posted by Hershey Bears on Feb 14
Posted by Hershey Bears
D.J. King has been a positive presence and an admired teammate.
D.J. King has played 118 career NHL games and, according to CapGeek.com, has a one-way contract paying $650,000 in 2011-12.
Yet the winger was one of nine Hershey Bears players who participated in Tuesday’s optional practice at Giant Center.
It was another example of how King has been a class act in Hershey.
Rather than being disgruntled about being sent down by the Washington Capitals and then being frequently scratched in Hershey, King has been a positive presence and an admired teammate.
“I think he can be very proud of the fact that he’s handled it better than to be expected,” Bears head coach Mark French said. “He’s been a consummate team guy.
“Even when, after being sent down, he wasn’t in our lineup a lot, he was the first guy to the rink every day. Just ready to work and ready to listen and very low maintenance in terms of what he was demanding from a coach.”
During a stretch from Dec. 18-Jan. 21, King was a healthy scratch for 13 straight games.
“It’s out of my hands,” King said. “There’s no point of wasting energy on negative stuff when it’s out of my control. All I can control is coming to the rink every day. It’s my job. I just come to the rink, work hard and whatever happens, happens.”
The Feb. 2 trade that sent Danny Richmond to Lake Erie, coupled with Keith Aucoin’s recall to the Washington Capitals, alleviated Hershey’s veteran situation and opened lineup opportunity for King.
The 6-3, 230-pounder has played four of the last six games, recorded two assists and formed an increasingly effective fourth line with Andrew Carroll and Garrett Mitchell. The 27-year-old has played a dozen games in all.
“We’ve been very pleased with what we’ve seen most recently from him, which has been some really good play and some real good leadership,” French said.
“He’s a very calming presence for those two young players on the bench. He talks to them a lot in practice and in games. I think they like each other and they’re three ultra-competitive individuals.”
Rookie Mitchell looks up to his hulking linemate, both literally and figuratively.
“You just watch King,” Mitchell said. “There’s not too many guys in this league that can take the puck off him. Obviously, you see how big he is. Strength, I think he’s on another level with his strength.”
On Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, King assisted on a Mitchell goal with a nifty pass to the backdoor.
“That’s just practice,” King said. “Me and Mitch work on a lot of stuff in practice. My big body down low, I like to tell him to go in certain spots so I have room. I’ll just do my thing in the corners.”
King is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
“You never know with the game of hockey,” he said. “Stuff’s going to happen one day, and you never know when that door opens. So I just have to be ready. Right now, I’ve got a little window open. I’ve just got to make the best of it.”
BIG MAC ATTACK
Hershey defenseman Patrick Wellar on Sunday fought WBS’s imposing Steve MacIntyre, one of the most feared heavyweights in hockey, and lived to tell about it.
“We know the reputation he brings and how he’s fared over the last few years,” Wellar said. “Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for yourself. It’s not always fun when you have to face big guys like that who know what they’re doing.
“I don’t really have the luxury of turning people down. I think it comes with the role. It comes with the respect I have for the game. Sometimes you have to answer the bell whether you like it or not. I got out of it rather unscathed and I’m just happy to have gotten out of there.”
Wellar is 6-3, 210. But MacIntyre is 6-5, 250.
“It’s how big he was and how strong he was,” Wellar said. “But, not only that, how calm he was, really, during the whole thing. There’s guys when you’re in a fight, you’re jostling. I don’t want to say he was toying with me, but you can just tell you’re dealing with someone who is, quite frankly, a different animal.
“I knew that I was in trouble there. You try to stand up as best you can and try to fight your fight, I guess, but obviously while still respecting his power, because he can hurt you with both of his hands. He got me a couple good ones. It was good to just get that fight out of the way, because then he’s felt like he’s done his job and he can just continue playing hockey.”
Wellar also assisted on a Ryan Potulny goal in that game, and demonstrated some mobility reminiscent of Dmitry Orlov while doing it. The defenseman ventured deep into the offensive zone but got back near the blue line in time to retrieve the puck for a zone-keep that kept the scoring possession alive.
But, no, he doesn’t believe he should now be called Wellarov.
“I wouldn’t want to put myself in any type of category with Dmitry Orlov,” Wellar joked. “He’s a great offensive talent.”
Keith Aucoin
