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Rogers: New Staff Means New Shot

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2008

TAMPA - Andy Rogers knows how to stand out in a crowd.

The former 2004 first-round pick can wow a coaching staff with his seemingly effortless skating style for a defenseman who stands 6-foot-5. Rogers can open eyes with his strong ability to pass the puck.

It was that type of ability that nearly landed him a job as a 19-year-old during training camp in 2005. Days before the start of the season, Rogers was still in Tampa Bay competing with Timo Helbling for the final spot on the blue line. While the job was eventually given to the more experienced Helbling, Rogers landed his first pro contract before heading back to juniors.

Three years later, and now in the final year of that entry-level contract, Rogers is fighting to stay in the organization.

Injuries have been a big factor in derailing Rogers' fast track to the NHL. First it was a chronic ankle injury that required surgery in early 2006. Then he showed up to training camp with a hip flexor injury suffered during a prospects camp and played only 48 games in the minors in 2006-07. Last year he started off healthy but an eventual broken vertebrae in his back discovered in February was partly responsible for limiting him to 34 total games, including four in the East Coast Hockey League.

In the past three seasons since signing a contract, Rogers has played in 103 games as his standing on the organizational roster has plummeted.

All that, however, matters not as he enters training camp this year without any prejudice by the new Lightning staff.

"If you watch him out here in practice drills he looks like a guy where you say how can this guy not be on your roster playing regularly. What's all the angst about, so to speak," Lightning vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said. "The great news for him is we don't care, that's all water under the bridge whatever happened in the past.

"We are trying to evaluate him moving forward and if he can continue to practice well and show well in the scrimmages, he's got a chance to completely change everybody's opinion and that's a really good thing to have a clean slate. It should be a really exciting time for him."

For his part, Rogers is just happy to be healthy entering camp. He didn't alter his summer program much, only concentrating on some more injury prevention exercises with his personal trainer in order to get ready for the season.

With his health in hand - knock on wood - Rogers is glad to be able to start again with a clean slate.

"I'm just trying to get back to my game with a fresh start under the new management and coaches and basically a whole new team," he said. "So the key for me is to just have a fresh start, play my game and not worry about what happened in the past and stay healthy."

And whatever frustration might have crept in to Rogers' thinking has tempered over time as he tries to continue to get his hockey career back on track.

"Being an athlete, that comes with it, injuries and bad luck here and there, all you can do is move forward and not dwell on the past," Rogers said. "This year is big to show everybody that I can stay healthy and be a reliable player."

Lawton said Rogers is a lock to get into at least one of the four preseason games before the team departs for Europe next week, but where he goes from there will be determined by his play.

Lightning coach Barry Melrose said Rogers, along with everybody else, deserves a mulligan with a new regime in charge.

"I told these guys, I don't owe anybody anything on this team and I have no false illusions about anybody so it's a good time for them," Melrose said. "Guys that have been sort of written off by other people have a clean slate with me."

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