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Gionta small in stature only Posted: Friday November 23, 2001 1:14 AM
By Josh Goldfine, Special to CNNSI.com BOSTON (Ticker) -- Whoever coined the phrase that good things come in small packages must have had Brian Gionta in mind. The diminutive winger, a member of the New Jersey Devils' American Hockey League club in Albany, New York, has quickly proven himself to be one of the top rookies in the league this season. Six months ago Gionta, Boston College's captain, and his teammates were shaking hands with President Bush, celebrating the school's first hockey National Championship since 1949. The celebration came courtesy of a thrilling, 3-2, overtime win over the University of North Dakota, exorcising the demons after BC's three straight fruitless trips to hockey's Frozen Four. Gionta's career at Boston College was about as storybook as it gets. The nation's top-scoring freshman with 62 points in his first year as an Eagle, Gionta then earned first team All-America honors after both his sophomore and junior seasons. Last January, he scored an incredible five goals -- on five shots, nonetheless -- in a single period to set a Hockey East league record. Besides leading BC to a school-record 33 victories and league regular-season and tournament crowns, Gionta was recognized as an All-New England selection and an All-American once again. But, it didn't take all of Gionta's four years in Boston to get him noticed by the NHL's brass. After Gionta's sparkling freshman season, he was drafted in the third round of the 1998 draft by the New Jersey Devils. After spending this past spring playing for Team USA at the World Championships in Germany, Gionta was off to the world of pro hockey and away from the cozy confines of the collegiate game he had found so much to his liking. "I miss the friends," said Gionta when reflecting on his BC experience recently. "The college atmosphere is something you'll never get back. You can't beat that experience." While Gionta starred as a collegian, he has found the pro game a bit more difficult thus far, both from an individual and team perspective. While Gionta has put up decent numbers through the first quarter of the season, tallying five goals and four assists in 18 games, his club has won just once in those 18 contests. The 22-year-old winger, who is playing a mere three-hour drive from his hometown of Rochester, New York, says that he doesn't see many big differences between the amateur and pro games and says that he needs to stick to what he has done in the past to be successful going forward "You can't change it too much," said Gionta of his speed-oriented style of play. "Guys are bigger, stronger and quicker. And, the game is faster."
Not many are faster than the 5-foot-7, 165-pound speedster. Gionta has lightning-quick speed and a tremendous knack for being around the puck. He says that he takes nothing for granted in this, his first season as a pro. "You have to prove yourself every time out," he said. With the speed and offensive know-how of the NHL's best snipers, Gionta may be proving himself at hockey's highest level before too long. Q&A with Brian GiontaQ: How's life up in Albany? What goes on for fun up there? A: I don't mind it. It's pretty quiet. Not like Boston. I don't know if I could say everything that we do for fun. But, we pretty much just go out as a team and hang out. Q: If you had a son who could go to play Junior hockey or play in college, what would you advise him to do? A: I would tell him to go to college. If you're good enough to play in the pros, they will be there when you're done with college. Q: What was the first thing that went through your mind after winning the National Championship? A: It was amazing. You work so hard for four years, and we finally got it. Q: Do you feel like things have been tougher for you because of your size? A: Being small, I might have a bit more to prove. I'm a first-year pro, so I've got to prove myself every time out, anyway.
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