A dizzying journey for goalie

  By Jim Kernaghan  -- London Free Press

 The dots stretch from London, Ont., to Lugano, Switzerland, to Grenoble, France. They reverse to Lugano, swing across the ocean to London, then turn sharply to Los Angeles.

 Their course zips back across the Atlantic to Lugano, rebound to Manchester, N.H., and cross-country to Los Angeles once more.

 Connecting the dots in athletic careers can be a taxing pastime. In the case of Los Angeles Kings callup goalie Cristobal Huet, dizzying is a better word.

 He's virtually gone from pickup hockey to the NHL in four years.

 Let's back up a bit. Former Western Mustangs and London Knights goaltending coach Tom Hedican heard about a youngster performing at an exceptional level in France, so he went to the Grenoble suburb of St-Martin-d'Heres to have a look at Huet.

 Sure enough, this guy could definitely stop pucks, so Hedican brought him to Lugano for Swiss elite league play, knocked off the rough edges and began honing his gem.

 Swiss fans thought Hedican was insane at first. The three import spots always are taken by North Americans.

 But by the time Huet won the Jacques Plante Trophy as top goaltender in Switzerland three straight seasons, Hedican felt he was ready for prime time. He contacted former UWO coach Barry Martinelli, who does some bird-dogging for the Kings.

 Martinelli forwarded Hedican's detailed report and when L.A. general manager Dave Taylor was overseas on another mission, he stopped in to have a look at Huet.

 He liked what he saw and drafted him in the seventh round. After more seasoning by Hedican, Huet had an impressive training camp last fall and was signed to play with the Kings' AHL affiliate Manchester Monarchs.

 When Kings starter Felix Potvin went down with an injury last week, Huet (14-7-4, 2.38 GAA, .918 save percentage) was brought in to back up Jamie Storr.

 "Cristo is unbelievable, one of the best goalies I've seen in 10 years," Hedican said. "About halfway through his first season, I asked him if he'd ever thought of the NHL. He looked at me as if I was absolutely nuts, as if something was seriously wrong with me. But I kept talking to him about the NHL and two years later he was drafted -- and now with the big team.

 "It's big news in France." Only one French-born player has performed in the NHL -- Philippe Bozon with St. Louis.

 Before he even got on the ice, Huet made his first stop during a game against the Ottawa Senators last week.

 "I talked to him on the phone and he said, 'I had a memorable first game.' " Hedican explained. "He got hit with the puck while sitting on the bench and was cut for seven stitches."

 Hedican, who joined the North Bay Centennials from London, has worked with a lot of good stoppers, including Freddie Brathwaite with the Knights. He rates Huet with the best.

 "He's got an unbelievable butterfly, with great flexibility in his legs. We've worked hard on reading the attack and determining the depth and how aggressive he can be in different situations. His positional play is really good. It all comes from reading the rush.

 "It's not just how good he is, it's how good he's getting. His progression is amazing, when you think just four years ago he was in what almost was a pickup league in France. With time and experience, I think he can be one of the better goalies in the NHL."

 The Kings installed Huet in Manchester to see how he'd fare in conditions involving travel, buses and plenty of games.

 Hedican recalled an incident with Knights goalie Gene Chiarello to describe the test.

 "I remember going to Owen Sound and Branks (Knights trainer Don Brankley) said he hoped Gene wasn't starting because he hadn't slept all night. Gary (Agnew) let me call who'd start and I said Gene wasn't going to but he is now.

 "I wanted to see him under the conditions -- to see his mental toughness. He was scored on the first 30 seconds and we ended up winning 4-1 and he was first star."

 Where the dots take Huet is not known. It's a good question whether he'll become an NHL regular before his mentor, who has been in the running as goalie coach three times -- with Toronto, Vancouver and Florida.

 Hedican doesn't have a crystal ball. But he does have a Cristobal.
 

Source:  SLAM sports