October 26, 2001

Barons to hit the road after a long layoff
Mary Schmitt Boyer
Plain Dealer Reporter

Remember the Barons?  It only seems as if they've been gone forever.

Yes, it has been 10 days since their last home game.  Yes, it will be seven more before they play host to Utah next Thursday, (Nov.1).  In the meantime, the team will resume its four-game, 12-day trip tonight in Grand Rapids before heading to Utah for games tomorrow and Tuesday.

In the scheme of things, though, the Barons' trip is nothing.  The Manchester Monarchs are in the midst of a 14-game trip to open the season while their new arena is completed.  The Monarchs opened the season on Oct. 5 at Lowell and will not play in the 10,000-seat Verizon Wireless Arena until Nov. 16, when Lowell comes to town.   That's 42 days away from home.

The Utah Grizzlies also will be away from home for 42 days.  Their extended trip is the result of the Olympics being held in Salt Lake City.  They'll play 17 straight road games, from Jan. 23 to Feb. 24.  They'll cram in 29 of their 40 home games before that, including three against the Barons.  IN addition to the two upcoming visits, the Barons also will visit Salt Lake City on Nov. 14.

Olympic update:  Speaking of the Olympics, the 2002 U.S. hockey team is still being asked about the 1998 team of NHL players who trashed their rooms in the Olympic village after losing to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, 4-1.

Although  the perpetrators were never named, in a conference call with reporters during the Olympic summit in Salt Lake City last weekend, captain Chris Chelios of the Detroit Red Wings revealed that USA Hockey officials did know who was responsible.

"We kept it secret for a reason," Chelios said.  "The people who needed to know what happened...they're aware of what happened and who did it.  I think it was handled as best as it could be."

Asked if he thought the players responsible deserved to be on the 2002 team, he said yes.  Chelios was backed up by At Berglund, director of player personnel for Team USA.

"We're trying to put that issue in Nagano behind us," Berglund said during the summit. "I think they apologized as a team....We don't expect there to be any problem in Utah."

On the move:  Former Lumberjack Garrett Burnett has surfaced in Cincinnati, where he's on a 25-game tryout with the Mighty Ducks.  He has played in three games but has not scored a point.  He does have 10 penalty minutes.

The move is an interesting one fro Burnett.  According to Don Helbig, Cincinnati's vice president of communications, Burnett was the most despised opponent of Ducks fans when he played with Kentucky two seasons ago. 

Youth movement:  With the NHL intent on developing talent in the AHL, a total of 135 rookies have skated in the AHL this season.  Wilkes-Barre leads the league with nine rookies, while Cleveland has six - Matt Carkner, Jesse Fibiger, Seamus Kotyk, Lynn Loyns, Graig Mischler, and Chad Wiseman.

The AHL considers a rookie to be a player who entered the season having skated in fewer than 25 games in the NHL, AHL, or IHL; or fewer than 100 games in a European elite league.  At the end of the season, a vote of media and players will determine the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as rookie of the year.  Last season, the Barons' Ryan Kraft won the award.

Younger youth movement:  Mike Mudd, a former Lumberjacks executive who is now the Barons director of marketing and communications, and his wife, Holly, welcomed their first child, Tyler Michael, on Oct. 18.  Tyler shoots right and weighed in at 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18 inches long.