He’s More Than a Blue’s Brother

One brother arrived in the NHL with all the fanfare associated with a first-round draft pick.

The other sneaked in the back door, almost unnoticed.

One brother went straight from the junior ranks to the NHL, skipping the minor leagues entirely.

The other paid his dues at Greensboro and Knoxville of the East Coast Hockey League, San Diego of the IHL and Baltimore of the AHL after four seasons at Bowling Green.

One brother seemed destined for NHL stardom right from the start.

The other did not.

Chris Pronger, a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues, was hailed as the next Larry Robinson.

Sean Pronger, a center for the Mighty Ducks, got an up-close look at Robinson last week at the Forum, where he promptly scored his first NHL goal in his 13th game.

And that further underscored the differences in the Pronger brothers’ careers so far.

In the days since, Sean, 24, hasn’t exactly caught up to Chris, 22, in stature around the league. But four goals in four games--including two in the Ducks’ 6-3 victory over Hartford on Friday at the Pond--probably has earned Sean Pronger a spot in the Duck lineup for some time to come.

And with the Ducks starved for goals from someone other than Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, Pronger’s scoring in the past four games has been a huge boost.

“Sean’s a big guy, who goes to the front of the net very well,” Duck Coach Ron Wilson said. “He’s got four goals. That’s pretty good for somebody who generally wasn’t in our plans at the end of October.”

Smiling yet tentative with a pack of reporters clustered around him at game’s end, Pronger said:

“I don’t really know what to say. It’s nice to play in the NHL and contribute. Things went well in Baltimore. I’m doing nothing different here.

“You can’t be satisfied, though. As soon as you’re satisfied you’re on the next flight to Baltimore.”

Pronger earned his keep on Friday, lifting a pretty backhander past sprawling Hartford goalie Jason Muzzatti to give the Ducks a 4-1 lead at the 9:44 mark of the second period.

He then redirected defenseman Dmitri Mironov’s shot from the blue line at the 14:02 mark. It was a lucky play, to be sure.

“I felt something hit my stick, but I didn’t see it,” said Pronger, recalled from Baltimore Jan. 8. “It hit the goalie’s pad, went up and over him and into the net. It was just nice to see it go in the net, whether it was mine or not.”

Wilson was pleased to see Pronger’s determination pay off.

“It shows some perseverance when you’re the older brother,” Wilson said. “His younger brother was a first-round pick. Sometimes special athletes in families get special attention.

“I’m the oldest of (three brothers) and it would kill me to see my brothers do something better than me. I’m 41 and we play golf and it’s still like that.”

Perhaps the day isn’t that far off when someone will ask Chris Pronger, “Hey, are you Sean Pronger’s brother?”