Helmer won his first Calder Cup with the Albany River Rats in the 1994-95 season, when he was 22 years old. By comparison, his initial championship came much easier than the second.
The Rats earned a bye in the first round and swept two of three series to clinch the Cup in 14 games (with a postseason record of 12-2). The Bears’ record-breaking 10th title was earned in 22 games, including a taxing seven-game series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Helmer played much more of a supporting role in the 1995 postseason than that of last year, skating in seven games for Albany. As Hershey’s captain, he played in every playoff contest for the Bears and considers the 2009 Calder Cup more special.
“In ’95 I didn’t play in all of the games in the finals; in this last one obviously I played in all of the games, and I was the first one to lift up the Cup when we won it,” he said.
Another major difference between the two championships is the off-ice evolution of Helmer in those 14 years. At age 22, he was dating his wife-to-be, Pam, who missed the victory because she was in school at the time. Now married, he was able to share the 2009 Cup with not only his wife, but also his two children.
“Having them [my family] in Winnipeg when I won was a thrill for me. The kids came on the ice with my wife, so they were part of the whole thing.”
Helmer’s most recent championship also afforded him another new opportunity.
“I got to bring the Cup back to my hometown, where I live in the summer, and share it with family and friends there. I didn’t get to do that in ’95,” the Sault Ste. Marie native said.
Last year’s Cup humbled Helmer, who now better appreciates a championship. He bestowed this wisdom upon the rest of the Bears last season.
“That’s a long time. Something I said to the guys last year at the start of the playoffs was ‘I won it my second year pro, and you think you’re going to go back every year. Next thing you know it’s 14 years later.’ It doesn’t come around a lot of the time, so when you get a chance to win it, you do whatever you can to win it.”
However, as of late, Hershey fans have undoubtedly come to expect a lengthy run come springtime. For three of the previous four seasons, the Bears have appeared in the Calder Cup Finals, two of which resulted in championships. With arguably the franchise’s best-ever team on the ice this season, the Giant Center faithful already anticipate no less than an 11th Cup this June.
With such a commanding presence through the first half of the season, the Bears have to avoid complacency in their domination of the rest of the league, a lesson Helmer learned the season following his Cup win with Albany.
“The ’95-96 season there we were doing the same thing that we [the Bears] are now. We were beating up all the teams in the league, and then we went into the playoffs and thought it was going to be an easy ride. Next thing you know, we were out in the first round,” he recalled.
He offers this experience as a caveat to this Hershey team, intent on defending last year’s Calder Cup.
“The second half of the season is just as important as the first; sometimes it’s even more important. You get into the end of February and March when it kind of drags on. It’s all about mental then. We need to stay focused and do what we’ve been doing—taking one game at a time.”
One game at a time, the boys of Chocolatetown are eclipsing a myriad of team records, a testament to the mindset of the players.
“It just shows you how much guys want to win here,” Helmer said. “And a big credit to the fans: they come out and support us.”
A sellout crowd (or five) never hurts the cause.
(Photo credit: capsinpictures.com)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment