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Malone enjoying success at pro level
Last year at this time, an SCSU senior forward named Ryan Malone was using his WCHA bye week to recover from a groin injury that kept him out for three games. Among many other injury bitten Huskies, Malone went on to miss 11 games in a frustrating 2002-03 season.
It is safe to say that things are looking much better for the Pittsburgh native this season.
Malone is currently leading the Pittsburgh Penguins with 13 goals (third among NHL rookies) and is fourth among rookies with 26 points. Instead of using his week off to heal this season, Malone is heading to the Exel Energy Center in St. Paul Saturday to participate in the YoungStars game as a part of NHL All-Star weekend.
According to those who know Malone best, it was only a matter of time before he made ripples at the professional level.
"Everyone knew," said SCSU goalie and former roommate Adam Coole. "Even when you watched him in practice last year, he was like a man among boys. You can just tell that some guys have it. It's something you can't teach. He's got that extra sense on the ice and he does everything quicker, whether it's skating, seeing the ice or his shot release."
Although his SCSU teammates were not surprised by Malone's success, he still had doubters at the NHL level, considering he played in only three games in Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Despite the doubters, Malone is now the only Western Pennsylvania trained product in the NHL, and he's making quite a name for himself.
"You set your goals when you get to camp and you know you want to make the team," Malone said. "Not a lot of people thought that I'd make the roster to begin with. They thought I'd be playing over at Wilkes-Barre, so it was good to prove a couple people wrong. I thought I could definitely play. I came in and had a good camp so I was confident. They gave me a shot and things have been going good so far."
Malone caught the eye of SCSU and Pittsburgh with his high school career at Shattuck St. Mary's and his progress at Chuck Grillo's nationally acclaimed Minnesota hockey camp in Brainerd, which he has attended since he was 16-years-old. Grillo, along with Ryan's father Greg Malone (former Penguin's player 1976-87) are scouts for the Penguins.
However, Malone's success did not come from riding the coattails of his Pittsburgh connections, it came from hard work.
SCSU head coach Craig Dahl has watched Malone's development as a player and a person perhaps closer than anyone.
"When he came here he was 19- years-old and he was a tall, skinny kid, still young and looked young, but he had great potential," Dahl said. "The difference is that not only did he grow and mature physically, but he really had a strong desire to be able to play in the National Hockey League.
"With that desire he supplied the determination and the work ethic to improve himself. He was very coachable."
Although he could have left after his junior year at SCSU, Malone stayed for his senior year after taking some advice from Dahl and the late Herb Brooks. Brooks, who helped the SCSU hockey program jump up to Division I status, was also Director of Player Development for Pittsburgh before he died in a car-wreck Aug. 11.
"He was hurt most of the year but what it did was give him a little more emotional maturity and physical maturity," Dahl said. "It's like his coach (Eddie Olczyk) said, playing four years of college made him more prepaired than the normal rookie."
Emotional maturity has helped Malone to take the positives out of a season in which the Penguins are struggling with an NHL's worst record of 11-36-5.
Even amid the Penguins' 11th loss in a row (tied for the club record), Malone has remained humble.
"I couldn't ask for a better situation to be in this year," Malone said. "I'm very appreciative for the opportunity I've gotten and I'm trying not to take anything for granted. I go out there and put everything out on the line every night. I'm just proud to be in this organization right now."
One positive Malone has taken out of his opportunity is the chance to play with team CEO/Hall of Fame player Mario Lemieux, who is currently on the injured list.
"He's pretty good, obviously," Malone said. "You think he's good before but then you realize how smart he is and how above and beyond he is to everyone else. Even now, he's in the locker room all the time. He's just one of the guys and I think that's the best part about him."
Malone has also taken advantage of the NHL's (although shrinking) tolerance for fighting. Even as a rookie, Malone has not been shy to scrap this season. Some of his fights have come against Atlanta's Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, NY Islanders' Sven Butenschon and Tampa Bay's Pavel Kubina twice. Also, consider that Grand-Pierre and Kubina each have about 15 lbs. on the rookie.
"I haven't done that well in them but I showed that I'm not scared to drop the gloves with anyone," Malone said. "As a rookie in the league you have to answer the challenge."
As for this weekend's YoungStars game, Malone is excited to return to his summer home to participate in the All-Star festivities.
"I've been there every summer for so long, so I consider that my home away from home," Malone said, who is fifth in SCSU Division I history in scoring (140 points). "Obviously it's not hard to get up for a game like that. You want to do well because everyone's watching, but it will also be nice to see all those guys playing."
The YoungStars game will be a four-on-four game played in 30 minutes, which should also benefit Malone, who is an open ice offensive specialist.
Coole knows this better than anyone, considering he was often the one in goal last summer opposing Malone in endless games of shinney hockey.
"I'm going to rate him 'PG'-point guy for that game," Coole said. "He's mister hands and mister scoring touch, so in an All-Star game with not a lot of checking, I look for him to have a huge game."
Huskies in the NHL
SCSU has had 13 players suit up in the NHL and all of which have had more than a cup of coffee to show for it.
Joe Motzko is the latest Husky to join current professionals Tyler Arnason (Chicago), Mark Parrish (NY Islanders), Matt Cullen (Florida), Mark Hartigan (Columbus), Duvie Westcott (Columbus), Bret Hedican (Carolina) and Malone.
Motzko, the Huskies' MVP last season, played his first game with Columbus Monday. Dahl talked to him briefly after his experience.
"I know he was really nervous in warm-ups and in the first period or so, and that's to be expected," Dahl said. "He just said it was an awesome experience and he'll never forget it for the rest of his life. There's a classic example of a guy who came out of juniors and said 'wow it would be neat to play in the NHL,' but I don't think he really thought he'd ever make it."
Senior forward Matt Hendricks may be the next Husky to make the jump. Hendricks was drafted by Nashville in 2000.
"It's nice to know that there's something else out there waiting for you and that the other teams in the NHL give our program a lot of respect for the way we're coached and the program that we run," Hendricks said. "I talk to them, get stories from them, hear how the league is and get the right and the wrong things to do. They got that advice before they got there, and I'm getting it now. It's nice."
As head coach for everyone of the 17 years, Dahl has seen numerous NHL players come and go. However, his philosophy has stayed the same.
"The thing is as a coach you want to see two things," Dahl said. "One is, do your players improve as people while they're here? Two is, do they improve as players while they're here? You'd like to bat 1000, but there's also a certain responsibility for the players. That is that they have to be willing to put the effort into improving. The guys that put the effort in and have the determination seem to do that, and that's what is rewarding as a coach."
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