Post by dogcatcher on Jan 22, 2008 7:05:23 GMT -4
Best deal the GM never made
PETER MCGUIRE
GAME ON
Published Tuesday January 22nd, 2008
Appeared on page B10
Travis Fullerton hasn't exactly had things handed to him during his young hockey career.
Sure, on the surface the Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender appears to have the world by the tail but his road to the top has not been easy.
The Sea Dogs lead the Eastern Division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, sporting a record of 29-12-1-3 for 64 points. Oh yes, and the third-year franchise also occupies the No. 10 slot in the national rankings, thanks in no small part to Fullerton, a former Moncton midget AAA star.
The 20-year-old was drafted in the 14th round - 213th overall - by the Lewiston Maineiacs in the 2004 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League lottery. Most players taken that deep in the draft don't get a sniff of a major junior career, let alone a starring role on a nationally ranked team.
Fullerton went to training camp in Lewiston later that summer and showed promise before returning to play for the Moncton Beavers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. He cracked the lineup with the Maineiacs the following season and served as a backup to rising star Jonathan Bernier, who has since been selected in the first round of the National Hockey League draft, 11th overall last June. He also helped Canada win its fourth straight World Junior Hockey Championship earlier this month.
Then, what appeared to be a very bright future for Fullerton, became terribly dark.
He was convicted on an impaired driving charge during training camp last August in Lewiston, received a stiff fine, and was sent home.
It's not something he's proud of. In fact, there isn't a whole lot he wouldn't do to take back his indiscretion.
And while he prefers not to talk about it, he doesn't avoid it, either.
"It's a part of life," said Fullerton, a quiet, likeable sort. "But I believe I have become a better person as a result because I have become more responsible. I understand why Lewiston did what they did, absolutely, because teams can't tolerate stuff like that off the ice."
Fullerton returned home and suited up for the Beavers until the Sea Dogs made their move last December.
Saint John coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu doesn't downplay Fullerton's mistake - in fact he takes it quite seriously - but he's a big believer in second chances.
That's what he gave the Riverview native when he acquired him for a pair of draft picks - a 2007 fourth-round selection, which turned out to be defenceman Pierre-Luc Pelletier and a sixth-rounder in the 2008 draft.
"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Beaulieu. "I mean, these guys are teenagers and they make mistakes but they can learn from them. He was given a new life, a new start and he's taken advantage of it."
At the time of the trade, Lewiston assistant coach and assistant general manager Ed Harding - now the head coach - called it a win-win for both teams.
"It was a great deal for us," Harding told the Sun Journal. "We got something for essentially nothing. Travis Fullerton was not in our plans anymore, so we made the best possible decision for everyone involved.
"I don't think Saint John overpaid, and I don't think they underpaid either," said Harding.
"We had lots of conversation with a lot of people, and I think it was a market-value deal."
Beaulieu admitted last week that there might have been a seed of doubt in the back of his mind when he made the deal but it soon disappeared.
"When we met with Travis, he was pretty genuine about getting a second chance."
But even when he did sign with the Sea Dogs, there were no guarantees.
He was one of four goalies to see action for the Sea Dogs last season - the others being Maxime Joyal, Matthew Dopud and Aaron Barton.
And when it looked like he would be annointed the No. 1 man for this season, the Sea Dogs were able to convince Swiss import Robert Mayer that coming to Saint John would be in his best interest. Mayer agreed and the Sea Dogs drafted him third overall in the import draft.
All of a sudden, the glare of the goaltending spotlight had returned but it wasn't shining on Fullerton. It was on the youngster from Zurich. Mayer is considered a sure-fire draft pick in the 2008 NHL draft and was a member of the Swiss national team at the recently completed world junior tourney. And on Sunday, he was selected to play in the Canadian Hockey League's Top Prospects Game on Wednesday at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
During training camp, there were whispers that the Sea Dogs may dangle Fullerton as trade bait.
After all, it appeared he would be the No. 2 man and why would a team want to waste one of its three coveted 20-year-old roster spots on someone who is only going to play sparingly?
