Tributes to former Flames enforcer Lakovic
Theo Fleury still remembers his first glimpse of Sasha Lakovic.
Then captain of the Calgary Flames, Fleury had just returned from the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, missing the annual trainingcamp introductions while skating on the international stage.
Lakovic was auditioning for a job as a physical forward and tough guy at the Saddledome.
“My first day back at the rink, I was walking towards the ice surface and there was Sasha,” Fleury recalled. “He was bald and he looked kind of crazy and he had a bunch of tattoos. And I said to the trainer, ‘Is the WWF in town tonight?’
“That’s how I met Sasha. But I had lots of great times with him.”
The hockey world is mourning the loss of Lakovic, a former NHL enforcer and father of four who died last week in his hometown of Vancouver after a battle with brain cancer. He was 45.
A memorial service is scheduled for Wednesday in Kelowna.
Lakovic only suited up 19 games for the Flames, all during the 199697 campaign, but that was plenty of time for ‘Bull Dog’ or ‘Sasha the Masha’ to emerge as a fan favourite at the Saddledome.
He is best remembered in Calgary for rushing to the defence of assistant coach Guy Lapointe after a fan in Edmonton dumped a beer over his head in a Nov. 23, 1996, instalment of the Battle of Alberta.
The imposing winger was seated on the bench when Lapointe was showered with suds, scrambling to scale the glass as several Flames restrained him by grabbing hold of his dangling legs.
“Everybody always talks about that game in Edmonton when he jumped into the stands, and that sort of epitomized the guy that Sasha was,” Fleury said. “He was a great teammate and would do anything for anybody. He would give you the shirt off his back. Once you were his friend, he was real loyal.
“When you play with a lot of tough guys in your career, they all are sort of unique guys, but the one thing they all have in common is they’re just sort of gentle teddybears. But when it comes time to protect their teammates, there is no question that they’re always there and they always have your back, and Sasha was definitely one of those guys.”
Added Pierre Page, Calgary’s head coach in 1996-97: “He was one of those guys, I remember, who was happy to do anything for anybody. Everybody loved him.”
A week after that infamous melee in Edmonton, Lakovic collected his first NHL point, providing a setup on Corey Millen’s marker against the Phoenix Coyotes.
In those 19 contests for the Flames, he posted one assist, six scraps and 54 penalty minutes.
It’s sad that he’s no longer with us. He’s way too young, and I know that he has a young family.
Lakovic would finish his bigleague career with the New Jersey Devils, totalling four helpers and 119 PIMs in 37 appearances at hockey’s highest level.
His lengthy playing resume also included stints in the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League, the East Coast Hockey League, the West Coast Hockey League, the Colonial Hockey League and the Central Hockey League.
Fleury and Lakovic were reunited in 2005 with the senior-level Horse Lake Thunder.
“Probably what people don’t realize is he had a lot of skill,” Fleury said. “Sometimes, you get put in a role that doesn’t really showcase those skills that he did have. But watching him in practice, he had lots of skill. He worked hard. He was in incredible shape.
“It’s sad that he’s no longer with us. He’s way too young, and I know that he has a young family. I feel for his kids and his wife and his family.”