nivek_wahs
04-16-2007, 03:14 AM
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=d3b73aaa-3d92-468d-a964-e610b113a7ab
Scharff still has regrets
Leaving team was hardest thing he's had to do
Steve Ewen, The Province
Published: Monday, April 16, 2007
The Vancouver Giants had a special guest reappearance at their game Friday.
Fan favourite Chad Scharff showed up at the Pacific Coliseum for the first time since he was cut by the club Oct. 10 as part of its paring down to three 20-year-old players.
The Airdrie, Alta., native signed on with the team as a scout in March.
"You guys know that when I left the team as a player it was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to go through," said Scharff, who is currently applying for police force jobs in B.C. and Alberta. "Just to be back in the organization ... I didn't want to be with anyone else.
"It was hard to leave the game. I think that was the hardest part. I still did want to play. I don't think I had the drive to play anywhere else. I was true to the crest that's on the Vancouver jersey." The expansion Chilliwack Bruins used the overage waiver draft to claim the rights of Scharff, who played both wing and defence in his three-plus seasons with the Giants.
He turned them down. He did play a handful of games in a junior B league in Alberta, but soon walked away from that too.
Scharff says he didn't keep a close watch on the Giants during the regular season, explaining that it was too hard on him, but he did talk to a few former teammates from time to time.
And he was miffed when goaltender Dustin Slade, who beat him out for one of the overage spots, walked away from the club Nov. 20 to try to land a minor pro job.
Slade never got a deal and failed to reconcile with the Giants, ending his eligibility playing for a junior A league in Halifax.
"I guess I can say karma bites you in the butt," said Scharff.
"It was obviously a difficult decision. They were banking on him and he's a great goalie. It was tough for me to swallow, from the way I was with the organization.
"It was tough to lose my position to a guy who came here for one year and then bolted." The Giants did inquire about the Bruins dealing back Scharff's rights, but the trade talk never got very far.
Instead, Vancouver shipped longstanding veteran Kyle Lamb to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and brought in two overagers with NHL ties in centre Wacey Rabbit (drafted 154th overall by the Boston Bruins in 2005) and defenceman A.J. Thelen (drafted 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2004).
steve.ewen@gmail.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007
Scharff still has regrets
Leaving team was hardest thing he's had to do
Steve Ewen, The Province
Published: Monday, April 16, 2007
The Vancouver Giants had a special guest reappearance at their game Friday.
Fan favourite Chad Scharff showed up at the Pacific Coliseum for the first time since he was cut by the club Oct. 10 as part of its paring down to three 20-year-old players.
The Airdrie, Alta., native signed on with the team as a scout in March.
"You guys know that when I left the team as a player it was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to go through," said Scharff, who is currently applying for police force jobs in B.C. and Alberta. "Just to be back in the organization ... I didn't want to be with anyone else.
"It was hard to leave the game. I think that was the hardest part. I still did want to play. I don't think I had the drive to play anywhere else. I was true to the crest that's on the Vancouver jersey." The expansion Chilliwack Bruins used the overage waiver draft to claim the rights of Scharff, who played both wing and defence in his three-plus seasons with the Giants.
He turned them down. He did play a handful of games in a junior B league in Alberta, but soon walked away from that too.
Scharff says he didn't keep a close watch on the Giants during the regular season, explaining that it was too hard on him, but he did talk to a few former teammates from time to time.
And he was miffed when goaltender Dustin Slade, who beat him out for one of the overage spots, walked away from the club Nov. 20 to try to land a minor pro job.
Slade never got a deal and failed to reconcile with the Giants, ending his eligibility playing for a junior A league in Halifax.
"I guess I can say karma bites you in the butt," said Scharff.
"It was obviously a difficult decision. They were banking on him and he's a great goalie. It was tough for me to swallow, from the way I was with the organization.
"It was tough to lose my position to a guy who came here for one year and then bolted." The Giants did inquire about the Bruins dealing back Scharff's rights, but the trade talk never got very far.
Instead, Vancouver shipped longstanding veteran Kyle Lamb to the Lethbridge Hurricanes, and brought in two overagers with NHL ties in centre Wacey Rabbit (drafted 154th overall by the Boston Bruins in 2005) and defenceman A.J. Thelen (drafted 12th overall by the Minnesota Wild in 2004).
steve.ewen@gmail.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007