There was a study of contrasts in the Dallas Stars’ dressing room prior to their game against the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
Along one wall of the room, Devin Shore and Brett Ritchie, from Ajax and Orangeville respectively, were gearing up to play their first game against the Leafs in Toronto. The two faced a media throng interested in how the two youngsters were reacting to the occasion. Shore said he was expecting 50 family and friends.
Along another wall was Adam Cracknell, one of the NHL’s true survivors. The 31-year-old from Prince Albert, Sask., landed with the Stars on a one-year contract last summer, his fifth NHL team in the past four seasons.
Cracknell changed out of his hockey gear and slipped into the shower area without a single reporter stopping him. He’s a fourth-line forward who sets an example with his work ethic, something that has helped him stitch together a seven-year NHL career in St. Louis, Columbus, Vancouver, Edmonton and Dallas. He has played 180 games in the league, a career-high 46 this year.
“I think you have to keep your nerves intact,” Cracknell said about playing in any of Canada’s NHL cities, and about staying in the NHL once you make it there. “You have to be a pro on and off the ice. You stick with what got you here, and the more games you get, the more you get used to the speed and size at this level. You have to understand, too, that you’re not going to be the 60-point guy you might have been in the AHL or junior.
“But you look at Brett, he plays a hard, heavy game and he’s getting rewarded for that. Devin has playmaking and skating skills. He’s playing with Patrick Sharp, and Patrick is helping him a lot too.”
Cracknell is on his 11th pro team overall, counting his stops in the minors. Selected by Calgary in the ninth round (279th overall) of the 2004 draft, he survives on one-year contracts, and sometimes faces a numbers situation at forward when Dallas coach Lindy Ruff may be forced to make him a healthy scratch.
“I’ve accepted my role,” said Cracknell, who has a career-best six goals this season. “You try to be a good teammate, but I think just accepting your role, that you’re gonna be a fourth-line guy, that’s what has kept me in the league. I pride myself on work ethic every day and that’s getting me rewarded this year.”
That path doesn’t get Cracknell the attention given to his younger teammates. Nor the security. While Shore and Ritchie are at the front end of their careers, and in line for big-money contracts, Cracknell can only hope for a multi-year deal. But whatever the future holds, he feels blessed in many ways to have had the career he has.
“It can be stressful,” Cracknell said of the one-year contracts. “My wife (Teresa) is pregnant (with the couple’s first child), so to stay in one spot would be nice. We got a baby girl due April 27th, so staying in Dallas would be great. But she’s been tremendous, she realizes this is a business, and she’s supported me wherever I go.”
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