Veteran Laperriere Enjoys Rookie Fishing Outing
(from CSNPhilly.com)
By Tim Panaccio
CSNPhilly.com
October 14, 2009 - FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - This isn't a big fish story. It's a little fish story.
See, Ian Laperriere doesn't do a lot of fishing. He doesn't know what bait or tackle or 10-pound line means.
He's not a fisherman. They don't fish in Montreal. They skate and ski and do stuff like that.
On Wednesday, the first-year Flyer competed in a fishing tournament with his teammates as part of the Flyers' annual team bonding extravaganza.
"This went faster," said the Flyers' forward, after the team completed its tournament, which was won by assistant coach Craig Berube, who caught a 17-pound mackerel.
Hmm? The coaching staff won the sailing regatta and the fishing tourney at the players' team bonding session? And you thought the Flyers were above rigging the game, eh?
"This was a lot of relaxation," Laperriere said of the past two days. "We went for the big fish and the other guys got more. We got one little one. We went for sharks. We went big and didn't get anything."
Laperriere said one group of players caught 15 fish. Asked whether that group was chumming the water, Laperriere seemed puzzled.
"I think they did it the right way," he said. "I've never done this before. But...we got to know each other in a different place other than the locker room," he said.
The big questions are: Do a couple of days of bonding help the Flyers in something more pragmatic, like not blowing a two-goal lead in the third period? Will it help relax Simon Gagne, who is pressing for a goal and has hit a couple of posts? Will it help settle down defenseman Braydon Coburn, who has been a turnover machine so far?
The Flyers are 3-1-1, but they could just as easily be 4-1 or even 5-0. In losses to both Pittsburgh and Anaheim, the game could have gone the other way with better puck handling in one case and more alert defensive play in the other.
"We won three games out of five and got 7 points out of 10," Laperriere said. "If you lose five games, there's a lot more stress on the team and your teammates. I think in the big picture, I see the stuff we have done the last couple days [helping out] in the long run.
"Guys you are battling for and battling with. I am a big believer in that."
Laperriere said before the week began that teammates would find him very "boring" to bond with. He said that didn't change.
"On the water, you talk about a lot of different stuff," he said. "Where guys are from, family wise, it was pretty cool."
The amazing thing is, during the sailboat competition on Tuesday, none of the boats capsized.
"It doesn't go fast enough and it was pretty mellow water," Laperriere said. "Was it a race? I don't know. I think I can run faster than the speed we were going."
He said the real work with "teamwork" was pulling ropes.
"We had things to do with the ropes," he said.
They even jumped overboard into the Atlantic Ocean.
"I'm not a big fan of going into something where I can't see the bottom or what is under me," said Laperriere, who is wary of sharks.
He thinks the benefits of this camaraderie will come later this season.
"If you look at our schedule coming up in two weeks, it's going to be crazy because we play every couple nights for the next few months," he said. "It's good to take time off when you can."
Chris Pronger said that the fishing tournament offered guys a longer chance to chat with each other.
"Yesterday was more team-oriented," Pronger said. "Today was more about fun. There isn't much you can do but wait [when fishing] and talk out there."
E-mail Tim Panaccio at tpanotch@comcast.net