| Jamie
Hislop came to the Cincinnati Stingers' training camp this year with no clear picture of
what the team had in store for him, but he was determined to do everything in his power to
remain in the major leagues. The second year winger from Sarnia, Ont., a former
all-American at University of New Hampshire, had spent part of his rookie year playing
with the Hampton (Va) Gulls before coming up with the Stingers in the last half of the
season. "I didn't really know if I would stay with the team when camp started,"
he said. 'I don't want to go back to Hampton or another minor league team, but I also knew
that the Stingers had made a number of acquisitions in the off-season and I wasn't sure if
there would be room." The new players on the Cincinnati
roster who had the most effect on whether Hislop would be sent down were center Robbie
Ftorek and winger Dell Hall, picked up from the defunct Phoenix Roadrunners franchise
along with defenseman Serge Beaudoin. Hislop reported to camp in top shape and quickly
impressed new coach Jacques Demers with his hustle and ability, the same qualities which
made him so valuable down the stretch last year. When the final cuts had been made, he was
still on the major league roster.
He is performing in a special role right now, working penalty
killing situations with Jacques Locas most of the time and sitting on the bench through
most of the first six games of the season. It's not a task many hockey players relish, but
Hislop is also able to look at the situation realistically and make the most of things.
"I just look at the forwards ahead of me on this team and I realize I'm in a good
spot," he said, alluding to the amount of talent and scoring potential concentrated
in the Stinger forwards making IP the three regular lines. "But I'm here, and I'm
doing a job," he said. "Jacques (Locas) and I have been getting some time on
regular shifts to spell some of the other forwards, so it's not so bad. And if there's an
injury I can come off the bench and fill in."
Hislop is one of the stronger players on the team, packing a lot of
strength into a 5-foot-10, 180 pound frame. He has a good, heavy shot and is hard to knock
off the puck. Appearing in 46 games with the Stingers last year, he scored seven goals and
added 19 assists working much of the time in the role of a sub. He's accustomed to coming
off the bench, but that doesn't make it any easier. "It's always tough coming off the
bench, especially if it's late in the game and you haven't had any ice time," he
explained. "After the pre-game warm-up you have your ice legs and you're ready to go,
but if you sit on the bench too long you lose that edge. That's why it's important to get
in a couple of shifts early in the game and get some contact. Jacques (Demers) had been
sending us (he and Locas) out every once in a while so we're not stale. We may get more
time against New England (Friday night) because the Whalers go with four forward
lines."
Although it is certainly frustrating for any hockey player to spend
a lot of time on the bench waiting for penalties rather than skating on a regular line.
Hislop is not discouraged and feels he will continue to progress. "I suppose I might
have progressed at a faster rate with a team that didn;t have as many good forwards,"
he said of his job with the Stingers, "but I'd still rather be with a winner, and
this team is going to be a winner." There is also the possibility that Hislop could
inherit a starting role in the near future. Demers, unhappy with the performance of some
players as the Stingers won just one game in the first six, said last weekend that Hislop
and Locas could well more into a starting line if certain people didn't shape up.
STINGERS NOTES - The Stingers will have a brief skate at Northland
Ice Center today (9 a.m) before departing for Hartford, Conn., where they meet the Whalers
Friday night (7:30 p.m) WLW's pre-game starts at 7:10 p.m.....Saturday night is poster
night at Riverfront Coliseum with every youngster attending the game against the Winnipeg
Jets receiving a color poster of Dennis Sobchuk....Two Mite teams of youngsters 6-8 years
old from the Tri-State Hockey Association will skate between the first and second periods
Saturday night. |
