Even Coaches Get The Chills Ex-Chiefs Aide Leads East In Whl All-Star Game

Not even Parry Shockey at his most optimistic would have bothered to dream up this script.

It still seems a little far out, Shockey’s move in one season from obscure assistant to all-star head coach.

A year ago, Shockey was the assistant in Spokane, a veteran of six years with the Chiefs, four as a scout, two as a coach.

Tonight, he leads the Eastern Conference team in the annual Western Hockey League All-Star Game. The puck drops at 7:30 in the sold-out Arena.

The game is on TV in Canada on TSN.

After assisting Chiefs coach Mike Babcock in Spokane’s 1996 run to the West Division championship, Shockey was hired by the Lethbridge Hurricanes. This season, when the ‘Canes posted the best record in the East prior to Christmas, Shockey was named to coach the Eastern Conference all-star squad.

So it’s old-home week for Spokane coaches past and present.

Shockey’s boss in Lethbridge, Bryan Maxwell, the former head coach and director of hockey operations in Spokane, is the East’s honorary general manager. With Babcock assisting the West stars, the only coach here this week who hasn’t worked for the Chiefs is Portland’s Brent Peterson.

After Shockey sent the Eastern Conference through a brief, laid-back skate Tuesday, he called the all-star assignment “unbelievable.

“Before, it was just something I was looking forward to,” he said. “Now that I’m back, I actually get chills thinking about it. If somebody had told me in July that I’d be in this position today, I would have jumped ship a little earlier.”

At that Shockey laughed. The reality is, it wasn’t easy for him to leave. He says his only regret in coming back is that he won’t have time to renew a lot of old friendships.

Like most all-star games, this is a show. Expect a high-scoring game. The East comes in as the favorite.

“If we get beat 15-1,” shrugged Peterson, the West head coach, “we get beat 15-1.”

Nobody, least of all Shockey, expects it to be that one-sided.

“With two highly skilled teams, it’ll be a little like river hockey,” Shockey said. “So open the gates, let ‘em go and have a good time.”

As Maxwell put it, “I think we’ll see great plays from start to finish by both teams - great offensive plays and probably not a whole bunch of great defensive plays.

“The guy between the pipes sometimes gets left behind, but you never know. They might just tighten it up and we could see a whale of a hockey game.”

Shockey said he won’t spend a lot of time mapping special teams assignments.

“Whoever is up will be on the power play,” he said. “Whoever’s up will be on the penalty kill. They all play on special teams. This is an opportunity for the players to have a good time. They’ve earned it.

“The last thing they need is somebody barking at them.”

Notes

The closest thing to an all-star skills competition tonight is a shoot-out at the second intermission. Just how many star forwards get to skate in alone with the goaltender was not announced… The Kelowna Rockets’ only representative in this game, injured center Scott King, has been replaced by Kamloops forward Shawn McNeil… . The Chiefs on Tuesday acquired 20-year-old left winger Chad Reich in a deal with the Edmonton Ice. The Chiefs sent a fourth-round pick in this year’s bantam draft to Edmonton for Reich and a fifth-round choice. Reich, who started the season in Medicine Hat, comes in with seven goals and 13 assists with 60 penalty minutes.

The Portland Winter Hawks held their second annual skills competition the other day. Former Chief Randy Favaro had the fastest slap shot, 92 miles an hour… . With the WHL trade deadline Friday, general managers are expected to make lastminute pitches here for impact players who might make a good team great. One such prospect is Prince Albert defenseman Chris Phillips, the top pick in the ‘96 NHL draft. As PA’s director of hockey operations Chris Stewart put it, “I’m expecting free dinner (in Spokane), free beer, free everything. They’re going to be all over me.” … Phillips was asked where he expects to be when the week is out. “There’s lots of talk, but all I can do is go with the flow until something happens,” he said… . He hopes to stick with the NHL Ottawa Senators next season as a 19-year-old.

, DataTimes