The Hockey News: Nov. 28, '97--by Kevin Oklobzija
The first time Rob Murray saw Daniel Brière, the Springfield falcons' captain must have figured he was looking at the club's new stick boy.
"He has such a baby face and he's so small," Murray said of the 5-foot-9, 175-pound Brière.
"To look at him, you'd never believe he could play in this league."
But one look at Brière on the ice when he's carrying the puck and the doubts go away.
Stick boy, no. Boy wonder with the stick, yes.
After the first month of the season, Brière was leading the Falcons-and all American League rookies in scoring with 6 goals and 14 points in 11 games. The center's often dazzling play earned him AHL rookie of the month honors for October. Overall, Briere had 8 goals and 18 points in 15 games.
"He's very dangerous and things happen when he's on the ice," coach Brian McCutcheon said after his first glimpse of Brière.
Of course, things have always happened when Brière has been on the ice. While small in stature, he has always stood tall on the score sheet, despite what his many doubters say.
"Ever since I finished bantam and moved up to midget, everyone has said I was too small," said Brière the 24th overall pick by the Coyotes in the 1996 NHL draft. "I had two good years of midget, but they said I'd never make it in junior. I had three great years in junior, but now they're saying I'll never make it here."
Go ahead, doubt me, Brière says.
"I take it more as motivation," he said. "It doesn't bother me. I want to prove people wrong instead of getting down and so far it has worked."
Said Phoenix assistant GM Taylor Burke: "The doubters have said he'll be too small for this league, this is where he is stopped. But he's well on his way to proving he'll pass this test in the primary development league."
Why wouldn't he? He has passed every other test. In his 3 seasons with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Qubec League, Brière scored 170 goals, and 416 points, an average of 139 points a season. He also won a gold medal with the Canadian junior team in the 1997 World Junior Championship.
But the most impressive statistic came in 95-96, when Brière led the QMJHL in goals (67) and assists (96). Only three others ever had the clean sweep in Québec: Mario Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuck and Pat Lafontaine.
To duplicate a Lafontaine feat is special to Brière.
"He was always one of my favorite players, " Brière said. "Just the way he plays, we're almost the same size, he lit up the Québec League."
That's where the comparisons end. Brière isn't in LaFontaine's class, especially in terms of skating, but he has great potential. That's why the Coyotes gambled and drafted him in the 1st round.
"The only reason he wasn't a top-five pick is his size, there's no question about that, "Burke said. "He wasn't the safe pick, but we wanted to draft the player we thought had a chance to become the best NHL player. With higher risk comes higher reward. We chose the path with potentially the highest payoff."
The 20-year-old Brière, a native of Gatineau, Québec, would like to reward the Coyotes for their faith.
"With all the talk that I was too small, I was prepared to wait past the 1st round to be drafted," he said. "But I was dreaming about going in the 1st round and when I heard my name I blacked out. I could see maybe two feet in front of me when I was walking to the stage."
To prepare himself for the more physical pro game, Brière spent part of the summer in California, working out with a personal trainer who specializes in assisting hockey players.
"I never worked out serious," Brière said. " I put on 15 pounds. I wouldn't say I'm faster, but I feel stronger on my skates when people are trying to push me around."
That's when they're able to contain him or line him up when he has the puck. While not a speedster such as Cliff Ronning, Brière is elusive and creative with the puck.
"He's a very talented playmaker, he has great hands and he has great vision of the ice, "said Springfield coach Dave Farrish. "There's no question he's the real McCoy. He has been very successful at every level and I expect him to be successful here and at the next level."
But before Brière leaves the AHL, he must fine-tune his game. While among the last cuts at camp, Brière wasn't on the verge of winning an NHL job. He'll need to get stronger, something that he says won't be a problem. His skating needs work, though it certainly won't hold him out of the NHL if the rest of his game is good.
"He also needs to learn how to play without the puck, "Burke said. "That's not a knock; in junior he always had the puck, so it's pretty hard for him to know how to play without it."
The Coyotes are in no hurry either.
"We're committed to bringing people along slowly, Burke said. "We want him to play in an atmosphere where he can make mistakes and learn from them, not where he makes a mistake and it destroys his confidence because it knocked us out of the play-offs."
Le finis
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