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Manitoba Moose

The Ultimate Enigma
Although Fedor Fedorov is loaded with big-league talent, numerous setbacks and a lack of consistency has everyone guessing if he'll ever make the jump to the NHL.

By Bill Hoppe
MinorLeagueNews.com

03.01.04 -- Winnipeg, MB -- Though most professional athletes are blessed with wonderful ability, it takes much more than sheer physical talent to become truly successful in any sport.

More often than not, it is the immeasurable things that set average players apart from the great ones.

Determination, dedication, perseverance, commitment, the list goes on and on.

Usually, those that reach the pinnacle of their respective sport have a handful of traits that make them exceptional.

You could say three-time Stanley Cup Champion Sergi Fedorov has displayed some of this behavior during his acclaimed 14 year NHL career.

Conversely, you could also say his younger brother, Fedor Fedorov, is still developing these intangibles while skating with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Depending on perspective, a famous last name like Fedorov can be an advantage or a curse.

Fedor has had to deal with growing up with enormous talent, yet still not being the best hockey player at any family gatherings.

Regardless, the younger Fedorov has much more to deal with these days than the comparisons to his older brother.

Lately, the shots flying at Fedor are coming from all directions, including Manitoba's NHL affiliate.

Brian Burke, the Vancouver Canucks' president and general manager, has ripped the underachieving and problem-prone center a few memorable times, to the point Fedorov won't discuss him.

"I don't talk about him," Fedorov said bluntly.

Manitoba's head coach Stan Smyl, arguably Fedorov's biggest supporter, started criticizing him more recently following a 10-game suspension imposed by the team for a reported curfew violation.

To top it off, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals faxed him a letter in December asking him to stop wearing his fur coat around chilly Winnipeg. (The fur is actually a fake, and Fedorov shrugged off the fax.)

If PETA doesn't have a good reason to take a shot at the third-year pro, the other two certainly do.

Time and time again, Fedorov has proven to be a hockey team's ultimate dream, while simultaneously being its worst nightmare.

At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he has shown the offensive ability to dominate a game and the potential to be a superstar in the NHL.

Yet on some nights, well as Burke recently told reporters after watching Fedorov play for the Moose, "You couldn't have found him on the ice with a pair of binoculars and a bloodhound."

"Obviously, I have some bad habits," Fedorov acknowledged.

Vancouver can only hope that Fedor lives up to his enormous, unlimited potential.

Fedorov led the AHL in scoring with 10 points through the first six games this year, including seven in the first two. Last year he briefly made the talent-laden Canucks out of training camp.

"He can skate and he's a game-breaker," Smyl said.

Unfortunately, Fedorov has constantly had to deal with questions surrounding his consistency, defensive play, conditioning and maturity.

Throughout his roller coaster career, Fedorov has proved to be the ultimate enigma.

The 22-year-old overcame a career-threatening injury with the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL when he took a puck in the eye in 2001.

Defying the odds, Fedorov returned to the ice and earned a spot on the 2002 Vancouver Canucks opening roster. He played in his first seven NHL games before being assigned to the Moose on October 24, 2002.

Fedorov didn't produce very much the rest of the year and actually received a one game suspension in December for a curfew violation.

He broke his hand later that season and finished the 2002-03 campaign with 10 goals and 23 points in 50 games.

Fedor opened this year's training camp by reportedly oversleeping the first day. Fedorov claims he was late because someone gave him a portfolio with the wrong itinerary.

In the first two months of this season, Fedorov looked like the player the Canucks thought he could be when they drafted him in the second round in 2001.

"He had a good start," Smyl said. "He had good jump and a little confidence going within himself."

Vancouver took notice and Fedorov's play earned him a couple of early season NHL promotions. It seemed like it was all coming together, but then the problems started again.

In late December, when Fedor returned to the Moose after two games in Vancouver, his solid play disappeared.

Smyl benched Fedorov early in Manitoba's Dec. 21 afternoon game against the Grand Rapids Griffins. He didn't play again for three weeks.

"Obviously, every player has a letdown and they're not happy when they're sent down," Smyl said.

According to several newspapers, Fedorov stayed up late partying and broke curfew the night before the game.

No one will say much on the subject, but someone wanted to send a message that might finally stick. One game, Manitoba was short a player and Fedorov still didn't dress.

"We had a situation where we felt it was inappropriate for him play," Burke said. "He broke a team rule and he's back playing now."

Although Fedorov would not talk about the suspension, he did share his theory on the difference between his play in the beginning of the year and the weeks prior to his benching.

"I mean, it's hockey, nothing's predictable, it's a game, you just got to play it," said Fedorov, who has 11 goals and 20 points thru 29 games this season.

Despite the ups and downs, Smyl still believes in his talented center, and defends him by generalizing his problems.

Smyl acknowledges a lack of intensity and commitment, but he thinks a lot of players coming out of junior hockey have the same problems. He thinks Fedorov is a little immature, but he believes many players are.

Fedorov genuinely appreciates the support.

"No matter what differences me and Stan have," Fedorov said, "he always wishes the best for me. That's important."

Apparently, Burke has the same hopes for Fedorov, even if he did suggest last season that Fedor could start looking for a house in Winnipeg.

"When I pop off about a player it's from the heart and it's designed to tell a player what he's doing is wrong," Burke said. "It's not to motivate him. In Fedor's case, I do not think he has made the commitment he needs to get to the next level."

What does that commitment entail?

"His conditioning's got to improve and his performance has to improve," Burke said. "He's shown flashes of greatness, but it's not enough to be good periodically or occasionally. He's got to be more consistent."

Regardless of what he may say, Burke feels that he is sincere when he talks about Fedorov, and wants to make one thing certain.

"I haven't quit on Fedor and I don't intend to," stated Burke.