Friday, January 8, 2010
To know Cam Janssen is to understand the incredible energy wrapped into his 6-foot, 215-pound frame.
He is a man who was not blessed with the lightning speed or dazzling puck-handling skills of Andy McDonald or T.J. Oshie. He does not possess an uncanny talent to find the back of the net the way snipers such as David Perron or Brad Boyes can.
So to sit him out of games as a healthy scratch or, when he does dress for games, leave him perched for 57 of 60 minutes at the end of the bench, is like caging a hungry lion.
“It’s tough,” said Janssen, the Blues’ physical right winger, “especially when the game’s physical. It’s the worst feeling in the world watching it and not being involved. I know it’s a numbers game.”
Last Saturday, Janssen made public his emotions after Andy Murray was fired as coach of the Blues. After getting some things off his chest about Murray – something he has since apologized to the former coach for – Janssen began to focus his intensity on a new opportunity.
When Davis Payne was introduced as interim coach hours after the firing, Janssen’s ears perked up with the news that the new man in charge wants, among many things, for the Blues to play physical hockey.
That’s Janssen’s game. That’s his way.
“I hope Davis Payne feels this presence is needed in the lineup,” said Janssen, who had no points in 28 games, with 97 penalty minutes prior to Thursday night’s game against Anaheim. “I hope it’s needed. We want to play his style of game. We’re going to be physical. Guys feed off the intensity and fights when they happen. I hope Davis feels the same way.”
The Eureka native was in the lineup for the first two games under Davis and, even though the Blues lost to both Chicago at home (6-3) and San Jose on the road (2-1 in overtime Wednesday night), Janssen saw playing time in both. He dished out some heavy hits in the Chicago game. Against the Sharks, he engaged in an impressive, lengthy fight with San Jose enforcer Jody Shelly.
Longtime hockey fans smile and refer to it as “old time hockey.” Janssen loves that style.
“I was so pumped up, I couldn’t think straight,” said Janssen after the Chicago game. Surprisingly, he didn’t judge his line’s performance on hits or fights. Rather, it was how effectively they established the forecheck. He and linemate Derek Armstrong talked about what they could do better, how they were a bit late on the forecheck at times.
“We’ll start off on the West Coast trip and play our game and prove to Davis that we can be extremely effective,” he said prior to the current Blues’ trip.
The words may seem a bit surprising to some Blues fans. Forecheck? Forget that…we want to see Cam pummel someone. And while Janssen understands his abilities in the pugilistic department, he sees himself in broader terms.
“I hear some people say my role is to fight,” the 25-year-old said. “It’s not my role. Sometimes you have to go out and do it. My role is much more complex than that, though.”
Ten years ago, being a player with talents limited to fistic prowess was the ticket to job security. It’s not that way anymore.
“You have to be able to do more,” he said. “There’s no room in the NHL for guys who just fight any more. You need to be the guy who can go get the puck every time. You need to be the guy who can be hard on the opposing defensemen. It’s the intimidation factor.”
He also has the ability to make a point by dropping his gloves.
“If they do anything to our guys, they’ll have to answer to me,” said Janssen. “It’s a tough thing to do…complex. It might be one of the most complex roles there is. ‘Do I fight this guy? Or do I try and goad him into taking a penalty, maybe an instigator penalty that will help our team.’”
If it’s the former, Janssen is willing, even if the opponent towers over him and has a decided edge in reach. Whatever the case, he won’t back down.
“I love it,” he said. “I do it every night. I love coming to the table every night.”
One of Janssen’s biggest supporters is Kelly Chase, the Blues’ broadcaster and former winger who has earned iconic status in the St. Louis community since he broke in as a player with the Blues. Chase and fellow tough guy Tony Twist were two people Janssen admired as a youngster, a rink rat who hung around and watched the Blues at games and practices.
“I like the kid a lot,” said Chase. It’s hard to find tough guys in the league that are willing to do it every night…and can play. Cam’s a great reminder of how you’ve got to work to stay in the league. He’s a reminder of what work ethic and determination can do for you.”
Janssen revels in being turned loose on a shift with linemates who enjoy wreaking havoc. Hurtling his body into an opposing player at a high rate of speed gives Janssen a rush that is unparalleled. It has nothing to do with looking for a fight. It has everything to do with being a disruptor.
“It’s so important, the way it rallies the fans and it wears down the opponent,” Janssen explained. “Do you know how much it hurts to take a hit against the boards? I try and knock a guy through the glass every time. It takes a toll. It really wears them down.”
He cited the Chicago game when defenseman Brent Sopel was hammered by Janssen into the end boards. Television replays of the hit showed Sopel’s eyes grow as big as saucers on the play. Such punishment can make a player do uncharacteristic things with the puck. It can throw him off his game in a hurry…force him to make mistakes.
