Rob Zamuner saw his 13-season National Hockey League career with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins end when the lockout cancelled the 2004-05 season.
But the native of Oakville, Ont., continued to play in Switzerland and Italy over the next two seasons, and he enjoyed playing professionally in Brisbane, Australia, last summer.
He wasn't out of the game long when Mississauga IceDogs coach Mike Kelly called Zamuner last fall to see whether he was interested in a part-time assistant coaching gig with the Ontario Hockey League club. Zamuner, now 37, had returned with his wife, Ann, and their three young children to live in Oakville and learn his father's welding supply business.
"I wasn't out of the game long and it was something that interested me," Zamuner said this week. "It was very enjoyable, although we were humbled [in the opening round of the playoffs by the Sudbury Wolves]"
Zamuner was a talented left winger with the OHL's Guelph Platers for three seasons in the late 1980s and scored an impressive total of 46 goals in 66 games in his final junior season, which prompted the Rangers to select him in the 1989 NHL entry draft. Returning to junior hockey 18 years later was an eye-opening experience.
"You forget that when you're that age, you're such a raw talent," Zamuner said. "But today's junior hockey player has to deal with so much more. There are scouts, agents, player rankings, all these outside forces to deal with instead of simply playing the game."
Zamuner doesn't know whether he'll continue coaching next season, because the IceDogs may be changing their address and he doesn't want to uproot his young family.
Looking back on his NHL career, Zamuner can rewind his memory bank fondly on several highlights. There was his debut game with the Rangers against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 16, 1992. Four years later, he played a big role in the Lightning's first home playoff victory on April 18, 1996, when Alex Selivanov scored the winner in overtime before a record playoff crowd of 25,945. Zamuner also won a gold medal with Canada at the 1997 world championship and played for Canada at the Nagano Olympics in 1998.
Because he spent most of his career with Tampa Bay and still has a home there, he will be pulling for the Lightning in the Stanley Cup playoffs.