By Damian Cristodero, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, April 2, 2011
5 questions | D Pavel Kubina
What other sports did you play growing up? I played soccer from when I was 5 years old till I was 16, 17.
What position? Always forward.
Because you could score? No, no. All my life I played defense with hockey, so I liked to play a little offense.
Do you still play? Three games in the summer (in the Czech Republic); 10, 11 guys from the NHL, we play against different towns for charity.
Did you ever try one of those bicycle kicks? Never tried. I'd probably kill myself on it.
Hair-raising scheme
Lightning star Steven Stamkos, above, admitted he doesn't really have the hair to pull off being a spokesman in Canada for Garnier Fructis shampoo.
"It's more the hockey than the actual hair," he said.
He's probably right. When the company recently announced the partnership, Sheila Morin, brand director for Garnier in Canada, said in a release, "The new Fructis anti-dandruff line targets men 18-45, and we know most Canadian men are passionate about hockey."
Still, teammate Mike Smith said, "It was pretty funny when I heard he was doing it. I could see him coming out of the pool and shaking his hair and running his hands through it. He just needs to grow it out a little longer."
Resident artist
When something notable happens to a Lightning player — such as D Mattias Ohlund playing his 900th NHL game — you can be sure assistant coach Dan Lacroix will celebrate with a caricature drawn on the locker-room message board.
Ohlund was depicted walking with a cane. When Steven Stamkos had a goal and four points against the Blues on Feb. 6, Lacroix, to praise the player's skill, drew him with an exaggerated pair of hands.
"The guys see it, they get a chuckle, that's basically it," Lacroix said. "I did more of it when I was a player than a coach. As a coach, you have to pick your spots and can't be as cutthroat."
Quote to note
"The longer he doesn't score, the better for us, because in the playoffs, it's right there, the perfect time for him to get out of it."
Coach Guy Boucher, on Steven Stamkos' scoring drought
Number of the day
8 Goal posts coach Guy Boucher said Steven Stamkos hit in a recent three-game stretch.