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Tuesday, October 20, 2009 2:45 PM

Legein gets fresh start in Philly

Eric Duhatschek

It would just be another below-the-radar minor-league transaction, if it hadn’t involved Stefan Legein, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ prospect and former star of Canada’s world junior team. Legein, remember, took a half-year sabbatical from hockey at the start of last year, citing burnout and a lack of the necessary passion needed to play at a high level.

Legein eventually rejoined the Blue Jackets’ organization for the second half of last season and played out the year for their AHL affiliate in Syracuse. On Tuesday, the Blue Jackets traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Michael Ratchuk.

Getting a fresh start in the Flyers organization may be just what Legein needs to get his career on the rails. Sometimes, a change of scenery is the answer – it gives a player a chance to park his baggage at the curb, and start fresh.

Philadelphia is an interesting destination given that the Flyers gave up on a similar pepper-pot sort of player when they moved Steve Downie last year to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Energy players – more than any others – are unpredictable in terms of their development path. More long shots make it in that role than any others – players drafted in the nether regions of the entry draft that eventually figure out what it takes to be a day-in, day-out pro. That, in effect, will be the challenge for Legein, who according to Blue Jackets’ general manager Scott Howson, “to his credit, never asked for a trade - but if you read between the lines, I think he’s probably happy he’s getting a fresh start. He was a model citizen since he came back and decided to play. His work ethic was good, his attitude was good. He trained hard in the summer. We wish him luck.”

Ratchuk is less of a known quantity. At 21, he was Philadelphia’s third pick, 42nd overall, in 2006 and was playing for their farm team in Adirondack at the time of the trade. A smallish rearguard, with good puck-handling skills, Ratchuk left college after two years and according to Howson, probably hasn’t developed offensively the way the Flyers thought he might.

Both players are still young enough to possess an NHL upside. It will be interesting to see if one or both or neither makes it. The one thing about Howson's record as a GM of the surging Blue Jackets: They haven’t made a lot of mistakes lately.

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Globe On Hockey Contributors

Eric Duhatschek

Eric Duhatschek

Eric was the winner of the Hockey Hall Of Fame's Elmer Ferguson award for "distinguished contributions to hockey writing" in 2001. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario's grad school of journalism, he began covering hockey in 1978 and after spending 20 years covering the NHL and the Calgary Flames, joined The Globe in 2000. Eric has covered four Winter Olympics, 19 Stanley Cup finals, every Canada Cup and World Cup since 1981, plus two world championships.

 
Allan Maki

Allan Maki

Allan joined The Globe in 1997 after spending 19 years as a reporter and columnist at the Calgary Herald. Born in Thunder Bay, he graduated from the Ryerson School of Journalism in 1977. A past president of the Football Writers of Canada, Allan has covered every Grey Cup since 1980. He's been to seven Olympic Games and covered everything from rodeos to the World Series to the Super Bowl.

 

James Mirtle

James Mirtle joined The Globe as an editor and reporter in the sports department in 2005 and now covers the Toronto Maple Leafs. A graduate of Ryerson University and Thompson Rivers University, he has written about hockey from junior on up the past decade and has a background in new media, statistical analysis and blogging. You can follow him on Twitter here.

 

Matthew Sekeres

Matthew is The Globe's national sports correspondent in B.C., covering the Canucks, Lions and other sports happenings on the west coast. Montreal-born and Ottawa-raised, Matthew is a graduate of Carleton University's School of Journalism. He has worked at four metropolitan dailies and for TSN. Matthew has covered the Beijing Olympics, three Super Bowls, the NBA Finals, nine Grey Cups and the Stanley Cup playoffs.

 

David Shoalts

A native of Wainfleet, Ont., David joined The Globe in 1984 as a layout and copy editor in the sports section. He attended the University of Waterloo and Conestoga College. After graduating in 1978, he worked at the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun, and later the Toronto Sun. He has covered the Toronto Maple Leafs and the NHL since 1990 and became a hockey columnist in 2003.

 

Darren Yourk

Darren is the editor of globesports.com and host of the Hockey Roundtable podcast.