This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/sports/hockey/locked-out-hurricane-anthony-stewart-lands-in-nottingham.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The Forward of Nottingham | The Forward of Nottingham |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SHEFFIELD, England — As a forward with the Carolina Hurricanes in the N.H.L., Anthony Stewart earned $800,000 last season. But in his temporary job playing for the Nottingham Panthers in Britain’s Elite League, he is making, basically, nothing. | SHEFFIELD, England — As a forward with the Carolina Hurricanes in the N.H.L., Anthony Stewart earned $800,000 last season. But in his temporary job playing for the Nottingham Panthers in Britain’s Elite League, he is making, basically, nothing. |
| “It’s not necessarily about the money,” said Stewart, who is staying for now in a $97-a-night Nottingham hotel conveniently located, its Web site notes, near the bus station and a Hooters. “I’ve been sitting around the last two weeks doing informal skates on my own, and it’s good to just get out on the ice and get some full-blown game action.” | |
| Put out of work by the N.H.L. owners’ lockout, now in its third week, some 75 N.H.L. players have signed or agreed to sign temporary contracts with well-known teams across Europe, in places like Russia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. | Put out of work by the N.H.L. owners’ lockout, now in its third week, some 75 N.H.L. players have signed or agreed to sign temporary contracts with well-known teams across Europe, in places like Russia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. |
| Stewart is the only player so far to sign with the Elite League, a league so obscure in this soccer-, cricket- and rugby-preferring nation that many Britons do not even know it exists. | Stewart is the only player so far to sign with the Elite League, a league so obscure in this soccer-, cricket- and rugby-preferring nation that many Britons do not even know it exists. |
| “It’s a minority sport in this country,” said Gary Moran, the Panthers’ general manager, who was answering the Panthers’ phone the other day, the office manager having stepped out. | “It’s a minority sport in this country,” said Gary Moran, the Panthers’ general manager, who was answering the Panthers’ phone the other day, the office manager having stepped out. |
| Stewart’s agent, Eustace King, said that the point was to give Stewart playing time so that he would remain in game-ready shape and perhaps improve before returning to the Hurricanes, where he had an indifferent season last year. Practicing is not the same as playing, he said, and the consensus is that players who remain idle during the lockout risk losing their edge. | Stewart’s agent, Eustace King, said that the point was to give Stewart playing time so that he would remain in game-ready shape and perhaps improve before returning to the Hurricanes, where he had an indifferent season last year. Practicing is not the same as playing, he said, and the consensus is that players who remain idle during the lockout risk losing their edge. |
| “So long as you get to go play in a real-life game and get to go full speed, it doesn’t matter — you could play in England, in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden,” King said, speaking from Los Angeles. | “So long as you get to go play in a real-life game and get to go full speed, it doesn’t matter — you could play in England, in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden,” King said, speaking from Los Angeles. |
| The Panthers, and the league in general, have made much of Stewart’s presence. It is a coup to get an active N.H.L. player, although some former ones play for Elite League teams, and on Saturday, Stewart played his first game here. The Panthers’ opponents were the Sheffield Steelers, who, in a sport that depends on the kindness of sponsors, are officially known as the Sheffield Window Center Sheffield Steelers. | |
| (The team has let no sponsorship opportunity go unsold. Even the penalty box has outside assistance: it is known as the Specsavers Penalty Box, a fact the announcer dutifully repeated, along with the locations of several Specsavers outlets, every time a player was sent there.) | (The team has let no sponsorship opportunity go unsold. Even the penalty box has outside assistance: it is known as the Specsavers Penalty Box, a fact the announcer dutifully repeated, along with the locations of several Specsavers outlets, every time a player was sent there.) |
| The Panthers-Steelers rivalry is the bitterest in the league, and the game drew some 5,500 spectators to the Steelers’ base, the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena on the edge of town. | The Panthers-Steelers rivalry is the bitterest in the league, and the game drew some 5,500 spectators to the Steelers’ base, the Sheffield Motorpoint Arena on the edge of town. |
| The team is lucky to have an arena. Many of the league’s 10 teams play on local rinks, jostling for ice time with high school figure skaters, skating parties, people taking lessons and, in Scotland, curlers. | The team is lucky to have an arena. Many of the league’s 10 teams play on local rinks, jostling for ice time with high school figure skaters, skating parties, people taking lessons and, in Scotland, curlers. |
| Other aspects of the Elite League — whose official title is the Rapid Solicitors Elite League, after its own main sponsor, a personal injury law firm promising speedy service — make it very different from the N.H.L. | Other aspects of the Elite League — whose official title is the Rapid Solicitors Elite League, after its own main sponsor, a personal injury law firm promising speedy service — make it very different from the N.H.L. |
| The average N.H.L. player’s annual salary is $2.4 million; the highest-paid player last season, the Rangers’ Brad Richards, was paid $12 million. In the Elite League, the best players, mostly those from abroad, tend to get weekly salaries in the high three figures — like, say, 800 pounds ($1,300). | The average N.H.L. player’s annual salary is $2.4 million; the highest-paid player last season, the Rangers’ Brad Richards, was paid $12 million. In the Elite League, the best players, mostly those from abroad, tend to get weekly salaries in the high three figures — like, say, 800 pounds ($1,300). |
