THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040905
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
Blake Cullen speaks reverently of Shawn Wheeler, as if he were describing his own son.
``He is one of the finest young men I've ever met,'' says the president of the Hampton Roads Admirals.
``He's everything we like in a player. He gives 100 percent, a real team man.
``I think a lot of Shawn. He's a quality person, a real gentleman.''
Wheeler was a fiery and effective player for the Admirals last season. He scored 31 goals and had 43 assists in 47 games at forward. A large man at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds with a body sculpted by thousands of hours pumping iron, Wheeler was the first to come to the aid of his teammates.
One of a handful of blacks playing professional hockey, he has endured racist comments from fans, players and even coaches with grace.
Scope fans loved him last season in part because of his intensity on the ice, but also because of his quick smile and friendly comport off the ice. Wheeler spoke to dozens of groups, from children in schools and hospitals to sports clubs and community groups. He was the Admirals' No. 1 public relations asset.
But tonight he will be on the other side when the Admirals host Charlotte at Scope. Wheeler is a player/coach for the Checkers, who are making their first appearance this season in Norfolk.
It was apparent that his transformation from Admiral to Checker was complete three minutes into Hampton Roads' first game with Charlotte this season. Wheeler was ejected for being the third man into a fight Oct. 22 in Charlotte in the Checkers' 2-1 victory over Hampton Roads.
During the melee, he grabbed the Admirals' Martin Laitre from behind and began pummeling him. He had to be dragged off the ice by a linesman, but he continued gesturing and shouting at Latire and fellow Admiral Brian Goudie all the way to the locker room.
Charlotte coach John Marks said Wheeler was just trying to protect a teammate.
``He looked at the situation and saw his teammate outnumbered,'' Marks said.
Wheeler said says he harbors no hard feelings toward the Admirals. ``Something like that doesn't carry over to the next game,'' he said.
But he has no illusions about the reception he'll receive tonight at Scope.
Wheeler was reviled by Scope fans for three seasons when he played for Greensboro, the Admirals' archrival. Some fans in Norfolk shouted racial slurs at him.
Even though he was loved last season as an Admiral, it's doubtful there will be much appreciation for him tonight.
``Blake Cullen can only sell tickets,'' Wheeler said. ``He can't control what the fans say and do.
``I would hope the fans will receive me well. They treated me well last year. I'm the same person I was then.''
Wheeler says he didn't leave Norfolk on bad terms - he left to pursue a dream.
``I want to be a head coach,'' he said. ``I've wanted to for a long time.
``My dream is the same as everyone who plays hockey. I want to go to the National Hockey League, if not as a player, then as a coach.''
Coaching was not an option with the Admirals. Al MacIsaac is the Admirals' assistant coach, and ECHL rules limit teams to one assistant.
Wheeler acknowledges he wanted to stay in Norfolk, even though other clubs were trying to lure him away. He worked with the Admirals' front office through the spring and early summer, selling advertising and making speeches.
``Blake Cullen runs a great organization, one of the finest in hockey,'' Wheeler said.
``Anybody who's played there would be crazy to want to leave . . . I think the world of Blake Cullen.''
The feeling is mutual. Wheeler, who finished last season in Hershey, was told at season's end he needed shoulder surgery. When Hershey refused to pay for the surgery, Cullen volunteered to ante up, even though he knew there was little chance Wheeler would play again for the Admirals.
The bills for the surgery and rehabilitation came to more than $21,000.
``I felt it was my obligation,'' Cullen said. ``The injury was something he developed over the years. I'd seen the (medical) reports and they indicated he'd need surgery at some point.
``Without it he was finished. He sustained a portion of that injury here. I felt it was part of our obligation to make him whole again.''
Once the rehab was over, Wheeler landed as a player/coach in Columbus, where he would have played only once against the Admirals.
``I was delighted when he went to Columbus,'' Cullen said.
But Wheeler and Columbus couldn't agree on contract terms. When Charlotte called, Wheeler left for the Queen City.
Charlotte, the preseason pick to win the East Division title, plays Hampton Roads 11 times this season, including six games at Scope.
``I admire the Charlotte organization,'' Cullen said. ``He's in good hands.
``But I wish he wasn't playing for one of our division rivals. We play so many times.
``I first came to admire Shawn when he was playing for Greensboro. During the (1991) playoffs, we beat them in overtime after being three goals down.
``It was a very difficult loss for them, yet at the end of the game, Shawn was at center ice, lining up his teammates to shake our hands.
``It was a classy act from a classy man. We went him a telegram to that effect.''
Wheeler says he will have no problem forechecking his erstwhile teammates tonight.
``This is a business,'' he said. ``I had a lot of good times in Hampton Roads, but I'm with Charlotte now.
``You've got to pay the rent.''
But he says he's glad MacIsaac is no longer playing.
``Al and I are very close,'' he said. ``It would be tough playing against him.''
MacIsaac smiled when he heard Wheeler's comments.
``He's a nice man and an intelligent man, and yes, we're close,'' MacIsaac said.
``He and I had a lot of battles when we were playing, we did a lot of bumping and grinding around the net.
``You know, he's got a little road show. He likes to antagonize fans on the road. He'll do little things to upset them, like trip a player. I'm sure we'll see it at Scope.
``But the bottom line is that Friday he'll just be one of 18 Charlotte players. During the game, he's like anyone else in a Charlotte uniform.
``He's the enemy.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
FILE
Shawn Wheeler takes a bow after winning a player of the game award
with the Admirals last season.
by CNB