Haydar tries to make best of his AHL return
Most people driving to work Friday morning would rather have been anywhere but in Chicago traffic.
Chicago Wolves captain Darren Haydar certainly wished he was in Atlanta.
After spending nearly three months with the Atlanta Thrashers, his longest stint in the NHL during his six-year career, Haydar was demoted and sent back to the Wolves.
"Of course, one side of me is disappointed," said Haydar as he drove to the team's practice Friday. "I was hoping to stick in the NHL for the year. … I felt I could be there and should be there. Unfortunately for this time, I didn't fit into their plans."
The season has been an emotional roller coaster for Haydar, who was last year's MVP in the American Hockey League. He was called up to the Thrashers following the Wolves' season opener. He started off strong in Atlanta, scoring a goal and dishing an assist in his second game. He had 4 assists and 1 goal in the opening month.
From there, his production and playing time decreased. In November, he played twice -- Nov. 1 and 29. He started playing again consistently for the Thrashers this month but was never given more than 15 minutes of ice time, and his numbers showed it.
"I don't think I got a fair shot in terms of quality of ice time," Haydar said. "I'm staying positive. I'm staying ready. You never know what can happen, especially in this league."
Even tougher was the fact he was put on waivers Dec. 11 and had to wait a day to see if he would clear them or be picked up by another team.
"As a hockey player, you're unsure what's going to happen," he said. "You can end up in 30 different cities. That definitely was an experience. I've never been put on waivers in the middle of the season."
To check Haydar's emotional state when he returned, Wolves coach John Anderson and his staff met with him to talk about the situation.
"We sat at length and talked," Anderson said. "Part of the meeting with us was to let him vent a little bit. You need to get some things off your chest. That's what he kind of did.
"He's quite disappointed honestly. I kind of want him to feel that way. I still want him to think he should be playing there. That's what gives you an edge."
In his first game back, Anderson put last year's dominating trio of Haydar, Jason Krog and Brett Sterling together again. And like last year, they couldn't be stopped. Haydar had 2 goals and 2 assists; Krog had 2 goals and 3 assists; and Sterling finished with 2 goals.
"They hadn't played together for a long time and it didn't look like they missed a beat," Anderson said. "Hopefully it continues."
So what can Haydar do to get more of a shot with the Thrashers?
"I watched him play last night and he played pretty darn good," Anderson said. "There was nothing I didn't like about his game. He had 122 points last year. Maybe he should have had 140? I don't know."
The scent of charity: Jordan LaVallee and Nathan Oystrick raised money for various charities this week by remaining in their uniforms for 27 hours following Wednesday's home game against the Peoria Rivermen.
"We started at the beginning and we smelled bad," LaVallee said in the 19th hour of the fundraiser. "Now, it's bad. It kind of burns the nostrils.
"Especially after I couldn't stop sweating for an hour after last night's game. That's when I knew it was going to be a tough night. I actually got zero minutes of sleep. Oystrick got a few hours. Definitely wearing the skates has been the worst. My feet are starting to swell up."
The money raised went to Family Resource Center, the Anti-Cruelty Society and the Dan Snyder Memorial Fund.