They had little in common, the 17-year-old who had come up from Kansas City to play junior hockey for St. Michael’s in Toronto, and the 14-year-old already being touted by some as a future NHL superstar.
Ken Klee, the older player, was born in Indianapolis and had spent time in Broomfield and Kansas City before landing his senior year of high school at the prestigious private school. At the time, the school’s hockey team played at the Junior B level, though a few years later it would move into the major-junior Ontario Hockey League.
Eric Lindros was the phenom.
“We had guys who were up to 20, 21 (years old), and early on, he was just a big, tall, gangly kid,” Klee, now a veteran Avalanche defenseman, recalled. “But he was growing into his body as the year went along. By the end of the year, he was one of the dominant players on the team, so I could tell then. He has a great attitude and a great work ethic, and if he kept that up, he was going to be a force.”
After spending part of a season as reunited teammates with the Maple Leafs in 2005-06, Klee and Lindros moved to the Western Conference this summer – Klee to the Avalanche, Lindros to the Stars. Klee is winding down his career. After signing a one-year deal with Dallas, Lindros is trying to shake his brittle image, while remaining concussion- and injury-free. He probably won’t even be as imposing or even as dominant as he was for stretches with the Flyers, but he has moved from center to wing, and that might lessen the toll and the risk.
“I think you have to do what you’ve done in the past and what you feel has contributed,” Lindros said at the Pepsi Center. “It’s a little bit different playing the wing, I don’t cut to the center of the ice and things like that. In a sense, it’s kind of a new beginning here, and I’m looking forward to giving the wing a go.”
Said Klee, who played against Lindros for nearly a decade when he was with the Washington Capitals: “When he was with Philly, he was crushing guys on a regular basis and playing a little reckless. After he’s been stung a couple of times, I think he tries to play a little more in control. He can hold you off and keep you away from the puck by his sheer size. It will be interesting to see how he does this year, coming off the wrist injury. He’s obviously someone you have to pay attention to. I don’t think he’s out there like he was when he was a little younger, running around a little reckless, crushing people all the time. He still has that capability because he’s 6-foot-5, 250 pounds.”
