Eight weeks ago, real estate major Matt Carle was prepping for his college finals at the University of Denver while Wojtek Wolski shined in a 5,000-seat arena just 20 minutes from his childhood home.
From boys to men in a hockey blink.
Carle, a San Jose Sharks defenseman, and Wolski, an Avalanche center, have advanced with their teams to the second round of the NHL playoffs. Each man is trying to make one of the largest leaps in pro sports: from late-season call-up to postseason phenom.
And here, role models are most rare.
Among the long list of rookies who thrived in the chase for the Stanley Cup, nearly all had full NHL seasons to blossom and, then, brace for the postseason wars.
“You play your opponent until you’re dead – or they are. It’s just a different game in the playoffs,” said Claude Lemieux, who became one of those rare breakout talents for the Montreal Canadiens in 1985-86. “But I knew going in, it’s all out, every game.”
To match Lemieux’s instant maturity and sudden success – he scored 10 playoff goals after a 10-game call-up – Carle and Wolski will need to keep their heads, hold onto their confidence and worry about arena banners, not the stat book, Lemieux said.
“It’s: ‘We’ve got to win.’ It’s not: ‘How many goals am I going to score?’ You don’t want to go in thinking you’ve got to carry the load or you’ve got to score,” said Lemieux, a former Avalanche forward. “If you do that, it’s going to be a tough playoffs.
“When I got called up by Montreal, I told myself, ‘The worst that can happen is going back to the minors.’ I just decided to play the way I play. And if I make it, so be it. That approach worked for me.”
Carle, who saw action in 12 regular-season games with San Jose, and Wolski, who took shifts in nine early games with the Avalanche, already are echoing Lemieux’s low-pressure outlook.
“I do get reminded (by teammates) that I belong and not to get star-struck by these guys,” said Carle, 21, who had three assists in the Sharks’ first-round series against Nashville. “At the end of the day, you’re just playing hockey.
“For Wolski and myself, that’s what you’ve grown up doing. When you think about it, it’s easy in that sense. Just go out and play.”
In Colorado’s opening series against Dallas, Wolski, 20, scored a goal and dished out three assists. Only three teammates have more postseason points.
“Just being accepted by the team and having guys give me pointers and tips every day has been the difference,” said Wolski, who racked up 47 goals and 128 points during a regular season spent with the Brampton Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League. “Every once in a while, you know, once a day, just walking around Denver or eating dinner, I just take a little minute to think of what’s going on and to appreciate the situation. I’m just trying to soak it in.”
During the heat of the games, Wolski has absorbed a flurry of advice from frequent linemate Jim Dowd as well as from veterans Ian Laperriere and Pierre Turgeon: Keep your stick in the passing lanes, finish your checks, be first to the loose pucks.
Before games, though, it’s often Avs assistant coach Tony Granato who’s in Wolski’s ear.
“I tell him that he is here because of what he’s done in juniors and what he did in training camp. He’s here to help us win, not just take up a spot on the bench,” Granato said. “He’s here to contribute and he should play with the confidence that we’ve shown in him. And he has.
“To be able to step into the lineup after not being here all year? It’s not the easiest thing to do.”
For Wolski and Carle – named the Hobey Baker Award winner as college hockey’s best player – the résumés are pretty. The playoffs are not. And both are quickly realizing that their primary jobs now are meshing into tight locker rooms – just sitting and listening. This is hockey school at its best.
“Enjoy yourself and work hard,” is teammate Alex Tanguay’s advice to Wolski.
“He’s going to have to learn some stuff,” Tanguay said.
Has Wolski’s learning curve been consistent through the Avs’ first five playoff games?
“Well,” Tanguay said, “it’s hard. It’s not the best time to come in and try to experience yourself. But he is a smart guy.”
Added Carle: “It’s mostly about your attitude. You’ve just got to be open to any criticism or any help.
“Right now, I feel like a sponge.”
Bill Briggs can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bbriggs@denverpost.com.
