Asuchak gets phone call, PTO with Bruins

Spencer Asuchak, shown here with the CHL's Allen Americans, has signed
a PTO with the NHL's Boston Bruins.
(Photo courtesy Spencer Asuchak)

Spencer Asuchak had waited most of his 22-plus years on this earth for THE phone call.
It came last month, and now he’s preparing for a taste of the big time.
After being part of a Central Hockey League championship with the Allen Americans, Asuchak, who is from Kamloops, has signed a PTO (professional tryout agreement) with the Boston Bruins and will attend the NHL team’s rookie camp in September.
It all began with that phone call. On the other end of the line was Don Sweeney, the Bruins’ assistant general manager.
“It was about how well my season went and how they would like me to come to camp,” Asuchak said. “As you could imagine, I was pretty emotional after receiving a call like that.
“I have been waiting my entire life for an opportunity like this. I feel like I’ve definitely earned it and am going to do absolutely whatever I can to take full advantage of the chance I’m being given to prove myself and earn a spot within the Bruins organization.”
In hockey circles, it often is said that the deeper a team gets into its playoff season, the better chance its players have for advancement. The theory is simply the opposite of out of sight, out of mind.
Asuchak played in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans and Prince George Cougars (2008-12). Late in 2011-12, he got into three games with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, then chose to attend Mount Royal College in Calgary for a year.
Through it all, he wasn’t able to rid himself of the itch to play professionally, so he signed with the Americans, who play out of Allen, Texas.
The 6-foot-5, 232-pound Asuchak has always seen himself as a hockey player. According to his agent, Darren Hermiston of Points West Sports and Entertainment, that wasn’t always the way coaches saw him.
“Spencer is a hulking forward,” Hermiston said, “and, as sometimes happens in junior hockey with players that size, he was pigeon-holed into a specific role -- a north-south winger who needs to hit and fight and not do much else. This role was not ideal for Spencer's skill set, but no junior coach saw that.”
Hermiston, like Asuchak, is from Kamloops. One thing led to another and Hermiston now represents Asuchak.

“We were able to find him a situation with the Allen Americans where the coach (Steve Martinson) loved Spencer's size and skating ability and was willing to gave him a shot,” Hermiston said.
According to Hermiston, Martinson “realized what junior coaches didn't . . . that Spencer and his great skating ability should be given an opportunity at centre and in a different role than the one that hadn’t worked out overly well for the better part of five years.”
Asuchak has always taken pride in his conditioning, so he showed up in Allen ready to go. He did get off to a shaky start -- he had three points and was minus-3 through nine games. But then he was moved to centre and, yes, the move agreed with him. Not only did he begin to put up points, but Martinson turned to him as his club’s shutdown centre.
“He played against the opposition’s top lines and was a first-line penalty-killer,” Hermiston said, “and won 60 per cent of his faceoffs.”
While playing centre, Asuchak put up 53 points in 57 games and was plus-6. He had 18 points over his final nine regular-season games. In all, he had 56 points, 21 of them goals, in 66 games. He also led the CHL with five shorthanded goals and twice was the league’s player of the week.
He added 11 points, four of them goals, as the Americans went on a 17-game run to the CHL title.
“Winning the championship in Allen was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had,” Asuchak said. “So many amazing people and teammates were involved . . . friends and memories I will never forget. Being able to hoist the trophy over my head with a group of guys that you’d do absolutely anything for was amazing and there is no better feeling.”
What made it that much sweeter was that it was Asuchak’s “first championship at any level.”
After giving it some thought, he allowed that “I do think I won a B.C. roller hockey championship when I was about 14 playing for the Prince George Reapers . . . if that counts.”
The exposure that Asuchak received in 2013-14, combined with his size and skating ability, has paid off. The Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks have combined to win the last four NHL titles and the foundation of each of those teams is its strength up the middle.
As Hermiston put it, “every NHL general manager now wants to be ‘big and heavy down the middle.’ ” That is right up Asuchak’s alley.
“So after a few conversations with Don Sweeney, we were able to secure a PTO for Spencer to attend the Bruins’ rookie camp in September with the goal of earning an entry-level contract,” Hermiston said.
Asuchak, who never has been a stranger to off-ice conditioning, now is working hard to get ready for camp, even if it is almost two months away. Like many athletes in the Kamloops area, and as he has done in the past, he is working with Greg Kozoris at Kozoris Acceleration.
If you’re looking for Asuchak, chances are that you’ll find him there. He said his days comprise sprints at 7 a.m., soccer at 8 and then up to three hours of weight training. He does that five or six days a week, and also finds time to skate three or four times a week. On the ice, he has been working with Aaron Konescni, a Kelowna-based power-skating coach; Ron Johnson, a skills coach from Vancouver who works with various NHLers; and former pro Ed Patterson, the head coach of the junior B Kamloops Storm, who runs practice sessions.
Asuchak’s training group includes the likes of the Nash brothers, Brendon and Riley, Shane Doan, the afore-mentioned Blair Riley, Peter Mueller, Tyler Redenbach, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Devin Gannon, James Friedel and Ryan Gropp.
“Our training group is pretty good . . . so the pace is very high and very competitive,” Asuchak said.
In past summers, Asuchak often would find time for the lake and a few golf games.
This summer is different.
“There’s not really much time for anything else,” he said.

