Galchenyuk working hard in Sarnia
HABS’ FIRST-ROUND PICk is out to prove he’s recovered from a knee injury and belongs with the big club
SARNIA, ONT. — The morning skate for the Sarnia Sting ended 20 minutes ago, but there are still four figures on the ice at the RBC Centre.
Defenceman Connor Murphy is at one end working with his father, former NHL defenceman Gord Murphy. The elder Murphy is an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers, but the NHL lockout has left him with some free time and he’s working with the Sting.
At the other end of the ice, the Galchenyuks, père et fils, go through a series of puckhandling drills. Alex Jr., the Canadiens’ first-round draft pick in June, seems to be imitating a Japanese chef as he rapidly swings his CCM RBZ stick from one side to another, chopping at the puck under the watchful eye of Alex Sr., an assistant coach with the Sting.
“Junior’s always the last person off the ice,” Mark Glavin, the team’s assistant general manager, says.
“I don’t think about being out there longer than anyone else,” Galchenyuk explains later. “I just feel there’s always something I can do a little better, something I can work on.”
That attitude is one of the reasons why the Canadiens selected Galchenyuk with the third overall pick at this year’s NHL draft. In fact, it’s the reason why Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens’ director of amateur scouting, would have selected Galchenyuk if he had the first overall pick.
“He was our guy all along,” Timmins said on draft day in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Galchenyuk may have been available at No. 4 because there was gaping hole in his résumé. He suffered a knee injury in an exhibition game in September 2011 and missed most of the 2011-12 Ontario Hockey League season. He returned for two regular-season games and six playoff games.
“That was important to show teams that the knee was good, but it was also important for me and my family,” Galchenyuk said. “It was difficult at first because I couldn’t do anything with my leg and then it was just a lot of hard work. Every week, I felt a little better and I was glad I was able to play.”
The Canadiens had a good look at Galchenyuk at the NHL combine in Toronto and then later at their pre-draft testing day in Montreal. Both sides came away happy from the Montreal combine. The Canadiens were convinced the knee was sound and Galchenyuk was blown away by the team’s training facility in Brossard.
“It had everything you could want,” he said. “I went back there for the development camp and it was great to spend three or four days and walk around the city and meet the other players.”
But Galchenyuk said he was surprised when the Canadiens called his name on draft day.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I went to the draft,” he said. “You hear a lot of rumours, but I was happy when the Canadiens picked me.”
The injury wasn’t the only question mark about Galchenyuk. He was born in Milwaukee, Wis., where his father — who is Belarusian — was playing in the International Hockey League. Galchenyuk spent time in Italy, Switzerland and Russia while growing up, and he was lumped into a group of Rus- sian players along with Sarnia teammate Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko.
NHL teams feared these players would bolt for the Kontinental Hockey League if there was a lockout or they didn’t catch on immediately in the NHL. Yakupov has returned to Russia, but Galchenyuk and Grigorenko are still in Canada.
“I knew (Yakupov) was not coming back,” Galchenyuk said. “He’s playing in his hometown and, if you live in Russia, you have a dream to play with a KHL team. For me, the NHL is the big picture where I saw myself since I was a little kid. You want to compete with the best players, you want to play for the best fans. It’s different from every other league.”
Galchenyuk, who re- turned to the U.S. at age 16 to play midget hockey in Chicago, describes himself as an American. He was one of the best players at the U.S. junior national camp this summer and will represent the U.S. at the upcoming world junior championship unless, of course, the NHL lockout ends and he earns a job in Montreal.
That’s a long-shot, but the lockout has actually improved Galchenyuk’s chances of making the jump to the NHL. The U.S. junior camp provided him with ice time and competition against top players from Sweden and Finland.
“I think the lockout is definitely good for me because I missed a lot of games,” he said. “I’m playing a lot of games here and getting a lot of ice time. I’m getting better and working on the things I need to improve.”
When asked what areas of his game need work, Galchenyuk replied: “There’s no specific thing. It’s getting better in everything and getting that game feeling back in your body. I missed a lot of time last year.”
Getting that game feeling back took some time this season, but Galchenyuk has been on a roll lately with 18 points in his last 11 games. He’s tied for sixth in the OHL scoring race with 21 points.
On this night against Windsor, he scores two goals, but it’s his third point — an assist — that highlights his greatest asset. A natural centre, he lines up on right wing and shows an ability to find the openmantimeandagain.He’s an unselfish player who uses his size — 6-feet-1, 200 pounds — to battle in the corners.
“He has all the tools, but he’s also a hard worker,” Sarnia coach Jacques Beaulieu said.
It remains to be seen how long it will be before Galchenyuk tests those skills in the NHL.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen if the lockout ends,” he says. “I heard on TSN that I’m on the list of junior players who can go to training camp, but right now I’m playing in Sarnia and I have to focus on here.”