Beaulieu refused to pull the trigger, even though the temptation was there.
And when the trading window opened - Dec. 18 to Jan. 9 - and Mayer was in the Czech Republic with the Swiss national team, the Sea Dogs' third goaltender, Troy Passingham, had his first audition. The idea was that if Passingham showed he was ready to step in as a bona fide backup, Fullerton could be made available in a trade.
It didn't happen. Passingham posted a record of 1-1 in two starts and didn't really knock anyone's socks off.
"It definitely crossed our thoughts," said Beaulieu, alluding to the trade possibility. "But we felt the only way we would trade Travis is if it really made our team better for next year. In the end, we felt trading Travis was going to weaken our team for this year."
Despite Sunday's 2-1 shootout setback to the Mooseheads, Fullerton has earned the right to wear the No. 1 label. He has a record of 17 wins and 10 losses, a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .905.
By comparison, Mayer is 12-5 with an inflated 3.33 GAA and a run-of-the-mill save percentage of .889. The 17-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance at times this season - his franchise-high two shutouts is proof of that - but it seems when he's not pulling off a groin-screeching splits save, he's letting in a soft goal. That was evidenced in Friday night's 12-6 romp over the P.E.I. Rocket.
This is why if the playoffs were to begin tonight, Fullerton would be getting the nod to start.
Beaulieu is fast gaining a reputation for being a mastermind with several deals he's made since being named general manager mid-way through last season, but if the Sea Dogs are able to go deep into the playoffs, trading Fullerton will be the best move Beaulieu never made.
NOTES: Fullerton's 1.92 goals-against average and .940 save percentage between for Jan. 14-20 were enough to gain him honorable mention in the QMJHL defensive player of the week voting. Sea Dogs' defenceman Simon Després, who had five assists and a plus-four rating was also considered. Baie-Comeau Drakkar forward Matt Marquardt and Val-d'Or Foreurs goaltender Raffaele D'Orso were named offensive and defensive players of the week.
PETER MCGUIRE
GAME ON
Published Tuesday January 22nd, 2008
Appeared on page B10
Travis Fullerton hasn't exactly had things handed to him during his young hockey career.
Sure, on the surface the Saint John Sea Dogs goaltender appears to have the world by the tail but his road to the top has not been easy.
The Sea Dogs lead the Eastern Division of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, sporting a record of 29-12-1-3 for 64 points. Oh yes, and the third-year franchise also occupies the No. 10 slot in the national rankings, thanks in no small part to Fullerton, a former Moncton midget AAA star.
The 20-year-old was drafted in the 14th round - 213th overall - by the Lewiston Maineiacs in the 2004 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League lottery. Most players taken that deep in the draft don't get a sniff of a major junior career, let alone a starring role on a nationally ranked team.
Fullerton went to training camp in Lewiston later that summer and showed promise before returning to play for the Moncton Beavers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. He cracked the lineup with the Maineiacs the following season and served as a backup to rising star Jonathan Bernier, who has since been selected in the first round of the National Hockey League draft, 11th overall last June. He also helped Canada win its fourth straight World Junior Hockey Championship earlier this month.
Then, what appeared to be a very bright future for Fullerton, became terribly dark.
He was convicted on an impaired driving charge during training camp last August in Lewiston, received a stiff fine, and was sent home.
It's not something he's proud of. In fact, there isn't a whole lot he wouldn't do to take back his indiscretion.
And while he prefers not to talk about it, he doesn't avoid it, either.
"It's a part of life," said Fullerton, a quiet, likeable sort. "But I believe I have become a better person as a result because I have become more responsible. I understand why Lewiston did what they did, absolutely, because teams can't tolerate stuff like that off the ice."
Fullerton returned home and suited up for the Beavers until the Sea Dogs made their move last December.
Saint John coach and general manager Jacques Beaulieu doesn't downplay Fullerton's mistake - in fact he takes it quite seriously - but he's a big believer in second chances.
