Observer-Dispatch
ALBANY -- Robert Esche hasn't played a meaningful hockey game in six months, and still the fans come.
"He signed my shirt! He signed my shirt! I touched him," screamed one little boy at Friday night's ECAC semifinal game in Albany.
Just imagine what it will be like when Esche finally gets back on the ice. And with a new plan by the World Hockey Association and NHL star Jeremy Roenick, that could come as soon as May.
Esche is one of dozens of players who have committed to playing in the Bobby Hull Invitational, a WHA exhibition series. The details are still a bit sketchy, but Esche says he plans to report on May 19 for the games, which will be played May 20-June 2 in Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
The tournament is offering $2 million in prize money.
"(Roenick) is setting everything up, but I really haven't heard much beyond that," said Esche, who was in Albany last weekend with the Colgate Raiders at the ECAC tournament. "I think they just want to see how it goes."
Esche, the Philadelphia Flyers goalie who lives in Westmoreland, has spent the last few months as Colgate's volunteer goaltending coach. He has also worked for his Save of the Day charity, helped his wife Kelly prepare for the birth of their second child -- the baby is due any day now -- and signed countless autographs for his young fans.
But what Esche really wants is to get back to playing hockey. The National Hockey League and the players association continue to negotiate toward a new labor agreement, but so far the lockout which laid waste to the 2004-05 season is still unsettled.
"The NHL wants this resolved, and so do the players," said Esche, who does not think the league will resort to replacement players if no new agreement is in place by the fall. "There's a lot of damage control to be done.
"I hope something happens soon. This is just... crazy. It's crazy."