DETROIT SIGNS TARDIF TO TWO-YEAR DEAL
On April 15, 2008, the Detroit Red Wings announced the signing of Jamie Tardif to a two-year entry-level contract. Tardif was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 4th Round (112th overall) in the 2003 Entry Draft but never signed a contract with the big club.
The contract, Tardif’s first NHL deal, comes on the heels of much hard work. He joined the Elite Training Program at Varsity for the first time in the spring of 2007 and dedicated himself to the upcoming season months before it even began, and the results have followed. His new contract is a direct reflection of the strong season the six-foot, two hundred pound right winger had with Detroit’s farm team; the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League.
Tardif, whose 34 points tied him for sixth in team scoring, also finished in the top five on the team in goals (17 – 4th), penalty minutes (90 – 3rd) and shots on goal (246 – 2nd). It was Tardif’s first full AHL campaign. He split the 2006-07 season between the ECHL and the AHL, playing for four different teams over the course of the year, before finally settling in with Grand Rapids.
Now, knocking on the NHL’s door, Tardif finds himself one step away from the big show, but he’s not alone. When he returns to Varsity for the Elite Training Program he will be joined others in the program who find themselves in the AHL and on the brink of realizing the dreams of every aspiring young hockey player.
Robert Gherson spent the season with the Chicago Wolves, appearing 19 games as a back up goaltender. Chris Terry, star forward of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers made the jump to the Albany River Rats after his junior club was eliminated from the playoffs. Dan Sparre, Gherson’s Hartford Wolfpack teammate during the ’05-’06 season, found himself in the ECHL with the Columbia Inferno for the bulk of the season but did appear in a few games for both the Springfield Falcons and the Albany River Rats.
Allan Rourke started the year in Springfield with the Falcons, but injuries in Edmonton led to Rourke appearing in 13 games with the Oilers this year, after playing parts of the previous few seasons with the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes.
“I’m not saying that Jamie (Tardif) signed the contract because he trained at Varsity last summer,” says Geoff Schomogyi, Head of the Elite Training Program, “but I see what it’s like in the gym when these guys are in there training as a group. They push each other and they know that they’re in there with guys who want it just as bad as they do. They look around and see guys who have been where they want to get to. They train with guys who know what it takes to be pro hockey player at the highest level and they bring that knowledge to the gym everyday. The competition helps them give that extra little bit. That’s something I’m really proud of and it’s not always like that at other gyms.”
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