Modry Enjoys All-Star Moment

Jaroslav Modry was supposed to be in the desert this weekend.

The King defenseman had planned to spend the All-Star break in Palm Springs with his wife, Jodi, recharging for the final 21/2 months of the season while his father baby-sat the couple’s young children, Jacob, 3, and Alexa, 13 months.

The thought that he might actually be playing in Saturday’s All-Star game at Staples Center never even entered his mind.

Three seasons ago, he played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs. Two seasons ago, injury free, he was scratched a staggering 55 times.

Finally, after four seasons of toiling mostly in the minors, Modry earned a regular spot in the Kings’ lineup last season. But the idea that he might be involved in the NHL’s midseason showcase was so farfetched that the two-year contract he signed last summer didn’t even include a bonus for being selected.

“It never occurred to us,” his wife said Friday, cradling her daughter in her lap as she watched her husband skate through a leisurely practice at Staples Center. “Everyone is like, ‘Everyone just has [a bonus clause]. It’s standard.’ But it just never crossed our mind, never, ever, that we’d ever be here.”

But there Modry was this weekend, a living, breathing monument to stick-to-itiveness wearing No. 4 for the World All-Stars in an 8-5 victory Saturday over their North American counterparts.

A smile rarely left his face.

“It made it special that it was in L.A. in front of the home crowd,” Modry said of his first All-Star game, even if he couldn’t wear his customary No. 44 in deference to two-time All-Star Alexei Zhitnik of the Buffalo Sabres. “I don’t think it could get any better.”

Modry’s magic moment was hard earned, his eye-opening first half of the season having completed his unexpected rise from unknown to All-Star.

Having never before garnered more than 21 points in a season, Modry, 30, has accumulated 31 in 53 games this season, among them a team-high 28 assists. He is ninth in scoring among the league’s defensemen, tied for second in assists.

“He made it happen on the ice,” said teammate Ziggy Palffy, who also played for the World team Saturday. “That’s why he deserves to be here.”

Still, when King General Manager Dave Taylor phoned last month to deliver the news that Modry had been selected, his wife feared the worst.

“My heart just sank,” she said. “I thought, ‘We’re traded.’ Dave Taylor’s reasons for calling are, ‘You’ve been sent down,’ or, ‘You’re traded.’”

Not this time.

The only place Modry was going was to the All-Star game.

For perennial All-Stars such as Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy or Joe Sakic, all of them making their 10th All-Star appearance Saturday, that might not have been such a big deal. But for a plugger such as Modry it was a validation, an acknowledgement that his perseverance and hard work had not gone unnoticed.

He wasn’t about to take the opportunity for granted.

“All those years I spent in the minors, it was like putting money in the bank,” Modry said. “Now it’s time to make a withdrawal.”

That’s why he was in the Team L.A. store at Staples Center on Friday, eagerly signing autographs for an hour as fans lined up to meet him.

A native of Ceske-Budejovice, Czech Republic, where his parents and younger brother still live, the 6-foot-2, 216-pound Modry basked in the moment.

Off to one side of the store, his father looked on, beaming.

Earlier in the day, he had watched as a swarm of reporters surrounded his son and namesake, hanging on his every word. He had watched him pose for a team photo with international stars (and teammates for a day) such as Teemu Selanne of Finland, Sergei Fedorov of Russia and fellow Czechs Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek. He had wandered into the World dressing room and seen his son’s nameplate above a locker, confirming his standing among the stars.

And now a line of fans waited to congratulate his son and ask him to sign their keepsakes. A few, Modry’s most dedicated fans, wore Ice Dog jackets. Others wore All-Star jerseys bearing his name, about 100 of which were sold that day.

Overcome with emotion, Modry’s father swelled with pride.

“I’m just thrilled,” he said, his eyes growing red and misty as he clutched his son and buried his head in his chest. “It’s incredible. I’m very happy for him.”

Said Modry, squeezing his father: “He’s walking on the clouds.”

So was the younger Modry, his long stretches in the minors a fading memory and his frustration with former King coach Larry Robinson, who had wanted to turn the gentlemanly Modry into a fighter, all but forgotten.

“It definitely touched me,” he said of his All-Star experiences. “It’s incredible to be a part of it.”

In the dressing room afterward, he was the last to undress, making his way around the room to get a glove autographed by his fellow All-Stars.

Starting this afternoon, it will be business as usual, practice with the Kings in preparation for Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

“I’m going to regroup,” he said, “and try to calm down and go from there. Get ready for Monday and go back to my day job.”