Tony Horacek doesn`t want to be a janitor. He knows he isn`t going to be chief executive officer and run the show, but he is seeking to better himself now that he is a Blackhawk.
Enforcers are considered nothing more than the janitors of the National Hockey League. They clean up when it gets messy and spend the rest of the time washing their hands of the lingering stink.
Horacek toiled at this sort of labor himself as an entry-level employee in Philadelphia, but the left wing wants a promotion. He wants out of the back streets and into a job that gains him more respect.
”Being a fighter is all right,” he said. ”If that`s how I had to get my foot in the door, that`s fine. When you`re a big guy like me (6-4, 210), that happens. If it gets you places, it gets you places. Maybe I wouldn`t have gotten as far as I have without it.
”But I was stereotyped with the Flyers, stuck in a rut, and Chicago gives me a good opportunity to be an up-and-down winger who is physical, and a good team player. I want to establish myself as a hockey player.
”Maybe a Mike McPhee type,” Horacek added, referring to a long-time Montreal Canadien who contributes about 20 goals a season along with a rugged defensive attitude. ”Maybe some day I can score 20, 30 goals. But, you know, I don`t like labels. I just want to go out there and be a Tony Horacek type.” Horacek will play his third game as a Hawk Sunday night at the Stadium against Calgary since being acquired from the Flyers. He plans to stay longer than in his home debut, Thursday night`s 2-2 tie against Los Angeles. In that game, he decided to help teammate Mike Peluso during a fight in the opening minutes and received a game misconduct for his intervention.
”Peluso doesn`t need my help, I know that,” Horacek said. ”But I was wound up playing in the Stadium and, well, it was kind of a dumb play. I`m the kind of guy, though, that`s going to be there for my teammates.”
If Thursday was a short night, Horacek was pleasantly surprised last weekend in St. Louis at how much coach Mike Keenan played him. That`s the kind of long nights Horacek has in mind.
Keenan often does that with new players, testing them extensively before making them prove they deserve ice time, using a carrot-and-stick motivation. Keenan has praised Horacek so far, however.
”I was surprised at all the ice time I had in St. Louis, but if you work hard, you`ll be rewarded,” Horacek said. ”Chicago is like night and day compared to Philadelphia. The team is stressed here. It`s almost bizarre when you compare it to Philadelphia.
”There, it was two lines, six or seven guys, who were involved. In Chicago, it`s everybody. I developed a bad attitude in Philadelphia. But Chicago must have seen something.”
Horacek is a long way from his 20-goals-a-season aspirations. He scored one this year in 34 games with the Flyers and nine in all over three seasons and 116 games with Philadelphia.
He has traveled a long road to get to Chicago. From Kelowna and Spokane in the Western League to Hershey in the American League, back to Spokane and Kamloops in the WHL, then a stopver in Indianapolis and a return to Hershey.
When he turned 25 Feb. 3, a few days before the Hawks traded for him, Horacek could hear his clock ticking. The days of his hockey calendar felt as if they were being ripped off at excessive speeds.
”At my age, it`s time I started showing people what kind of player I can be,” he said. ”I can`t waste any time.”
