With 22 points through through the first 42 games of the season, the Blue Jackets' Ron Hainsey ( VIDEO) is on pace for a career-high 43 points.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Ron Hainsey is big, tall, fast, offensively gifted and can quarterback a power play. These are ideal qualities for a first-round draft choice and top-four NHL defenseman.

But Hainsey’s route to the NHL has been anything but conventional.

Born in Bolton, Ct., Hainsey remembers when he was just 3 and his grandparents would take him to see the Hartford Whalers, who played 15 minutes away. Hainsey would sit on his grandparents’ laps watching the likes of Ron Francis, Sylvain Turgeon and Ray Ferraro. Later, Hainsey would watch Kevin Dineen, Ulf Samuelsson and Mike Liut, when his grandparents’ season tickets were passed down to his parents. Hainsey remembers hearing Whalers’ theme song, “Brass Bonanza,” which was played every time the Whalers scored a goal.

"I loved ‘Brass Bonanza,’" Hainsey said. "My mom loved Ron Francis and my dad loved Ulf Samuelsson. But when they were traded to Pittsburgh and they stopped playing the song and changed uniforms, it just wasn’t the same."

The Whalers left for Carolina prior to the 1997-98 season, but Hainsey’s love for hockey never disappeared. He attended Gary Dineen’s junior Whalers hockey training program when he was 8 and his career has taken off from there.

When Ron was 18, he joined the United States Development Program and played in two World Junior Championships.

Larry Wigge reports on the Central Division every week throughout the 2007-08 regular season.
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But Hainsey’s stock sunk and his choices for college were limited. Rather than choosing a big college with a glitzy hockey program, he wound up at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where he got far more ice time than he would have gotten at a major hockey school.

After his freshman season at UMass-Lowell, Hainsey had dreams of Larry Robinson and Serge Savard in his head when he was picked in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

But Hainsey’s chance at the big time didn’t come until several years later, after spending several years in the Habs’ system. The 26-year-old defenseman was waived in late November 2005 and claimed by Columbus.

"I was playing at Quebec of the American Hockey League and I heard I was going to be called up by Montreal,” Hainsey recalled. “Sheldon Souray was hurt, Mike Komisarek's mom had just passed away and Andrei Markov had been suspended – and the Canadiens needed a defenseman."

The next 24 hours were hard to take for Hainsey, who just wanted a chance to show what he could do.

"I flew from Quebec City to Ottawa (where the Canadiens were) and stayed in the hotel room all day waiting for the phone call," Hainsey said. "Finally my agent called to tell me that Columbus had claimed me. Then I was quickly off to St. Paul, where the Blue Jackets played the next night.

"It was an anxious time. You never know what things are going to be like: How you’re going to be treated. Whether your new team wants you to be anything more than a Band-Aid for a short time and then you’re right back into the same not-knowing situation as I was in Montreal."

That unconventional route was worth the wait.

"I remember after I came to Columbus (in November 2006), talking to friends of mine from Montreal who were familiar with Ron – and they told me the only thing they questioned was his consistency," Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "The big thing I’ve seen is how much more competitive he’s gotten. He always had the skills. All he had to do was sustain his level of play, which he has."

Except for being a healthy scratch once in November, Hainsey has sparkled. He leads the Jackets in assists, is fourth on the team in points and has been plus or even in all but nine games this season, while averaging 21:34 of ice time per game.


Nash
"When you prepare to play Columbus, the guys you key on are Rick Nash, because of his skills, Sergei Fedorov, Nikolai Zherdev and Ron Hainsey, because of the way they carry the puck through the neutral zone," said St. Louis Blues center Ryan Johnson.

"You don’t want any team to just skate through center ice,” said Blues wing Jamal Mayers. “When you have a player like Hainsey who is fast, has a strong stride and is good with the puck, well, it’s hard to slow him down."

Hainsey’s skating stride seems effortless and his passes are quick and accurate.

Hainsey grew up in Boston Bruins territory and secretly – to his parents and grandparents – watched and idolized Ray Bourque and Brian Leetch. Hainsey models his game after them.

