Eric Dazé is only 21 years old but is already one of the teams most valuable players. Part of the explanation is his fantastic rookie season where he scored 30 goals and had the best +/- (+16) of all rookie stars. Who's gonna score the goals this year if not Dazé? In a team that has lost Roenick, Murphy and Nicholls it's a heavy burden on young Dazé's shoulders.

Rejected as Junior
They didn't count on Dazé as a major prospect when he was drafted as #90, round 5 in 1993 by the Chicago Blackhawks. Eric was 18 years old and had just completed his first season with Beauport Harfangs in QMJHL after being rejected by Hull Olympiques. Eric himself thinks it's these sort of things, like being rejected at age 17, that has made him strong  enough to play in the NHL. "The only thing I wanted at that time, was to play hockey" he says, "To be rejected just made me stronger. I took it hard, but you always wanna show yourself that you can play. I think it made me a better player, that people told me I wasn't good enough forced me to get better"

Incredibly stable
In Chicago they're still disappointed that Daniel Alfredsson got the Calder Trophy and Dazé didn't. Coach Hartsburg explains why: "To me, he was the best rookie in the league. Not only because of the points, but because he meant more to our team than any other rookie meant to its team" he says. "He plays good at both ends of the rink. He's a player we can rely on 100% every night. He's incredibly stable to be so young and he wl only get better. The more intense the games are, the more they mean, the better he will get".

Lots more to give
Hartsburg is probably right in saying that Dazé still has a lot to give. It's rare that players with that size (6'4", 220 lbs) is that good as rookies. Often it's the smaller players (Kariya, Falloon, Sykora) that's best, only to stagnate later - when the bigger rookies (Lindros, Pronger, Primeau) takes time to develop. If the theory works here, Dazé will get really good in a few years. A future PowerForward. "He's crashing the Net as good as anyone else" Hartsburg says, "He's very close to be a PowerForward-prototype. He's giving and taking along the boards. He's also got a touché most of us only can dream of".

Shy person
Dazé has to learn how to play even more physical if he's gonna be a force, just as Lindros or Primeau. The 21-year-old hasn't shown a lot of muscles this far. Maybe he's still to shy? At least he's not the one that talk loud if we're gonna believe Chris Chelios: "He's not talking much. He's a quiet guy, but when you go one-on -one with him, he loves to talk. He lloves to play his game, and when you see how many times he has scored for us, you're also gonna see that most of the goals came when playing five-on-five. He has really gotten lots of respect in a short time".

Confidence missing
Dazé can confirm that shyness is completely natural to him. He has never been used to get anything in life for free. "I've always been forced to work hard for everything I've got" he says, "I was always the last one to be rejected when playing as a kid, but I kept working. I kept working because I love the sport. It took long time to gain confidence, which was the only thing I had against me. I had good sixe, was pretty fast and I had pretty soft hands. The problem was in the head".

In the right position
Dazé scored 30 goals as a rookie. This year 'Hawks hope he's gonna score 40. His ability to appear in front of the goal exactly the right time, makes people believe he will. That's maybe a part of the secret, that he doesn't waste energy in showing muscles, but rather goes straight to areas in front of the net where he can score easily. If something is in the way he's big enough to move that. "He's got a sense to  know exactly where to be on the ice" coach Hartsburg says, "Some people told me: 'He's the future'. He's NOW!".