Quite a journey for Rangers' Girardi
Dan Girardi was selected as an NHL All Star for the first time in his career. (undated file photo) Credit: Jim McIsaac
OTTAWA -- Dan Girardi finally had his moment to hear his name called and to walk across the stage, put on a fresh jersey and hear the audience cheer him like crazy. Finally, Girardi had been drafted.
This usually happens for top players when they are 18, but it never did for him. He never was considered impressive enough to get chosen, even in the anonymous late rounds.
Girardi had to wait until this past Thursday night, by which time he was a 27-year-old defenseman for the Rangers, to get his call. Captains chose sides for the All-Star Game to be played Sunday, and Girardi was picked loud and clear.
It all came into sharp focus the instant that Rangers teammate Henrik Lundqvist, assistant captain for Team Alfredsson, called his name. Girardi had made one heck of a climb.
"It's a great story for me and my family," he said. "It's quite the journey, coming from the East Coast League and not being drafted to being at the All-Star Game with all these elite players. It's almost surreal."
He is the only player in this year's All-Star Game who never was taken in the amateur draft, and that's not his only distinction. All-Star skaters are almost always flashy, skilled offensive types and/or big names. Girardi made it for being a solid defenseman who blocks shots and plays his position.
"It restores my faith," said Rangers coach John Tortorella, co-coach of Team Alfredsson. "I think sometimes our league forgets about people like that. The league stepped up and where credit was due, gave it to him. It's not just pedigree. It's what he's done on the ice. He's a pro. I think that's the highest compliment you can give him."
That from a man who a) is generally not Mr. Effusive and b) spent his first meeting as Rangers coach referring to the defenseman as "Joe Girardi."
"I didn't want to say anything. I kind of knew his reputation and I didn't want to step on his toes," the defenseman said at All-Star media day Friday, the fifth anniversary of his Rangers debut.
Not only does Tortorella no longer confuse Dan's name with that of the Yankees' manager, he says Girardi is a big reason why the coach got the honor of being here. The Rangers are first in the Eastern Conference in large measure because Girardi picked up the slack while Marc Staal was recovering from a concussion.
Both Girardi and Tortorella credit Jim Schoenfeld, who was then coaching the Rangers' Hartford affiliate, for convincing the organization to sign a guy who had not been eye-catching since scoring 50 goals in Atom hockey at age 9 ("I've still got the puck at home, on the counter," Girardi said).
He did well enough at Charlotte in the ECHL to earn a promotion to Hartford, which led him to the Rangers and ultimately to today.
"I think my parents really helped me with that because they molded me as a child to stick with things and never give up on anything," Girardi said. "It sounds really corny, me saying it, but I'm sure they raised me the right way to not give up on my dream of playing in the NHL."
Mark Girardi, an assembly-line worker at General Motors, and his wife, Carol, a nurse in Welland, Ontario, will be here Sunday to watch a son who belongs in the All-Star Game, even if there is no real role for him in a run-and-gun contest.
"It doesn't matter if you score 20 points or 40 points," said All-Star Kimmo Timonen of the Flyers, a good offensive defenseman. "He plays a lot of minutes for the Rangers. If you're a big part of your team and you play well, you're an All-Star."
And in this case, not just any All-Star.
"It's a great story," Tortorella said, "for a lot of people."
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