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Monday . . .

It seems I wasn’t the only person to make the connection between the 2011 Stanley Cup final and the 1960 World Series.
Moments after writing the brief piece that appeared here last week, I heard from a fan of the Portland Winterhawks who had pretty much the same thoughts.
And then, a couple of days later, I heard from another reader of this blog:
“I had one of those coincidences where I let out a ‘wow’ and did a double take on Saturday.
“I had just gotten off the phone with my dad (White Plains, N.Y., native, ardent Yankees fan since birth). He was comparing this year’s Stanley Cup final to the 1960 World Series, and relived the Mazeroski home run to me through the eyes of (then) a seven-year-old (he cried).
“Not even two minutes after getting off the phone with him, I logged on to Taking Note and read your depiction of one of the greatest World Series ever played.
“I remember the excitement of sitting in front of my TV as a 12-year-old in 1993 during Joe Carter’s series-ending home run, but that doesn’t come close to equaling the scope of Mazeroski’s home run.
“Imagine how much fun Twitter would be if the Yankees and an anonymous NL team battled into the bottom of the ninth in a tied World Series Game 7!”
———
Of course, the Boston Bruins whipped the visiting Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Monday night, forcing Game 7 on Wednesday in Vancouver.
Through six games, the Bruins hold a 19-8 edge in goals scored. The Canucks went into Monday leading the series 3-2 despite having scored only six goals.
In 1960, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Yankees in seven games, winning the deciding game 10-9 on Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run, the first such blow in World Series history. It also was the only one before Joe Carter did it for the Toronto Blue Jays — albeit in Game 6 — in their victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993.
In that 1960 World Series, the Yankees outscored the Pirates 55-27 but somehow managed to lose Game 7.
Here, from Wikipedia, is a look at Game 7. It was played Oct. 13 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
Linescore
Team                1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     R     H     E
New York         0     0     0     0     1     4     0     2     2     9     13     1
Pittsburgh         2     2     0     0     0     0     0     5     1     10   11     0
WP: Harvey Haddix (2–0)   LP: Ralph Terry (0–2)
Home runs:
NYY: Bill Skowron (2), Yogi Berra (1)
PIT: Rocky Nelson (1), Hal Smith (1), Bill Mazeroski (2)
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Bob Turley, the winning pitcher in Game 2, got the nod for the Yankees against the Pirates' Vern Law, the winning pitcher in Games 1 and 4.
Turley lasted only one inning. After the first two Pirates made out, Turley walked Bob Skinner, then Rocky Nelson homered to give the Pirates a 2–0 lead. Turley was then pulled after giving up a single to Smoky Burgess leading off the second. Don Hoak then drew a base on balls against new pitcher Bill Stafford, and Bill Mazeroski's bunt single loaded the bases. Stafford appeared to get the Yankees out of trouble after inducing Law to hit into a double play, pitcher to catcher to first. But Bill Virdon's single to right scored both Hoak and Mazeroski and increased the Pirates' lead to 4–0.
The Yankees got on the scoreboard in the fifth on Bill Skowron's leadoff home run, his second homer of the Series. In the sixth, Bobby Richardson led off with a single and Tony Kubek drew a base on balls. Elroy Face relieved Law and got Roger Maris to pop out to Hoak in foul territory, but Mickey Mantle singled to score Richardson. Yogi Berra followed with a home run that gave the Yankees their first lead, 5–4.
The Yankees plated two more runs in the eighth. With two out, Berra walked and Skowron singled. Johnny Blanchard then singled to score Berra, then Clete Boyer doubled to score Skowron.
The Pirates opened the bottom of the eighth inning with singles by Gino Cimoli (pinch-hitting for Face), then Virdon (the latter's was on a ground ball to short for what could have been a double play; instead the ball took a bad hop and struck Kubek in the throat). Dick Groat then chased Bobby Shantz (who had entered the game in the third and had pitched five innings, after not pitching more than four during the regular season) with a single to score Cimoli. Jim Coates replaced Shantz and got Skinner out on a sacrifice bunt, which moved the runners up. Nelson followed with a fly ball to right, and Virdon declined to challenge Maris' throwing arm. Coates then got two quick strikes on Roberto Clemente and was one strike away from getting the Yankees out of their most serious trouble of the afternoon.
Clemente eventually hit a Baltimore Chop towards first with first baseman Skowron and Coates trying to get to the ball at the same time at the cut of the infield grass. Clemente's speed forced Skowron to just hold onto the ball as Coates could not make it to the base on time after trying to get the groundball. The high chopper allowed Virdon to score, cutting the Yankee lead to 7–6. Hal Smith followed with a three-run home run to give the Pirates a 9–7 lead. Ralph Terry relieved Coates and got the last out.
