A little pain won't stop Begin from suiting up
Apr 20, 2005 8:43:15 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2005 8:43:15 GMT -5
www.canada.com/sports/hockey/canadiensstory.html?id=ef3f7257-9303-4237-b7e6-38aed24c3f3e
Forward helped Bulldogs make playoffs and he's shrugging off cracked bone in foot
Steve Begin limps through the hallway beneath the stands at Copps Coliseum, a stretch bandage holding an ice pack on top of his foot.
"It's nothing," Begin says when asked about the injury that kept him out of the Hamilton Bulldogs' final regular-season game. "I could have played if they needed me."
In fact, the injury is a cracked bone in the foot, but it won't keep Begin out of the lineup tonight when the Bulldogs travel south to face the Rochester Americans in the opening game of the American Hockey League playoffs (7:05 p.m., Team 990 Radio).
It takes a serious injury to keep Begin out of the lineup. When he was playing for the Canadiens last season, he was in constant pain because of a left shoulder injury that resulted in two operations.
"I had one last June and then I had another one in the fall," said Begin, who wasn't cleared to resume his hockey career until late February. "The first one was a success, but there was some scar tissue that built up and I needed the second operation to clean things up. The shoulder's perfect now.
"It's stronger than my right shoulder and I'm thinking about having an operation on that one."
That's Begin's idea of a joke.
He'll be happy if he never sees the inside of an operating theatre again and he's concentrating on getting his career back on track.
"Not being able to play is tough," said Begin, who underwent a rigorous rehabilitation program at the Bell Centre under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning co-ordinator Scott Livingston. He worked alongside Mike Komisarek, who was recovering from hip surgery and captain Saku Koivu, who was recovering from a wrist injury.
They were all paid their National Hockey League salaries until they received medical clearance. Koivu went to Finland before Christmas, while Komisarek, who is in the third and final year of his entry-level contract, was assigned to Hamilton.
Begin was in limbo and was grateful the Canadiens gave him the opportunity to join the Bulldogs for the remainder of the season.
"The team has been very good to me," Begin said. "I know that Mike Ribeiro and Pierre Dagenais asked to play here and the team turned them down, but my case was a little different. By the time I was ready to play, it was too late to go to Europe, but I
didn't want to go a whole year without playing. I signed an AHL contract."
Moving to Hamilton proved easy for Begin's wife and the couple's 6-month-old daughter, and he was excited to be part of the team's late-season turnaround. The Bulldogs were 14 points out of a playoff spot when he arrived and clinched a postseason berth with one game remaining in the regular season.
While he's known as a defensive forward, Begin scored some key goals down the stretch. He finished the regular season with 10 goals in 21 games.
"The Canadiens told me to work on my offensive game a bit, but my basic game hasn't changed," Begin said. "I know that I'm in the NHL because I work hard at both ends of the ice and finish my checks."
Hamilton coach Doug Jarvis expects those qualities to be an asset in the playoffs.
"I expect things to tighten up in the playoffs and that's when you need in-your-face guys like Begin," Jarvis said.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005
Forward helped Bulldogs make playoffs and he's shrugging off cracked bone in foot
Steve Begin limps through the hallway beneath the stands at Copps Coliseum, a stretch bandage holding an ice pack on top of his foot.
"It's nothing," Begin says when asked about the injury that kept him out of the Hamilton Bulldogs' final regular-season game. "I could have played if they needed me."
In fact, the injury is a cracked bone in the foot, but it won't keep Begin out of the lineup tonight when the Bulldogs travel south to face the Rochester Americans in the opening game of the American Hockey League playoffs (7:05 p.m., Team 990 Radio).
It takes a serious injury to keep Begin out of the lineup. When he was playing for the Canadiens last season, he was in constant pain because of a left shoulder injury that resulted in two operations.
"I had one last June and then I had another one in the fall," said Begin, who wasn't cleared to resume his hockey career until late February. "The first one was a success, but there was some scar tissue that built up and I needed the second operation to clean things up. The shoulder's perfect now.
"It's stronger than my right shoulder and I'm thinking about having an operation on that one."
That's Begin's idea of a joke.
He'll be happy if he never sees the inside of an operating theatre again and he's concentrating on getting his career back on track.
"Not being able to play is tough," said Begin, who underwent a rigorous rehabilitation program at the Bell Centre under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning co-ordinator Scott Livingston. He worked alongside Mike Komisarek, who was recovering from hip surgery and captain Saku Koivu, who was recovering from a wrist injury.
They were all paid their National Hockey League salaries until they received medical clearance. Koivu went to Finland before Christmas, while Komisarek, who is in the third and final year of his entry-level contract, was assigned to Hamilton.
Begin was in limbo and was grateful the Canadiens gave him the opportunity to join the Bulldogs for the remainder of the season.
"The team has been very good to me," Begin said. "I know that Mike Ribeiro and Pierre Dagenais asked to play here and the team turned them down, but my case was a little different. By the time I was ready to play, it was too late to go to Europe, but I
didn't want to go a whole year without playing. I signed an AHL contract."
Moving to Hamilton proved easy for Begin's wife and the couple's 6-month-old daughter, and he was excited to be part of the team's late-season turnaround. The Bulldogs were 14 points out of a playoff spot when he arrived and clinched a postseason berth with one game remaining in the regular season.
While he's known as a defensive forward, Begin scored some key goals down the stretch. He finished the regular season with 10 goals in 21 games.
"The Canadiens told me to work on my offensive game a bit, but my basic game hasn't changed," Begin said. "I know that I'm in the NHL because I work hard at both ends of the ice and finish my checks."
Hamilton coach Doug Jarvis expects those qualities to be an asset in the playoffs.
"I expect things to tighten up in the playoffs and that's when you need in-your-face guys like Begin," Jarvis said.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2005