That's what he gave the Riverview native when he acquired him for a pair of draft picks - a 2007 fourth-round selection, which turned out to be defenceman Pierre-Luc Pelletier and a sixth-rounder in the 2008 draft.
"He was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Beaulieu. "I mean, these guys are teenagers and they make mistakes but they can learn from them. He was given a new life, a new start and he's taken advantage of it."
At the time of the trade, Lewiston assistant coach and assistant general manager Ed Harding - now the head coach - called it a win-win for both teams.
"It was a great deal for us," Harding told the Sun Journal. "We got something for essentially nothing. Travis Fullerton was not in our plans anymore, so we made the best possible decision for everyone involved.
"I don't think Saint John overpaid, and I don't think they underpaid either," said Harding.
"We had lots of conversation with a lot of people, and I think it was a market-value deal."
Beaulieu admitted last week that there might have been a seed of doubt in the back of his mind when he made the deal but it soon disappeared.
"When we met with Travis, he was pretty genuine about getting a second chance."
But even when he did sign with the Sea Dogs, there were no guarantees.
He was one of four goalies to see action for the Sea Dogs last season - the others being Maxime Joyal, Matthew Dopud and Aaron Barton.
And when it looked like he would be annointed the No. 1 man for this season, the Sea Dogs were able to convince Swiss import Robert Mayer that coming to Saint John would be in his best interest. Mayer agreed and the Sea Dogs drafted him third overall in the import draft.
All of a sudden, the glare of the goaltending spotlight had returned but it wasn't shining on Fullerton. It was on the youngster from Zurich. Mayer is considered a sure-fire draft pick in the 2008 NHL draft and was a member of the Swiss national team at the recently completed world junior tourney. And on Sunday, he was selected to play in the Canadian Hockey League's Top Prospects Game on Wednesday at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
During training camp, there were whispers that the Sea Dogs may dangle Fullerton as trade bait.
After all, it appeared he would be the No. 2 man and why would a team want to waste one of its three coveted 20-year-old roster spots on someone who is only going to play sparingly?
Beaulieu refused to pull the trigger, even though the temptation was there.
And when the trading window opened - Dec. 18 to Jan. 9 - and Mayer was in the Czech Republic with the Swiss national team, the Sea Dogs' third goaltender, Troy Passingham, had his first audition. The idea was that if Passingham showed he was ready to step in as a bona fide backup, Fullerton could be made available in a trade.
It didn't happen. Passingham posted a record of 1-1 in two starts and didn't really knock anyone's socks off.
"It definitely crossed our thoughts," said Beaulieu, alluding to the trade possibility. "But we felt the only way we would trade Travis is if it really made our team better for next year. In the end, we felt trading Travis was going to weaken our team for this year."
Despite Sunday's 2-1 shootout setback to the Mooseheads, Fullerton has earned the right to wear the No. 1 label. He has a record of 17 wins and 10 losses, a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .905.
By comparison, Mayer is 12-5 with an inflated 3.33 GAA and a run-of-the-mill save percentage of .889. The 17-year-old has shown flashes of brilliance at times this season - his franchise-high two shutouts is proof of that - but it seems when he's not pulling off a groin-screeching splits save, he's letting in a soft goal. That was evidenced in Friday night's 12-6 romp over the P.E.I. Rocket.
This is why if the playoffs were to begin tonight, Fullerton would be getting the nod to start.
Beaulieu is fast gaining a reputation for being a mastermind with several deals he's made since being named general manager mid-way through last season, but if the Sea Dogs are able to go deep into the playoffs, trading Fullerton will be the best move Beaulieu never made.
NOTES: Fullerton's 1.92 goals-against average and .940 save percentage between for Jan. 14-20 were enough to gain him honorable mention in the QMJHL defensive player of the week voting. Sea Dogs' defenceman Simon Després, who had five assists and a plus-four rating was also considered. Baie-Comeau Drakkar forward Matt Marquardt and Val-d'Or Foreurs goaltender Raffaele D'Orso were named offensive and defensive players of the week.
