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November 25, 2008

Trojan hockey to utilize Drake's expertise

He'll serve as an assistant

By JAMES COOK

TRAVERSE CITY -- Traverse City West had its time with Dallas Drake during the NHL player lockout.

Now, it's TC Central's turn.

Drake, who skated with the Titans during the lockout to stay in shape, is serving as an assistant coach at Traverse City Central as the Trojans gear up for their season opener on Friday in the Traverse City West Thanksgiving Tournament.

"It's awesome," said Central defenseman Eric Swy. "You just soak in all that he has to say. It's a lot of small stuff you don't think about like tipping drills."

A Traverse City resident, Drake showed the Trojans some pointers on tipping the puck past the goalie in the team's 6-7 a.m. practice. That evening, Swy watched the Red Wings on TV.

"It just so happened they scored two goals the exact way he showed us," Swy said.

The 15-year NHL veteran announced his retirement after the 2007-08 season in which he won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings.

Drake -- who also coaches his kids' Squirt and Pee Wee teams -- joins assistant coach Scott Harvey on the Trojan bench with head coach Chris Givens.

Givens said Drake will practice with the team several times a week and make as many games as his schedule will allow. He was on the bench for one of Central's two scrimmages.

"When I heard the announcement that he retired, I figured we'd better jump on this while we can before somebody else does," Given said. "Any time we could get from him would be great.

"I've really enjoyed it. He's taught them a lot -- teaching them how to generate your own offense, trying to get to the net, shooting to put teammates in better position to score. He uses what guys like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg do as examples, and that's something the kids just can't get anywhere else."

Drake scored 26 or more points in 13 of 15 years of his NHL career, which started and ended in Detroit.

"It's just so cool that he takes the time out of his schedule to help us out," Swy said.

Opening night

Friday marks the first big night of the prep hockey season. A look at the matchups:

Warren DeLaSalle at TC West, 8:30 p.m.

Dearborn United at TC Central, 6 p.m.

Northwest Warriors at Kalamazoo United Tournament, 1 p.m.

Cadillac at Chelsea Tournament, 7 p.m.

Muskegon Catholic Central vs. Cheboygan at Chiefs Thanksgiving Tournament, 7 p.m.

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