Paul Stastny and Patrick Mullen are the only University of Denver hockey players to use wooden sticks. That’s not a coincidence.
The forwards are the sons of NHL Hall of Famers Peter Stastny and Joe Mullen, both of whom joined the NHL when cheap lumber was all that was available.
Like father, like son times two for DU coach George Gwozdecky, who enjoys coaching the “old-school” sons of two of the best forwards to play the game.
“It’s a great compliment to the program having these two families involved,” Gwozdecky said. “Players who have parents that have gone through the challenges of playing a high level throughout their career – in this case, not only players in the National Hockey League, but stars in the NHL – understand the pressures that their sons are going through, and the expectations their coaches have.
“They’re pretty much hands off. … So contrary to popular belief, coaching guys like these is a lot better.”
Peter Stastny won the 1981 Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year and was the league’s second-most prolific scorer of the 1980s, behind only Wayne Gretzky. Mullen is the first American-born player to produce 500 goals and 1,000 points and play on three Stanley Cup champions.
Stastny defected from Czechoslovakia to play in the NHL, and the 5-foot-9 Mullen had to fight his way out of New York’s “Hell’s Kitchen” to continue his career with a partial scholarship at Boston College.
Having their sons playing at DU is a coincidence.
Stastny, a sophomore, and Mullen, a freshman, didn’t meet until off-ice drills began in September. And while their fathers played against each other, they didn’t interact socially until the 2003 NHL Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Toronto. Stastny, who played in the NHL from 1980 to 1994 with Quebec, New Jersey and St. Louis, joined the Hall of Fame in 1998. Mullen was inducted in 2000 after playing 17 seasons from 1981 to 1997 with St. Louis, Calgary, Pittsburgh and Boston.
“We met at the Hall of Fame when Bernie Federko went in,” said Joe Mullen, now an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. “That’s the only time I’ve talked to him, really, so having our sons together now is just the way it worked out.”
Both families have strong ties to Denver. Peter Stastny is friends with former Quebec linemate Michel Goulet, a longtime Avalanche executive. Joe Mullen played six seasons for his current employer, the Penguins, whose longtime general manager is former Pioneers standout Craig Patrick. He played for DU in the 1960s and was the school’s athletic director in the 1980s.
Stastny and Mullen said they got glowing reports about playing at DU, but the decision was made by their sons.
Paul Stastny, who was a junior-A and USA Hockey star long before arriving at Denver, had his choice of scholarship offers from all the major programs. Mullen chose DU over New Hampshire and his father’s alma mater, BC.
Both say the only pressure they feel is in helping DU win. For Stastny, who leads the Pioneers with 14 points in eight games and was DU’s second-leading scorer last season, it’s a little easier. Last season’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year joined the team at 200 pounds; he has since added 10 pounds and fine-tuned his skills.
In July, Stastny was drafted in the second round by the Avalanche, the franchise his father played for when a rookie named Joe Sakic joined the franchise in 1988 when it was in Quebec.
Sakic, 36, could end his career playing with Paul Stastny.
“That’d be awesome, but who knows what will happen?” Paul Stastny said. “When my dad was at the tail end of his career, he took Sakic under his wing for a couple years. If I get a chance to do that under Sakic’s wing, I’d be honored. It’d be awesome to go from one generation to another.”
Patrick Mullen, a 5-10, 170-pounder, has two goals in six games and missed two games with a concussion.
“He’s a lot better skater that me,” Joe Mullen said of his son. “I was a choppy skater; he’s very fluid. Patrick sees the ice better than me and passes better than me. Maybe I shoot the puck better, but I know he’s working on that.”
Patrick Mullen has never put up big offensive numbers, but Gwozdecky has him pegged as a future offensive force.
“Some people tell me I’m only here because of my dad and I only played junior because of my dad,” Patrick Mullen said. “But I really don’t care. He doesn’t put any pressure on me. I don’t feel any pressure.”
Stastny and Mullen do feel heat about their stick of choice in an age when most everyone else uses much more expensive artificial sticks.
“I just like the feel of the woods, and you don’t have to worry about ruining them,” Stastny said.
Old-school, indeed.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