Hainsey doesn’t have an extensive athletic bloodlines.

"My dad was into cars and I think my mom played softball,” Hainsey said. “I’m not sure about my grandparents."

Marty, Ron’s father, works for Pratt Whitney developing of jet engines. Kerry, his mother, runs a construction company the family has owned for years.

"The best advice I’ve ever got was hands, heart, head and hustle,” said Hainsey. “That’s what Gary Dineen always preached. I remember the day he told me I should switch from a forward to defense when I was 8. And I also remember Gene Reilly telling me I would have to improve my skating and how he helped me every day when I was growing up. I don’t know what I’d be doing today if it wasn’t for them."

If Hainsey didn’t make a career of hockey, he may have wound up working in law enforcement, since he completed two years at college working toward a degree in criminal justice.

Hainsey, Rostislav Klesla, captain Adam Foote and Jan Hejda form a solid top four for a Columbus team that has not ranked less than third in penalty killing this season and has kept the Blue Jackets among the top defensive teams in the NHL.

Thirty-two games during five years in the Montreal organization didn’t give Hainsey the kind of opportunity he felt he deserved with the Canadiens, but he got that opportunity with the Jackets.

Playing alongside Stanley Cup champion Foote and playing for Hitchcock, who also has a Stanley Cup title on his resume, has given Hainsey’s career a boost.

"I couldn’t have wound up in a better situation for me," Hainsey said. "You don’t get the kind of opportunity for ice time like I’ve had here. And now playing under Hitch (Hitchcock), I’ve never seen a coach who is so prepared for every little detail and lays out every single detail for us to be successful.

"I’ll never forget him pulling me into his office after last season and telling me how I had to get in better shape. He had Barry Brennan (Columbus’ strength and conditioning coach) work up a program for me to follow all summer. I didn’t know what to expect, but I started the training a lot earlier than usual – and I don’t remember ever lifting weights so many days a week as I did this summer.

"When I stepped on the ice for the first time in August, I felt like I was ready to jump on the ice for the regular season."

Times never have been better for Ron Hainsey.


Chris Osgood ( Video ) has parlayed a big season into a a contract extension from the Red Wings.

