litter NHL rosters right now.

Names like Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Richards, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are among the top players younger than 23.

To listen to Lecavalier speak about the youth in the league sounds a bit off-kilter. After all, Lecavalier isn't exactly ready to go sit on the porch and watch the day go by with a glass of lemonade in hand and a pair of skates permanently hanging on the wall.

In fact, one could argue that Lecavalier, last season's Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the league's top goal scorer, hasn't even reached his prime and that there is more to come from the electrifying talent chosen first in the 1998 NHL entry draft.

Yet when scanning the roster for tonight's 56th All-Star Game at Philips Arena, Lecavalier is one of the elder statesman in the game and will serve as captain for the Eastern Conference. While he's no 40-something like Chris Chelios or Dominik Hasek - or even a 30-something like Daniel Alfredsson - this is Lecavalier's ninth season in the league.

His process of going from a player with great potential when he came into the league as an 18-year-old to becoming a superstar was rocky at times, but his status as one of the top players in the game is evident.

"It seems like he's been around forever because he started in the league so young," said former Lightning coach Jacques Demers, who was Tampa Bay's coach during Lecavalier's rookie season. "I'm really proud of what he has accomplished, but more for what he has maintained as a person. Stardom has not affected him like it affects a lot of athletes. He's honest, low-key.

"And I know coming from me it might seem ... but I still believe, even with Sidney Crosby, that Lecavalier is the best player in the game. Sidney, there's no question of his skill, but I think Vinny has brought his game to a different level of a power forward that are so hard to get. And he's not playing with the same team when Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup and he's maintaining his level of play."

Players such as Crosby, who was going to start on a line with Lecavalier tonight before he suffered a high ankle sprain against Tampa Bay last week, weren't even teenagers yet when Lecavalier played his rookie season with the Lightning in 1998-99.

"I've followed him since he came into the league," said Crosby, who was 10 years old the day Lecavalier was drafted. "I think he's a guy who has grown each year and as I watch him he's just become more and more complete with each year. And those are great guys for you to follow."

Montreal native and Pittsburgh rookie defenseman Kris Letang, 20, has followed Lecavalier's career closely through the years.

"Tampa Bay was one of my favorite teams when I was young, and I followed Vinny all the time," Letang said. "It was fun for me, because sometimes I would see him during the summer through his brother and I got to spend some time with him."

Letang was a budding 16-year-old junior player one summer when he got a ride back from a summer training session in Vermont from Lecavalier. But when Letang was informed how long Lecavalier has been in the league, he was taken aback.

"You tell me that right now, and I'm surprised because he still looks so young," he said. "You look at him, and he's got to have at least 10 more years in him and he will be one of the best players all the time."

For Lecavalier, hanging out in the All-Star locker room is a reality check when it comes to realizing how long he has been in the league.

"Last year was sort of that way, too, I mean, I still feel young," Lecavalier said. "And yet, some of these guys are 8, 9 years younger than me. It's kind of weird, I guess.

"But the most important thing is, I feel young."

Even if he is one of the elder statesmen on the ice tonight.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT