Powered by Topix.net Sunday, October 2, 2005

Back when the Flyers were last seen running through the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, goaltender Robert Esche was giving reporters the silent treatment, which is the equivalent of Jeremy Roenick going two months without getting his face on television.

This fall, Silent Bob is talking up a storm and the hockey world is listening.

On Saturday, Esche was featured in a 30-minute NHL on NBC preview with color analysts Bill Clement and John Davidson.

And on Thursday night, he debuted "goalie cam" by agreeing to wear a 5-ounce mini-camera on the chin of his mask.

NBC calls it "Inside the Glass" and Esche is all for it.

"I'll be miked up every game, I don't care," said Esche, who will be in goal when OLN (formerly the Outdoor Life Network) makes its hockey broadcast debut with Wednesday night's season opener between the Flyers and New York Rangers. "I think players should have to wear them, I really do."

If the NHL wants to sell itself -- really sell itself -- to the average fan, it should take Esche's advice.

"The highlight goals are fine," Esche said. "But we need to focus on the fights and guys barking back and forth at each other. You want to keep the swearing off the television, obviously, but ultimately that's what fans need to see."

Putting a camera and a microphone on Esche's mask offers viewers the sights and sounds that only a goaltender sees and hears.

Putting a microphone on enforcer Donald Brashear would offer viewers an entirely different look inside the world of hockey fights. Sometimes, fights are completely spontaneous, the result of a big hit along the boards. Other times, they are generated from hits earlier in game, and others occur simply as a rite of passage for young fighters.

A few years ago, when he was trying to impress the Flyers as a hard-nosed rookie, Todd Fedoruk lined up beside veteran Rick Tocchet for a faceoff and, according to Fedoruk, the conversation went something like this:

"Mr. Tocchet, I'm trying to make this team real bad. Would you fight me?"

"OK, kid. Give it your best shot."

After the fight the two were escorted to their penalty boxes and Fedoruk thanked Tocchet for giving him the opportunity. That's a side of hockey no one ever gets to hear.

"The guys who are fighting have never had a chance to be in the limelight because ESPN won't show fights," Esche said. "I hope OLN will take fighting and put it back into the game.

"I think you've got to see more goalies getting hit and bumped. You've got to see more forwards going into the corners and hear the sounds of the game. Package the whole game, not just the goals."

Goalie cam is definitely a step in the right direction. Like putting a camera over the shoulder of an Indy car driver it offers viewers a glimpse inside the game. Esche said the 5-ounce camera is hardly noticeable and offers him a chance to analyze his own game.

"If you commit too early you can see the camera going down," he said. "On screens you can help coaches see what you're seeing. I think it's a great idea."

J.R. stirs up a storm: In case you missed it, former Flyers center Jeremy Roenick got himself in the middle of another controversy last week when he criticized Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Denis Gauthier for slamming him into the boards and giving him his 11th documented concussion.

If Gauthier threw an elbow or came up high with his stick, Roenick's complaint would have held some water. But even Roenick deemed the hit legal. His beef was that star players should not be hit that hard in a preseason game.

Roenick's warrior mentality is honorable -- he once showed me X-rays of his shattered jaw bone and I'm still amazed he returned after that injury -- but even he must admit his comments were shallow.

Making matters worse, Roenick's teammate, Sean Avery, stood up for him by making this ridiculous comment:

"I think it was typical of most French guys in our league with a visor on," Avery said of Gauthier, who is from Montreal, "running around and playing tough and not (backing) anything up."

The NHL responded with a memo to all NHL teams stating such characterizations are inappropriate and will be met with disciplinary action in the future.

It makes you wonder if any of this would have occurred if Roenick had simply taken the hit and kept his mouth shut. Reach Chuck Gormley at cgormley@courierpostonline.com