| Some British players earn no money, but depend on yet more sponsors for things like housing and equipment. Some have other jobs; others spend mornings playing hockey and afternoons in school. | |
| “If they’re smart,” Moran said, “they can go to college and get a degree for when they can no longer afford to live the dream that is ice hockey in Britain.” | “If they’re smart,” Moran said, “they can go to college and get a degree for when they can no longer afford to live the dream that is ice hockey in Britain.” |
| During the last lockout, a number of N.H.L. players signed with British teams. “They are not coming for financial gain,” Moran said. “They’re coming to see Britain, they’re coming to a country where we speak English, and they’re coming because they want to keep fit.” | During the last lockout, a number of N.H.L. players signed with British teams. “They are not coming for financial gain,” Moran said. “They’re coming to see Britain, they’re coming to a country where we speak English, and they’re coming because they want to keep fit.” |
| In the N.H.L, players travel on team jets and stay at five-star hotels, sometimes playing to crowds of more than 20,000 people. In the Elite League, they travel by bus, leaving and returning the same day to save on hotel bills. And they do not generally attract large numbers of spectators. | In the N.H.L, players travel on team jets and stay at five-star hotels, sometimes playing to crowds of more than 20,000 people. In the Elite League, they travel by bus, leaving and returning the same day to save on hotel bills. And they do not generally attract large numbers of spectators. |
| “Edinburgh is an eight-hour bus ride away, the rink is freezing, and there’s like 60 people there,” said Jordan Fox, an affable Canadian who is the Panther captain. (That is not strictly accurate; some 800 people attended the Edinburgh Capitals’ most recent game, a spokesman said.) | “Edinburgh is an eight-hour bus ride away, the rink is freezing, and there’s like 60 people there,” said Jordan Fox, an affable Canadian who is the Panther captain. (That is not strictly accurate; some 800 people attended the Edinburgh Capitals’ most recent game, a spokesman said.) |
| Describing himself as someone who has “slept on a pull-out couch for most of my life,” Stewart said that none of this bothers him. | Describing himself as someone who has “slept on a pull-out couch for most of my life,” Stewart said that none of this bothers him. |
| “Once you get out on the ice, that’s all that matters,” he said. “I’m a very low-maintenance guy from a humble background. I’ve got my hotel room, my Internet, my TV, my computer. As long as I’ve got food in me, I’m ready to go.” | “Once you get out on the ice, that’s all that matters,” he said. “I’m a very low-maintenance guy from a humble background. I’ve got my hotel room, my Internet, my TV, my computer. As long as I’ve got food in me, I’m ready to go.” |
| Corey Neilson, a player-coach for the Panthers who is currently just a coach, having sustained a knee injury, said Stewart had a “very positive” attitude. “He could have come in and said, ‘I play for the N.H.L. and I can do what I want,’ ” Neilson said, “but he’s not that kind of guy.” | Corey Neilson, a player-coach for the Panthers who is currently just a coach, having sustained a knee injury, said Stewart had a “very positive” attitude. “He could have come in and said, ‘I play for the N.H.L. and I can do what I want,’ ” Neilson said, “but he’s not that kind of guy.” |
| Stewart got a lot of ice time Saturday, but his performance did not particularly stand out. For one thing, Stewart said, he was still adjusting to the British rinks, which are slightly larger than the ones at home and require a recalibration of his playing angles. | Stewart got a lot of ice time Saturday, but his performance did not particularly stand out. For one thing, Stewart said, he was still adjusting to the British rinks, which are slightly larger than the ones at home and require a recalibration of his playing angles. |
| To be fair, too, he had practiced with the Panthers only twice. And he was also jet-lagged, having landed three days earlier after an overnight flight in coach, all 6 feet 2 inches of him, from New York. | To be fair, too, he had practiced with the Panthers only twice. And he was also jet-lagged, having landed three days earlier after an overnight flight in coach, all 6 feet 2 inches of him, from New York. |
| “These guys are professionals, and you can’t underestimate them,” he said after the game, which the Panthers won, 2-1. “This is a learning process, and soon I’ll be able to show how much I can do.” | “These guys are professionals, and you can’t underestimate them,” he said after the game, which the Panthers won, 2-1. “This is a learning process, and soon I’ll be able to show how much I can do.” |
| Stewart said he was happy so far with his Elite League experience. | Stewart said he was happy so far with his Elite League experience. |
| “They’re going to put me up in, what do you call it, a flat,” he said. Not only that, he said, but the Panthers have paid handsomely for his insurance, a sticking point for many N.H.L. players looking to play abroad during the lockout. | “They’re going to put me up in, what do you call it, a flat,” he said. Not only that, he said, but the Panthers have paid handsomely for his insurance, a sticking point for many N.H.L. players looking to play abroad during the lockout. |
| Back in the United States, talks are continuing, though it is unclear where they are going. The Panthers have signed Stewart for just a month so far, knowing that their relationship could be brief, or not. | Back in the United States, talks are continuing, though it is unclear where they are going. The Panthers have signed Stewart for just a month so far, knowing that their relationship could be brief, or not. |
| “If the lockout is resolved,” Moran said, “it will be, ‘Bye-bye Anthony.’” | “If the lockout is resolved,” Moran said, “it will be, ‘Bye-bye Anthony.’” |
Jeff Z. Klein contributed reporting from New York. |