Mike Griffith: A splash in the pond for ex-Condor Dan Sexton
| Wednesday, Dec 09 2009 11:09 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Dec 17 2009 04:43 PM
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Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Condors #8 Dan Sexton gets ready for a shot as Alaska's goalie #33 Scott Reid and # 9 Derick Martin defend in their Sunday game.
Condors fans knew this small bundle of non-stop energy was special, but three weeks ago few hockey fans outside of Bakersfield knew much about Dan Sexton.
Now, the rest of the hockey world is getting an idea of just how good this 22-year old right winger from Apple Valley, Minn., might be.
Rushed to the National Hockey League due to Teemu's Selanni's broken hand, Sexton sparked Anaheim to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night in Anaheim as the Ducks rebounded from a 3-0 deficit.
Sexton, playing in just his third NHL game, scored his first NHL goal six minutes into the third period to make it 3-2 and got the game-tying goal with 62 seconds remaining. He was not on the ice for Saku Koivu's game-winner in OT, but that really didn't matter.
Sexton was clearly the catalyst in lifting a struggling team to victory and was named No. 1 star of the game. His two goals were also good enough to be No. 10 on ESPN's top 10 plays of the day.
"He has proven in college, the ECHL and a little bit in the American Hockey League that he can score," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said of Sexton. "He scored two big goals. He probably doesn't realize how big they are for our hockey club."
Pretty darn impressive for a 5-foot-9, 170-pound kid who was deemed not good enough to play at the American Hockey League level by former San Antonio coach Greg Ireland, who left Sexton sitting in the stands for five games. That prompted the Ducks to ship him to Bakersfield, where coach Marty Raymond gave the kid as much ice time as he could handle. The result: 26 points in 18 games and a promotion to the AHL, where he played five games for Manitoba before getting called up to the Ducks.
"I'd say it was probably the coolest feeling -- take my previous coolest feeling and multiply it by 10, if not more," Sexton said of his first goal.
His performance didn't surprise Raymond, who saw Sexton do remarkable things (remember the no-look spino-rama backhand pass to Shawn Weller who scored) at the ECHL level.
"I'm very, very happy for Dan," Raymond said. "He's a good person, a good hockey player and very deserving. People did not know him two or three weeks ago and now he's the talk of (various) message boards."
And stories in a variety of media outlets.
For the record, not counting Kyle Calder, a nine-year NHL vet who played five games with Bakersfield this year before heading to Anaheim, Sexton is the sixth former Condor, and second this season, to play in the NHL.
None made the type of splash Sexton did on Tuesday night.
The list:
Forward Garret Stroshein Played four playoff games for Bakersfield in 2002 and was called up to the AHL while in training camp the following season and never returned. Got into three games with the Washington Capitals in 2003-03, amassing 14 penalty minutes.
Forward Connor James: Played 51 games for Bakersfield as a rookie in 2004-05 (46) points and played 13 games for Pittsburgh in 2007-08 (netting one goal) and one game last season. He is now playing in Germany.
Goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji Played 44 games for the Condors as a rookie in 2004-05 and got into four games with the L.A. Kings in 2006-07, going 0-3-0. Returned to Bakersfield for 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons and is now playing in the Netherlands.
Alexandre Bolduc: Played 24 games for Bakersfield as a rookie in 2005-06 and 16 the next season. Got into seven NHL games with Vancouver last season posting one assist and has played in seven more this season with no points. He is currently with Manitoba in the AHL.
Forward MacGregor Sharp: Had 14 points in 15 games with Bakersfield this season before being called up to Anaheim where he played eight games with no points. He is now in San Antonio of the AHL.
