Famous Canadian artist Ken Danby created an oft-reproduced painting of a tall goalie leaning on his long hockey stick and resting his chin on his large glove. It was the typical pose of former Montreal Canadiens superstar Ken Dryden, the epitome of a thinking man's goalie.

A thinking man, indeed.

Outside of hockey, his meteoric career took him from Cornell University to a law degree from McGill University, from law practice to an appointment as the Youth Commissioner for then-Premier David Peterson's Ontario Liberal government, from president and alternate governor of the Maple Leafs to his current position as the Honourable Minister of Social Development on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

En route, Dryden collected six Stanley Cup rings, the glory of representing Team Canada against the Soviet Union in 1972, one Conn Smythe trophy, one Calder trophy, five first-team all-star berths and five Vezina trophies, all of which placed him among the game's superstar goaltenders.

In his spare time, Dryden has written four best-selling books, enlightened viewers as a television panelist, written many impressive articles typical of a deep thinker and was a key player in calming the heavy criticism levelled against Maple Leaf Gardens management at the time of the sexual abuse scandal at the rink.

PRIVATE LINE

A born thinker, a born social worker, a born politician.

Recently, I spoke to him on his private line, but not before his assistant, Jocelyn Daoust, challenged me with a "where did you get that phone number from?"

When I assured her that journalists have a way of finding out things, she mellowed a bit and said: "You know that phone sits on the minister's desk and when he's in a meeting, the phone disturbs him."

I accepted her reasoning and promised never to call that direct line again unless I had a serious reason.

On this particular occasion, I wanted to get Dryden's thoughts about the road that led him from the dressing room of the Montreal Forum to the board room of the Air Canada Centre and, eventually, to Parliament Hill.

"As a player I felt best in the dressing room," was the Hall of Famer's opening gambit. "I felt really good getting ready for the game. I loved the atmosphere that was at times noisy, at other times very quiet. That's when you feel the real test of nerves and anxiety. You realize that you are in a special room with special men who knew what was expected of them and what they have to do.

"These feelings change depending on whether you are on a hot streak or struggling. Then come the key moments just before you head out of the dressing room and when you are about to step on the ice."

Surely, even a deep thinker such as Dryden must have a different feeling on certain occasions before stepping on to the Zamboni-cleared ice surface.

I'm sure Dryden didn't have his goalie stick to lean on when I asked the question, but his voice gave him away.

"A feeling that was always special was during the 1972 Super Series," he said. "You don't plan these things. You get a certain feeling that comes as a bit of a surprise -- most of the time."

How did Dryden feel when moving from the hallowed shrine of the Montreal Forum to the hated rivals, the Maple Leafs?

"It was an interesting series of events," Dryden said. "I had my first conversation with Brian Bellmore (former Leaf executive vice-president and legal counsel). After that, I had two conversations with Larry Tanenbaum (now chairman of the Leafs who succeeded Steve Stavro). You think it is the right move to make, but you are not certain. But you do it, anyway, even though you don't know what to expect.

"I liked my days with the Maple Leafs. I enjoyed a lot of things, most of all the playoffs. At times, I was very proud of this team. The way the team played in spite of many injuries. But that's when you have to find the answer to replace the injured players.

"The game I remember in particular was at home in Game 5 against the Ottawa Senators when (Daniel) Alfredsson hit (Darcy) Tucker with the score and series tied 2-2. Alfredsson then scored on the same play and we lost to fall behind three games to two heading to Ottawa. We won that sixth game in Ottawa and then the seventh back home. It wasn't easy stuff.

"We had to do it and the team did it."

It was the triumph of Toronto's courage, determination and dedication, all things a politician should be equipped with. Ken Dryden is such a politician. Indeed, the work of a politician isn't strange to him.

"I didn't feel strange entering politics," said the rookie minister, who could easily win the Parliament Hill Calder Trophy, if such a thing exists. "I did a lot of public work before. Now I can do something for Canadian children and youth as well as for seniors and people with disabilities. You have to have passion for these things and I do have that."

Being inquisitive, I wanted to know how his involvement in politics started.

"The consultations began in early January," Dryden said. "I knew I was going to leave the Leafs. It was time to leave. The next question was: 'What will I do?' For a moment I thought I'd get involved in business. Then I had a long meeting with Paul Martin after which I met with the prime minister's advisers.

"I told them I could do certain things on the outside as well as on the inside, but they figured I'd do it better inside. Eventually, I realized that I had to bring it to a close. I assumed they could be right.

"That's when I decided to do a memo on the topic. I started writing about how I would like to do certain things. Twenty-five pages later, I realized that it could work for me on the inside. When I asked the PM's emissary, he responded that it could. So I decided to give that type of life a try."

The inquisitive newsman still wanted to know more.

Like, what it felt like the first day?

"My first experience was my swearing in at Rideau Hall," Dryden said. "It was very moving in the Governor General's residence, with her and the prime minister present and my family around.

"Then, the first day in parliament was impressive because the room itself is impressive. But it's not so much the decor, but more what the room represents. Suddenly, you realize you are a Member of Parliament. You are there with all the others. You are in the House. It is a place I had only seen on television before. I was both excited and nervous on that tumultuous first day. It was a day full of energy, frenzy. I was truly stunned.

"Those were swirling days. You dealt with child care. You talked to groups, you travelled. You dealt with seniors, people with disabilities and you were in the process of creating national child care."

I asked, still dissatisfied, if anything surprised Dryden on that first day on the Hill.

"Yes, the very first day when I walked into my office I saw a beautiful orchid on the table," he said.

"I asked Jocelyn who it was from. She replied that there was a card attached to it. It read: 'Good luck.' And it was signed by Steve Stavro.''

I was going to ask Dryden if the card on his door read: "The Thinker."

But national issues beckoned him away.