Around the Central Division – Dominik Hasek posted his second straight shutout with a 1-0 victory Jan. 8 against Colorado, but Chris Osgood was the Detroit goalie who cashed in that day. The 35-year-old netminder got a three-year, $4.5 million contract extension. Osgood, like defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom, took a pay cut in order to stay in the Motor City. These savings will give the Red Wings cap space and the flexibility to make a move or two to make a run at a fourth Stanley Cup in 12 years. ... Chris Chelios became the second-oldest player in NHL history at 45 years, 348 days, when he played against Colorado Tuesday. He surpassed Moe Roberts, and now trails only Gordie Howe, who played until he was 52 years, 6 days old. ... Tomas Holmstrom came back from a knee injury and returned to his destructive self around the net against Colorado. Holmstrom was battling in heavy traffic when he set up linemate Pavel Datsyuk for the only goal of the game. ... The speed and skill of Andy McDonald is prominently displayed with the St. Louis Blues. McDonald was outstanding in a 6-1 victory against Columbus Jan. 8, scoring two goals and adding an assist. The Strathroy, Ontario native sustained a chest injury against Detroit Dec. 26 that limited his ice time and sidelined him for four games. ... Manny Legace eclipsed a Blues record with a shutout streak of 186:15, surpassing a shutout streak of more than 184 minutes by Greg Millen in 1988. ... St. Louis scored six goals against Columbus Jan. 8 and four more against Dallas two nights later. Is this the same can’t-shoot Blues? With Keith Tkachuk scoring a goal in each game, Brad Boyes scoring two goals against the Stars and Paul Kariya scoring a goal and adding two assists against Dallas, the Blues’ offense is improving. ... Tkachuk’s first goal ended the Blues’ 0-for-30 power-play slump and his second was No. 484 of his career. ... Rookie Erik Johnson had three assists for the second time this season in the win over the Blue Jackets. Tkachuk, who scored as a result of one of Johnson’s assists, said the pass reminded him of a play Hall of Famer Al MacInnis used to make. Johnson currently is living with the MacInnis family. ... Rick Nash scored Columbus’ only goal against St. Louis. Nash scored in just one of his last 12 games prior to the game against St. Louis – a hat trick against Edmonton Dec. 31 – and has had goals in the Blue Jackets’ last five games against the Blues over the last two seasons. ... Joakim Lindstrom assisted Nash’s goal, which gave him one goal and four assists in his last five games, and two goals and four assists in nine games since being recalled from Syracuse of the AHL. ... The Jackets have gone 12-8-3 in games which their opponent’s power play hasn’t scored. ... J.P. Dumont extending his goal-scoring streak to six games didn’t get as much attention as it deserved in Nashville’s 7-0 victory in Los Angeles Jan. 8, because it was overshadowed by Darcy Hordichuk snapping a 64-game goal-scoring slump and Chris Mason’s 10th career shutout. Hordichuk’s goal was his first since Thanksgiving 2006. The Predators scored three goals in 1:15 in the first period of the contest. The goals by Hordichuk, Jason Arnott and David Legwand set a club record for the fastest three goals in team history. The previous record was 1:55 in February 2000. ... Dumont tied Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg for the longest goal-scoring streak in the NHL this season and he also set a club record, breaking the previous mark of five held by Sergei Krivokrasov in 1998, Greg Johnson in 1999 and Steve Sullivan in 2005. ... With injuries to Jonathan Toews and Jason Williams up front, it’s not a big surprise the Chicago Blackhawks scored just 13 times in their last seven games and have not won during that span. But the injuries have given Kris Versteeg an opportunity. The 21-year-old has two goals and two assists in four games since being recalled from Rockford of the AHL. Jack Skille, the team’s first-round draft choice in 2005, also made his presence felt when he knocked in a rebound for his first NHL goal in a 4-3 overtime loss in Montreal. ... With defensemen Brent Sopel and James Wisniewski injured, Blackhawks youngsters Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have been trusted with a heavy workload. Keith, who played 32:28 at Anaheim Jan. 4, had a whopping 34:14 of playing time and two assists at Montreal four days later, and then logged 28:20 of ice time in a 3-1 loss to Dallas Jan. 9. Seabrook logged 27:20 of ice time against Anaheim, 29:52 against Montreal and 29:01 against Dallas. ... While off-season acquisitions Sergei Samsonov – claimed off re-entry waivers by Carolina – Yanic Perreault and Kevyn Adams have had few bright moments, while Robert Lang continues to sparkle. Lang scored his 15th goal in the loss to Dallas, just four fewer than he had last season in Detroit. Lang, in his 14th NHL season, will surpass 25 goals at his current pace. ... Jack Skille recently became the Blackhawks’ sixth player to score his first NHL goal – joining Toews, Patrick Kane, Dave Bolland, Versteeg and Jake Dowell.

The week ahead – Detroit – No. 1 in the West – faces Ottawa – No. 1 in the East – Jan. 12. This game gives Dominik Hasek the opportunity to get revenge against his old team. The Senators beat Hasek in Detroit last season, 3-2. ... Nashville and Chicago each play a pair of Central Division games next week. The Predators and Blackhawks play each other Jan. 13 at Nashville in a series that is tied at two this season. After seeing the Predators win Nov. 4 and Nov. 15, the Blackhawks rebounded with 5-2 wins on Dec. 19 and Dec. 26. Patrick Sharp and Robert Lang each had two goals in Chicago’s first win, and Lang added another pair in the second victory over the Predators. Two of Sharp’s three goals are shorthanded. Nashville is at Columbus Jan. 12 in their fifth meeting of the season, and the Predators won all four of the previous games. Martin Erat scored two game-winning goals in the season series – including the shootout-deciding goal Nov. 10 – and two goals and two assists Nov 12. Chicago hosts St. Louis Jan. 16 in a series that is tied at two. Sharp’s two shorthanded goals in a 3-2 Nov. 3 triumph by the Hawks remains the highlight of this season’s series.