YOUNGSTOWN STEELHOUNDS Mallette brings CHL championship experience

The SteelHounds defenseman helped Colorado win the league title last year.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ice hockey defenseman Kris Mallette knows the thrill of winning a professional championship,
Now, he's about to feel the joy of playing and exuding leadership.
Last season, Mallette, a 6-foot-4 defenseman, played for the Colorado Eagles, the best team in the Central Hockey League.
"After being on a team that only lost 10 times, that makes this a good transition," said Mallette who was the first player drafted by the Youngstown SteelHounds in the June CHL expansion draft.
Mallette is going from a team that was in the zone almost every night (43-10-7) to one that will be logging lots of miles across the center of the U.S.
"It was the most stress-free year for myself and my family," said Mallette, a 1997 third-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers (62nd overall). "Just going to the rink and not losing two in a row was something that I was not used to.
"I've been on teams that have gone to the finals before, but I had never crossed that plateau to win a championship," Mallette said. "We had something really special last year."
Knew it would be short
Mallette knew that when he signed with Colorado, it would be a one-year experience.
"I basically went there to win a championship and that's what we did," Mallette said. "I have the utmost respect for that organization. I was treated extremely well there. On the other hand, I knew I was going to be put into the expansion draft and it's really exciting."
Now, he faces a different role -- leadership. Mallette is one of the four players with veteran status.
"I've got a big role on this team this year -- I'm going to be a leader and get a chance to play quite a bit," said Mallette, who scored two goals and eight assists last season.
Wednesday, the SteelHounds leave Ohio on a two-day bus trip to Tulsa, Okla.
Friday, the SteelHounds will make their debut against the Oilers.
Because of the newness surrounding the SteelHounds, Mallette sees a bright future.
"To come to a new place with a new rink and a new team, there's nowhere to go but up," Mallette said. "There's no what they did last year -- what we build this year is the bar to be set, so that is really exciting."
Likes defensive players
Mallette says he admires "any defensive defenseman in general because I'm not a flashy player. I really like to protect my own end first before personal accolades.
"I'm not a guy who's going to try and score all the time," Mallette said. "I'd rather be someone who does not get scored on than be a guy who gets points.
"This will be my sixth year as a pro, my second year in the CHL. I played the three previous seasons to that in the United Hockey League and one in the East Coast Hockey League," Mallette said.
Mallette said the East Coast League "is more of a developmental league. A lot of the players are [NHL] draft picks so the teams are affiliated. But I don't really remember a big difference between the leagues -- it's all quality hockey."
On the other hand, Mallette, who received 192 minutes in penalties last year, says, "the United Hockey League has a lot more tough guys that are just specifically there to mix it up.
Limited number of players
"Whereas here, you only have a limited amount of roster space and everybody has got to play," said Mallette of the CHL's salary cap and roster limit of 17. "You just can't have a guy who can sit on the bench for 59 minutes and then go out and mix it up. That's just a waste of time. Here, everybody has got to be able to play and I enjoy that."
Born in Ontario, Mallette's family lived in Europe for seven years before settling in British Columbia when he was 11,
"I was all over the place -- my dad was in the air force," Mallette said.
He and his wife, Susie, have a daughter, Grace, who is almost 2.
"We're all living in Boardman," Mallette said. "The area is quite nice, but I'm just not looking forward to the cold winters. With B.C. and Colorado, that meant 300 days of sun -- that will be a big change."
williams@vindy.com