Duguay: His Fires Still Burn

Ron Duguay has lived a life liberally laced with both reality and fantasy, so much so that they must have seemed intertwined at times.

Anyone, in fact, who knew him during what we will call his “New York Days” would probably be startled to learn what he is doing and where he is doing it at the age of 33.

If you could eavesdrop on a conversation at a chic Manhattan club, it would probably go like this:

“Say, where is Duguay these days?”

“Probably in Hollywood. Doing dawn.”

“Either that or Monte Carlo.”

“Or maybe Rio.”

No one, to be sure, would guess that Duguay could be found at the San Diego Sports Arena, unless, of course, he owned it. In that case, he probably would be booking a rock concert or heavyweight title fight.

Duguay was at the Sports Arena Tuesday, stripping out of his San Diego Gull uniform after a morning skate. Reality is that the glamorous National Hockey League is a thing of the past and the International Hockey League is an escape hatch for the present.

There would be a game later Tuesday against Muskegon, which Duguay might previously have thought to be some kind of caviar. Of course, this league also has a franchise in Kalamazoo, not to be confused with Calgary.

It comes to this in all athletic careers, even for a guy who was described in a 1984 magazine article as the Romeo of the Rink, Broadway Joe Namath on Skates and Mick Jagger on Ice. It comes to this for a guy who modeled for magazine covers, cut records and appeared in a soap opera . . . as himself.

But that was New York . . . and the NHL.

There is still spirit loose in Ron Duguay, however, and there is also love for hockey. This may not be the NHL, but it’s a nice way to fill a gap.

“This is a tough time for an athlete,” he said. “You have to find out what you want to do, when you want to retire. This is a very difficult time. Kind of winding down. I’m not saying I’m not taking this seriously, but I am at the end of my career. I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Maybe, just maybe, there might be a late-season cameo with an NHL team. After all, he played 12 years at that level and just might be a fit for someone looking for veteran help in the stretch run. But maybe there won’t be a late-season call.

Duguay last played in the NHL when he was with the Kings in 1988-89, moving on to a German team last year. He started the 1990-91 “season” playing Tuesday nights with Kings old-timers, Wednesday nights with Surf seniors and Thursday nights with Gull seniors. Even out of hockey, he was playing hockey.

“I wasn’t doing much of anything,” he said. “A lot of people were trying to get me to get into acting and show business. I’ve been around it and I enjoy it, but I didn’t know if I would feel comfortable there. It doesn’t seem like the real world to me.”

Reality, to Duguay, is an ice rink.

This man has been playing hockey since this man was a toddler. He was all of 3 when he began playing age-group hockey in Sudbury, Ont.

And reality is the team.

“Reality,” he said, “is these guys. This is what I enjoy. You play as a team and you eat and drink as a team. There’s nothing like 25 buddies to chum around with for eight months.”

And reality is the game.

Duguay plays it without a helmet. (No remarks, please.)

“I like flying up and down the ice,” he said. “I like the feeling of freedom playing without a helmet. And I consider myself to be more than a hockey player. I’m an entertainer out there. I love to get the reaction of the fans.”

It was that flair which made him so popular during his days with the New York Rangers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was a perfect fit for the spotlight and the appurtenant lifestyle.

He did some modeling and some acting and some singing and some hockey . . . and worked to keep them in the right order.

“My career was always No. 1,” he said, “but, being a single athlete, a lot of things came my way. I spent time in clubs and making appearances and maybe not resting enough and not being physically prepared. So many distractions couldn’t help but hurt you.”

If New York was fantasy, reality was a trade to the Detroit Red Wings. The clubs, such as they are in Detroit, actually close. Modeling? Detroit’s idea of a model comes with four wheels and two headlights.

Not being inundated with offers to endorse carburetors or crankshafts, Duguay could concentrate on hockey. This had always been most important to him, but New York’s many distractions caused others to question his resolve.

Should there by any further such questions, Ron Duguay himself is Exhibit A. An erstwhile big shot with warped priorities would not still be playing the game at a minor league level. You have to love the game, rather than the sideshows, to keep the fires burning.

“When I’m flying down the ice, chasing the puck,” he said, “I’m high as a kite.”

The IHL may be a long way from Rio or Monte Carlo or Tahiti, but, to Ron Duguay, it’s a lot closer to heaven than any of them.