LAROSE'S ATTITUDE, ENERGY SPARK HURRICANES' SUCCESSwww.carolinahurricanes.com/custom/radF9E89.aspDAVE POND
RALEIGH, NC (November 21, 2006) - Every successful team needs not only superstar-level talent, but role players who fill some of the most essential positions on the ice and in the locker room. The spotlight almost never shines their way, but without those guys, reaching the top of the NHL mountain would be a nearly impossible task.
For Carolina, one of those players is Chad LaRose - a 5'10" dynamo whose boundless energy and willingness to put the team first made a significant impression on his teammates as the Hurricanes claimed Stanley Cup greatness a season ago.
"I think Chad plays a very important role on our team," Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's an energy guy, a penalty killer and has the potential for offense. As of recently, I've really liked his game and liked the way he's played."
LaRose signed his first contract with Carolina in August of 2003 after racking up 61 goals in 67 games with Plymouth of the OHL. Successful stops in Florida (ECHL) and Lowell (AHL) would follow, and he joined the Hurricanes for 70 games (49 regular-season, 21 playoff) in Carolina's championship run last season.
A scoring whiz throughout junior hockey and the minor leagues, LaRose meshed perfectly with the team's philosophy of "whatever it takes," joining Kevyn and Craig Adams on the Canes' gritty, energy-filled fourth line and finished third among all forwards with a +7 plus/minus rating.
"I think he provides an awful lot to this team as far as character, energy and penalty killing, and I think the offense will come," Laviolette said. "He scored a lot of goals in juniors and has translated it at every level, just not this one yet," Laviolette said. "I think he is that type of player. It hasn't shown up on the scoresheet yet, but over time, I think it will."
LaRose tallied just a single goal and a dozen assists last season, but the contributions the Hurricanes' fourth line made cannot be measured on paper alone. Night after night, when Carolina needed a spark, a big hit or a defensive stop, the 25-year-old LaRose was on the ice.
"I try to work hard, be a team player, and play the game the right way," LaRose said. "Whatever I'm asked to do, I'm going to try to do it to the fullest and make sure the job gets done. I'm thankful that the coaches put me in these situations, and thankful that I have a role to play."
"We play hockey for a living. I try to come in and have fun every day, get a laugh out of the guys and loosen everybody up. You're here every day for about 220 days with these guys, and if you take it too tight and too serious, you're not going to have fun."
Through the Hurricanes' first 20 games, LaRose's game continues to evolve and he continues to mature as a player - after all, the Fraser, MI, native isn't even 100 games into his NHL career.
"I would say I have a little more patience - not too much though," he said with a laugh. "Last year I was really nervous about making a mistake, but this year I feel a little better, a little quicker, and feel like I see the ice better as well.
"It's early on and it seems we're killing a lot of penalties right now, so once we get some open-ice chances here and there, we'll see how it works out," LaRose said. "It's early and I feel good, and the last five or six games I've been feeling a lot better."
Last year, LaRose lit the lamp in the sixth game he played, so it was a relief when his first goal of the 2006-07 season finally came Nov. 11 in Carolina's 6-2 rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"It was good to get that monkey off my back and get off the goose egg," he said. "It was kind of a meaningless goal, but it was definitely good to get off the schnide, and I think there are many more to come for me here."
"This is a pretty tough league, and sometimes what you've done before doesn't translate right away," Kevyn Adams said. "There's a learning curve, and he's still a young player, but you can see him gaining confidence and wanting to make plays and want the puck."
Just as important as his ability to jump-start the team on the ice is LaRose's role in the Carolina locker room. As sure as Laviolette is the teacher, professor and the principal, LaRose is unquestionably the Hurricanes' class clown, whose high-pitched laugh can be heard from the RBC Center rafters.
"He's pretty loose, and he's great for the team," Adams said. "He's a guy that doesn't take himself or anything too seriously. You need a guy like that in every locker room."
While he's all business when the puck drops, keep an eye LaRose in practice - he's the jester and the joker, needling his teammates with a good-natured barb or spraying them with a larger-than-average ice shower when he comes to a quick stop. Monday's practice, for example, featured LaRose and Mike Commodore - another affable 'Cane - dishing out light-hearted shoves, smack-talk and ice spray in each other's direction during a conditioning drill.
"You need a whole bunch of different types of personalities, and I think we have that here," Laviolette said. "Rosey certainly is a valuable one in that his teammates really like him. He lightens the air when it needs to be, and he's an important part of this locker room."
LaRose said it's the only way he knows to play - he's just being himself.
"C'mon, we play hockey for a living," he said. "I try to come in and have fun every day, get a laugh out of the guys and loosen everybody up. "You're here every day for about 220 days with these guys, and if you take it too tight and too serious, you're not going to have fun."