| Paul
Stewart won't deny he has something of a reputation when it comes to fights during hockey
games. As a minor leaguer he tangled with some of the toughest in pro hockey. But Stewart,
a 6-foot-1, 195 pound winger who has been given a 10-game trial by the Cincinnati
Stingers, wants it known out front that he isn't coming to Cincinnati to beat people up.
He isn't another Willie Trognotz. "I'm not taking anybody's place," said
Stewart, who has been playing for the Birmingham (N.Y.) Dusters in the American League.
"I don't want people to think I'm replacing Trognitz. "I'm not here to protect
anyone. I'm here to play hockey and try to be successful." Stewart, doesn't want people to think he's a 'cement head" capable of
violence and little else on the ice. But he does take a certain amount of pride in
pointing out that "I've never backed down from anyone. I've fought some of the
best." He includes former Philadelphia Flyer bad boy Dave Schultz, Steve Durbano,
Gilles Bildeau and many more. He has had more than his share of stitches but has dealt
plenty of punishment. Its no secret the Stingers have been looking for some muscle to give
the squad a little respect. Too many times this season the Stingers have been pushed
around and eventually lost because they weren't as physical as the opponent.
Stewart could give Cincinnati some of that muscle. He described
himself as an "up and down hockey players. I'm not a great stick handler and I don't
score a lot, but I work both ends and I believe in giving 100%." Stewart, who
attended the exclusive Groton School in Boston ("a rather untypical school for a
professional athlete"), spent four years at University of Pennsylvania where he
majored in history and played hockey and baseball. I worked, sharpened the team's skates,
cleaned up after the games and played 12 games in three years," he said with a touch
of sarcasm.
The Trognitz affair left a bad taste with some Cincinnati hockey
fans. Trognitz suspended for life from the International Hockey League after a fight which
ended in his opponent being hit with a stick, was ballyhooed upon his arrival here as the
player who could handle the heavy work for the Stingers. When his 10-game trial ended,
Trognitz was back in Dayton, Ohio, unhappy because he felt he had been used by the
Stingers to protect some of their high-priced players. Stewart doesn't want to be the
product of a similar situation.
"I'm not coming here just to fight," he insisted. "I
think I can play for the Stingers. I'm the kind of player who just goes out and tries to
do the job. I'll go into the corners and come out with the puck, I'll stand in front of
the goal, and I'll get a few points here and there. I don't think talent is just
statistics. If I do my job and take care of my man all night. I feel I've been successful.
If the team wins and I did my job I've contributed, whether I get a point or not."
Stewart said he considered the Stingers' 10-game offer "an honor" and pointed
out that he wasn't overly concerned with making a lot of money right now. I was probably
the least-paid player in Binghamton but I was the happiest," he said, emphasizing
that he approaches hockey with a positive attitude. "With me it isn't partly cloudy,
it's partly sunny."
Stewart said playing hockey was "over 90% mental" and
thinks his mental attitude is sharp right now, "I feel I'm ready to play in this
league. I think if I can have a few good games I can stay with the team. That's all I
ask." Stewart, whose grandfather, Bill Stewart, was a former Chicago Blackhawks coach
and major league baseball umpire, may get his chance Wednesday night when the Stingers
host Indianapolis. He is more likely to see activity Thursday when the Stingers return to
Birmingham to meet the Bulls. It will be Cincinnati's first trip back to that Alabama city
since the debacle on Thanksgiving night when the Stingers were defeated, 12-2.
Stewart, who deplores the tactics of hockey players who are on the
ice only to fight because "it detracts from the game." doesn't enter a game
looking for trouble. But he hasn't skated away from it yet, either. |
