Jomphe Shooting for More Than Goals

It was early in September and J.F. Jomphe, unsigned and uninvited to camp, went back to his roots.

His agent and Mighty Duck officials were haggling over money. General Manager Jack Ferreira increased the stakes by pulling the ice from under Jomphe’s skates, barring him from the team’s training camp.

Jomphe was left cooling his heels in Quebec. His only option was to work out with Granby of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Jomphe returned to his roots and the workouts made him realize how much he had changed.

“It was a good skate and the kids like to hit,” said Jomphe, a 24-year-old center. “I showed them a couple things and it was fun. But it was not the National Hockey League.”

It wasn’t even close.

Jomphe didn’t know that back in 1993--when he was fresh from Sherbrooke in the Quebec junior league--but has learned it since. Three years grinding it out in the minor leagues and with the Canadian national team gave him a little knowledge of what it took to be in the NHL.

“When I played juniors in Quebec, I would score goals and get points,” Jomphe said. “I thought that hockey was only scoring goals. It’s not. It’s about playing defense. It’s about winning faceoffs. It’s about hard work. If you’re lazy, you don’t get a job.”

*

It was 3 a.m. in Binghamton, N.Y., last season and Jomphe, who was with the Baltimore Bandits of the American Hockey League, heard a knock at his hotel room door.

“We had just had a five-hour bus trip from Springfield and I thought it was one of the players playing a joke,” Jomphe said. “I opened the door and it was [Coach] Walt Kyle. He said, ‘You’re going to Anaheim this morning.’ ”

The following night, he played against the Chicago Blackhawks. Jomphe scored two goals while playing in the Ducks’ final 31 games. He had scored 21 goals in 47 games with Baltimore.

By then, Jomphe learned that hockey was not just about scoring goals.

This was not the same player the Ducks had seen in a 1993 tryout. He was stronger, a better skater and less obsessed with scoring. And he wasn’t afraid to mix it up . . . with anyone.

In a game against Colorado, Jomphe upended veteran goaltender Patrick Roy while going after a puck in the corner. Roy and Avalanche enforcer Warren Rychel, now a Duck, went after Jomphe.

Roy took a swing at the young center.

Jomphe swung back.

“I think J.F. learned a lesson there,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “When one of your idols is after you, you don’t have to take a back seat to them. He went right ahead and popped back.”

It marked another step in Jomphe’s evolution.

In the 1992-93 junior league season, Jomphe scored 43 goals in 60 games for Sherbrooke and was looking to move to a higher level. He had a contract offer from the Quebec Nordiques, but chose to take a tryout with the Ducks instead.

“It is California. It is Hollywood. It is movie stars and everything,” Jomphe said. “I wanted to play where there was sun. Growing up, when I played hockey, it’s minus-20 outside. Here you play hockey, then you go play golf. It’s heaven.”

Actually staying and playing in paradise was the difficult part.

“He was a kid who was hungry, but needed to improve on some things,” Wilson said.

Jomphe spent the 1993-94 season with San Diego in the International Hockey League, then was given the opportunity to play for Team Canada, coached by Tom Renney, in 1994-95. It was Renney, now the Vancouver Canuck coach, who tutored Jomphe on defensive play.

Jomphe improved his forechecking and worked at getting better position.

“He’s a whirling dervish out there,” Wilson said. “If you get this far with hard work, each year you have to work a little bit harder. There are guys who come along who might have a little more talent. You always have to work a little harder. No one works harder than J.F.”

*

It was Southern California this past summer. Jomphe spent most of the time in Anaheim, lifting weights and building his leg strength. Oh, there was some golf and a little surfing mixed in--this was, after all, heaven. But there was no doubt what he focused on.

“I wanted to come into camp in great shape and ready to play,” Jomphe said.

Then he was told to stay away.

The contract squabble cost him one week and ended with a one-year deal that will pay him $250,000 if he makes the Ducks and $60,000 if he is sent to the minors. He had sought a $100,000 if sent to minors.

At this point, Jomphe shouldn’t concern himself too much with the minor league provision.

“The package is there, all he needs is the experience,” right wing Teemu Selanne said. “He can shoot, pass and he’s good in the battles. That’s all the tools needed to be a great hockey player.”

Still, Jomphe doesn’t aspire to greatness. He has a well-defined job and just seeks perfection in it.

“My role is to not let the other team score against me and play very hard every night,” Jomphe said. “If I do that, I will be in the league a long time.”

*

It was late last week at Disney Ice in Anaheim and Jomphe was spending a little extra time working on his wrist shot.

The previous night, he had missed on two scoring chances. All he had needed to do was to go top-shelf, putting the puck in the upper part of the goal. While most of the team was already in the locker room, Jomphe flicked wrist shot after wrist shot into the net. It was satisfying, yet frustrating.

“Today, I got six in a row,” Jomphe said. “But it doesn’t count. It’s too late.”

But the work continued.

Said Jomphe: “It’s hard to stay in the NHL. There are all these kids who want to take your job.”

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The Jomphe File

* Position: Center (shoots left).

* Height and Weight: 6-1, 195.

* Born: Dec. 28, 1972, in Harve’ St. Pierre, Quebec.

* How acquired: Signed as a free agent on Sept. 27, 1993.

* 1995-96 highlights: Recalled from Baltimore of the American Hockey League on Feb. 3 after scoring 55 points in 47 games. . . . Had two goals and 12 assists in 31 games for Ducks. . . . Scored first NHL goal on Feb. 14 against Edmonton. . . . Second goal came in season finale against Winnipeg.

* Career highlights: Spent three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, scoring 45 goals in two seasons with Shawinigan and 43 in one season with Sherbrooke. . . . Led Sherbrooke in the 1993-94 postseason with 10 goals and 23 points in 15 playoff games. . . . Played for the Canadian National Team in 1994-95, scoring 33 goals in 52 games and finishing third on the team with 58 points.

* Personal: Began skating at age 2. . . . Favorite player as a youngster was Guy Lafleur.