Hide Article Text (OCR)
New defenseman raw but readyHolden, n free agent from the WHL, is added to Crunch team thin on blueliners.By Lindsay KramerStaff writerNew Syracuse Crunch defenseman Nick Holden joined the team at the picture-perfect time on Tuesday morning.Holden walked into the Onondaga County War Memorial at roughly 8:30 a.m. It was team photo day, so about an hour later the 6-foot-4 Holden was standing smack dab in the middle of the back row posing amid a group of complete strangers.“It was kind of weird getting up there,” he said. “I tried to make a mean face, but 1 don’t know if I did. 1 was probably smiling.”Holden, 20, does that a lot, as sort of a precursor to his infectious chuckle. There’s a pressure-popping ease to him, a personality trait that could be his most important attribute the next few weeks.Holden joins the Crunch as a free agent from the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League. Defensemen fresh out of juniors at this point in the season are best heard a little, and seen on the ice even less. But Holden is here for some potentially perilous on-the-job training.Because of callups to Columbus, the Crunch has five defensemen. Holden makes six, the minimum number that usually dress for a game. About 10 minutes after figuring out where the home locker room is, he’ll be in the lineup tonight trying to help shut down Binghamton.Oh, and did we mention that Syracuse, winners of a franchise record-tying eight in a row, can’t afford a single misstep in its fight with Manitoba for home-ice advantage in a first-round playoff series?Say ‘Cheese’ now, rook,4 ‘1 will be (nervous), but once I start playing I’ll be OK,” Holden said. ‘T’m not feeling any pressure. I want to meet the guys, see the level I have to deal with.”If Holden doesn’t work out on the blueline right away, he'll still have value to the team. He spent a few minutes Tuesday glancing at the piping around the War Memorial. As recently as a couple of years ago, he was so uncertain about his hockey future that he spent the p'ast couple of summers as a plumber’s apprentice.At the lime, I was just playing Junior A. I still needed to have a job,” Holden said. “Plumbing was a good trade to get into. I loved it. I can pull water lines, solder all the copper piping, pul in llanges. It’s hard work.”Holden needed the backup plan because he admits he really wasn’t serious about hockey until joining Chilliwack two seasons ago. He played major junior for only two years, half the commitment of most top players. He fell off the scouting radar, was never drafted and said his early goal was to try to earn a college scholarship.‘ ‘When I was younger, I loved hockey. Then I went through aToday's gameWhat: Syracuse Crunch vs. Binghamton Senators When: 7 p.m.Where: Onondaga County War Memorial TV: Time Warner-26 Radio: NOVA-FM 105.1 Tickets: $14, $16, $18 Promotion: Dick's Sporting Goods buy one, get one free Crunch magic number:Syracuse clinches playoff spot if it earns one point Tuesday's transactions:Center Zenon Konopka recalled to Columbus; goalie Dan LaCosta sent down to Crunch.spell where I didn’t want to play anymore,” said Holden, a native of St. Albert, Alberta. “It got too competitive for me. I played lower level hockey, I got back into it, ended up having a couple of good seasons.”This year bordered on great. He tallied 22 goals and 3S assists for Chilliwack, and led all WHL defensemen in goals and ranked third in points. The Blue Jackets snagged him on a tryout deal, and he said he’s on the verge of agreeing to a three-year pact with the organization.Crunch assistant Trent Cull said he laid off Holden during Tuesday’s practice, letting him get used to the pace of play. Cull said this morning he’ll try to break down the Xs and Os of Syracuse’s systems. Boiled down, Cull said his advice to Holden will be something along the lines of, if you see an open teammate on the break out, pass it to him.“He’s going to have to get pucks, move pucks. The No. 1 option is your best option, because your other options are going to get closed out,” Cull said. “He’s going to have to not worry about offense at all.”Holden earned his minutes on that side of the puck in Chilliwack, but he said he’ll have no problem toning it down now.“Even in juniors, 1 wasn’t razzle dazzle,” Holden said. “I kept it simple, and picked my spots. Realistically, I don’t expect to get too much ice time (with the Crunch). I just want to get my feet wet.”Holden was also captain of Chilliwack, a role that naturally carried a vocal component. Holden said that part of his personality will be tucked away while he gets a bearing on his surroundings.Training room? Check. Weight room? Got it.Teammates’ names? Uh...“I won’t know them until the end of the season,” Holden said.Goehring was AHL's best in goal during MarchThe AHL tabbed Syracuse Crunch goaltender Karl Goehring as its goalie of the month for March on Tuesday.Goehring appeared in eight of 12 games for the Crunch in the month, going 7-0-0-1 with a 1.59 goals-against average and .951 save percentage, In all, Goehring made 255 saves on 268 shots,Goehring is the Crunch’s career leader in wins (76).Lindsay Kramer can be reached at 470-2151 orlkramer0syracuse.com.
Newspaper Details
Syracuse Post Standard
Syracuse, New York, US
Wed, Apr 02, 2008
Page 82
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 17 Mar 2020
Other Publications Near Syracuse, New York
Syracuse Journal
Syracuse Evening Herald
Syracuse Herald Journal
Syracuse Daily Courier and Union
Syracuse Daily Courier
