guinevere
01-14-2005, 02:35 PM
I did a search to see if this had been posted. I'm rather inept at that so if this is a duplicate... delete as needed.
He sat in his hotel room, the shades drawn, the lights out, the television
off.
Chad Larose was very much alone. And very much in pain.
The night before, in Connecticut, he was struck in the face by a deflected
puck during an exhibition game.
Now he had a broken nose, could barely see out of his right eye, and a
concussion which made even seeing the tiniest trace of light painful.
"I had some bad days. I'd just sit in my room by myself for hours," said the
Lowell Lock Monsters' 22-year-old right wing. "It was bad. I came into camp
in really good shape. I put on 10 or 15 pounds and I was playing pretty
good. To have this happen was a big bump in the road. It was terrible."
Small noises would give him headaches.
These days, the crafty 5-foot-8, 185-pounder is the one giving headaches --
to defensemen who underestimate him.
Now symptom-free of the concussion, the Fraser, Mich., native is turning
heads across the American Hockey League with a seven-game point streak which
included a two-goal performance in last Sunday¹s wild 8-7 win over
Providence at Tsongas Arena.
Sidelined by the concussion for Lowell's first five games, Larose has made
up for lost time. On a team in which Lowell's top four forwards -- Chuck
Kobasew, Eric Staal, Colin Forbes and Mike Zigomanis -- all average at least
a point per game, Larose has been a pleasant surprise.
Larose's recent hot streak has elevated him to fifth on the team in scoring
with nine goals and 21 points in 29 games, showing that his final year in
juniors -- when he scored 61 goals in 67 games for Plymouth of the Ontario
Hockey League -- was no fluke.
"He's been outstanding," said Lynn Loyns, Lowell's veteran forward. "He has
a real great work ethic. He scored 60 goals in juniors and those are
eye-popping numbers. You know he has the skill. He has such quick feet and
shiftiness.
"He's really embarrassed some of the best D-men in the league, which is
really saying something because this is the best this league has been due to
the (NHL) lockout. You make a mistake and he's going to make you pay," Loyns
added.
Larose is a major reason Lowell has won five out of six to improve to
20-10-1-3.
"He's a real tough kid mentally and that's why he's been able to overcome
his lack of size," Lowell head coach Tom Rowe said. "He certainly has played
so well and so hard that when the NHL lockout ends, whenever that will be,
he's going to be a guy that¹s going to be given serious consideration."
Despite scoring 117 points for Plymouth his final season in the OHL, in
2002-03, Larose was not drafted.
"Everyone told me I was too small. Everyone told my parents I was too small.
I didn't let it bother me. I had too much passion for the game. There are
disadvantages," he said of being 5-8, "but I don't know if I'd rather be 6-2
and slower."
Larose, signed as a free agent by Carolina, showed some promise last season,
his first as a pro. But he spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL, where
he scored seven goals and added nine assists in 36 games for Lowell.
This season, starting with a hat trick effort Nov. 21 against Portland,
Larose has taken his game to a new level, with the help of linemates
Zigomanis, Forbes and Ryan Bayda.
"I try to play a very consistent game. I try to bring it every night,"
Larose said. "I've been in situations where my confidence is low. Confidence
plays a big role in my game. The more confident you are the more calm you
are with the puck. I'm playing with a lot better players. The coaches have
given me a good chance. I¹m going to try to make the best of it."
Loyns said Larose is one of the team's most respected members.
"The thing about Rosey is he likes to get his nose dirty, too," Loyns said.
Dirty, yes.
Broken, no.
It's tough to skate into the limelight when you're a prisoner in a darkened
hotel room, as Larose painfully learned
He sat in his hotel room, the shades drawn, the lights out, the television
off.
Chad Larose was very much alone. And very much in pain.
The night before, in Connecticut, he was struck in the face by a deflected
puck during an exhibition game.
Now he had a broken nose, could barely see out of his right eye, and a
concussion which made even seeing the tiniest trace of light painful.
"I had some bad days. I'd just sit in my room by myself for hours," said the
Lowell Lock Monsters' 22-year-old right wing. "It was bad. I came into camp
in really good shape. I put on 10 or 15 pounds and I was playing pretty
good. To have this happen was a big bump in the road. It was terrible."
Small noises would give him headaches.
These days, the crafty 5-foot-8, 185-pounder is the one giving headaches --
to defensemen who underestimate him.
Now symptom-free of the concussion, the Fraser, Mich., native is turning
heads across the American Hockey League with a seven-game point streak which
included a two-goal performance in last Sunday¹s wild 8-7 win over
Providence at Tsongas Arena.
Sidelined by the concussion for Lowell's first five games, Larose has made
up for lost time. On a team in which Lowell's top four forwards -- Chuck
Kobasew, Eric Staal, Colin Forbes and Mike Zigomanis -- all average at least
a point per game, Larose has been a pleasant surprise.
Larose's recent hot streak has elevated him to fifth on the team in scoring
with nine goals and 21 points in 29 games, showing that his final year in
juniors -- when he scored 61 goals in 67 games for Plymouth of the Ontario
Hockey League -- was no fluke.
"He's been outstanding," said Lynn Loyns, Lowell's veteran forward. "He has
a real great work ethic. He scored 60 goals in juniors and those are
eye-popping numbers. You know he has the skill. He has such quick feet and
shiftiness.
"He's really embarrassed some of the best D-men in the league, which is
really saying something because this is the best this league has been due to
the (NHL) lockout. You make a mistake and he's going to make you pay," Loyns
added.
Larose is a major reason Lowell has won five out of six to improve to
20-10-1-3.
"He's a real tough kid mentally and that's why he's been able to overcome
his lack of size," Lowell head coach Tom Rowe said. "He certainly has played
so well and so hard that when the NHL lockout ends, whenever that will be,
he's going to be a guy that¹s going to be given serious consideration."
Despite scoring 117 points for Plymouth his final season in the OHL, in
2002-03, Larose was not drafted.
"Everyone told me I was too small. Everyone told my parents I was too small.
I didn't let it bother me. I had too much passion for the game. There are
disadvantages," he said of being 5-8, "but I don't know if I'd rather be 6-2
and slower."
Larose, signed as a free agent by Carolina, showed some promise last season,
his first as a pro. But he spent more time in the ECHL than the AHL, where
he scored seven goals and added nine assists in 36 games for Lowell.
This season, starting with a hat trick effort Nov. 21 against Portland,
Larose has taken his game to a new level, with the help of linemates
Zigomanis, Forbes and Ryan Bayda.
"I try to play a very consistent game. I try to bring it every night,"
Larose said. "I've been in situations where my confidence is low. Confidence
plays a big role in my game. The more confident you are the more calm you
are with the puck. I'm playing with a lot better players. The coaches have
given me a good chance. I¹m going to try to make the best of it."
Loyns said Larose is one of the team's most respected members.
"The thing about Rosey is he likes to get his nose dirty, too," Loyns said.
Dirty, yes.
Broken, no.
It's tough to skate into the limelight when you're a prisoner in a darkened
hotel room, as Larose painfully learned