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Wednesday, August 25, 1999

Newest IceRay happy to be channel surfing back in USA
Right wing Wickenheiser trades German beer for American TV in CC
By Mark Button
Caller-Times

Sprawled out in his Heilbronn, Germany, apartment last year, Kurt Wickenheiser incessantly flipped through the channels on his television looking for something vaguely resembling American sports.
   German newscasts.
   (Flip channel.)
   German soap opera.
   (Flip.)
   German cartoons.
   (Interested pause, flip.)
   He had had enough.
   He missed NFL football.
   And Major League Baseball. The NHL, too.
   So he decided to come back to North America and play minor-league hockey again.
   Today, the Corpus Christi IceRays are expected to sign Wickenheiser, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound right wing.
   Wickenheiser spent the last two years in Germany, playing in the "1st League," a notch below Europe's "Elite League," which is the country's top level of professional hockey.
   The money was good - Wickenheiser didn't mention exactly how good - but good enough to hang out in a place where it took him three whole days to find out who won the World Series.
   "You know," Wickenheiser said Tuesday during a telephone interview from his home in Regina, Saskatchewan, "after a while, you miss all of the little things. They didn't have the NFL, the NHL or anything. The only things I'll miss about Germany are the Autobahn and the great beer."
   What IceRays coach Taylor Hall missed from his squad last year was consistent scoring, something Wickenheiser could alleviate this time around.
   The 35-year-old forward played for Hall in 1996-97 in New Mexico, where the he tallied 46 goals in 55 games and six more in as many playoff games that year.
   "Kurt's always been a top goal scorer," Hall said. "Last year we lacked a little scoring, and adding Kurt will definitely improve the offense."
   Scanning Wickenheiser's hockey resume, one season's statistics appear to be a misprint.
   They are not.
   In 1992-93, he dazzled Germany's "3rd League" with Wayne Gretzky-like numbers: 124 goals and 79 assists in 50 games. That's nearly an average of a hat trick per game.
   "It was a crappy league," Wickenheiser said. "The team I was on at the beginning of the year folded, and I lost $20,000. I knew this (other) team had a new rink and good sponsors, so I stuck it out for a year.
   "There was one game where my dad came down and I scored nine goals. I took myself out with 10 minutes to play in the third."
   Wickenheiser wanted to come to Corpus Christi specifically because of his relationship with Hall back in 1996-97. Wickenheiser called those New Mexico Scorpions "a family" with the Hall playing the role of the firm-handed father who always wanted the best for his kids.
   "Hockey is team game, it's not about individuals," Hall said. "The closer you are (as a team), the better chance you have at winning. You find that in this field of work. If you find people that get along well together, you get better work out of them ."
   IceRays update

TRAINING CAMP: Sept. 27-Oct. 8

FIRST GAME: Oct. 13, 7:05 p.m.

FIRST OPPONENT: Austin Ice Bats.

ROSTER LIMIT: 20

WPHL SALARY CAP: $10,000 per week per team

PLAYERS SIGNED: 10 (includes Wickenheiser)



Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at buttonm@caller.com.

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