Sunday, February 18, 2007
He's Been Everywhere, Man...He's Been Everywhere...
While it appears Jeremy Stevenson's NHL career might be over, it looks like hockey is still taking him places. All of us Jeremy Stevenson fans sighed when he signed with the Amarillo Gorillas of the WHL, but then we lost track of him. He was signed to some team in Canada in the NLAH or something, but back in January, he crossed the pond to Europe. Here is the article from the Copenhagen Post:
The Rødovre Mighty Bulls ice-hockey club signed former NHL winger Jeremy Stevenson to help take them to the Danish league championship
Jeremy Stevenson is not a goon. The Rødovre Bulls new forward wants to make that perfectly clear. He’s big, he’s strong and he’s duked it out with some of the biggest enforcers in the world’s best hockey league, the NHL. But that doesn’t mean he’s looking for a fight.
The Bulls’ signings of Stevenson and fellow Canadian Luke Sellars to short-term contracts has led to complaints from many of the league’s players and coaches, who believe that their physical style of play is having a negative impact on Danish hockey.
But while the 32 year-old Stevenson - who has formerly played with the NHL’s Minnestoa Wild, Nashville Predators and Anaheim Mighty Ducks - is used to a more physical version of ice hockey, he says that there is nothing dirty or illegal about his game. In fact, Stevenson has five points in only four games for the Bulls - along with 31 penalty minutes.
‘I used to be sort of the mucker and grinder when I was in the NHL,’ laughs Stevenson.
‘But I could also score goals, especially when I was in the minors. I had some good periods with Minnesota, too, where I was on the power play line and averaged about 17 minutes a game, which is quite a bit for an NHL player.’
Stevenson said the short-term contract in Denmark provided him a good opportunity to earn some quick money in a country he describes as a nice place to spend some time with his family.
‘I’ve been all over the map this year. I was offered a chance to come to Europe before, but the conditions weren’t right, and I’m not the type to want to live away from my family for a long period,’ said Stevenson.
‘Then the Bulls offer came up and it was the perfect scenario for the situation I wanted to be in. I’m here alone for four weeks, then my wife and two kids come over for at least another three, and then there’s the playoffs. So I can just play the game, make some money and I can head home again.’
Adjusting to the style of play in Denmark has been a problem for both Stevenson and Sellars, who believe they have been penalised an inordinate number of times. They claim there is disparate treatment from the league’s referees against the bigger, more physical players from abroad.
In Stevenson’s case, his reputation precedes him, as he has compiled 451 penalty minutes in 207 NHL games.
Stevenson received a one-game suspension last week after exchanging a few pushes and words with a couple of Esbjerg players, a scuffle that mostly took place on the outskirts of another brawl between two other players.
‘I don’t want to be too critical, but I touch one guy and they think, oh, this big Canadian guy, we’d better call a penalty.’
Sellars agreed with Stevenson’s assessment.
‘It’s ridiculous. It’s like they’re trying to make an example of us or something. For Jeremy to get a game suspension for what he did in the Esbjerg game, it’s pretty unfair.’
Rødovre’s general manager, Billy Adamson, defended his signing of Stevenson in an article in daily newspaper Politiken.
‘We’re talking about a guy who played 55 NHL games last season. Do you really think that describes someone who lacks ability, who can’t play ice hockey?’
Despite the animosity from referees and opposing hockey clubs, Stevenson likes what he has seen of Denmark so far, saying Copenhagen is a ‘great city’. His impression of Danes is that they are ‘friendly people’ who have made him feel ‘welcome and comfortable’ since arriving.
As far as Danish hockey goes, he believes that it can have a promising future, but the players and coaches need to concentrate more on the intangibles of the game.
‘Danish players generally have a pretty good skill level - they can skate like the wind, they can pass and shoot, but I think they’re lacking an overall understanding of the game - things like when to go after the puck, when to stay put, what side of the body to take on an opposing player, things like that. It’s probably more of a coaching issue than anything else.’
Stevenson and Sellars are two of a growing number of foreign players making up the Danish league rosters. In addition to the Canadians, Danish players find themselves facing off against Swedes, Finns, Czechs and Americans.
Stevenson said he hopes that the Mighty Bulls can make a strong run for the rest of the season and win the championship. After that, he doesn’t know what he’ll do.
‘Of course I’d play in the NHL again if someone wanted to sign me. But I’m not willing to do any more long stints in the minor leagues with 10-hour bus trips. I’m not 21 anymore, so I wouldn’t agree to anything unless I knew there’d be a good chance to be called up and get playing time.’
When it comes to life after hockey, Stevensen is calmly philosophical.
‘I’m proud of the 14 years I played. I mean, not a lot of guys can say that they’ve played in the NHL and it’s something that means a lot to me - something I can tell my kids about,’ he said.
‘Otherwise I’ll probably hang up my skates and become a fireman, hopefully give my family some stability and keep my kids in one city for once. But like I said, if another NHL assignment came up, I’d certainly have to consider it.’
While I won't be making the trek to the rinks of Denmark to see you, I wish you all the best and hope to hear from you at some point. I will try to keep up with the goings on of the league.
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