FROM THE CREASE with Bruce Berlet 

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – Talk about a marriage made in heaven happening by happenstance.

Two years ago, Juan Nunez was working his way toward a degree in business management at the University of Hartford while holding down two jobs in Blue Back Square in West Hartford, including as a manager at It’s A Grind coffee house.

While on duty one day, a familiar face walked in, and the always personable Nunez immediately struck up a conversation with Howard Baldwin, who was visiting from California during a break from his award-winning, film-making business.

Baldwin was in the early stages of trying to revive a dream to run another National Hockey League team in Hartford. He had been part-owner and managing general partner of the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers and NHL’s Hartford Whalers, and now, as perhaps his greatest trick in his life, he wanted to revitalize the local pro hockey market and get a NHL team back in the Insurance City.

As fate would have it, the guy behind the It’s A Grind counter that day was Nunez, who grew up attending Whalers games but never really got to know any players.

“I recall coming to the games when I was kid,” Nunez said. “I actually had a couple of friends who were Whalers fans. I couldn’t afford it, but they brought me to the games. I can recall doing ‘the wave’ around the arena, but I can’t tell you any players’ names.”

Nunez says he would have loved to have met and worked with Hockey Hall of Famer Ron Francis, Kevin Dineen and others on the Whalers teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But he now wanted a mulligan, a second chance to get involved with a pro team and help others as others had helped him. One of his perks since being hired as Whalers Sports and Entertainment community relations manager after he graduated from U of H in May was meeting Francis, Dineen and several other former Whalers.

“I pretty much took care of myself growing up, but there’s always another little boy or girl or family out there that can use our help,” Nunez said. “It was very tough growing up in a tough neighborhood, and I had a bunch of mentors, some Trinity College students who really helped me get through it all. So I love to give that same opportunity back to the kids and be a mentor.”

Nunez was born and raised in the south end of Hartford and attended Burr School and Bulkeley High before going to U of H. He was at U of H for three years and then took a three-year break to raise a son, Kelvin, and work two jobs. Once Kelvin was old enough to attend kindergarten, it freed up some time for Nunez to return to U of H.

But Nunez couldn’t get back his federal grant, so he had to work two jobs to pay to complete his degree in two more years. He managed It’s A Grind and was an assistant manager at Recreational Equipment Inc., a nearby company in Blue Back Square.

“I went from one job to the next, and if I had classes in between, I’d have to do school work,” Nunez recalled.

But being a commuting student within the same building didn’t faze Nunez, especially thanks to the meeting with Baldwin, who gave Nunez a chance to work a third job – in the community.

“When I was growing up, that was a big part of my life to get through all the hard times in Hartford,” said Nunez, who is now 28. “I used go to the Boys and Girls Club and was at a center for youth in an after-school program. I explained that and all of the other things that I had done with the community to Howard. Since that had been such a big part of my life, I wanted to give back right from college.

“Howard and I had a great, long conversation, but nothing about hockey or what he was doing about coming back. It was just a one-on-one talk, and then I didn’t see him for about six months.”

In January, Baldwin resurfaced at It’s A Grind, and Nunez asked Baldwin if he remembered him. Baldwin said yes, and that’s when he told Nunez about his initiative to take over the business operations of the American Hockey League’s Hartford Wolf Pack and bring the NHL back to Hartford.

Baldwin, chairman and CEO of Whalers Sports & Entertainment, said he became good friends with Nunez through their chats.

“I got to learn quite a bit about him,” Baldwin said. “He’s done an outstanding job for us, and he’s just the type of young person we need to have in order to succeed, someone who is hungry, enthusiastic and willing to learn.”

Since Baldwin hired him six months ago, Nunez has worked a lot with Pucky and Sonar, the mascots of the Whale and Wolf Pack, taking them to Boys and Girls Clubs, schools, churches and the team’s annual Bowl-A-Thon, which raised more than $250,000 in nine years for the Special Olympics Connecticut East Region.

“We are thrilled to have Juan Nunez working with us,” said Karen Baldwin, Howard’s wife and a partner in WS&E. “He is a tireless worker and has already made a significant impact on the community bringing Pucky, Sonar and the players to schools and various charity events to help promote learning and good sportsmanship.

“As a native of Hartford, Juan truly cares about working in the community to help make it a better place. At Whalers Sports and Entertainment, we view what we do in the community to be as important as what we do on the ice. Juan shares that point of view, and his positive impact is already tangible.”

Now Nunez is parlaying his community and charity work into more visits by players, as he did Tuesday with Dale Weiss, Jared Nightingale and Justin Soryal, who spent an hour at Pulaski Middle School in New Britain after practice. The players spoke to 45 sixth and seventh graders, many of whom are part of the two-year-old Graduate Odyssey Program, a dropout prevention task force for at-risk students academically, behaviorally and attendance-wise. The players talked about their lives while conducting a question-and-answer session, and they handed out pocket schedules, pucks and autographed posters entitled “Don’t Miss That Wave of Success” that included pictures of themselves and the Whale logo.