“Sopel saw me coming and tried to get rid of the puck,” said Janssen. “He hurried it and passed it to one of our guys at the point and our guy got off a shot. We got a scoring chance out of it.”
Another element of his game is to get to know the officials for each and every Blues game. This is a critical gesture, Chase said, for a player like Janssen to utilize that will allow him to do his job. Before each game, Janssen will find out who is officiating and engage in conversation during the pre-game skate. The discussion is polite and genuine.
“He understands the importance of that,” said Chase. “He understands that you have to have a rapport with the officials. He’ll go up and talk to a guy and call him by his first name. When they know he’s honest, they like him.
“There are a lot of chicken (bleep) guys in this league, but he’s not one of them. He has a chat with the officials and he knows their names. He looks at the game sheet and understands their game. You know the guy’s name and you go up and say, ‘Hey Brian, this is going to be a tough game. I’d appreciate it if you’d give me a little leeway along the wall.’ And they respect him for that.”
That respect carries over to Janssen’s teammates and to the fans in the seats at Scottrade Center. It gets a crowd into the game and, as Chase says, “brings the out of their seats a bit.”
“That’s important to this team, especially right now,” said Chase. “Especially to a team with a lot of young guys who know they’re not going to be taken advantage of.”
It’s like a fraternity, this friendship between energy or physical players. Janssen treasures his relationship with both Chase and Twist and former Blues tough guy Reed Low, who makes his home here as well.
“Very good friends of mine,” said Janssen. “I talk to Kelly every day.”
Those talks often have Janssen seeking advice from Chase, who has been through the wars. He admits that Janssen will come to him when he’s frustrated.
“I don’t ever try and tell him what to do,” said Chase. “I don’t try and tell him how to fight because he knows how to fight. Sometimes it’s hard for someone who hasn’t been that job to relate to a guy like Cam because they haven’t been there. It can be lonely.
“I may say, ‘Here is something you may want to think about.’ I try to keep it to giving him advice instead of telling him what to do. I do that when I coach kids, too. Cam’s been good about that. He listens…I root for him. I really cheer for the kid.”
Often times the conversations are good-natured. Janssen laughs, saying how he likes to give Chase a hard time. The good-natured needling works both ways.
“I like to tell him, ‘Cam, I’m 42 and I’d kick the (crap) out of you if I was the same age as you’ and he’ll laugh,” said Chase with a smile. “It’s good natured fun.”
The root of their relationship has Chase as mentor and Janssen as sponge-like student, taking in any tips or counsel he can offer.
“Kelly’s a very loyal, honest man,” said Janssen. “He’s done it all. We grew up kind of the same way. I’m proud to say he’s a very good friend of mine. I look up to him a lot, but I also like to give him hell any chance I can.”
Chase feels for Janssen when he’s a healthy scratch, especially when the Blues are at home.
“There are two things you don’t do in St. Louis,” said Chase. “You don’t drink Coors or Miller beer and you don’t sit your tough guy at home. You want to be respected at home.”
Similar conversations take place when Twist is nearby, but not as often.
“He’s a busy man so I don’t see him as much,” said Janssen. “He grew up as one of the toughest heavyweights the NHL has ever seen. He’s always on my side. So is Reed Low. We’re good buddies, too.
“It’s kind of like a fraternity,” he continued, adding fellow Blues tough guy D.J. King – close to returning to the lineup from a hand injury – is also a friend and confidant. “We all think alike. They all are great to talk to. They have the best sense of humor and they are fun to hang out with. I’ll be friends with them the rest of my life.”
It’s funny how the toughest, meanest guys the NHL has to offer have this kind, gentle and humorous side off the ice. It’s a unique personality that Janssen says he’s had all his life. Hockey has always been his first love, dating back to his AAA days playing for coach Don Morehouse, whom Janssen credits in shaping him as a player.
He speaks fondly of the days playing for the Chesterfield Falcons, a team his older brother John, a defenseman – who Janssen called “a big hitter” - toiled for during their youth. Janssen said those days were fun, but tough, playing against superior talented teams in Canada.
“Kids with goatees,” he said, “Sometimes we’d get our butts kicked 10-2 and I’d have two goals and 40 minutes in penalties. We worked our butts off together. We went to battle together. We might not have come out a winner every time, but we worked hard and loved what we were doing.”
Hockey wasn’t offered at Eureka High School, so he played football, wrestled and ran track. Eventually, he had to quit playing football because it overlapped with his AAA hockey.
“So I decided to run cross country to keep in shape,” he said. “As you can tell, I’m not built to run cross country, but I did it. I also ran sprints in track.”
