AJC > Sports > Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2009 > February > 04
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
White chooses against a day off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A dozen players took part in the optional skate today:
Johan Hedberg; Zach Bogosian, Garnet Exelby, Nathan Oystrick and Boris Valabik; Eric Boulton, Erik Christensen, Bryan Little, Joe Motzko, Colin Stuart, Chris Thorburn and Todd White.
If you were playing the old Sesame Street game of One of These Things is Not Like the Others, you’d have to say White sticks out. The other guys are either younger or didn’t play Tuesday night in New York or, in Boulton’s case, played but not very much (6:18). White was on the ice for 19:20, behind only Ilya Kovalchuk and Rich Peverley among Thrashers forwards. White is 33.
Being kind of old myself (I’m 45), I figured I’d ask him what was up and get some answer about hard work or leadership or some such.
“I was trying to break in a new pair of skates,” he said. “Instead of a real practice that’s high, high intensity, it’s better to break in a pair of skates on an optional. I was up, so I decided to come to the rink.”
Incidentally, the guys who didn’t skate Wednesday didn’t necessarily take the day off. Eric Perrin, Marty Reasoner and Jim Slater were scheduled to make an afternoon appearance at a children’s hospital ground breaking. Boulton, Hedberg, Thorburn and White worked double, attending the skate before the hospital appearance.
Thrashers coach John Anderson and his staff have a decision to make before Friday’s game against New Jersey. Do they stick with the lineup that won Tuesday night at New York, or do they find a way to squeeze Exelby back into the lineup? Exelby is ready to play and looked the part on the ice on Wednesday, but if he plays who sits? Oystrick, the most likely option, was good Tuesday night.
