In 2001, Blues Superstar Pronger Wrote His Own THN Column On His Early-Career Challenges

NHL star, Stanley Cup champion and Hockey-Hall-of-Famer Chris Pronger became one of the greatest defensemen of all time by following his instincts and never being intimidated by anyone. And in this Dec. 14, 2001 article, Pronger wrote his own column regarding the things he'd have to overcome, lessons he's learned, and much more.

By Chris Pronger

(Chris Pronger is one of the best players in the world, a Hart and Norris Trophy winner in 2000. In a special to The Hockey News, the St. Louis Blues’ defenseman recalls his NHL apprenticeship as a teenager with the Hartford Whalers.)

I don’t know if there is such a thing as being destined to play in the National Hockey League. I do know, however, when I joined the Hartford Whalers in 1993 at age 18,I felt right at home.

Obviously, I was a little nervous. Who wouldn’t be walking into a dressing room and seeing veteran NHLers such as Pat Verbeek, Brian Propp and Brad McCrimmon? I knew there was going to be some heat on me to make my mark early for a couple of reasons.

For starters, the Whalers made a draft-day deal with San Jose to move up from sixth overall to second to pick me. (The Hockey News even suggested I should have gone No. 1, an honor that went to Alexandre Daigle.) Also, the Whalers were coming off a non-playoff season and had lost out in the first round the previous six years. I think the coaches and my teammates had a good perspective about what I was going to be able to accomplish at 18, but the owner and the fans didn’t. They thought I’d be able to turn the team around on my own.

I knew it was going to be very difficult, at my age, to make a big impact. Think about it, even Mario Lemieux didn’t carry the Pittsburgh Penguins to the playoffs as a teenager.

That said, I was excited about the challenge that lied ahead. I was coming off two successful years in junior with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario League, having made it to the Memorial Cup final in my second year. I also played in the 1993 World Junior Championship, helping Canada win a gold medal in Sweden and I was named the top defenseman in Canadian major junior.

At that point. I really felt the best way for me to continue to develop into the best player I could be was to move up and compete against the best players in the world. I didn’t feel a third year in junior would benefit me in that respect.

The NHL draft, in Quebec, was special, but it was as much a relief as it was a thrill for me. I knew I wasn’t going to be picked No. 1. I think I had one very short meeting with the Ottawa Senators and it was obvious they were going to pick Daigle.

Ottawa was kind of painted into a corner being a bilingual city with Daigle, a francophone, being available. I also knew I wasn’t going second to San Jose. They told me they were set along the blueline and didn’t have any use for me.

At the draft, Hartford GM Brian Burke (now with Vancouver) came up to me and my agent, Pat Morris, and said,”We’re going to draft you. Will you come?” I think teams were feeling a little gun-shy after Eric Lindros refused to play for Quebec. I said,”Sure.”

Even after that conversation, I wasn’t sure, when I’d get picked. You never know what’s going to happen at the draft. I’ve heard of teams putting a player’s name on the back of a jersey, walking up to the podium and then changing their mind at the last second and picking somebody else. When my name was called, it was great. It was great for my friends and my family as well. It was also great to have it over with, but I knew that was just the beginning.

It was a thrill to be picked second overall in a draft many consider one of the deepest of alltime. Look at the players who went high that year Chris Gratton (third), Paul Kariya (fourth), Rob Niedermayer (fifth), Viktor Kozlov (sixth), Jason Arnott (seventh), Adam Deadmarsh (14th) and Jason Allison (17th). Even the second round produced players such as Jamie Langenbrunner (35th), Brendan Morrison (39th) and Bryan McCabe (40th). The list goes on and on.

I didn’t know much about the Whalers. They weren’t a team that got on TV very often. I did, however, get a chance to see them play once because the NHL brought some of the top prospects to Quebec for a game and it just so happened it was against Hartford. When training camp began, I soon learned I was in a whole new situation. I think it really helped that I had moved to Hartford in July to train.

I was lucky my first NHL season for a couple of reasons. For starters, the Whalers put me up with a family in Hartford. I moved away from my home town of Dryden, Ont., at age 15 to play Jr. B in Stratford, where I lived with a family I did the same thing for two years in Peterborough. I think it helps to have a little structure in your life when you turn pro at such a young age.

Also, I roomed with McCrimmon on the road. Brad was a big help to me. I think one of the main reasons the Whalers got him was to help make my transition a tle easier. Brad sort of took me under his wing and watched out for me. I don’t remember every little thing he told me, but I do know he suggested I just go out and play the game the way I have always played it. He said that’s what was expected of me.

Was there pressure on me my first year? Of course there was. But I didn’t look at it like I was going to come in and be a savior. Rarely can you step into a new situation where a team has struggled and turn it around on your own. You need to assemble a supporting cast. I knew that. At 18 you’re not going to dominate. You’re going to make mistakes; the key is to learn from your mistakes. I knew I was the last line of defense. If you’re a forward and you lose the puck in the neutral zone it might lead to a 2-on-1. You lose the puck as a defenseman and it might give the other team a breakaway.

I felt pretty good for the most part my first year. I played well at times and poorly at times. Your confidence comes and goes, but I felt I was able to play my game most of the time. Brad taught me to keep things simple and make sure of the first pass coming out of our zone. He said everything revolves around the first pass-it’s a chain reaction. You give a guy a good pass and he’s able to give another guy a good pass. You screw up on the first pass and the next guy will probably screw up, too.

I think I was able to put things in perspective in terms of what I expected from myself my first year. I looked at it as a start (to my career), not an end. I knew there was lots to learn, lots to experience. Of course, even now, I’m never satisfied. I had 30 points. Could I have got more? Sure. I probably could have had 40 to 45 if all had gone well. But I wasn’t about to dwell on it.

Off the ice, a couple of incidents my first two years in Hartford got attention. The first was a driving-under-the-influence charge and the other was a ruckus at a bar in Buffalo that was blown out of proportion. Both were mistakes that many people make, but one can only learn from the mistakes they make. Those that learn from their mistakes are better people and better players.

I think there were a lot of false rumors about how I was conducting myself away from the rink my first few years. The reality is, it was Hartford. How much could I really do in Hartford? Summertime was when I tended to conduct myself inappropriately. I actually drank more as I got older and after I was traded to St. Louis. And more in the offseason. Was it ever out of control? Maybe. If somebody saw me drinking at a party on a Friday night and assumed that was how I lived every day of my life, they were wrong. Did those people see me training during the week?

Ultimately, I realized if I was going to reach my potential as a player, I needed to be smarter about fitness and training. Maybe some guys can drink all the time and still play. Not me. Eventually it catches up with you. It might be when you’re 32…or 34…or 62. The way I saw it, for me to peak as a player, I couldn’t do that.

When I look back on my early years in the NHL, I think I got off to a good start. But I don’t commit every detail to memory. The reason is, I look at my career as a journey. I won the Hart and Norris Trophies in 2000 and I don’t remember every detail about that season, either.

I consider myself a perfectionist. As such, I’m never satisfied. Maybe if I win the Stanley Cup that will change. Or maybe when I’m older, I’ll look back and be able to put things in perspective. For now, though, all I care about is getting better and winning the Cup.

The journey continues.