Ex-Hawk now one of Wings' key players

DETROIT - Dan Cleary would look good in a Blackhawks uniform now.

It seems like another era when Cleary played for the Hawks after being one of the team's two first-round draft picks in 1997.

Cleary was taken 13th overall and Ty Jones 16th overall in a draft the Hawks loved at the time. But Jones wasn't that Cam Neely-type power forward the Hawks expected him to be and in a few years he was out of shape and out of the game.

Cleary played 41 games for the Hawks over parts of two seasons before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers as part of the package for defenseman Boris Mironov.

Cleary, who scored 2 goals in Sunday's 5-2 win in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at Joe Louis Arena, looks back at his time with the Hawks knowing he wasn't ready to play in the NHL even though he came out of the draft with Patrick Kane-like hype and skill.

"I lacked maturity on and off the ice," Cleary said. "But that was a long time ago. I don't hold any grudges at all."

It wasn't until Cleary got to Detroit that he developed into what he is now, one of the better role players in the NHL.

"Detroit really gave me the chance to be the player I am," Cleary said. "What can you say? This team has the ability to bring the best out of you."

Cleary believes he might be out of hockey if he hadn't taken advantage of what could have been his last chance to play in the NHL.

"Looking back on it, I was real close. I was right there," Cleary said. "If I didn't make Detroit, I don't know where I would have been. Each year now my role has gotten more and more, my ice time has increased, and my responsibility."

Cleary has 5 goals and 11 points in 12 playoff games. He scored the winning goal in Thursday's Game 7 win over Anaheim in the West semifinals with three minutes to play.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock credits Cleary for sticking with it despite a lot of bumps along the way.

"I heard him the other day telling guys how high end he was when he was young. I had to laugh, but he was," Babcock said. "He was beyond gifted, but things happened too fast for him. It took him awhile to get his career back.

"Now he can flat-out do anything. He's a big body, he's good with the puck, he's strong down low, and he can match up well against the best players."