No Games, All Play

Rangers forward Jed Ortmeyer, a Nebraskan, was taking surfing lessons in California until his agent found out and told Ortmeyer, who has had reconstructive surgery on both knees, to stop immediately. There was no keeping Capitals defenseman Brendan Witt (right), off the waves near Vero Beach, Fla. "I'd be there for the sunrise surf session and I'd go until 11," says the bruising 6'2", 223-pound Witt, who rose at 5 a.m. each day and drove an hour from where he was staying with his family in West Palm Beach. Adds the Saskatchewan native, "It was nice to be in the sun."

Kings left wing Luc Robitaille (right) and his wife, Stacia, organized a poker game--and for high stakes. The Feb. 26 event at Normandie Casino in L.A. drew 140 entrants including 24 star Elisha Cuthbert, who is dating Kings center Sean Avery. The tournament raised more than $45,000 for a Lake Charles, La., couple that was uprooted by Hurricane Rita and needed equipment for their 10-year-old daughter, Lanie Warner, who suffers from spina bifida. Said Lanie's mother, Tara, "We have been humbled and overwhelmed.... Luc and Stacia couldn't be better people."

"I'm not exactly built for cycling," says 6'3", 225-pound Sharks left wing Scott Thornton (right). Maybe not, but he knows his pelotons from his power plays. On Feb. 22 Thornton completed a 17-mile time trial that is a stage of the Amgen Tour of California, which draws many pro cyclists. He finished in 48 minutes, only six minutes slower than some pros. Last summer Thornton, now 35, completed the 129-mile Death Ride in Northern California--an annual race that most entrants fail to finish. This time, he said, he didn't have a chance to prepare: "I basically threw the gear on and got on the bike."

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