Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 26, 1995 TAG: 9511280003
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Dave Stewart could be sitting in Indianapolis right now, a playing member of the prestigious International Hockey League, accepting big paychecks mostly for sitting on the bench while his Indianapolis Ice teammates play hockey.
It could have been an easy way to make a living. Play a few shifts per game. Rake in the dough. Get scratched from the lineup every other game and sit in the stands yawning while your fellow defensemen do the dirty work.
Who would turn down a cake job like that? Only a guy who truly knows the value and honor of working for a living.
Stewart, the Roanoke Express' captain, grew up in working-class family in the working-class town of Norwood, Ontario, population 1,300.
When faced with the prospect of being the sixth or seventh defenseman on the Indianapolis roster, Stewart gave back his contract to the Ice. Stewart won't admit it, but close friends say the contract was returned in pieces.
``I had a good training camp in Indy,'' Stewart said. ``I played well, and I believe the organization was happy with me. There was going to be at least five guys coming back from Chicago [Blackhawks of the NHL], so I wasn't prepared to be the sixth or seventh defenseman in that league. I did that in Phoenix [of the IHL in 1993-94].''
So, it was back to Roanoke and the East Coast Hockey League, where his paycheck would be roughly half of his estimated $35,000 IHL salary.
Before he asked Express coach Frank Anzalone for the chance to come back, he returned home to Norwood and worked at his family's Dodge dealership for five days. He seriously considered staying home for good and becoming a partner in the business his great grandfather started nearly 70 years ago by selling Ford Model-A's. His grandpa Jack began selling Dodge DeSotos a couple decades later.
All the other menfolk in his family had exchanged their hockey jerseys for the yoke of running the business. Stewart, who began working when he was old enough to sweep the floors of the showroom and has worked in the service department, body shop and in sales, thought perhaps it was his time to skate into the automobile business.
``I was prepared to stay at home,'' he said. The dealership ``has been my life. Always will be. I've done everything there that's to be done.''
But he decided to give hockey one more shot. Once Anzalone realized Stewart wasn't leaving the IHL just to skate through the motions in the ECHL, the coach welcomed back his captain.
Even though Stewart got off to a slow start this season, he has come around lately and played well, scoring goals in three of his past four games.
If it's possible for a hockey player to have dirt under his fingernails and grease up to his elbows, it is Stewart. He works hard and plays hard. He has a hard shot, and he's willing to sprawl on the ice and take a puck for a goalie the same way a secret-service agent is taught to take a bullet for a head of state.
That's the way he was brought up. Minor-league hockey - a physically-taxing profession that requires its workers to perform well despite long road trips on buses, tiring practices, back-to-back games and fast-food dinners - is almost like a life of luxury.
Stewart's dad, John, and grandfather were good players whose careers were truncated by the ``real world'' of selling automobiles. Stewart's brother, Mark, also was a fine player who turned to the family trade.
Stewart knows his family's hard work has allowed him to squeeze in another year of pro hockey.
``I've often told them I appreciate what they've done for me,'' Stewart said. ``I've been able to have fun with life before going into the real world.''
After wearing No.4 last season, Stewart switched to No.2 in a respectful gesture to his dad and grandfather, both of whom wore the number when they played hockey. His brother and a cousin also have worn the number.
Express wing Chris Potter, who wore No.2 last season, gladly gave the number to Stewart.
``It seems like I do a lot of things because of my family,'' said Stewart, who drives a Dodge Stealth that he purchased from the family dealership.
Before he considers taking over one family business, Stewart wants to make sure he excels at the other family business of playing hockey, whether in the IHL, ECHL or back home in the adult leagues where his dad once played.
``They've done a lot for me, so I've got to do a lot for them,'' he said. ``I owe them that much.''
by CNB