Janssen hasn’t forgotten his roots. He hasn’t moved into an expensive home in the burbs, or opted for a fashionable loft apartment in downtown St. Louis. He lives in a home in his native Eureka with his two cats, just down the street from his parents, Amy and Dennis, who he says were his primary influences growing up. They helped shape his personality and work ethic.
“My father knew the game, but he didn’t know the complexities of the game,” said Janssen. “He knew how to talk to me. He and my mother did everything they possibly could to give me a good life. I took advantage of their generosity. I did it.”
Their outgoing nature helped mold Janssen’s personality as well.
“They have good people smarts,” he said. “They are nice people. I just blended in.”
Janssen also has many friends who follow his life with the Blues. A quote in the Blues’ game notes under his name gives one a good idea of his sense of humor. It reads, “My friends are really cheap and now they’re actually spending their own money to buy tickets. They’ve got no money, but they’re paying to come see us play.”
Janssen’s career began with the New Jersey Devils, who chose him in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He worked his way up to the big club and established himself as one of the more physical players in the game. In February 2008, the Blues traded defenseman Bryce Salvador, who was in the option year of his contract, to the Devils for Janssen.
The experience in New Jersey was very good, Janssen says, and he singled out Devils GM and former coach Lou Lamoriello as “one of the smartest men in hockey.” Janssen played 100 games with the Devils. When he learned of the trade to the Blues and his hometown, he was overcome by emotion.
“I cried,” he said. “I was ecstatic. It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Prior to being dealt, Janssen was injured, but he was ready to come back at the time he got the call. He made his debut with the Blues shortly after the trade, calling it the “greatest feeling in the world.”
He admits to being a bit of a showman, an entertainer when he drops the gloves and goes to war with an opponent...especially at home. He knows the pressures that go with playing for a team in your hometown.
“Everywhere you go, all eyes are on you,” he said. “I love the attention, but sometimes it’s tough.”
He also identifies with the blue-collar fan that enjoys what he brings to the game.
“The fans here are so awesome…it really pumps me up and brings tears to my eyes when they are up there screaming for you. They love hard work and I know how they think,” he said. “I’m one of them, but it’s the best feeling in the world to hear them cheer when I dish out a hit or get into a fight. There’s nothing like getting the fans going. Nothing like looking up at the crowd while I’m heading to the penalty box and going, ‘Yeah, you like that, guys?’ It’s the best.
“I don’t ever want to leave…ever,” he said.
During the off-season, Janssen enjoys taking his boat out on local lakes and rivers and chilling on a sand bar. He also likes to play golf and talks about how good his good friend Perron is on the links, calling him “unbelievably good. I’m starting to get as good as him.”
He also works out with Blues fitness coach Nelson Ayotte, skating four times a week and lifting weights every other day. He also regularly visits Jessie Finney, who owns a martial arts and kickboxing school in Crestwood to work on the finer points of boxing.
“I do boxing, not to learn how, but how to hockey fight,” explained Janssen. “I’ve been working with Jessie for seven years. He’s been unbelievable, especially for a guy like me who’s 6-feet and often has to do business with guys 6-foot-5 or bigger. You’ve got to be able to dodge punches. It’s an art. It really is. I have a different style for different guys. It takes a lot of work, but it’s the best way to learn. I’ve been doing it most of my life, going back to when I was 15 going against guys who were 22.”
Off the ice, he’s content hanging out with family and friends or spending a quiet evening at home. Janssen also enjoys signing autographs for kids and doing charitable work, especially if it involves children or animals.
“He takes time to work with the young kids, whether it be going to see them in the hospital or working with youth hockey,” said Chase. “He doesn’t do it because he has to…he does it because it’s his nature.”
Janssen likes what fellow forward David Backes does working with dogs and says he is going to get charities of his own going this summer. He isn’t sure whether those charities will involve kids or animals, but it’s something he’s working on right now.
Meanwhile, Janssen is geeked up about his Blues and what the future may hold for him. He likes what Payne has to say and the style of play he’s encouraging. Janssen also knows that he must do everything he can in all aspects of his game to earn more than just three shifts a game.
“I have to play my role well, prove to him that I can play,” said Janssen. “That I can play aggressively and bring hard-core play to the team. We need that in-your-face element that takes it over the top.
“I have to do my job and do it extremely well so he has no choice but to keep putting me out there,” continued Janssen. “I just have to do it well when I get the chance.”
Comments
oldbattler (anonymous) says...
Janssen has a big heart and he loves the Blues.He knows his role and despite he isn't the biggest guy he will take on anybody.Just like Kelly Chase did.I hope Cam, the Blues resign you after your contract this season is up.Good Luck.The Question, will the Blues keep you or will they have D.J King play this role? If he ever stays healthy.
January 8, 2010 at 11:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blues1005 (anonymous) says...
More ice time for Janssen, let hope not. Send him back to the AHL where he belongs.
January 11, 2010 at 12:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )