KEEN EYE FOR TALENT SPOTTED ‘LATE-BLOOMING’ ALFREDSSON
As the No. 11 is retired to the rafters Thursday night at the Canadian Tire Centre and never to be worn again, somewhere up there in the heavens, the late John Ferguson Sr. will be tipping his cap to a great career.
Without his keen eye for talent and perseverance, none of this would have been possible.
Before the puck is dropped for the Senators’ game against the Detroit Red Wings in a rare 8 p.m. start, former Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson will become the first player in the modern-day history of the team to have his number retired. It will be an emotional ceremony for a man who suited up for 1,178 games with the Senators.
Not only was the 44-year-old Alfredsson a great player who recorded 1,157 points (444 goals, 713 assists) in 1,246 career games with Ottawa and the Wings, the Senators’ senior adviser of hockey operations established himself as a community leader off the ice as a voice for mental health awareness.
A lot of this happened because Ferguson Sr., then the Senators’ director of player personnel, insisted the club take a chance with its sixth-round pick (No. 133 overall) at the 1994 NHL entry draft in Hartford. The Senators had already selected Radek Bonk and Stan Neckar, so there was an argument at the table about taking another European.
Ferguson Sr., who always had a strong voice, wasn’t going to be denied and convinced then-GM Randy Sexton to give the green light.
“It’s one of those guys that he had the most pride in participating in that selection and he had many really high-end picks over the years,” John Ferguson Jr., the Boston Bruins’ executive director of player personnel, said in an interview with Postmedia from Toronto.
“Alfredsson was such a highend player. To get a guy like that so late is just such a huge bonus to putting a team together and building a club. When guys turn out to that level, for that long, from where he gets picked ... Let’s put it this way: Those are the types of picks that make a lot of people smart.”
At the time, Alfredsson, 21, was a forward with Vastra Frolunda HC and wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen. Ferguson Sr. was tipped off by one of the club’s part-time scouts overseas — Lasse Lilja — that he needed to get to Gothenburg to see this guy.
Ferguson Sr. loved what he saw in Alfredsson. Not only did he have strong skills that were suitable for the NHL, he was willing to play a hard-nosed style to go get the puck in difficult situations. Ferguson Sr. liked Alfredsson so much, he went to scout him twice just to be certain.
“People in Sweden noticed he was the late-blooming type and he was a little bit under the radar but, obviously, he was significantly under the radar,” Ferguson Jr. noted.
No kidding, but those are the types of players that scouts find if they’re willing to beat the bushes and Ferguson Sr. was never the type to back away from doing the hard work if it was going to pay off. This is the man who selected the likes of Thomas Steen, Dale Hawerchuk and Teemu Selanne.
“He felt comfortable doing it because he had a record of success doing it,” said Ferguson Jr. “He was comfortable enough knowing how good some of the guys (were) over there, not just in Sweden — Finland, Russia, the Czech as well — and just how good they could be as international world-class players.
“He had the level of confidence to say, ‘We’re going to take this guy and we’re going to take him ahead of these other guys and this is going to work.’ The proof is in the pudding in his success with others — not just Europeans but others in the draft as well.”
The reason Alfredsson was such a great player was his ability to step up with big goals at crucial times. His 400th career goal on Dec. 30, 2011 vs. the Calgary Flames was an OT winner. It was no coincidence he scored the OT winner in 2007 in Game 5 vs. Buffalo to send Ottawa to the Stanley Cup final.
“(Ferguson Sr.) was talking about Alfredsson long before people had any idea how good Alfredsson was and even internally. People had no idea how good the guy was going to be when he got over here,” Ferguson Jr. said.
“Alfredsson wasn’t overly big and he wasn’t a dynamic skater but his hands were so quick and he had exceptional hockey sense on the ice. He grew in prominence back in Sweden before anybody knew how good he was. He was just a little bit behind ... the traditional way guys got drafted.
“Those guys were on the national team radar earlier and he was just a little bit behind that. Ultimately, I don’t think people knew about his desire to succeed or his competitive level.”
While Ferguson Sr. was in the late stages of his battle with cancer in 2007, his voice came on the line from his Windsor home with one final request to a reporter.
“Do me a favour,” said Ferguson Sr. while watching the entry draft on TV. “Don’t ever let people forget I got (the Senators) Daniel Alfredsson.”
On the night No. 11 is hoisted to the rafters, everyone in the house will remember Alfredsson’s 17 great years with the club.
And, you can bet John Ferguson Sr. will be wearing a smile.