The program is in conjunction with Junior Achievement of Southwest New England, which includes the Hartford area. The program tries to help youngsters by teaching life skills, much as the First Tee of Connecticut does for local kids interested in golf.

The entire Whale team will be making their annual holiday visit next Tuesday to the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, where Howard and Karen Baldwin visited while the players were in New Britain. It’s all part of the Whale’s concerted effort to get out in the community more, as the Whalers did when they were in Hartford from 1979 to 1997.

Nightingale, Weise and Soryal have helped lead the Whale charge in charitable visits because of their belief in being involved in the community as they were in junior hockey.

“I think we’re all given a platform, and it’s more rewarding for us to help out in any way we can,” Nightingale said. “Kids at this age probably don’t really see the importance of education, so if we can help motivate even a couple of them than it will be a success. Outside of your family, education is probably the most important thing, something you can’t take away from someone.”

Soryal said he’s doing more charity work than he did when he was playing for Peterborough in the Ontario Hockey League.

“There’s been more opportunity to do things, and giving back to the community is something that I’ve always felt strongly about, especially dealing with kids,” Soryal said. “Any chance you can help is good because we’re in an opportunity where just saying hi, showing up, signing something makes a big difference. So Jared, Dale and I decided this is something we’re going to take on more so than any other year.”

Weise was especially pleased to help youngsters who are having issues in class. He said was reminiscent of when he was in middle school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and several players from the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers visited his class.

“That meant a lot to me,” Weise said. “I wasn’t a guy who had issues in school, but it’s nice to see when people come in and take the time. Obviously we have no issues doing that, so I’m just glad to do it. It’s nice that we’re doing a lot more (community activities) trying to promote the team a lot more. The biggest thing I found in juniors was doing school visits because you have to have their parents, and that’s what sells tickets, so I think that’s a good idea.

“We didn’t do enough promoting as the Wolf Pack. We’ve already done more this year than we usually have, and that’s fine with me.”

Nunez organized the visit with Jeremy Race, director of development for Junior Achievement of New England, which teaches youngsters things such as financial responsibility, writing resumes and how to do a budget and get ready for the work force. It was the first time that Race brought representatives of a sports team to a school, and it elicited still vivid memories of three New Britain Red Sox players visiting his class on career day when he was in middle school.

“What we’re trying to do is get the kids as many out-of-school experiences and different experiences as we can so they can see things that they’ve never seen before,” Race said. “Since we’re going to be bringing these kids to the hockey game, I thought it would be a nice tie-in to bring in the players so when the kids get to the game they know who the players are.

“I’m trying to teach these kids things about life, and going to the game is kind of a reward for having achieved their goals. I appreciate the guys coming to the school because we just started a partnership with the Connecticut Whale, so I couldn’t ask for more for Junior Achievement. I know they have practice, but I think it demonstrates a true commitment on the part of the Connecticut Whale and the players. They care about the community. It’s not just an on-paper partnership. This is a real-life partnership where they’re living and breathing their commitment to the community and education.

“For lack of a better word, this is really cool, just awesome. I get to raise money for a living, so the more that I can do stuff like this, the more enjoyable it is as far as meeting people and building relationships.”

Many of the youngsters the Whale players spoke to will be attending a game at the XL Center on Dec. 11 against the Atlantic Division-leading Manchester Monarchs. Some seventh-graders can earn a ticket to the game by completing their goals in the next few days, and seventh-grader Angel Cresbo said he plans to be present for his first live hockey game.

“The players must have been through a lot to get here, like going through high school and college,” said Cresbo, 13, who wants to be a baseball player like his favorite player, the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriquez. “I heard if you don’t keep your grades up, you get kicked off the team, so I want to make sure I don’t get kicked out of class.”

When asked if he’ll be at the Dec. 11 game, Cresbo smiled and said, “You’ll see me.”

Talk about a good answer.

Another seventh-grader, 12-year-old Anthony Lopez, saw a few Hartford Wolf Pack games before they were rebranded the Connecticut Whale on Saturday and wants to be a football player for his favorite team, the New York Giants.

“Going to the games was fun. I enjoyed the whole thing,” said Lopez, who saw his first game while in fourth grade. “It was an experience because I’d never seen hockey before in real life. Just to see them play like that was just awesome. I never knew hockey was that exciting, so it was really fun.

“And the guys today were awesome and told me awesome things. They told me how you can fight, but you get penalties. And they said they get paid like $400,000 if they play in the NHL. That was kind of cool.”

Nunez and the rest of the Whalers Sports and Entertainment family hope more and more fans think it’s cool to visit the XL Center.

WHALE SHOOTS FOR FIRST THREE-GAME WIN STREAK THIS YEAR

Hartford’s AHL team tries to remain unbeaten as the Whale and extend their winning streak to a season-high three in a row on Wednesday night when they visit the Worcester Sharks (10-7-1-3), who have lost their last two games.

The Whale (8-11-2-3) beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3-2 in a shootout in their debut Saturday night before 13,089, the second-largest home crowd in the franchise’s 14-year history. Only 3,012 showed up Sunday, but the Whalers overcame a lethargic start to score three third-period goals in a 3-0 victory over the Adirondack Phantoms behind rookie Cameron Talbot’s 25-save performance.