Bob Friend, an eighteen-game-winner for the Pirates and their starter in Games 2 and 6, came on in the ninth to try to protect the lead. The Yankees' Bobby Richardson and pinch-hitter Dale Long both greeted Friend with singles, and Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh was forced to bench the veteran pitcher in favor of Harvey Haddix. Although he got Roger Maris to foul out, Haddix gave up a key single to Mickey Mantle that scored Richardson and moved Long to third. Yogi Berra followed, hitting a short grounder to first, with Rocky Nelson easily making the second out. In what, at the moment, stood as a monumental play, Mantle, seeing he had no chance to beat a play at second, scurried back to first and avoided Nelson's tag (which would have been the third out) as Gil McDougald (pinch-running for Long) raced home to tie the score, 9–9. (Had Mantle been out on the play, the run still would have counted if it had scored before the tag.)
Ralph Terry returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth. The first batter to face him was Mazeroski. With a count of one ball and no strikes, the Pirates' second baseman smashed a historic long drive over the left field wall, ending the contest and crowning the National League as champions. As the Pirates erupted, the Yankees stood across the field in stunned disbelief. The improbable champions were outscored, outhit, and outplayed, but had managed to pull out a victory anyhow. Years later, Mickey Mantle was quoted as saying that losing the 1960 series was the biggest disappointment of his career, the only loss amateur or professional he cried actual tears over. For Bill Mazeroski, it was the highlight.
Mazeroski became the first player to hit a game-winning home run in the seventh game, to win a World Series. Thirty-three years later, Joe Carter would become the only other player to end the World Series with a home run, doing so for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, albeit in Game 6. Although most noted for the series-ending homer, Game 7 is also the only game in all of postseason history with no strikeouts recorded by either side.
Bobby Richardson of the Yankees was named MVP of the Series, the only time that someone from the defeated team has been so honored.
———
Fans of the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks are free to pore over Game 7 of that 1960 World Series in a search for omens of what awaits us on Wednesday. That is when the Bruins and Canucks will meet in Game 7 in Vancouver.
And let’s be honest — there isn’t anything better in all of the sporting world than a Game 7, no matter the sport.
———
JUST NOTES: The Kamloops Blazers have signed D Jordan Thomson, the fourth overall selection in the 2011 bantam draft. Thomson, from Wawanesa, Man., had 16 points with the Southwest Cougars of the Manitoba Midget AAA league last season. He was the only 1996-born player in that league. . . .
———
THE COACHING GAME: Sean Gillam is the new head coach of the Southern Professional league’s Fayetteville FireAntz. The 35-year-old Gillam (Spokane, 1992-96) is from Lethbridge. He had been an assistant coach with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for five seasons. Gillam replaces Tommy Stewart, who was let go following his fourth season with Fayetteville. . . . Gulutzan also played for the Killer Bees, who retired his jersey (No.7) in 2008. . . . The Dallas Morning News has reported that the Dallas Stars are negotiating with Glen Gulutzan, who could be named head coach later this week. Gulutzan (Moose Jaw, Brandon, Saskatoon, 1986-92) will turn 40 on Aug. 12. He is a native of The Pas, Man., which is also the hometown of Montreal Canadiens scout Vaughn Karpan. . . . Gulutzan spent the last two seasons as head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, going 87-56-17. With Dallas, he will replace Marc Crawford, who was dropped after the season. . . . The AHL’s Abbotsford Heat is looking for a head coach following the resignation of Jim Playfair, who has signed a multi-year deal as an associate coach with the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes. Playfair (Portland, Calgary, 1981-84) has been in the coaching game since 1993-94. He spent the last two seasons with the Heat, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames. Playfair had been in the Flames’ organization since 2000-01. . . .
———
Patrick Kennedy of the Kingston Whig-Standard has today’s good read. It’s a piece on former Vancouver Canucks D Dennis Kearns and it is terrific.
"When I was in Portland,” Kearns told Kennedy, “our coach, Hal Laycoe, wouldn't allow any water on the bench, but you could smoke between periods. I didn't smoke but I can still remember my defence partner Doug Messier, Mark's dad, coming into the dressing room dripping with sweat and reaching for a cigarette."
That piece is right here.

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Taking Note on Twitter

Recchi reaches milestone

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Mark Recchi has moved into even more elite NHL company.
Recchi, one of Kamloops’ favourite native sons, scored two third-period goals Wednesday night, reaching the 1,500-point career mark as his Boston Bruins scored a 3-1 victory over the host Florida Panthers.
One of five owners of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, Recchi is the 13th player in NHL history to reach 1,500 points.
Paul Coffey, a Hall-of-Fame defenceman, is 12th on the all-time list, with 1,531 points.
“It was a big goal . . . it gave us a two-goal cushion,” Recchi told Nadko Funayama, NESN-TV’s rinkside reporter. “It’s nice to get it in a big win.”
It should come as no surprise that Recchi was quick to pass along some of the credit.
“My teammates are unbelievable,” said Recchi, who will turn 43 on Feb. 1. “They support me along the way. Obviously, you can’t do it without them. It’s been a long career and it’s been a lot of fun and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Boston head coach Claude Julien told Funayama: “It’s quite a milestone.”
Julien said that in congratulating Recchi he told the NHL’s oldest active player “I’m glad all these things are happening with our team.”
Recchi, who in 2000 was named Kamloops’ male athlete of the 20th century, played his first NHL game with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988-89. They had selected him in the fourth round of the 1988 NHL draft. He also has played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He has won Stanley Cups with the Penguins (1991) and Hurricanes (2006).
Recchi now has scored 567 goals, good for 20th on the all-time list. Mike Bossy, the former New York Islanders sniper, is next, at 573. Recchi is 15th in assists, with 933, one in arrears of former defenceman Al MacInnis. Also within reach are Jaromir Jagr (953) and Doug Gilmour (964).
Recchi has played in 1,591 regular-season NHL games, good for ninth place on the all-time list. If he stays healthy this season, he has a chance to move past Ray Bourque (1,612), Larry Murphy (1,615), Scott Stevens (1,635) and Dave Andreychuk (1,639), which would leave him fifth.
Recchi, who will turn 43 on Feb. 1, now has 15 points, including four goals, in 20 games. He has scored three times in his last five games, including two game-winners.
Last night, Recchi broke a 1-1 tie at 2:54 of the third period, taking a pass from David Krejci after some solid forechecking by Jordan Caron and beating Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun. With the Bruins enjoying a two-man advantage, Recchi added insurance at 16:00, banging in a short rebound from just off the right post.
Recchi played 13 minutes 39 seconds over 17 shifts. He had four shots on goal and was plus-1 as the Bruins won for the eighth time in 10 road games. They were beaten 3-1 by the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Tuesday night.
The Bruins (12-6-2) are one point behind the Northeast Division-leading Montreal Canadiens.
The Bruins next play Friday afternoon when they are at home to the Carolina Hurricanes. After hitting the road to play the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, the Flyers will be at home to Tampa Bay on Dec. 2. Then the Bruins will travel to Toronto for a Dec. 4 clash with the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada.

