MAKING AN IMPRESSION : Leclerc’s Scoring Is Being Noticed This Time

Selective memory can be a good thing. Mighty Duck Coach Craig Hartsburg looked puzzled when asked about the goal scored by Mike Leclerc in 1997.

“I don’t think I can remember every goal,” Hartsburg said.

A little hint: The United Center in Chicago, a key March 28 game between the Ducks and Blackhawks, one that both needed heading into the NHL playoffs.

Anything?

“Not really, no,” Hartsburg said.

Understandable. Leclerc, who had just been called up the day before, intercepted a pass and rocketed a shot into the net from the right faceoff circle.

It was the game-winning goal in a 4-3 victory that helped propel the Ducks into the playoffs. It was a loss that hurt the Blackhawks, who were bounced in the first round of the playoffs.

Chicago’s coach? Hartsburg. He may not remember, but you don’t have to ask Leclerc twice.

“I remember it being a big game,” the 23-year-old Leclerc said. “The guy started singing the national anthem and, after that, I couldn’t hear a thing.

“I remember intercepting the pass and walking through the middle and having an open shot at the net. It was like it was meant to be. It’s weird looking back on everything that has happened since. You would think I would have played a lot more. I guess that was meant to happen for some reason too. I think I’m a better player now.”

Total recall can be a good thing. Leclerc remembers the two years since that goal--his only one in the NHL until this season. He seemed a hotshot when it happened, a comer. He nearly made the team the following season but didn’t. He nearly made the team last season but didn’t.

That goal faded from memories, but Leclerc was determined to be remembered.

He spent the last two seasons with Cincinnati, the Ducks’ minor league affiliate. He made brief appearances in Anaheim, leaving him with a taste heading into training camp this season.

If there is a poster-boy for Hartsburg’s lunch-pail philosophy, Leclerc might be it.

“It was a letdown last year, especially since I was a third-year pro,” Leclerc said. “But it made me play harder. If I was in Anaheim, I probably wouldn’t have played very much. I got to play a lot. I got to do things I had never done before, like kill penalties. I had the opportunity to play on the top line and do some good things.”

He stayed in Anaheim this summer, working out with Todd Norman, who handles the strength and conditioning for the Ducks. Leclerc followed that up with a training camp that left no doubt where he belonged. His play in exhibition games merely underscored that.

When things got rough against the Kings during a Sept. 20 game, Leclerc was more than willing to mix it up with defenseman Aki Berg. On Sept. 25, he scored the game-winning goal against the Phoenix Coyotes.

“He has been physical and is winning his battles,” Hartsburg said. “He finishes his checks and has a touch around the net.”

That is apparent to the naked eye. Leclerc scored four goals--all of which Hartsburg can remember--this season. He even fired in the game-winner against Tampa Bay on Oct. 15.

Even more clear was how much the Ducks missed his energy against Boston Sunday. Leclerc sat out after developing an infection in a cut on his left elbow and could only watch the 3-2 loss.

“These goals mean more to me than that first one,” Leclerc said. “I feel I have contributed more to the team winning.

“Actually, I think my best games this year haven’t been the ones where I’ve scored. If I work hard, focus on forechecking and forcing turnovers, that’s where I will get my chances. If I don’t do those things, I’m not going to be a successful scorer.”

A hard lesson learned from the two years spent in Cincinnati.

Things once came easy for Leclerc. He was a goal scorer in junior hockey, and even before.

“When I was 4, I got put on a local team,” said Leclerc, who grew up in Winnipeg. “I was brutal because I couldn’t skate. I used to run on my skates. I went to camps all summer and scored 200 goals the next year.”

They didn’t come quite so fast in juniors, but Leclerc did score 58 goals with Brandon in 1995-96, his last junior season. He was drafted by the Ducks in the third round the following June.

Then the learning really began.

“Not everybody matures at the same time,” Hartsburg said. “Some guys come up and can play when they are 19 and 20. Some guys not until they are 25 or 26. They not only need to learn how the game is, but also how they have to adapt their game to play in the National Hockey League.”

That took a few seasons for Leclerc.

He scored 29 goals with Baltimore--then the Ducks’ minor league affiliate--in 1996-97 before his brief five-game stint with the Ducks. He had 18 goals with Cincinnati the following season, and played seven games with the Ducks.

Something, though was missing.

It was last season that it began to click. Leclerc scored 25 goals, but it was the way he played that made an impression. He began using his 6-foot-1, 211-pound body the way the Ducks had envisioned.

“He realized the reason the Ducks drafted him was to be a power winger,” Cincinnati Coach Moe Mantha said. “He became committed to going to the net and getting in the corners.

“There was one game last year where he got cut in the face on his first shift. He was getting stitches during his line’s second shift. He got cut again on his third shift, but he just kept working. I think he spent his first five shifts either getting cut or getting stitches. He’s a good warrior to have on your side.”

That has been evident this season. Leclerc, Antti Aalto and Ladislav Kohn have been an aggressive third line, one that excelled during the Ducks’ recent six-game trip.

Leclerc had four goals in a three-game span on that trip, including two in a 7-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

“He has put in the work,” Hartsburg said. “You can’t score in this league unless you work. It’s become a habit with him, not just something he knows he should do.”

And that is something Hartsburg will remember.