THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240564
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
Life as a professional hockey player can be cruel. A few bad breaks and a promising career winds up crumpled along the boards.
Just ask Rob MacInnis.
Growing up in Nova Scotia with his older brother Al, Rob was considered the more talented player with the brighter future.
A decade later, Al is making millions with the St. Louis Blues in the NHL, where he has been named an all-star.
Rob, 29, is playing for the Hampton Roads Admirals, where like most ECHL players he's paid less than a living wage.
``Rob MacInnis has helped this hockey team,'' said coach John Brophy, whose Admirals open the playoffs tonight against Tallahassee at Scope. ``He's the best player I've ever seen handling the puck.
``Why he isn't playing in a higher league, I don't know. His brother is a superstar. Some times it's only a break here or there that makes the difference.''
MacInnis, it seems, has had more bad breaks than Evel Knievel.
When he was 20 and playing for a Moncton, Nova Scotia, junior team, he put up eye-popping numbers that earned a callup from the city's AHL franchise. He starred as a pro on weekends while playing for the junior team during the week.
Just before the Flames were to sign him to a long-term contract, he injured his knee.
He went to Acadia University, where he again starred for two years and attracted the attention of the Minnesota North Stars. They promised to pick him in the NHL's supplemental draft. But two weeks before the draft, it was discovered he was too old by a few days. Minnesota invited him to camp, but when he got there the North Stars had more players under contract than room on their roster.
From there he went to Cape Breton of the AHL, then Portland, where he hurt his shoulder, and Albany, which traded him to San Diego of the IHL. When San Diego didn't include him on its playoff roster he went home.
He was promised a tryout the following year by San Diego, and trained all summer. But just before camp was to open, he was told the roster was full.
So he retired from hockey at age 25 and returned to his hometown of Port Hood, Nova Scotia. His mother had cancer and entered the hospital the day he arrived.
``She never came home again,'' he said.
Rob moved in with his father, who helped operate the Port Hood community skating rink.
``It was his first time alone,'' MacInnis said. ``I stayed with my dad until Christmas. He was a working man and mom was the homekeeper. I taught him how to make some meals and turn the washing machine on.''
Family is important to MacInnis, even though his brother is a superstar to whom he is often compared.
``It's the most unfair thing in the world for him to be compared to his brother,'' Brophy said. ``But he's had to live with it.''
MacInnis said it has not soured his relationship with Al.
``He's a very successful athlete and I'm very proud of him,'' Rob said. ``It's been a great thrill to have him as a brother.
``I joke around a lot because he's up there and I'm down here. There are a lot of money jokes. But there's a lot of love between us. There's never hard feelings between us because he's been successful.''
After MacInnis moved in with his father he enrolled at St. Mary's and became an assistant hockey coach. Yet the dream of playing pro hockey never died.
``Just going to the rink every day, I missed that,'' he said. ``I decided I'd like to give it one more shot.''
Last season, 2 1/2 years after retiring, he called Brophy, a fellow Nova Scotian, and asked him for help.
Brophy had three veterans, the league limit. But he recommended MacInnis to Richmond, which signed him at midseason.
Though out of shape - MacInnis had played senior hockey but had not trained seriously in years - he was one of the league's best defensemen by year's end and Brophy traded for him in September.
MacInnis and the Admirals never came to contract terms, and it wasn't until a month after training camp began that he finally signed, thanks to a contract offer from Portland, the Admirals' AHL affiliate.
When he came to Norfolk, the Admirals were 5-8-1. They have gone 32-15-7 since.
He has 10 goals and 43 assists in 52 games, third on the team in scoring and first among defensemen. Two weeks ago, when the Admirals were short of centermen, MacInnis was moved to center and played remarkably well, helping to spark a 5-1-1 record over seven games that halted a long slump.
MacInnis is back at defense, where he has played well. But he has at times been the object of the ire of both Brophy and fans.
He is a gambler who tries daring passes and often skates into the fray when Brophy would rather him lay back toward the blue line. He has on occasion given up goals with poor passes and taken untimely penalties.
A tripping penalty against Charlotte last month may have cost the Admirals a victory. Then, in a 5-4 loss to Dayton late last month, in which the Flyers rallied to score two goals in the final two minutes, he was assessed a 10-minute misconduct at 11:58.
Brophy suspended him following the game, saying he was off the team and would not be allowed to board the team bus for a 13-day, eight-game road trip. Too many stupid penalties, Brophy said.
Nonetheless, MacInnis got on the bus, was reinstated the next day and has played his best hockey of the season since.
Though often brash and outspoken, MacInnis is humble when asked about the suspension and fan reaction.
``You can do it once (take a penalty late in a game) and get away with it,'' he said. ``The second time it happens, you have to be concerned as a coach.
``I was upset that I let the other guys down who worked so hard. It was a very bitter loss. If there had been a consequence, I would have had to accept it.
``Some coaches might have panicked and buried a fellow there. But Broph realizes I'm valuable to the team. It's just a matter sometimes that you get a little misdirected.
``Since then, I've been a lot more cautious with my stick.''
Not when it comes to hitting the puck. He's had seven goals and nine assists in the last 12 games, and many of those fans booing a few weeks ago are cheering.
MacInnis says he knows he won't make a career in the NHL as he had once dreamed, but that his dream of an AHL or IHL career lives on.
``There's so much expansion going on, in the IHL and AHL,'' he said. ``I feel I can help a hockey team somewhere. I want to keep playing. I love the game.''
Bad breaks and all. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Rob MacInnis
by CNB