 

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Taking Note on Twitter

Tuesday's over

The SPHL’s Augusta RiverHawks have signed D Bryan Nathe (Brandon, Everett, 2002-04) for their inaugural season. Nathe has played in the ECHL, Central league, and the IHL. He split last season between the IHL’s Dayton Gems, Flint Generals and Port Huron IceHawks, picking up 12 points in 68 games.
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The Saskatoon Blades got down to four goaltenders on Tuesday by reassigning Adam Todd, 16, to the major midget Okanagan Rockets, who play out of Kelowna. . . . The Blades are to meet the Pats in Regina on Wednesday night, after which one of two 17-year-old goaltenders -- Adam Iwan or Tyler Oswald -- will be reassigned. Iwan and Oswald, both 2008 bantam draft picks, are scheduled to play a half apiece tonight. . . . The Blades also have two veteran goaltenders on their roster in Steven Stanford, 20, and Adam Morrison, 19.
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Still with goaltenders, the Vancouver Giants have three of them and observers are watching and waiting to see what happens. Mark Segal, the starter late last season and through playoffs, is expected to open the season as the starter. The 19-year-old will be backed up by either Derek Tendler, 18, who joined the Giants last season from the SJHL’s Estevan Bruins but didn’t get much playing time, and Brendan Jensen, 17, who started with the Giants but finished with the NAHL’s Wenatchee Wild. . . . Conspiracy theorists might wonder whether the Bonner brothers might get together on a deal. The Giants, of GM Scott Bonner, have three goaltenders, each with at least some experience in the WHL. The Kamloops Blazers, of GM Craig Bonner, have two goaltenders on their roster -- Jon Groenheyde, a 19-year-old who is preparing for his third season but first as a starter, and Troy Trombley, 16, who has played half a game in the Blazers’ first four exhibition assignments.
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I was watching the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in a prospects game from Penticton last night. Interesting moment in the third period when Calgary’s Lance Bouma delivered a big hit in the neutral zone and Edmonton’s Nolan Toigo roared in to challenge Bouma. They exchanged blows in what was pretty much a draw. Toigo and Bouma were teammates with the Vancouver Giants. . . . The Oilers won 5-3, with an empty-netter, in what was an entertaining game. D Alex Plante scored twice for Edmonton, including the empty-netter. Edmonton G Tyler Bunz was terrific.
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The BCHL’s Nanaimo Clippers have triplets on their roster this season. That story is right here. Bill Gallacher, who owns the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, also owns a piece of the action in Nanaimo.
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David Haas is the new head coach of the AJHL’s Calgary Mustangs. He replaces Jeff Peters, who resigned earlier this month. Haas, 42, was a fifth-round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1992 NHL draft. He finished his playing career with a number of seasons in Germany.
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F Brennan Tutt, who was released by the Seattle Thunderbirds, now is in camp with the Regina Pats. Tutt, the son of former WHL F Brian Tutt (Calgary, 1979-82), told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post that he asked the Thunderbirds for his release. He then asked half-a-dozen teams for a tryout before landing in Regina where head coach Curtis Hunt said he would take a look at Tutt, 18. . . . He had an assist in Regina’s 7-3 loss to the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Saturday. He was pointless in 17 games with Seattle last season but spent a lot time battling the injury bug. . . . Harder’s story is right here.
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F Craig Cunningham, 20, has had an impact in the Boston Bruins’ rookie camp. Cunningham, a fourth-round pick by the Bruins in the NHL’s 2010 draft, is eligible to return for a fifth season with the Vancouver Giants and hasn’t signed an NHL contract. But, as Rob Murray, the head coach of the AHL’s Providence Bruins, told Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: “Maybe I’ve noticed him more this week than I did at the prospects camp. I’ve liked him more this week than at the prospects camp. I’ve seen more of what he might bring. He’s got a certain edge to him, that grittiness that you look for in a player of his stature. He’s not a really big guy. But it looks like he plays with an edge. We’ll see.” . . . If the Bruins sign Cunningham, he can play in the AHL. If he returns to the Giants, he will be their captain.
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