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 Sunday, February 20
Well-traveled Skalde still hopes for NHL
 
By Bill Ballou
Special to ESPN.com

 Jarrod Skalde views his hockey résumé, which includes stops at 15 different pro cities in 10 seasons, in a positive light. It means somebody always wants him.

"That's the story I'm sticking to, anyway," says the productive centerman for the IHL's Utah Grizzlies.

As Washington's Birthday approached, Skalde was among four players jockeying for the IHL's scoring lead with his usual point-a-game pace. He had 56 after 54 games. But it's an unusual position for Skalde to be in. Not because he can't score, but because he is usually not in one league long enough to qualify for anything except frequent flier miles.

"If you'd have told me nine years ago that I'd be on my 15th team, I'd have said no way. When you break in, you always figure you'll spend your whole career in one place."

Skalde broke into pro hockey with the Devils organization. New Jersey was his first NHL team. He is still with an NHL organization, this time the San Jose Sharks. They own his contract through the end of this season with a club option for next year. And, like virtually everyone in the minors, Skalde is looking very intently at next year and the 46 or so new jobs NHL expansion will bring.

"This is such a big year," he said. "For guys that really want to make it, this is their opportunity to step up if they are ever going to play in the NHL." And while Skalde enjoys Utah and the IHL, at 29 he has not given up on getting back in the big leagues.

"Absolutely not," he said. "In fact, I'm disappointed now that it's already February, and I don't have an NHL game this year."

Skalde has played in 95 NHL games, going 12-19-31 in them. His best minor league seasons were '94-95 when he was 34-41-75 with Las Vegas (IHL) and in '96-97, when he went 32-36-68 at Saint John (AHL).

The 15 different teams Skalde has been with are in three leagues. In the NHL, he has played for the Devils, Mighty Ducks, Flames, Sharks, Stars and Blackhawks; IHL teams include Cincinnati, San Diego, Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Utah; in the AHL Skalde has skated for Utica, Baltimore, Saint John and Kentucky. In '97-98, Skalde played for five teams in three leagues, including San Jose, Dallas and Chicago in the NHL.

Lack of size and defensive shortcomings hurt him early in his career. Skalde has gotten stronger, and plays better at both ends now. He's been on waivers a lot but doesn't often get through. It's nice to be wanted, even if it means being wanted 15 different times.

Notes from the AHL
  • Rochester lost veteran Randy Cunneyworth to a torn ACL last week. The 39-year-old veteran's career is probably over. The Americans have had Cunneyworth, Scott Nichol and Dane Jackson go down for the year with ACL injuries and have lost Craig Fisher for the season with a severe concussion. Oh, and broadcaster Don Stevens, a 30-year-veteran, missed two games with laryngitis last week, marking the first time he was out of action in his pro career. Rochester reacted to all this bad news by putting together a four-game winning streak.

  • Figure this out, if possible. Hamilton's Eric Heffler and St. John's Jimmy Waite are tied for the league lead in shutouts with five each. Heffler's record is 10-18-7 and Waite's Maple Leafs have won only 13 games all season.

  • The Saint John Flames have employed nine different goaltenders this season. The Flames are 14-9-2 with Jean-Sebastien Giguere in goal, 8-19-5 otherwise.

  • Louisville suffered a major blow in its battle for the Mid-Atlantic Division lead when veteran defenseman Brent Thompson was suspended for seven games after an abuse-of-officials incident in a Feb. 12 game with Wilkes-Barre. The game featured 197 PIMs between the two teams. Thompson is second in the league with a plus-28 rating.

  • The top four teams in the Mid-Atlantic Division were within four points of each other as of Feb. 20. Kentucky was in first with 69 points, Hershey in fourth with 65. The Hershey-Philadelphia rivalry has become probably the best in the minors. The teams have played nine times this season. In five games at Hersheypark Arena, which seats 7,225 they are averaging 7,069. At the Spectrum in Philly, which seats 17,380, the teams have averaged 14,533 for four games.

    Notes from the IHL
  • Milwaukee got defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick from Worcester of the AHL in a big-league level swap that sent Dan Keczmer to Worcester. Fitzpatrick had not scored a goal in 28 games with Worcester, then got one at 1:57 of the first period in his first game with the Admirals.

  • With both Jimmy Roy and Eric Veilleux having scored their 10th goals of the season, Manitoba has nine players with double figures in goals scored.

  • Grand Rapids signed assistant coach Kelly Miller to a 25-game tryout and activated him. He briefly joined younger brother Kevin on the roster. Kelly debuted Feb. 15 and played one game with Kevin before the younger Miller was recalled to Ottawa. It was Kelly's first minor-league game after some 1,057 in the NHL. The brothers combined for a 1-4-5 game, a 4-3 win over Milwaukee, and both assisted on two third-period goals by Michel Picard, which looked like this in the boxcore: Picard (Kel. Miller, Kev. Miller).

  • Cleveland's Jock Callander tied Len Thornson's all-time IHL scoring record of 1,382 points with a goal against Chicago on Feb. 16.

    Bill Ballou covers professional hockey and baseball for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, MA.

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