Puckarinen

Guest writer Russ Cohen on what happened to Crosby's old linemate:

The LNAH is a league that I wrote about a few years ago. I accidentally ran across Guillaume Lefebvre who was drafted by the Flyers and now he was the lone scorer on a team of fighters. He said he was playing there so he could go to law school. He was saving his money. I’m not sure that was the real reason since he played for the Springfield Falcons last year amassing 206 PIMS and likely getting his last taste of pro hockey. Now Dany Roussin, who was once a star for the Rimouski Oceanic, and a one-time linemate of Sidney Crosby is heading down that same path.


Roussin, 24, once had 117 and 116 point seasons in the “Q” and there were whispers whether or not he benefited from playing with Crosby or did he indeed have the talent. His 6-2, 200 pound frame seemed perfect for the NHL but after being drafted by two different organizations and never getting a sniff in the NHL he fled to France. There he had 29 points in 16 games so he ended up in a fighting league? Sad, and it seems like it’s the inevitable end of the line for this once promising prospect.

“I knew when I was playing with him (Crosby) in juniors that's what he was going to do in the NHL. In juniors he was on another level but now he is on a different level like I have never seen him before. Whenever I can watch him on television I do. It is just beautiful to watch him.”

I spoke to him a few year’s ago when he was with the Manchester Monarchs and he was still hopeful and so was I. I saw a player who had decent offensive skills but still was having trouble putting it all together. I thought maybe he had a chance to make it but now it seems like his dreams of playing in the NHL with Crosby won’t come to fruition.

“It's in the right direction,” said he said at the time. “I'm pretty positive. Right now I know what I have to work on. I still have to work on my defensive zone too. I just have to keep working.”

Russ is the co-author or 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters, and a Sportsologist. For more, see www.rangergreats.com, or www.sportsology.info