The Province
February 7, 2000
By Terry Bell

Young Bryan Allen well may be the quintessential Vancouver Canuck.On the one hand, there is so much promise. And yet, that promise always seems to be accompanied by so much pain. Allen -- the club's first pick (fourth overall) in the 1998 summer draft -- finally appears ready to play after the latest in a series of career-sabotaging injuries.

"I don't know what they have planned for me; I just know that I want to play," said Allen, 19, who had been practising regularly with the NHL team prior to this weekend's All-Star Game break.

"This is the best I've felt in a while."

He'll likely go to Syracuse this week and begin his professional apprenticeship with the American League Crunch.

He hasn't played all year after undergoing two surgeries in October -- one to correct a partially separated left shoulder and another to repair cartilage damage in his left knee.

Two years ago he had surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee. This summer he fractured his right ankle falling on stairs at his home near Kingston, Ont.

Through it all, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Allen doesn't feel cursed. He's convinced he's just a young guy who happens to have a body that hasn't begun to fill out.

"No, you can't look at it like that," he said when asked whether he has a dark cloud hanging over his head. "If you have that negativity in your head then if something is going to go wrong it will.

"I don't feel cursed or anything."

Allen doesn't want to try to guess where his career would be if he'd been injury free.

"I don't think you can look at it in that perspective," said Allen. "I can't say I should be here or I should be there. You have to deal with things as you're given them."

Coach Marc Crawford has been impressed by what he's seen from Allen in practice. He's been paired with various veteran Canucks in drills.

Crawford also likes the way he's gone about his rehab, even though he got a little too eager last month and suffered a setback when his knee swelled up.

"Bryan has really committed himself," said Crawford.

"He had a little setback in January when the knee flared up," explained Crawford. "But the doctors tell us that's common. After major surgery, when you're recovering, you're never going to know the bounds. He over-exerted himself in some of the workouts."

Crawford wasn't questioning Allen's commitment. In fact, the opposite was true.

"Over the last month it's the hardest we've seen him work," said Crawford. "Though he's not gaining any practical experience game-wise, he's gaining the experience of understanding how hard you have to work to make this job a career.

"As he learns these lessons it should serve him well. He should, with his ability, have a long career."

But just how good he'll be, no one can say with any degree of certainty. He looked good in camp before the 1998-99 season but had limited success with Oshawa of the Ontario League. He had seven goals, 22 points in 37 games with the Generals and helped Team Canada win silver at the world junior championships.

There were questions about his mobility and his skating.

Still, Canucks president and general manager Brian Burke, was convinced last summer that Allen would be part of the Canucks defence this season.

When Burke signed Allen to a three year, $3 million US deal last May, he said he was convinced that Allen would make his team.

Burke went on to suggest that the signing cleared the way for him to trade a defenceman. A month later, at the June draft in Boston, Burke sent defenceman Bryan McCabe to Chicago in a deal that landed the draft picks he used to select Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

When Burke was asked in Boston how McCabe would be replaced, he said: "Bryan Allen will have to play more minutes."

Now Crawford isn't about to predict instant greatness for Allen.

"Until we see him play we'll have a hard time judging just how good he's going to be," said Crawford. "In practice he does well. He passes the puck well and, for a defenceman, if you can make that first pass out of your end and get yourself out of trouble ... it's such a big factor in the game.

"It takes a long time for a defenceman to mature."

Crawford said last week that Allen will continue to practise with the Canucks this week when they return from their break. If he doesn't have any pain, he'll be sent to Syracuse.

"He's practised well without any soreness," said Crawford, whose team plays Calgary here Wednesday then goes on a five-game road trip to Toronto, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa. "When he continues to do that we'll make an assessment.

"We'll bring him on the road with us if he's not quite ready to play or, if he is ready, he'll go to Syracuse.

"He'll definitely start in Syracuse unless we have a rash of injuries."

The hint of a trip to Syracuse puts fear into most players.

For Allen, it'll be a welcome relief.



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