THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 1995 TAG: 9503080613
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LANDOVER, MD. LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
It is at least a modest claim to fame. Of the 12 former Hampton Roads Admirals to reach the NHL, Olaf Kolzig is the only one to establish even a tenuous big-league presence.
But there he is, the Washington Capitals' backup goaltender, the only ex-Admiral currently in the NHL. Young, talented, well-spoken, handsome in a Harry Connick Jr. pompadoured sort of way, Kolzig, at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, cuts a dashing profile.
Unfortunately, Kolzig of late has dashed only for the Caps' bench and taken a seat for three hours.
There he has watched 20-year-old Jim Carey, wearing a mask different from that of sssssmokin' movie sensation Jim Carrey, sizzle onto the scene.
Carey was 4-0 in four starts since his recall from the American Hockey League last Wednesday, yielding a total of six goals to the New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.
The streak has helped the Capitals surface from a 3-10-5 start that, to Kolzig's rotten luck, was due not so much to poor goaltending as to meager offense.
Kolzig started the first five games following the trade of veteran Don Beaupre to Ottawa two days before the season began. That was taken as an affirmation of goalies Rick Tabaracci, 26, Kolzig, 24, and Byron Dafoe, 24, another ex-Admiral who now is in the minors.
When Tabaracci broke a finger in the preseason, Kolzig took over and, despite respectable performances, was dragged down by the Capitals' goal-scoring doldrums and 1-3-1 stumble from the gate. The victory was a 5-2 decision over the Islanders that gave Kolzig, a career 0-7-1 going into that game, his first and so far only NHL triumph.
He has played in five more games and compiled a 2.42 goals-against average - second-best among NHL rookies who have played as much - but Kolzig is still 1-6-2 for the season, 1-11-2 overall.
And so he has been swept aside as Carey, a University of Wisconsin Badger last season, has captured the Capitals' imagination.
``That's hockey,'' Kolzig said with a smile and shrug after Carey's 4-2 victory over the Rangers on Sunday at the USAir Arena. ``It's a spot you really don't want to be in as a goaltender. At the same time, we needed a spark and it seemed like this is it - bring up a young guy from the minors and rally around him.
``Yeah, it's frustrating as a goaltender, but at the same time, the team's starting to win now. And the more the team wins, the longer the players stay around. They don't have a tendency to get rid of the guys that start winning. I'm just going to be patient and wait for my next chance to get into the net, play as well as I have been and, hopefully, start winning.''
Drafted No. 1 by the Capitals in 1989, Kolzig obviously is familiar enough with winning. In 35 games with the Admirals from 1990 to 1992, when he split time between Hampton Roads and Baltimore in the AHL, Kolzig ran up a 22-12-1 mark and helped the Admirals win East Coast Hockey League titles both seasons.
Since then, he has led Rochester and then Portland into the AHL postseason, and last year was the most valuable player in the playoffs as Portland won the championship.
But for a dislocated kneecap in the Capitals' fifth game last season, Kolzig might not have graced Portland. However, the injury sidelined him six weeks and earned him a return ticket to the minors when he was ready to play again.
This time Kolzig is in the NHL to stay - he hopes.
Most teams carry two goaltenders. The Caps have three, so Kolzig might just be holding on. But he has yet to be scratched for a game - a promising sign, he noted.
``I'm just trying to stay on the bench, not stay in the stands,'' said Kolzig, born of German parents in Johannesburg, South Africa, but raised mostly in Canada. ``Jimmy (Carey) right now is going to push me and Tabby (Tabaracci) to become better goaltenders. Maybe we'll have to find something deep down to win when we're in net. That's a good thing to have, but I really don't see them having three goalies the rest of the year.''
For his part, Carey said Kolzig's warmth has helped ease a potentially disruptive situation.
``I met Olie in training camp, but I feel like I've known him for a couple years,'' Carey said. ``He's just real personable, he makes you feel right at home. I can't say enough about the guy.
``He's one of the guys that you can talk to. It's something that shows he has a lot of character. I have a lot of respect for someone like that.''
Kolzig accepts the compliment, looks ahead, tries to ``stay positive,'' and vows to ``keep working'' through his disappointment.
``Obviously you take it personally,'' Kolzig said. ``You look at my numbers and everything, and the one thing that stands out is 1-6. Even though I played well, 1-6 is depressing.
``I thought I was playing well enough to win games, but (coach Jim Schoenfeld) said, `Hey, we need a spark.' That looks great now, he made the right move. That's why he gets paid the big bucks.''
Kolzig smiled again, then rose to head home to his two-bedroom apartment in nearby Crofton, Md. Maybe things could be better. For now, Kolzig's is still a big-league life. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS color photo
Olaf Kolzig is 1-6-2 in the Capitals' net due largely to a lack of
support. And a rookie's emergence has left him the odd man out. But
he vows to ``stay positive.''
by CNB