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Role reversal Daniel Corso was the star, until he came to St. Louis
By Josh Goldfine, Special to CNNSI.com BOSTON (Ticker) -- St. Louis Blues rookie Daniel Corso was used to being a big fish in a small pond, until this season. The 22-year-old center from Montreal, who got off to a torrid start in Worcester of the American Hockey League, has been thrust into the NHL and has held his own in one of the league's most talented lineups. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder, who put up 46 points in 37 games in half of season with Worcester, departed with the IceCats owning one of the best records in minor-league hockey. Corso entered the professional ranks in 1998 after putting up terrific numbers in each of his four seasons with Victoriaville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He tallied 53 points in 65 games in his first season to earn All-Rookie status as a 16-year-old. The next year, Corso piled up 114 points to put himself on the NHL prospect radar. The Blues then selected the young Frenchman in the seventh round of the 1996 draft. Corso, though, was hardly thrilled with his selection. "I was disappointed," he said. "I was supposed to go in the third round. My agent said that the Blues wanted me, but they wanted all Russian guys instead. Teams just picked guys from Europe. "It was frustrating because we all [North American players] dropped two or three rounds. But I showed St. Louis the next year with 51 goals in 54 games. I never take the easy way, I guess, always the hard way." Corso showed the Blues what he could do, averaging over two points per games in each of his final two seasons in Victoriaville. He always has had that innate flair for the offensive aspect of the game. "I guess I was just born with it," he said.
Corso's crowning moment at the Junior level was a weekend of offensive fireworks against a poor Moncton squad. Alain Rajotte, who coached Corso in Victoriaville, regards that period as a wake-up call for the youngster. "Two games before that weekend, he was benched for cruising," Rajotte recalled. "He was dominant every time he stepped on the ice." Corso tallied four goals and four assists on Friday and came back with three goals and six assists the next night for a 17-point weekend. Victoriaville won both games, 10-0 and 10-1. Corso did not have such success in his first tour around the AHL. In his first season, against older and more experienced players, Corso mustered just 28 points in 63 games. He made a marked improvement this past season, picking up 55 points in 71 games and earning recognition from many scouts as one of the most improved players in the league. Rajotte said Corso's two full seasons in the minors were well worth it. "He was in the AHL for two years because he was a kid playing with men," Rajotte said. This season, Corso turned the tide and was among the league's leading scorers at the time of his call-up. He will not soon forget his first call to hockey's promised land. "We [Worcester] had a 4 o'clock bus to Providence," Corso said. "Don Granato [Worcester head coach] called me at 3:30 and told me to catch a 6 o'clock flight to L.A. My girlfriend drove me to the airport and I almost missed the plane. I went from snow to the palm trees." The brief transition in weather was about the only thing that has thrown Corso off in his Blues tenure. Just 12 games into his NHL career, he has four goals and two assists. Blues General Manager Larry Pleau is happy with the production he has received from the youngster. "We had some injuries, and we gave him a shot," Pleau said. "He's got speed and he uses that." Within the next several weeks, most of the injuries will have healed and the sidelined Blues will return to the lineup. With the way he has progressed, it will be tough to take out Daniel Corso.
© 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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