The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - March1, 19! Weight The former Lake Superior star tells of the Soo, New York and life in the NHL John Niyo Blame It On Niyo All was quiet-on the Yankee front Doug Weight played at Lake Su- perior State for just two seasons be- fore leaving for the NHL. Weight earned a spot on the CCHA first team and was named a second team All-American after his second year in college. In the 1990 NHL entry draft, he was chosen 34th overall by the New York Rangers. After playing for two national championship-winning head coaches in Sault Ste. Marie, Weight skipped his final two years of NCAA eligibil- ity, traveled to New York and passed up a chance at being a cog of the national champion Lakers of last season. Daily Hockey Writer Brett For- rest spoke with Weight recently at the Cow Palace in Daly City, Calif. Daily: Why did you choose Lake Superior over a bigger school in' a different location or even junior hockey? Weight: I had other options, ob- viously, bigger colleges and, of course, juniors. I think me and my 'parents decided that college was on its way up. A lot of pros were com- ing out of college and the game was getting faster and stronger as I was entering it. So that ruled out junior. The small school is really favor- able to my style. I needed work on my weight lifting, on my discipline. I didn't think I needed to be in a 40,000-person school. I needed a place that just focused on hockey. Lake State was that, with 3,000 stu- jients. Frank Anzallone (Laker coach from 1982 to 1990) was a really hard coach, a discipline coach. That helped me become more of a com- plete player as far as defensively, hard-working and in practice. Those were my main reasons. D: How drastically did the team change when Jeff Jackson became head coach? W: It changed not only with (different styles of coaching) but through the team we had. We had 10 talented players who could put the puck in the net - I'm talking for- wards - in that second year. So it had to be an offensively coached team. I think it changed as far as JJ (Jackson) putting more flow into our game and more speed and things like that in the neutral zone, carrying the " puck more. He gave us more free- dom to make plays and create. Not that Frank had a bad style because it helped us win - his style of dumping the puck in and chipping it and playing it tough. But I think we had a little different mix the sec- ond year and we had so many good players we decided to let the guys go a little more and create. D: How can you compare those two coaches with the two you have had on the Rangers in Roger Neilson and Ron Smith? of offensive creativity, he played me a lot. I think he's a great coach, he knows the game well, too. Rog (Neilson) is the same. I was really happy I was able to break into the league with such a nice man that was able to take me under his wing. It gave me a chance to bring me in slowly and not ruin my confidence by having a rough game or having a rough month. He's also a great coach and he'll definitely be back in the game soon. 39 4~ยง~. ing a great job so far and hopefully we're up for better things in the fu- ture. D: When you were at Lake Supe- rior, did you always think you would play in the NHL and do well in the NHL? W: I don't think you can ever say it's a sure thing. After a good fresh- man year, I was able to lead college in freshman scoring. That was a great confidence-builder, then to get drafted by the Rangers. Everybody around you talks about it: "You're in for sure." I think then you start realizing, "Hey, I got to work hard. I want to make it." Then you really get the taste in your mouth and you want more and more of it. After the World Junior tourna- ment, I really felt I had a good chance of going pro one of these years. I just worked hard and luckily the Rangers at the end of their sea- son needed some changes and I was able to sign with them after my sophomore year. D: Do you ever regret coming out of school early? W: I think I could have really helped Lake Superior. They won it last year but I think I could have been a good part and really had a good couple of years there. A lot of things could have happened. I could have put some points on the board and maybe gotten a little more notoriety in college. I made my choice, I can't second-guess myself. I'm really happy with what I did. I'm happy I'm in New York. Hope- fully, I'll stay here if we can start winning. D: What are the biggest differ- ences between the NHL and the CCHA? W: I think the speed is pretty close but it's unbelievable what the strength factor is. Everybody's so big and strong here. They're strong on their stick and even if you're five-foot-seven in the NHL you're strong. You could be the strongest guy on the ice in college. FORT LAUDERDALE,Fla:- The guy was probably in his late fifties or early sixties, with a few tufts of gray hair flopping around in the wind as he sat drinking in what retirement had to offer. It was a Friday, just before noon, and the transplanted New Yorker - you could tell by the voice inflection - was talking with another man of similar appearance in the bleachers at Fort Lauderdale Yankee Stadium, the spring home of the New York Yankees. He had a $1 program in his lap, in order to keep track of some of the rookies and, of course, the inevitable new faces, what with major league baseball teams treating rosters like a game of "Go Fish." But he didn't use it much, just an occasional glance. Most of the faces he recognized immediately. He was no casual fan. This is a guy who grew up watching Maris and Mantle and DiMaggio. Grew up cheering on players like Whitey Ford and Frank Howard, both of whom, incidentally, were pacing out on the field on this overcast day in Fort Lauderdale, still wearing the ol' pinstripes as Yankee coaches. So the man knew those two like they were old drinking buddies. But he was also one of the first to notice Wade Boggs, who had come out of the clubhouse and into the dugout. "Finally, we got a damn third baseman who can hit," he said to his A friend. Or something like that. That was the sentiment, at least, though it was hard to catch everything the two men said as the warm breeze from off the ocean blew us in and out of their conversation. Like the 500 or so other fans and gawkers at Friday's morning ses- sion, the two men were there to check out the latest installment of the Yankees. That is what spring training is all about: a sneak preview complete with good weather, good seats and a very relaxed atmosphere. But we likely caught the Yankees in the calm before the storm. Right about now, The Boss is on a charter plane down to Florida to assume his old command post. George Steinbrenner, as of 12:01 a.m. EST, is no longer suspended from baseball. He was to spend two hours, starting at midnight, gleefully fielding calls on WFAN in New York City, the all-sports radio station, and then it was off to spring training. - He has supposedly cleared his calendar for the month of March in order to spend all his time hovering around the team as it prepares in Fort Lauderdale for Opening Day. Happy days are here again? "The bum comes back on Monday." The breeze brought another piece of the two men's conversation our way. I heard the word "bum" at least twice more. The relaxed atmos- phere is in jeopardy. We watched them all joke and laugh as they took batting practice and shagged flies in the outfield, some of us figuring that it was all about to end once Monday morning dawned. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But there was Don Mattingly standing behind the batting cage Friday kidding around with newcomer Jimmy Key, perhaps the Yankees' southpaw savior. And there was Danny Tartabull, smiling and flexing his bicep in Boggs' face after he deposited three straight pitches over the fence in left field. And there was Jim Abbott, another fresh face (and a former Wolverine), jogging past the stands to the loudest cheers of all. The Yankees, led by a tough, young manager in Buck Showalter, looked, at least on this Friday, like a team that could play loose, stay confident, and ... well ... win. Finally, after all those woeful seasons. It's been 12 years since they went to a World Series. But tonight on the news, all we'll see is George Steinbrenner. Mugging for the cameras. Smiling. Grandstanding. And, suddenly, that team's outlook doesn't look quite as promising. ., $ ; pV V J SPORTS INFORMATION W: It's a different game from college to pro but I liked them all. Frank helped me so much as far as discipline and attitude and work ethic. He taught me a lot about the game defensively and offensively. He's a great coach and a really great guy. I say the same to JJ. He gave me a lot of confidence, he gave me a lot What I can tell you about Ron has been short-lived but I think he has really opened the game up for us. He's making the best out of what we have on this team. He's letting us play with the skill we have. He's do- .1 4 SZE&COUNI WEST Come and enjoy Ann Arbor's Best Chinese Restaurant 2161Stadium 769-5722 Its Time A\uc itnt formuhri Sports Nutrition & Body Building Products EM To Play! 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