Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Ryan Malone, born in Peters and raised in Upper St. Clair, is two days removed from making his NHL debut with the Penguins.

And making history.

Three players born in the Pittsburgh area have played in the NHL -- Pete Babando (1947-53), Gerry O'Flaherty (1971-79) and Bob Beers (1989-97) -- but all left the area at a young age. Malone will be the first player born and trained locally to reach the NHL.

This is his story, as told to the Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic:

On Friday night, I hope to put on a Penguins sweater for the first time. But it won't really feel like the first time.

Going way back to when I was a kid, I had a bunch of them. I had a No. 10 for Ron Francis and a No. 12, too, for my dad, Greg Malone. My brother Mark had a No. 77 for Paul Coffey. We would wear them when we would take our plastic-blade sticks and ball to a cul-de-sac at the end of Bingham Drive in Upper St. Clair. We played sometimes on the street, sometimes against the garage door, but we usually had the same objective: It was the Stanley Cup final. Game 7. And we always wanted to be the Penguins and score the winning goal. We even had a little trophy we made that was supposed to be the Cup.

Hockey always was my first love. The other kids in my school were playing football, basketball and baseball. I played hockey and baseball until I was 15, and I was much better at baseball back then. But when I was 15, my dad advised me to pick one. My parents never forced me to do anything, but they thought it would be best to focus.

I picked hockey. That surprised my dad, so he wanted to test me and see if I was serious. He introduced me to Chuck Grillo, who now works for the Penguins as a scout, and sent me to his hockey camp in Minnesota. I was only 16, and I found out quickly what kind of a test this would be. This was not one of those camps where you get to relax. It was seven hard weeks. I remember when my mom, Diana, called and asked me, "Are you having fun?" I told her, "No."

But that was OK. I knew afterward that I wanted it. I knew I wanted to play hockey, and I knew I had people who could help show me what steps to take.

I made Upper St. Clair High School's varsity as a freshman and gave it everything I had. It wasn't easy, especially not with school. In Pittsburgh, if you're serious about hockey, you practice eight or nine times a week, sometimes at late hours because that might be the only time ice is available. You also have to play for your high school and travel team. You leave right when you get home from school, and you don't get back until 11 p.m. By the time you're back in school the next day, you're exhausted.

We had some great players on those teams, and I was lucky because that pushed me. I thought that, by my junior year, I was as good as anyone in the area, but it wasn't easy getting recognition. The summer after that school year, I tried out for Team Pittsburgh, which play annually at the national Chicago Showcase, and I was cut. I was pretty angry about at the time, but maybe it helped me. That summer, I just wanted to show everybody they made a mistake.

I also decided to leave. I found out about Shattuck-St.-Mary's School in Minnesota and made up my mind that I would go through my senior year there. They have an excellent hockey program, more games and more practice but at decent hours. It made a difference. I faced better competition, which made me a better player, and I had a normal school life.

I remember my dad telling me at the time that, once you do well on one pond, there's always another where you have to prove yourself all over again. He was so right.

I spent the year after that with Omaha of the United States Hockey League, leading me up to my draft age in June of 1999. I didn't know who would take me, but I just wanted someone to do it. When it was the Penguins in the fourth round, it was a dream come true.

My dad, of course, is the team's head scout, so there are many people who assume I've had favors done for me. Even when I was a kid, opponents on the ice would say things to me about it. That never changed, and it probably got worse with the draft. But what not many people know is that my dad always stayed out of discussions about me. At that draft, the rest of the scouts actually wanted to take me in the third round, but my dad felt the team needed a goaltender, so they chose Sebastien Caron.

After that, I took a scholarship with St. Cloud State University, an NCAA Division I program. I played there for four years, then signed my first contract with the Penguins in March, so I knew I would be coming to my first training camp in just a few months. I went to Grillo's camp again, for the seventh time, and worked hard to get ready.

Every year at that camp, Chuck gathers all the players and asks a simple question: "How many guys want to play college hockey?"

Every hand goes up.

Then, he asks: "How many guys want to play pro?"

Only a few hands go up.

Mine always went up. The message is that, if you shoot higher than even you might think you can go, you at least give yourself a chance. If you don't, no chance.

That's how I came into this camp. I was pretty rattled the first week, when it was rookies only. My first couple of scrimmages, I was falling down all over the ice like a Zamboni. I remember looking at all the coaches and scouts, thinking, "Oh, God, if they see me, I'm done." I just didn't want to get sent down to Wilkes-Barre right away.

But I scored a goal in my third scrimmage, and it felt like I settled down. After that, I could just play my game, and I got a little more comfortable with each day.

Through the whole camp, my dad has been careful not to talk to me at the rink because he doesn't want anybody to get the wrong idea. I understand that.

But now, I'm on the team, and I don't think anyone can say it was because of him. This is the NHL. You have to earn it. Everybody sees what you're doing.

I don't know how long I'll be here or if maybe they'll send me to Wilkes-Barre at some point, but I'm going to try my best to stay. And I do hope I'll play in the opener, which would be just incredible.

It would be that much more special because of being the first NHL player from our city. It's a great honor, and I hope kids who come to the game can look at the ice and think they can make it, too.

For me, it's crazy thinking about all of that. It's a great honor being the first Pittsburgh kid, but I don't know how I'm going to get any sleep between now and Friday.

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