Senators come calling for Maleyko

Posted: Sunday, July 9, 2000, 3:15 p.m.

BRAMPTON, Ont. – Battalion Captain Jason Maleyko wasn’t home when what was probably the biggest phone call of his life rang through to the Maleyko household in Windsor. His agent was on the other end, telling him the Ottawa Senators had drafted him in the sixth round (188th overall) during the second day of the NHL Draft in Calgary.

“I got the phone call on Sunday but I wasn’t home when my agent called,” he said down the line recently from Windsor. “My sister took the message and gave me the good news when I got home. I had an interview with Ottawa at the beginning of June and I thought it went pretty well but I was kind of surprised that they picked me but I’m pretty happy about it.”

Maleyko said that the Senators are contemplating sending him to the pro ranks next year. “I talked to their head scout and he said he thought I had a good shot at making their IHL team (in Grand Rapids, Michigan) next year but if things don’t work out there, I’ll be happy to go back to Brampton. Ottawa has rookie camp at the beginning of September and hopefully I’ll get the chance to attend the main camp or the camp in Grand Rapids.”

The 20-year-old blueliner, who can return to the Battalion next season as an overager (along with winger Scott Thompson), was back on the blades again at the recent mini-camp and was impressed with what he saw, particularly from first round draft pick Adam Henrich and rookie netminders Brad Topping and Anthony Marshall.

“I was a little rusty,” he said with a laugh, “but it was fun to meet some of the new guys and get back together with all the guys for a weekend. Adam Henrich is a big guy with really good hands, he moves really well and I think that with time he will be a future OHL star. Some of the other guys from last year’s Day 2 draft looked pretty impressive so I think the future looks pretty bright for Brampton. Both Topping and Marshall played pretty well and they were stopping a lot of pucks out there and that’s always a good sign. If we get all our players back (from NHL camps) we’ll have a good run for the OHL title.”

Maleyko, who scored the first goal, as well as the first overtime marker, in team history, led all Battalion defencemen in scoring with 32 points in his first season in Brampton, and although he scored the same number of points in his second season, he felt that he had a better year, in part, because he no longer tried to carry the team on his broad shoulders as he tried to do in 1998-99.

“I think in my first year, with only a few veterans, I tried to do a little bit more than what I was capable of,” he admitted. “I tried to carry the whole team because they were so young but last year, with most of the guys a year older, I didn’t have to do it all and just played my game. Other guys just played their game and it helped me out too. Everybody came together and that was a good sign.”

Maleyko felt that the improvement the team made last year, including a six-game playoff series against the Erie Otters would only help the Troops as they get ready for their third season.

“It was kind of nice because we had come so far after the first year and making the playoffs was our ultimate goal in year two and to achieve that was pretty nice,” he said. “We had the lead in the series right away and I thought we played pretty well but then we got a couple of tough breaks. To come that far after the first year let the guys know that with hard work you can achieve a lot. Erie’s experience wasn’t a huge edge because the whole series was pretty close but, in the sixth game when we had those two goals disallowed and kind of fell apart, a more experienced team might have handled that a little better. It was a good experience for next year when we’ll have an older team.”

With talented rookie defenders such as Rostislav Klesla and Paul Flache making his job a little easier, Maleyko was able to concentrate on fine-tuning his own game and was rewarded with a trip to the OHL All-Star Game in Mississauga.

“Anytime you get recognized for your hard work its fun,” said Maleyko who scored a goal in the game, won 8-5 by Team West. “I had a good time.”

Maleyko suffered a broken nose in a fight with Sarnia’s Andy Burnham on January 30 and sat out five games waiting for it to heal. He returned in time to score a huge overtime goal as they beat the Erie Otters 5-4 on February 17 but found it tough being out of the lineup.

“You want to think that any time you are on the ice you are helping the team as much as you can,” said Maleyko, who played every game in the team’s inaugural season despite suffering a hand injury early in the second half, “and when you aren’t playing you feel like you are letting the team down so I was happy to get back. It was tough watching games because I’m the leader and the guy that some of the other guys look up to and not being out there was kind of disappointing. But once I got back I was really excited and kind of took it upon myself to say to the guys ‘follow me’ and I would try to lead them because that’s my role.”

When asked to describe his leadership style as the Battalion Captain, Maleyko said, “I try to lead by example and do a little talking. We were still pretty young last year and a lot of guys wouldn’t be vocal in the dressing room and that’s where my responsibility with the younger guys came in. I would try and get them up when we were down or try to keep them a little lower if things were going really well. I work together with (Battalion Head Coach) Stan (Butler) and if he thinks I should talk to somebody he’d help me out and other times he gives me some room to talk to guys. We point out things to each other and it’s a good working relationship.”

Maleyko was also pleased to see several returning players assume a larger leadership role with the team and was particularly impressed with the contribution of Raffi Torres.

“In his first year Raffi was a new guy in the league but as the year went on he got recognized for his talent a little more and I think he realized that, as one of our top forwards, he had to take more of a leadership role. I thought he really stepped it up last year from the beginning of the season right through the playoffs. His leadership was really noticeable and it helped out the younger forwards.”

Maleyko also believed that the presence o f such top-rated draft prospects as Torres and Rostislav Klesla helped his own cause when draft day rolled around.

“Playing with Rusty and Raffi was great for me,” he offered, “because they get all the exposure and bring scouts into the building and that’s where it helped me out because if someone is coming to watch them play, they might notice me if I have a good game or make a good play.”

Maleyko was finally drafted in his third year of eligibility for the NHL Draft and said that any draft-eligible Battalion players who weren’t selected in Calgary only need to look to him for inspiration.

“The best advice I’d have to somebody who didn’t get drafted would be to just look at me. I was rated in my first year in Oshawa, went to the draft, sat there and didn’t get picked. Last year I didn’t get picked and as a 19-year-old I got drafted. All that hard work paid off and I think if you work hard enough you will get your reward eventually.”