NHL

Slap shots

By TOM JONES
Published January 8, 2006

HOCKEY DAY: Saturday was Hockey Day in Canada, a celebration of its most popular sport.

As part of the daylong broadcast, CBC taped Thursday's Maple Leafs practice in Calgary when they hosted an atom team of 9-year-olds from Oyen, Alberta (pop. 1,100).

The coach of the team is Lee Tucker, whose nephew, Darcy, plays for the Leafs and used to play for the Lightning. Darcy called Lee on New Year's Eve and offered the invitation.

"I said yes and never even thought to check with the parents," Lee told the Ottawa Citizen. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these boys. I don't think they slept for five days."

At 5 a.m. on Thursday, the Oyen Crush piled on a rented bus filled with parents and grandparents and made the four-hour drive from the Saskatchewan border to the Calgary Corral.

During the practice, Toronto coach Pat Quinn arranged drills to include the Leafs and the kids.

THE RIGHT STUFF: Washington's Alex Ovechkin might be a teenage superstar, but his stardom hasn't gone to his head. He definitely has his head on straight. He said he will sign autographs for anyone at any time.

"When I see a little boy, I remember when I was little and I used to stand and wait for some guy I would go to after a game," he told the Washington Times. "They are fans and they want my signature. They live in Washington, and they are fans of our team. I think if I signed 10 signatures and there were 20 more fans waiting and I didn't sign for them also, they would want to know why and I would feel bad.

"If you have time, why not sign them all."

Amen.

WAKE UP: Calgary tough guy Darren McCarty thought his team needed a jump-start for a 1 p.m. game against the Blackhawks last week. So what did he do? He pummeled Hawks enforcer Matthew Barnaby.

"I was trying to wake us up," McCarty told the Calgary Herald . "With the 1 o'clock start, it took us some time to get going. I was hoping that would do it."

McCarty's biggest complaint? He wasn't given a fighting major. He was handed a double minor for roughing.

"That was (baloney)," McCarty said.

[Last modified January 8, 2006, 00:45:14]