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Sunday, June 25, 2000 By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
CALGARY, Alberta -- The Miracle on Ice has really hit home with the Orpik family. Twice.
In 1980, seven months after the U.S. Olympic team captured its stunning gold medal at Lake Placid, Rick and Liz Orpik gave birth to a son and named him Brooks. Hockey enthusiasts without peer, they found it fitting to name their child after Herb Brooks, the coach of that historic team.
And yesterday, almost precisely two decades later, Rick and Liz stood and cheered at the NHL Entry Draft when their son's name was announced by the Penguins as their first choice, 18th overall.
With Herb Brooks applauding from the team's draft table.
"My parents have always talked about my name a lot, but I never though too much of it," a grown-up Brooks Orpik recalled with a shy smile. "I guess getting drafted by Pittsburgh, I'll have to talk about it a little more."
Upon hearing his name called out to the crowd at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome, Orpik, a rugged defenseman from Boston College, showed his soft side. He embraced his parents and shook hands with his many friends in attendance before making his way to the stage to don his first black-and-gold sweater.
Afterward, he approached the Penguins' table, where he was introduced to the man for whom he was named.
"It's kind of a funny thing, getting to meet him," Orpik said. "We talked for a couple of minutes. It was kind of neat."
Brooks, who coached the Penguins this past season before returning to his old job as a scout, found a bit more meaning in it.
The skinny: Good mobility for player of his stature. ... Likes to jump into attack despite limited offensive production. ... Nearly two years older than most prospects in draft. ... Plays summer hockey in Boston with Penguins' Ian Moran. ... Had goal and assist in seven games for U.S. at World Junior Championship this past winter. ... Boston College has reached NCAA's Final Four in each of his two years.
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NHL Notebook: Draft finally taps Pittsburgh
"It was in the stars, I guess."
That's precisely how the Penguins' scouting staff felt about their good fortune yesterday.
Orpik, 19, is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound physical force with skating ability and a mean streak to match. He has limited offensive abilities but more than makes up for that with his menacing presence, dominating many of the games he has played in college.
"He's not going end to end, by any means," Brooks said. "But, boy, he's a banger."
Orpik's stock soared faster in the past four months than that of any draft-eligible player. At midseason, the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau rated him 70th among North American prospects, yet rated him fourth in its final rankings, second among defensemen. The Hockey News rated him eighth among all prospects, and some other services had him as high as third.
So how did 17 teams pass on him?
The Penguins don't care. They're just delighted it happened.
"Sometimes you've got to get lucky," head scout Greg Malone said. "We were pretty lucky today. You know, I say this all the time, but every year it seems that there's one guy who you're wondering to yourself, 'Why does this guy keep dropping?' "
"He's a great find for us," Brooks said. "Believe me, we had him rated very, very highly, and there was a lot of excitement that we could take him."
The Penguins made a few trade inquiries of teams who were picking early in the first round, looking to see if they could move into the top five. That fizzled quickly, and they sat back and waited until their turn came at No. 18.
All the while, Orpik slumped a bit more with each name he heard called. He was especially disappointed when his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabres, passed on him with the 15th pick and opted for Russian left winger Artem Kriukov.
His frustration was evident even after the Penguins had taken him.
"I had expectations, thinking maybe I should've gone a little higher," Orpik said. "I mean, I think for me that just to get drafted was the ultimate goal, so there's really no room for disappointment. ... Maybe when I look back on it in a couple of weeks, I won't be disappointed at all."
Orpik was born in San Francisco and moved with his family when he was 8 to East Amherst, N.Y., just outside Buffalo. His father taught him to skate by allowing him to use a folding chair as a crutch on the ice.
"Yeah, that's pretty late to get started on skates," Orpik said. "But I didn't have a choice. There wasn't much hockey in California."
He had trouble putting on weight in his younger years. But once he matured physically, he began to stand out. Not only as a big kid, but also as a skater.
To accelerate Orpik's development, his parents sent him to Thayer Academy, the Boston hockey powerhouse which produced Phoenix Coyotes star Jeremy Roenick, among others. In the spring of 1998, he was named the most valuable player in Massachusetts' scholastic tournament, and college scouts were following him everywhere he played.
He chose Boston College for that fall and instantly played an integral role, despite joining a team which is among the NCAA's finest. He had a goal, 10 assists and 96 penalty minutes in helping the Eagles reach the Final Four.
This past season, he chipped in a goal, nine assists and a team-high 100 penalty minutes as the Eagles made it to the NCAA championship game before losing to North Dakota.
It was at that tournament that the Penguins became enamored of Orpik.
"He was incredible," said Neal Shea, the Penguins' New England scout and a former player at Boston College. "I mean, here's North Dakota, the biggest team in college hockey, and Brooks is just out there pancaking people the whole game. I'm telling you, people in Pittsburgh are really going to love this kid. He's going to bring people out of their seats with the way he hits guys. He's a horse."
A growing horse at that. Orpik is wild about weightlifting.
"If you could see what this kid does in the weight room, you wouldn't believe it," Shea said. "Most of the kids at Boston College are required to spend two days a week there. But Brooks, he's in there four or five days a week, constantly working. He's 230 pounds, and he is ripped."
Orpik wouldn't disclose how much he bench-presses but acknowledged that it's his favorite pastime.
"That's one of my strong points, I guess. I like working out."
He also likes leveling players, although he's gotten a giggle or two out of reading numerous scouting reports which describe him as mean.
"I guess the guys I play against would say that. People I know away from hockey wouldn't say that at all," Orpik said with a laugh. "But, yeah, I enjoy hitting. The more I hit, the better I play. To be effective, I have to play that way."
Many scouts have likened Orpik to Rob Blake, a perennial All-Star with the Los Angeles Kings who is perhaps the NHL's finest open-ice hitter. Others point to the Dallas Stars' Derian Hatcher, a ferocious checker with limited offensive abilities.
Orpik looks up to another guy.
"Scott Stevens," he said, referring to the New Jersey Devils' ram-tough captain. "I don't know how comparable I am to him, but that's the guy I admire and watch the most. If one guy stuck out, it would be him. I've heard the Rob Blake stuff, but I can't say I'm like him because he's a little more offensive than I am. But, hey, if you want to compare me to Rob Blake, I've got no problem with that."
It isn't likely that the Penguins will sign Orpik in time for next season, which probably won't displease him. He has two years of eligibility at Boston College, and he seems genuinely taken by the idea of returning to continue his career there.
"It wasn't just the hockey," Orpik said. "It's the whole atmosphere, the guys we have there. We're all pretty close. I haven't given much thought to leaving. And if I do go back, I'll probably work on the offensive side of my game. We have some key guys who graduated, so I'll have a chance to do more of that next year."
As for Pittsburgh?
"I'm looking forward to it."
The Penguins made two other draft picks yesterday.
In the second round, they took Shane Endicott, a 6-4, 200-pound center, with the 52nd overall choice. Endicott, 18, is a strong, two-way forward who had 23 goals and 32 assists in 70 games for Seattle of the Western Hockey League. Like Orpik, he dropped much lower in the draft than had been projected. In the final Central Scouting rankings, he was rated 11th among North Americans.
In the third round, they took Peter Hamerlik, a 6-1, 187-pound goaltender, with the 84th overall choice. Hamerlik, 18, had a 3.92 goals-against average in 37 games for the Skalica club in the Slovak Elite League. He was the seventh netminder taken in the draft.
Selections for the final six rounds of the draft will begin today at 11 a.m.
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Name: Brooks Orpik, 18th overall