Christian closing in on goal-scoring title
He has already been named one of the six finalists for the league's MVP.
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown SteelHounds are closing in on the conclusion of their inaugural season and although the post season is something that exited the picture for the expansion team a couple weeks ago there are some achievements on the horizon for the 'Hounds, specifically, player-assistant coach Jeff Christian.
The captain of the SteelHounds has 96 points this season, ranking second to Amarillo's Derek Hahn, who has 100 points. The SteelHounds have five games remaining, all of which are at the Chevrolet Centre, giving Christian a chance to catch Hahn.
Christian has already been named one of the six finalists for the Central Hockey League's Most Valuable Player award and seems like a lock to win the goal scoring title in his first year in the CHL.
Through 59 games, Christian has scored 52 goals. The next closest player is Colorado's Greg Pankewicz (last year's league MVP) who has 40.
His trail
Christian brought 15 years of professional experience with him, including 18 games in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins (1994-97). He also spent time with the Cleveland Barons of the International Hockey League.
"I met my wife in Cleveland when I was with the Lumberjacks and after playing in Europe the past five seasons we knew that getting back to the states was a top priority," said Christian, "and the closer to home the better, which is why Youngstown made so much sense."
Christian is one of just two SteelHounds to dress in every game this season. The other is Chris Richards, the center who played most of the season alongside of Christian and who is enjoying a career year at age 30. Richards, a former Ohio State player, has 84 points (18 goals and 66 assists) and has scored in his last 19 consecutive games, the longest streak in the CHL this season.
" 'Richy' and I clicked right away," said Christian. "It seemed that from the first time we were on the ice together I knew he was one of the best playmakers I had ever skated with. I never thought much about 50 goals but with 'Richy' as a linemate it sure helped bring it into focus. Of my 52 goals, he has had to of assisted on 90 percent of them."
On Monday, Christian was named the CHL's player of the week for the third time this season (the only player to accomplish the feat this season). Last Friday, Christian became the first player to hit the 50-goal mark in the team's 8-3 victory over Bossier-Shreveport. The next night in Memphis, Christian scored his 52nd goal of the season in a SteelHounds' loss.
"This year is disappointing in the sense that we had high hopes of making the playoffs and becoming one of those expansion teams that people would talk about for years," said Christian. "With all the things you could list as reasons why we had to face so much adversity, the one thing you can't say is that this time didn't give 100 percent each and every game.
Promising for 2006-07
"There are so many young players and with the nucleus that coach [Jean] Laforest is building it makes next year very promising."
Don't discard the final five games of this season though; Christian feels the SteelHounds may have saved their best for last.