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PILAR FINDS HIS STICKS AND HIS GAME
The first quarter of the season is behind him and Karel Pilar appears to be rounding into form.
Knock wood.
The Maple Leafs' 23-year-old rookie defenceman landed in St. John's with comparisons to fellow Czech Tomas Kaberle, but through the first 20 games of the AHL season, Pilar looked more like Marek Posmyk than Kaberle.
An error-prone defence and shaky goaltending figured in a lot of the blame as the Leafs muddled through the first quarter and while second year rearguard Petr Svoboda continues to regress and Mike Minard and Mikael Tellqvist still aren't making the big saves, Pilar has quietly stepped up to become one of St. John's best players in the last half-dozen to eight games.
And part of the reason for the transformation lies with his sticks, the tools hockey players fawn over like Eric Clapton cares for his guitar.
Until a few weeks ago, Pilar didn't have his own sticks, instead using Nathan Dempsey's one night, or Bobby House's the next, or perhaps Don MacLean's.
"Now I finally have my own," he says, holding the custom-made Easton Synergy model (they retail for a cool $229 off the rack).
"I have the same curve all the time. My shot will be better," he smiles.
Maybe now Pilar will tee it up more often and pad his total of five goals. Like most Europeans, Pilar tends to pass first and shoot later, although he's beginning to understand the North American way of thinking.
"This is something I've talked to the coaches about," he said. "With Canadian guys, everybody is going to the net. When you shoot at the net, you get a lot of rebounds and scoring chances.
"In Europe, you don't do that because you're looking to set up the good shot."
Through the early stages of the 2001-02 campaign, Pilar was a non-factor most nights, a liability in his own zone and lacking the offensive skills that had been promised.
Even coach Lou Crawford admits Pilar had more fizzle than dazzle early on, failing to pick up on his team's systems and too often looking to jump up on a fast break before the puck even cleared the St. John's zone.
Pilar blames most of the early-season struggles on the disappointment of getting cut from Toronto. That and adjusting to the North American lifestyle and a new language.
"Everybody says I looked lost," he said. "It's because my heart wasn't in it right away. I came over here with the idea of playing in the NHL and I felt I could make Toronto.
"Then I realized the only way I have a chance at playing in Toronto is playing well here."
Pilar is quickly learning English, has moved into his own apartment and now has a car.
But the adjustment is a bigger chore than the smooth-skating product of Prague ever imagined.
Pilar was finally drafted at age 23 (39th overall) by the Leafs in June, a full five years after NHL clubs had bypassed him in the annual lottery normally set aside for 18 and 19 year olds. And it came after Pilar moved for Prague to Litvinov, but not without first apprenticing with the team's second division affiliate.
He finally gained recognition last year following a 38-point season with Litvinov and later helping the Czechs win the gold medal at the world championships last spring.
Over the summer, the Leafs tabled a two-year, two-way $8500,00 contract and a $500 000 signing bonus, which the player happily penned.
After suffering the shock of demotion and going through a North American learning curve, Pilar is beginning to smile again. He's getting plenty of ice time and is using it to lug the puck more, create plays and take the body more aggressively.
"He a highly skilled offensive player, but his biggest demon may be he tries to be too fancy sometimes," Crawford cautions. "Sometimes, he hangs on to the puck too long, He relies on his skill too much instead of making the safe play. He's been one of our best of late, but he's also been one of our worst.
"If we can get him to steer clear of that, we'll have a pretty good prospect on our hands. He's quick, smart and quite physical. And he has a great imagination."
Imagination that's employed, it seems, when he wraps those pricey sticks.
"Look," he says, "I tape them the same way every game."
Pilar points to the top half of the blade where he wraps three single strands of tape, each separated by a quarter of an inch.
"Petr Klima used to tape his stick like that," he smiles. "You know how some guys always put one skate on before the other? I do this with my sticks. If I don'', it's in my head all game."
Knock wood the plan keeps working.
To suggest the Leafs is lacking toughness prior to the start of the AHL season wasn't exactly going out on a limb. But who would have figured goaltending would be the team's weakness as the Christmas break nears?
(By: Robin Short)
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