Armenia no ordinary Joe
By Don Cherry
March 2004
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When the calendar turns to March, general managers around the
league no doubt began revising their wish lists -- whittling them down to the
most important aspects they might want to add to their teams before the March
27th Registration deadline.
From past history, I can give you a pretty good outline of a GM's wish list:
-
A
winner, someone who has either won a Championship or played in a memorable
Finals.
-
Heart
and soul player, preferably with good leadership qualities.
-
Impact
player -- either a guy who can get you a goal at a key moment or a
player
who can take away that kind of great scoring opportunity with his defensive
ability.
Dave
Armenia is non of these but he brings his own special talents to the Killingworth
Guppies.
This little exercise came to my mind the other night when I watched the LeGolie
and the Killingworth Guppies get lit up in their Preseason skate. However,
that is a topic for another time. I watched "Momesso" aka: Dave
Armenia as he skated out there looking to punish anyone that got near him,
including his own teammates. He has Heart and soul and plenty of striking
intangibles. Impact player, on offense and defense.
But teams seeking such a player will have to look elsewhere, because the Guppies
are not going to part with Armenia, who may not have been able to be on the
ice often in the Finals for the Guppies enroute to their Fourth Team Championship
last winter, but his influences with his teammates definitely made enough
of an impact that he clearly earned his fourth Championship with an ever changing
Guppies team -- Killingworth's Championship seasons: 1996; 1998; 2002; 2003.
I'll never forget Guppies teammate John Carroll telling the story of how Armenia
helped motivate his team to win a tough Semi Finals game vs the Maple Leafs
in 2002 -- and this is a guy who was on the sidelines.
"After the first Half, I saw Dave Armenia on the bench with a tear running
down his eye," Carroll said after Armenia was benched for running fellow
teammate Rob murphy for the Second time in the game. "I told the players,
'We have an old guy, a teammate, on the other side of the bench who would
love to help you out. He's got a tear running down his eye right now.'"
Old motivational trick, something out of Coaching 101. But those Guppies loved
their teammate enough to fight the great fight and beat the Maple Leafs in
Overtime.
Armenia
wound up with 2 goals and 9 assists last season in 11 games with the Guppies.
Are you getting an idea of how important that GM's wish list can be now?
Dave Armenia................Oldie, but goodie? Yes, sir.
"'My goal is to be the only guy my age in the B league to win the five
Championships with the same team,"' Armenia told me earlier last week,
with a fierce focus in his eyes. "I grew up rooting for the Old Whalers
and it was hard to see them leave for North Carolina but now a new fish is king
in Connecticut; The Killingworth Guppies . We have built something special over
the seasons -- and I'm going to try and do my part to make sure that Continues."
Strong words. But words like that from a special player like Armenia can have
an impact.
In Killingworth, Armenia joined his boyhood chum John Carroll, who used to battle
Dave in Killingworth from the time they were just 12. "We used to call
him 'Crazy Legs,' because he couldn't skate," laughed Carroll. "He
was just a 165 pound runt when he went to his first Guppies Training camp back
in 1995" Dave wouldn't make the team that season but would be back the
following season with Vengeance. It's what makes Dave Armenia the type of player
he is today.
A Winner. Heart and soul player oozing Intangibles. Impact player.
I can assure you that players like Dave Armenia are very, very valuable to any
team with Championship aspirations.