Assistant coach J.J. Daigneault suggested to coach Ken Gernander that the Whale change their top three lines in the third period. Gernander agreed, and the players responded with more energy and got goals from Kris Newbury, Evgeny Grachev and Chad Kolarik to record their first back-to-back wins at home this season and improve to 4-1-0-1 since a 1-9-2-1 slide that dropped them into the Atlantic Division basement.

But the Whale needs to continue their surge as they face one team they’re trying to catch and another they’re trying to pass in the standings: Worcester tonight, at Providence on Friday night and home against the Sharks on Saturday night.

“We’ve been getting the two points, which is always a positive,” Gernander said. “Throughout the season, our defense has been pretty good. We haven’t given up a plethora of chances or shots or been blown out of games, so we’ve right there pretty close and just started find ways to win games.”

The Sharks won the first of eight meetings with the Whale, 4-3 on Oct. 10 at the XL Center. Former NHL 50-goal scorer Jonathan Cheechoo leads with the Sharks in scoring (seven goals, 13 assists in 21 games) and had one goal and two assists in the victory over the Whale. … The Whale loaned forward Tyler Donati to the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL. Donati, who signed an AHL contract with the Whale on Oct. 21, was scoreless in eight games. Last season with the Jackals, Donati was the ECHL’s leading scorer and MVP after getting 38 goals and 76 assists in 67 games. … Gernander said he’s still contemplating who will be the new captain to succeed Dane Byers, who was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets and sent to the Springfield Falcons on Nov. 11. The Whale got Kolarik, who has been very effective, along with two other newcomers, defenseman Stu Bickel and his former roommate with the Syracuse Crunch, center Oren Eizenman, who played with Kolarik in San Antonio. Eizenman has played for six AHL teams, including the Milwaukee Admirals three times, and three ECHL teams. He and Max Birbraer are the only Israelis to play in the AHL. Eizenman holds dual-citizenship in both Canada and Israel. No Israeli has ever played in the NHL, including Birbraer, the only Israeli national ever drafted by a NHL team when he was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the third round in 2000. He played three seasons for the Albany River Rats.

ADMIRALS WING HARJU AHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Norfolk Admirals left wing Johan Harju was named AHL player of the week after getting six goals, including a hat trick in a 6-3 victory over Adirondack on Friday, and one assist and being plus-5 in five games. The Whale nominated Talbot, whose two wins in his first pro season are 3-0 shutouts over Providence on Oct. 17 and Adirondack on Sunday. Other nominees included Bridgeport goalie Kevin Poulin, former Whale defenseman Bryan Rodney (Charlotte), former New Canaan High and Taft School-Watertown standout Max Pacioretty (Hamilton) and Wethersfield native Colin McDonald (Oklahoma City), the son of former Hartford Whalers defenseman Gerald McDonald. … Poulin made 40 saves as the Sound Tigers stymied the AHL’s top-ranked offense in a 3-0 victory over the Admirals on Sunday. Poulin improved to 6-3-0 with his second shutout in his last three starts. He had 29 saves in a 3-0 victory over the Portland Pirates on Nov. 21, which is part of a stretch in which the Sound Tigers have earned a point in each of their last five games (3-0-1-1). The Admirals, who had 11 goals in wins the previous two days, came in averaging 4.05 goals but were shut out for the first time this season. … Rodney, a defenseman, had two goals as the Charlotte Checkers scored the last four goals to rally to a 5-2 victory at Hershey on Sunday. The Checkers swept a three-game road trip, improved to 13-8-1-2 and moved one point ahead of Norfolk for second place in the East Division, five points behind leader Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. … McDonald is on a four-game goal-scoring streak, and his 11 goals in 22 games are only one shy of the 12 goals he scored in 76 games with the Falcons last season. … Former Yale forward David Meckler scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season Sunday as the Manchester Monarchs beat Worcester 5-2 for their fourth consecutive victory to retain a three-point lead in the Atlantic Division over the Pirates, who have three games in hand. Portland kept pace as two-time All-Star Mark Mancari had a hat trick and an assist in a 5-1 victory at Providence, ending a season-high, three-game losing streak.

GRAND IDEA BY A COLLEAGUE

Whale writing colleague Mitch Beck expounded an excellent idea after Sound Tigers captain and defenseman Mark Wotton put a deliberate high-stick on Kolarik to impede his progress as time was winding down in overtime Saturday night.

Wotton’s maneuver prevented a 2-and-1 and could be construed as a smart play because referee Ghislain Hebert blew his whistle with less than two seconds left. Gernander pulled Chad Johnson for a sixth attacker and a 6-on-4 power play, but it was basically fruitless. In his Howlings blog, Beck suggested “this kind of flagrant attempt to mess with the integrity of the game” should give the opposing team a penalty shot or an extra attempt in the ensuing shootout.

“Why shouldn’t a player do something like that when there really is no negative consequence for doing it?” Beck wrote.

Good question, Mitch – and a grand idea. Hope AHL president David Andrews is listening.

(Thanks Bruce…Mitch)

(Photos are courtesy of the CTWhale)