Bertuzzi, Canada Get Off to Solid Start
Italy's Tony Tuzzolino shakes hands with Todd Bertuzzi (two assists) following Canada's 7-2 hockey triumph.
(By Mike Blake -- Reuters)
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Thursday, February 16, 2006
TURIN, Italy, Feb. 15 -- The Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi swings his shoulder into unsuspecting foes, drives his elbows into other men's chests and has a wonderful ability to also make goals happen with uncanny ease. If that was all, he would probably be considered one of the five best players in the world.
But there is also the matter of the blow he delivered from behind to Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore in 2004, driving Moore headfirst into the ice. Moore hasn't played since, and the incident earned Bertuzzi a 17-month suspension from the NHL, a guilty plea to assault in British Columbia court, and two civil lawsuits from Moore, the first dismissed in a Denver court last year and the second filed in Ontario Superior Court on Tuesday.
Not to mention heaps of scorn across his sport.
In almost every arena other than his own, Bertuzzi is downright reviled. But Canadian officials have also made it clear they wish to win another gold medal in these Olympics, and to do so, they have decided they need the most hated man in the NHL to be a part of their team. So Bertuzzi is here, though not with the blanket endorsement of his countrymen.
One fan even promised the Toronto Star he would bring a sign to the Olympic Sports Center on Wednesday to protest Bertuzzi's place on the Canadian roster.
No such banners were to be seen inside the gleaming new arena next to the Olympic Stadium. Rather, Bertuzzi seemed to draw cheers from the Canadians in the crowd every time he touched the puck in Canada's 7-2 victory over Italy. Of course this was nothing like the roar he got when he delivered the first hit of the game -- a blow into the boards.
If anyone objected to the winger's presence on the ice, it was erased with two assists and another goal created when he completely screened Italian goalie Jason Muzzatti, allowing a shot from Jarome Iginla to whistle into the net, making the score 4-1.
"He's a huge asset to Canada," the Edmonton Oilers Ryan Smyth said.
On Tuesday, Canada's huge asset strutted through the mixed zone where reporters congregate, shed of his skates and pads but still imposing at 6 feet 3 and 245 pounds.
Bertuzzi has never been particularly warm with reporters. One sports psychologist, who worked with him and spoke under the condition that he remain anonymous because he has continuing relationships with NHL teams, said Bertuzzi might have been the most "arrogant" athlete he ever dealt with.
Bertuzzi tried to smile a few times but soon the old glare came out, especially when the questions turned to anything related to the incident that has made him the scourge of so much of his homeland.
"You know what? My life's not that bad," he snapped. "I enjoy my life. I'll live my life and not worry about the negatives. I'll let everyone write what they'll write."
