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Not like Dad Jeff Farkas attacks goalies instead of being one
by Josh Goldfine, Special to CNNSI.com BOSTON -- It’s mighty cold in Toronto come February, and even chillier these days for a pair of reasons. First, the club’s recent slide in the Eastern Conference and more pressing, the organization’s failure to acquire Eric Lindros. But one fresh face from the minors gives the Maple Leafs a glimpse of what figures to be a very bright future. Tom Farkas was a goaltender at the University of Buffalo back in his playing days. So, it was only natural that he would groom his oldest son, Jeff, into that same role on the family’s backyard rink in suburban Buffalo. “We used to dress him up with the pads and everything,” Tom recalled. “But he didn’t like it.” That first failed experiment proved to be merely a bump in the road for Jeff, who soon proved that his superior offensive skills would be far better suited to a position far removed from the goal. By the time he reached high school, Jeff knew that his best chance for a college scholarship lay in the Junior ranks. With that, he traded a cushy prep schedule for the grind of Junior hockey, playing for the Niagara Scenics. Tom, who coached Jeff until the youngster’s move to the Scenics and became an assistant with Niagara, recalls the team’s typical weekend schedule as a six-and-a-half hour bus ride to Boston on Friday night, games on Saturday and Sunday, then back to Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. Not the best way for a high school kid to spend a weekend, but certainly excellent preparation for the competition that lay ahead. When it came down to a college, it was Tom that took the initial lead in the selection process. The owner of Great Skate, a Buffalo-area hockey equipment store, Tom knew many coaches in the industry through his business contacts. But in the end, Jeff would end up at a school which surprised both father and son. “I knew a lot of the coaches from my business, so I weeded out a couple of places for him,” said Tom. “I just wanted to keep him in a place where we could drive to see him.” For most parents, that would mean an upstate New York school. Certainly, an institution within reasonable driving distance from Buffalo. But, then again, Tom and Laurie Farkas are not like most parents. In the end, Jeff chose Boston College over such rival powers as Michigan, Michigan State, and Boston University. Clarkson and St. Lawrence, both top schools in upstate New York, were also left by the wayside. “I decided that I wanted to be in Boston,” said Jeff. “Both [BC and BU] offered the world-class city. The BC program was down at the time, and I had a chance to play right away.” “When we were choosing schools, Boston College was not even on the map,” recalled Tom. “I told Jeff it was up to him. [BC Head Coach] Jerry York did a good job recruiting and putting together a solid corps of players and people.” That core included such highly-regarded prospects as defenseman Mike Mottau and forward Blake Bellefeuille to complement a lineup that already featured the multi-skilled Marty Reasoner. Mottau recalled that Farkas’ decision to attend Boston College had a big impact on his own college selection. “I heard that he was going to commit, and I was also anxious to commit,” said Mottau, this past year’s Hobey Baker award winner, who is currently with the Hartford Wolf Pack in the American Hockey League after spending some time with the parent New York Rangers earlier this season. “We played together on the USA Select-16 and 17 teams. We went into BC with intentions to turn the program around, and we did that.” But it was not all fun for the Eagles. Farkas’ freshman season produced a 15-19-4 record, no improvement over a 16-17-3 mark of the prior season. That, however, was the final time in Farkas’ college career that the Eagles would see the middle of the pack. The next season produced a 15-game winning streak en route to a magical 27-9-5 mark and a berth in the NCAA Finals against the University of Michigan. As terrific as the year had been, it ended in the cruelest fashion, as the Wolverines won in overtime, 3-2, in front of 18,000 fans in Boston’s FleetCenter.
The team’s success was firm proof that the Boston College program was back, and Frozen Four appearances in each of the next two seasons only affirmed that notion. Though the Eagles fell to North Dakota, 4-2, in this past year’s national title game and never won the grand prize, Farkas could not be more proud of what he and his classmates accomplished. “I enjoyed the four years,” he said. “We never thought we’d get to one [Frozen Four], not to mention three.” As the Eagles developed, so did Farkas. From 36 and 39 points in each of his first two seasons, respectively, Farkas tallied 57 points in his junior season and 58 more as a senior, when he was a Hobey Baker award finalist and a first-team All-American. Overall, the 6-foot, 185-pounder scored 190 points (88 goals, 102 assists) in 159 career games for Boston College and ranks tied for fifth on the school’s all-time scoring list. “I thought Jeff had a spectacular career here, from where he came in as a freshman to where he finished his senior year,” said York. “His fourth year with us, he was as good a player as there was in the country. His numbers and accolades were well-deserved at Boston College.” There was one big key to Farkas’ improved production throughout his career. “He started out as not much of a physical player or a strong young guy, but with loads of offensive skill,” said York. “He gained 25 pounds when he was here and improved his physical strength, which helped him away from the puck. He dedicated himself to getting stronger, which helped his whole game. When you have real good offensive players who understand their roles defensively, it’s a real good addition.” “Coming in as a freshman, he was 150 pounds,” recalled Mottau. “He matured on the ice. You could see it. The summer before our junior season, he just ‘got it.’ That’s something I tell everyone about.” The loss to North Dakota this past spring was hardly the end of Jeff’s career. Rather, it was just the beginning. Selected by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the 1997 NHL draft after his freshman season, Jeff left school just after the North Dakota loss, joining injury-riddled Toronto in Eastern Conference semi-finals. He remembers the change in teams as being quite drastic. “One day, I’m at BC enjoying the college life,” Jeff said. “The next day, I’m sitting in a pro locker room.” Tom will always remember the moment his son called and said that he was headed to the hockey’s promised land. “We were in Florida vacationing,” said Tom. “Every day, we would go to the airport and see if there were flights, in case we needed to get home. As it turned out, we were on our way home when he called. Once we got back to Buffalo, we got on a plane to New Jersey. It was amazing to see him play against guys like Mogilny and Brodeur.” The Maple Leafs ended up losing the series in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champions, but the experience was invaluable for the young forward. Jeff, who graduated from Boston College this past summer with degrees in English and Sociology, opened this season in St. John’s of the American Hockey League. After an inconsistent first few months, he turned it up a notch after the New Year. With 48 points (19 G, 29 assists) in 59 games, including 15 points over his last eight contests, Jeff was promoted to Toronto over the weekend and is currently playing on a line with veterans Mats Sundin and Gary Roberts. Through everything, there has been Tom. He traveled to St. John’s six times this season and remembers the only two Eagle games that he missed during Jeff’s career. “The first was against Northeastern, and [Boston’s] Logan airport was snowed in,” he recalled. “The other was against UMass on a Tuesday night his senior season. We had just driven to Boston on Sunday, and we just couldn’t make the drive again.” It’s easy to forgive Tom when you remember that it’s a 450-mile round trip. With Jeff in Toronto, he is just an hour away from home. Maybe it’s time for his old man to pick out a new set of wheels.
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