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Thursday, September 30, 1999
Stuart enters school of hard knocks
"It's a helluva thing for Stewie," said Sharks coach Darryl Sutter yesterday, in announcing that the ex-Calgary Hitmen star had survived a four-man race for one open defence job in San Jose. "But as happy as I am for him, I'm unhappy for those other kids.
"Stewie's tremendously gifted, only 20 years old and can play both sides. But I told him he's damn lucky, too. He'd better learn by watching and listening."
Stuart started camp strong, then ebbed. There had been conjecture that rather than keep Stuart and play him only sporadically, the Sharks might be better served shipping him to Kentucky of the AHL, where he'd receive all the ice time he could handle.
There was concern that while he might be able to think with men, he wasn't strong enough yet to physically keep up.
In the end, though, Stuart's innate natural ability -- he paired with Gary Suter on the point on the powerplay for much of the pre-season -- won out. He received the rookie salary max of $975,000 US per season and, according to sources in San Jose, a personal incentives package almost identical to that given the Sedin twins in Vancouver that has a potential of driving that up an additional $2 million a year.
He bested fellow rookies Scott Hannan, Scott Heins and Andy Sutton in a tight race for the sixth spot on the blueline. Suter, Mike Rathje, Jeff Norton, Marcus Ragnarsson and Bryan Marchment occupy the top five positions.
It appears veteran Bob Rouse will be swinging in and out of the lineup, depending on how Stuart responds.
"Excited? Relieved? Both those things," said Stuart, his Memorial Cup experience in the springtime cut cruelly short by an elbow from Lance Galbraith of the Ottawa 67s.
"The four of us knew there was one spot from the start of camp. I guess that makes for more pressure, but that's a good thing. You can use that to push yourself.
"I'm here right now but I don't think I have anything 'made.' Darryl made it very clear that I'd better not be complacent."
On a Darryl Sutter team, self-satisfaction would be one whopping mistake.
When asked if he intended to ease his talented freshman into the NHL wars, Sutter replied: "You can't do that with defencemen. It's impossible."
So expect Stuart to be thrown onto the front lines Saturday when the Flames visit the Silicon Valley for the season opener.
The elation of opening the season in teal makes up some for the sting of having to sit helplessly by, the cobwebs not yet cleared from the Galbraith elbow, as the Hitmen fell in the Memorial Cup finale.
"It was tough at the time," admitted Stuart. "I had all summer to think about it. But, who knows, if I'd played in that last game, I might've missed this chance. If I'd been hit in the head then, I might have been seriously injured. There was that possibility.
"It was difficult. It was disappointing. But it wasn't the end of the world. It wasn't the end of my career."
No, and as of yesterday, that career can officially be considered under way.
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