Black Hawks select Mic Mac

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Tough guy famous for Russian brawl

Before the Chicago Black Hawks selected Everett Sanipass in the first round of the 1986 National Hockey League draft (14th overall), the Mic Mac hockey player was already making headlines world wide for participating in the first bench clearing brawl in international hockey history.

Though his job in this NHL isn't secure yet, 19-year-old Sanipass is excited just to have a crack at a starting position. "I didn't have any idea where I was going," he explains, recalling last year's NHL draft in Toronto where his parent, Joe and Mariam, were at his side.

"Then, the Black Hawks called my name, and I started shaking an getting really nervous inside," Sanipass recalls with a big grin, emphasizing his green eyes and baby-face good looks.

Although the Rexton, New Brunswick athlete has seen limited action in the NHL, playing eight regular season and about a dozen exhibition games for the Hawks, Sanipass has already been labeled a "tough guy" in the league. The 200-pound, six-foot-one rugged left-winger was one of the five Canadians on the ice at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia when hockey fans witnessed the first bench-clearing brawl in international hockey.

It was in the final game of the world junior tournament last year, and the Canadian junior team was beating Russia's junior "Red Army" 4-2 in the third period. Canada's finest only needed two more goals for the gold medal, however, they were denied the prize after the brawl.

"We had everything to lose while the Russians had nothing to lose. So, I think it was pretty well fixed," reasons Sanipass, who was recently interviewed in Edmonton where he was in town to play the Oilers.

"The Russians started getting chippy and using their sticks, and they were getting away with it because the referees weren't calling anything."

When Sanipass became frustrated and began fighting with a Russian forward, he recalls: "I looked over my shoulder and I couldn't believe what was happening. There was a big brawl and everybody was just going crazy . . . They turned the lights off because the referees couldn't get control of us."

Nearly 20 minutes passed before officials regained control of the game and turned the lights back on. The teams were disqualified and the Canadian junior team was asked to leave the country immediately by Czechoslovakian police.

"It was pretty scary. They escorted us out of the country," says Sanipass, noting the team's bus was surrounded by two police cars on either side of it until they reached the airport.

Sanipass came back to Canada and began playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where his opponents couldn't stop him from having a great season. He finished the year with a Verdon club, collecting 82 points in 35 games. The only barrier he had trouble getting over was the language difference. "I didn't speak very much French, just a bit. So, I was sort of timid for a while," admits Sanipass, who now speaks French fluently.

Although his junior career has been nothing short of sensational, in the NHL, Sanipass is "still learning the ropes ? how things are done on and off the ice," he explains, admitting "sometimes you can feel the tension because there's always changes being made and players getting cut."

His former junior hockey general manager, Roger Bedbard, says the "hard hat" brand of hockey Sanipass brings to the ice should earn him a spot in the NHL. Bedbard explains, "he'll go into the corners where it gets rough, get the puck and throw it out to his centre man."

Despite his tough image, Sanipass hasn't had a fight in the NHL yet, but he's had some "close calls." He says, "That's something that will come eventually. It's the style of play."

Sanipass points out the image may have been enhanced by the brawl against the Russians.

Although his uncle was a golden gloves boxing champ and his father boxed a little, Sanipass says he's "not even a very god scraper. I guess it didn't rub off on me."

In the off season, Sanipass goes back to his family's home in Big Cove, Ken County, N.B. where he's an assistant physical education instructor at the school. Adding to his 18 hour training week the NHLer just learned to swim last year from his father. Sanipass notes with a smile "the ocean is only 10 miles away, but it's cold."

Big Cove's 2,000 residents know Sanipass by his first name and for friendly nature. But, in hockey circles, he's a feared competitor trying to make the top ranks with his aggressive brand of hockey. A little finger crossing and some luck is all Sanipass needs to become one of the NHL's best.