Daily Clips 7/22/11 Guerin Thoroughly Enjoying New Role By Michelle Crechiolo Bill Guerin has won two Stanley Cups, is a three-time Olympian and scored 829 points (429G- 427A) in 1,263 games in the National Hockey League. Meeting a man who s had such an illustrious career is an intimidating premise for some of the young prospects that Guerin is working with as the Penguins player development coach, a role he officially undertook in June. In fact, some players even called him Mr. Guerin at last week s prospect development camp. But as most Penguins fans would expect, Guerin straightened them out quickly. I put an end to that right away, Guerin laughed. You can call me Bill, Billy G. or Billy, whatever. One of the three, but not Mr. Guerin. While Guerin, 40, has an impressive hockey resume, he s one of the most down-to-earth, affable human beings you could hope to meet which is invaluable when it comes to building relationships with these young players and helping them grow. You have that high-profile guy that is so approachable, said Tom Fitzgerald, Penguins assistant to the general manager. That makes him the special person that he is. When Guerin came to the Penguins as a player at the trade deadline in 2009, the quick-witted forward may have been known for being a prankster in the locker room, but he also quietly undertook the role of mentor for some of his youthful teammates and thoroughly enjoyed it. That s part of the reason why he loves his current role so much. This is just what I enjoy, he said. Even as an older player, I liked trying to mentor some of the younger guys and trying to help those guys along. This is along the same lines just without being in the locker room with them. I just try to help these guys become good Pittsburgh Penguins and make it to the next level.
Guerin knows from experience that hockey is a business and that since these young men have chosen it as their careers, they must take it seriously in order to achieve their goals. But he also knows that in order to have lasting success, you must love what you do. The fact that Guerin so clearly enjoys what he does is something that has resonated with the prospects. It s great having him around the rink, said Beau Bennett, the Penguins first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2010 Entry Draft. One thing you notice from him is that he enjoys being around the guys, being around the rink. He really has fun with it. That s what I try to bring to the rink every day. A guy like that, you just want to take everything he says with you next year and really pay attention to him. Guerin may have played in the NHL for 18 years, but he s the first to admit he still has much to learn about the other side of the hockey business. But with the positivity and passion Guerin brings to everything he does, he s doing just fine so far. I m learning a lot, Guerin said. I m learning something every day. It s different on this side. There s a lot more that goes into it than you would think, than a player thinks. It s a lot of fun right now and it s a good group to work with. Madore's Local Ties Just An Added Bonus By Michelle Crechiolo Vermont senior goaltender Rob Madore grew up following the Penguins as a Peters Township resident. Needless to say, being extended a free-agent invite to Pittsburgh s prospect development camp last week was a surreal experience for the 23-year-old. So what was Madore s pinch me moment of the week?
No, it wasn t the fact that he was using Marc-Andre Fleury's locker room stall, who is his favorite athlete. It had more to do with the designated locker room duty given to Brent Johnson. I guess when I got to run the music in the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room and I got made fun of for my tastes, Madore joked, adding that playing pop star Britney Spears to a roomful of young men is probably a no-go. Madore started playing the sport when his dad Rob Sr., who grew up in State College and was always a football guy, decided to give hockey a try. He always needed someone to shoot on, and I think hitting my mom with hockey pucks would probably be bad for their relationship, Madore said with a smile. So instead, the duties fell to me. I was outfitted in the finest cereal boxes and pillow leg pads around. Madore eventually ditched his makeshift equipment for some authentic gear, playing for the SHAHA Panthers, the Pittsburgh Predators, the Pittsburgh Hornets and Peters Township High School (where he won two Penguins Cup championships at Mellon Arena). He then left to play juniors in Chicago before suiting up for Vermont the same school that produced Bruins goalie and 2011 Conn Smythe winner Tim Thomas. Now I m here and I get the opportunity to put on a Pens jersey, Madore said, who idolized Penguins goalies like Tom Barrasso and Frank Pietranglo as a youngster. It s not from a store this is actually the real deal. It s been absolutely a blast and just a lot of fun. But in all honesty, Madore s local ties were just an added bonus in terms of earning an invite to development camp, as the Penguins have been monitoring the netminder for some time. They said they had been watching for a couple of years, Madore said. They wanted to get me into town, meet the guys and get a feel for the organization. It s been a great experience so far. I m really fortunate they thought of me. I m very honored. Madore started his college career off with a bang, as he backstopped the Catamounts to the Frozen Four where they fell to eventual champion Boston University as a freshman in 2009. As a sophomore, he led Vermont to a second-straight NCAA tournament appearance as they advanced to the West Regional semifinals.
Last season, Madore shouldered a heavy workload as he played in all 36 games finishing the season with a 2.98 goals against average and a.907 save percentage and earned the team s John C. Cunningham Most Valuable Player Award for his efforts. I ve grown a lot, Madore said. As you get older especially as a goalie, the thing that improves the most is your mental game. I ve learned to deal with adversity a little better, as well as how to deal with a disappointing season and how you can get over that and work hard the next summer looking forward to the following one. I ve seen a lot of different things, a lot of situations at Vermont and I think that s only made me a stronger player and person. And though Madore s on-ice talent is what initially caught the Penguins scouts attention, the friendly, likeable young goalie s enthusiasm is what really stood out to the Penguins staff during his time in Pittsburgh. He walks over with the staff members at 6:30, 7 o clock in the morning, said Penguins assistant to the general manager Tom Fitzgerald on the last day. He doesn t leave until 5, 5:30 p.m. He s really enjoying it. It shows a lot about his work ethic, his character, how much he appreciates the invite. He s going to do everything he can to take advantage of this opportunity. He s going to be a senior at Vermont and we look forward to watching him play. A Win-Win Situation By Michelle Crechiolo When a Penguins prospect got injured shortly before the team s 2011 prospect development camp, the staff had a hole to fill. They found the perfect replacement in Upper St. Clair native Andrew Blazek, a junior
defenseman at Robert Morris University. Blazek was a last-minute add because of an injury to one of our prospects, said Penguins assistant to the general manager Tom Fitzgerald on the last day of camp. We wanted to have X amount of defensemen and figured, let s dip into the local scene. He s come in and has been really impressive. He skates really well, shoots the puck. Blazek, who came up through the Pittsburgh amateur hockey system playing for the SHAHA Panthers, the Pittsburgh Junior Amateur Penguins and the Pittsburgh Hornets, was more than willing to step in and help out. I got a call a couple days before camp saying they had a few injuries, and I was happy to fill in, Blazek said. I m excited. I m happy to be here now. It s a great opportunity and I ve learned a lot this week from it. The camp proved to be extremely opportune for Blazek, as he made the transition to defense just a year-and-a-half ago. This is great for him in the summer, especially with the ability for him to get some high-level competition and learn a little bit more, said Colonials head coach Derek Schooley, who attended the open scrimmage on July 16 to see how Blazek stacked up. In Andrew s situation, he s only played defense for a year and a half. For him to have an actual week of tutelage in the summer from high-level coaching and playing against some good players is definitely going to help his development for our hockey team. Fitzgerald said that Blazek s play gave no indication of the recent switch. I was told he just moved to defense a couple years ago so that s even more impressive, Fitzgerald said. For Blazek, the opportunity to see firsthand how the Penguins operate has been quite the learning experience one that he ll take back to Robert Morris to help his own game and his teammates. It s awesome, he said. It s everything I expected it would be. It s just a high-class organization. Everything is the way it should be, on and off the ice. It s a lot that I m going to
bring back to my Robert Morris team. I kind of feel like we re going to be a better team because of what I learned here at this camp.