In 1995, Nordiques power forward Owen Nolan was a dominant force. And in this story, Nolan candidly spoke on many topics.

Toward the end of their time as an NHL team, the Quebec Nordiques had more than their share of dynamic young talent. And in this feature story from THN's Jan. 20, 1995 edition -- Vol. 48, Issue 18 -- writer Mike Brophy talked to star winger Owen Nolan about how he spent his time during the NHL lockout, the state of the Nords' coaching, and much more:

NOLAN EAGER TO GET ROLLING

By Mike Brophy

Most NHL players are antsy to get on the ice and play a meaningful game in their chosen profession. Then there’s Owen Nolan.

The Quebec Nordiques’ right winger says you can take his peers’ pent-up frustration and multiply it by 10 to get an inkling of how eager he is to get back to playing.

The rambunctious forward-one of the league’s rising stars until a shoulder injury knocked him out of commission early last sea-son-hasn’t played a consequential game since Oct. 18, 1993. Missing half a season has driven most players to distraction; missing a year and a half has been more than the 23-year-old Nolan ever bargained for.

“I got off to a great start at training camp this season and that was a big confidence booster,” Nolan says. “I needed to prove to myself I could still score goals and play a physical game like I had in the past. I was all ready to go when the lockout happened.”

Nolan says he worked very hard in the offseason to prepare for his comeback year. He was Quebec’s top scorer in the pre-season with seven goals and nine points in six games. Since the lockout was imposed, he has found it difficult to remain motivated.

He has skated a few times each week and participated in a handful of exhibition games, but says it’s just not the same.

“When you skate on your own,” he says, “you never skate as hard as you would during a practice being run by a coach and the games are nothing more than shinny hockey-they do absolutely nothing to prepare you for NHL games.”

He figures a one-week training camp prior to the start of the season, assuming there is one, will be sheer hell.

The first overall pick in the 1990 entry draft after a 51-goal, 110-point (and 240-penalty minute) season with the Ontario League’s Cornwall Royals, Nolan failed to make a splash in his initial big-league season. He barely made a ripple scoring three goals and 13 points in 59 games.

Some wondered if the Nordiques hadn’t blown the pick in a year when Petr Nedved (second overall), Keith Primeau (third), Mike Ricci (fourth) and Jaromir Jagr (fifth) were there for the choosing.

Nolan silenced the critics with back-to-back seasons of 42 and 36 goals; 73 and 77 points and established himself as a physical force with 368 penalty minutes in 148 games. He represented the Nordiques in the 1992 All-Star Game.

Then came the shoulder injury followed by a celebrated feud with Nordiques’ coach and general manage Pierre Page who called Nolan a space cadet. Nolan welcomes new coach Marc Crawford, whom he played junior for in Cornwall.

“Anybody would be better than Page,” Nolan says.

“Marc is the perfect coach for this team. He’s young, enthusiastic and he’s a proven winner. We’re a young team on the way up and it helps to have a young guy who can relate to the players.”

There is no doubt Nolan’s absence was felt by the Nordiques who slipped 28 points in the standings and went from being a pre-season Stanley Cup contenders to post-season spectators.

“He was coming off another big year and we were really looking for him to continue his development and continue growing into a leader on our team,” says teammate Joe Sakic. “When he went down, we didn’t have anybody to replace him.

“He’s a big winger who scores goals and keeps the opposition honest with his physical play. And he’s only going to get better.”

Nolan has spent the seemingly endless lockout days deer hunting (“I didn’t get any”), fishing (“Caught lots, but nothing you would hang on the wall”) and dreaming about playing hockey again.

Crawford says he met with Nolan and spelled out his expectations for the player.

“We want him to be one of the leaders on this hockey team and in a quiet way, I think that’s what Owen wants, too,” Crawford says. “The biggest thing we expect from him is consistent competitiveness. If he does that, the other players will follow his lead.

“That’s what he must do to take his game to the next level and even though he has been off a long time, it is what we’ll be looking for. We used him as a penalty killer and on the power play in pre-season and he responded. Throw in his regular shift and he’ll be playing about 22 minutes a game.”

Nolan is eager to face the challenge.

“I’m 100 per-cent ready to go,” Nolan says. “I just want the opportunity to show people I’m back.”