Coffey talk sweeps Mara off his skates

Tampa Bay's Paul Mara grew up idolizing Paul Coffey, so a few kind words and a forecast of greatness from the future Hall of Famer leave him ecstatic.

By TOM JONES

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 17, 2000

OTTAWA -- Imagine playing a supporting role in some off-Broadway play and you come off the stage to have Pacino tell you what a great career you have ahead of you.

Or how's this? You strum a couple of songs at some dive beer bar and a note is waiting for you saying greatness is just around the corner, and it's signed by Springsteen.

Perhaps now you might know why Lightning rookie defenseman Paul Mara is skating on cloud nine these days.

After last week's game against the Hurricanes, Paul Coffey -- the most prolific-scoring defenseman in NHL history, a five-time Stanley Cup winner and a Hall of Fame shoo-in -- anointed Mara a future star.

"He came up and said something very nice and very special to me (right) after the game," said Mara, who wouldn't reveal what Coffey said. "But it's something that I'm going to keep in my head and my heart a long time. ... I mean, it's Paul Coffey. I think every defenseman playing the game today looks up to him and wants to be like him. I remember watching him as a kid. He was my idol. And to have him say nice things about my future like that is something I don't think I'll ever forget."

If he does forget, Mara will have physical reminders.

Mara asked Coffey for a signed stick, and Coffey gladly obliged. Coffey also left a note in Mara's locker with the stick.

"He really likes Mara a lot," said Lightning coach Steve Ludzik, a longtime close friend of Coffey. "The note was something else, and I think Mara is really going to be inspired by it for a long time. Coffey believes Mara is going to be a special, special player. He told me, "Ludzy, this Mara kid is going to be something.' He's a believer."

The Lightning is, too, but that wasn't the case before the season started. Former general manager and coach Jacques Demers was sold on Mara all along. After Mara's junior season ended in April, Demers called him up. Mara played only one game, but he had a goal and an assist, and Demers all but named him the next Bobby Orr -- who, by the way, is Mara's agent.

Demers, though, was fired in the off-season, and it appeared Ludzik and new general manager Rick Dudley weren't quite as excited about Mara as Demers and just about everyone else was. They sent him to the minors to start the season. They used his youth as an excuse. They said things such as "We want him to develop the right way," "We don't want to rush him" and "He's just a kid."

But the feeling was the Lightning wasn't completely sold on Mara. After all, it kept Ben Clymer with the big club even though Clymer is the same age. Also, Clymer was the 27th pick in the 1997 draft; Mara was seventh.

After excelling in the minors, though, Mara was called up in November. And aside from a 13-game stint on the injured list with a broken jaw, Mara is giving everyone a reason to believe.

Despite playing only 27 games, Mara is third among Lightning defenseman in points with 12 and is tied with Pavel Kubina with five goals.

"I never really thought a lot about what it would actually be like to play in the NHL. I just worked as hard as I could at each level, but I think it gets easier as you move up (through the minors)," Mara said. "The game is so much quicker here, that's true. The speed increases at every level. But the players are so much better, and that makes it easier to play at times. And while I feel I have a lot to learn, I actually feel pretty comfortable here. "It's exciting. I never think, "Oh, I'm playing against Ron Francis or Paul Coffey or Ray Bourque' while the game is going on. But when the game is over, I think about it, and it's a pretty good feeling."

But not quite as good as getting a letter from a future Hall of Famer.

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