‘Connie’ Shows Kings He Is More Than a Brawler

I dropped by Barry Melrose’s private office to ask the coach of the Kings (already fairly sure of the answer) if Warren Rychel had always been thought of as a can’t-miss hockey player. Melrose laughed and said: “He’s the only one who thought he was a can’t-miss player.”

Back before the rock-’em, sock-’em rookie wing became a teammate--and linemate--of such luminaries as Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri and the unexpected lamp-lighter of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, few knew quite what to make of him. One obvious observation was that he was a young left wing with a mean left hook, although this did not keep Rychel’s junior-level pals from performing a ritual shaving of his head that earned him the temporary nickname “Bundy,” out of a belief that baldness left Warren with a vague facial resemblance to a tubby pro wrestler, King Kong Bundy.

Now he has a new nickname. They call him “Connie.” They call him this in deference to the Conn Smythe Trophy that goes to the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs. It has become an amusing in-house gag among King teammates who enjoy goofing around with Rychel this way, having seen him zoom within 95 goals of Wayne Gretzky’s career playoff total of 101.

So, I also dropped by Rychel’s locker before today’s Game 4 against Vancouver to mention this in passing--that here he is--ha, ha--zeroing in on Gretz.

Grabbing my elbow, he had a five-word response:

“No, no, no, no, no.”

The kid may be young--he turns 26 Wednesday--but he wasn’t born yesterday. You don’t fall for traps like this. You don’t tug on Superman’s cape and you don’t mess around with Wayne.

Since being assigned to be Gretzky’s sidekick/bodyguard, Rychel--who led the NHL this season in major penalties--has had three primary responsibilities: (1) Get the puck to Wayne. (2) Get out of Wayne’s way. (3) If somebody goes anywhere near Wayne, make him pay. This has pretty much been the case since Joel Otto of the Calgary Flames got close enough to Gretzky on opening night of the playoffs to crack one of King Wayne’s royal ribs.

Having spent most of the previous season at the flanks of down-on-the-farm centers from Moncton and Kalamazoo, Rychel relishes the luxury of working with the best, saying: “Ninety-five percent of the time, Wayne Gretzky is going to find me, so I’m always looking for the puck. Or if I’m in a position to give Wayne Gretzky more time with the puck, 95% of the time he’s going to score.”

And what advice has Gretzky given?

“None,” Rychel said. “No, one piece of advice. He said, ‘If you ever feel you’re in trouble, bring the puck behind the net into my office.’ ”

He does. And Gretzky knows what to do with it. His ribs have mended and his game is great again. He is scoring at a rapid rate. And so is Kurri. And so is “Connie” Rychel--who, after netting six measly goals in 70 games, suddenly has developed into an in-your-mask presence to Calgary’s and Vancouver’s goaltenders, contributing points to eight of nine King playoff games, including his fifth goal Friday night in Game 3.

Warren has gone to war. Being a fighter, the 6-foot, 202-pound Rychel was searching for somebody to slug in the mug immediately after being sent sprawling over Canuck goalie Kirk McLean’s net on his goal Friday night. Good thing he thought better of it. He wouldn’t want to be thought of as the John Starks of the NHL or anything.

A punk? Not to the Kings, he isn’t. He is a hitter, a hustler, a guy handy with his dukes and a good guy to have handy, period. Or, to quote Melrose: “You just love him. A coach loves a Warren Rychel. I got a couple of guys, a Pat Conacher, a Dave Taylor, a Rychel, you just fall in love with guys like that. They do the ugly things that it takes to win.”

And his goal-scoring? That’s accidental?

“No,” Melrose said, laughing again. “He told us he could do that.”

Really? “Oh, yeah,” Melrose said. “He told us he can score. He said he’ll score 20 goals in the NHL. He believes in himself. He’s a great kid. It’s fun coming to the rink with a guy like Warren.”

Particularly during the playoffs. For Chicago two years ago, Rychel got some playing time and responded with four points in three playoff games. Then the Blackhawks dumped him. Melrose caught his act in the minors. One day Nick Beverley, general manager of the Kings, mentioned that Rychel was available. Melrose remembers telling Beverley: “Jump on him.”

The Kings did. They got a guy who spends more time inside a penalty box than Aladdin did in his lamp. But they also got someone who plays hockey three ways--hard, harder and hardest.

That’s what they like about him. And that’s why they keep giving him the puck. Suddenly, the kid can’t miss.