Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Good things come to those (rookies) who wait

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Saturday, October 23, 1999

Good things come to those (rookies) who wait

By Mark Button
Caller-Times

Harry Currie drove all the way from western Canada to Corpus Christi to sit with his son and watch a couple minor-league hockey games.
   It was worth the drive.
   Turns out he gets to watch his son play instead.
   Defenseman Brent Currie was one of three rookies IceRays' coach Taylor Hall released after training camp. Hall then signed the three after losing Chris Robertson and Greg MacEachern to injuries in the team's opening night, 8-2 loss to Austin.
   Currie will play his fourth professional game tonight when the Lake Charles Ice Pirates come calling on Corpus Christi at 7:05.
   Currie, along with forwards Brent Hoiness and Jade Kersey, are undefeated as IceRays.
   "Brent called home when he was released (Oct. 8), he said he was going to work on his hockey resume and start sending it out to other teams," Harry Currie said. "Obviously, he was disappointed."
   Brent didn't have time to phone his father after he signed - it happened so fast, Brent said - but he did have time to place a call after he scored his first pro goal in his first pro game, a 3-2 overtime victory against Arkansas Oct. 15.
   "It felt a little better driving down knowing that he was playing," Harry Currie said.
   This kind of situation isn't unusual in minor hockey.
   Last year, goalie Jason Genik hung around Corpus Christi for four months without receiving a paycheck before he got his break.
   It took Kersey and Hoiness three days.
   "I was pretty sure we'd have a chance to get in because we started with only about 15 players," Hoiness said. "Injuries happen all the time, I just didn't think it would happen to our best player and I didn't think it would happen the first game."
   Robertson's salary, one of the highest on the team, does not count against the $10,000 a week salary cap while he is on the injured-reserve list. That made room for Hall to sign the two rookie forwards.
   "I definitely feel the pressure to prove myself while Robo's out," Hoiness said. "But it's not like we're the same player; I'm not replacing him by any means, but every time I suit up, I have to work my hardest to force coach to keep me in the lineup."
   So far, Kersey and Hoiness, playing left and right wings, respectively, on center Roger Lewis' line, have done their job. They don't like to be called a "checking" line, but Hall matches the Lewis line against opponents' top scoring line because all three forwards skate quickly, play physically and are the type to annoy and bother skilled opponents.
   In three games together, Lewis' line has not been scored on.
   "I wasn't happy when I was released because I felt I played well enough in training camp to make the team," Kersey said. "I sat down with Taylor and he said he felt like I played well enough to make it, too. Unfortunately, he was in a position where he couldn't keep everyone he wanted. I knew I would get a chance, whether it was here or somewhere else.
   "But I'm glad I'm here and so far we've been successful."
   None of the three rookies are sure how long they will wear the IceRays' colors. Robertson's out until at least Nov. 19. MacEachern is day-to-day.
   "Whatever happens, no one can take away my first professional goal," Currie said. "It's something I'll never forget."



Staff writer Mark Button can be reached at 886-3513 or by e-mail at buttonm@caller.com

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