Patrick Reusse: A lot of Dino rubbed off on Parrish

T he Wild's Mark Parrish was a rookie with the Florida Panthers in 1998-99, and Dino Ciccarelli was winding up an NHL career that spanned 19 seasons.

"Growing up as a hockey player in Minnesota, I loved Dino's attitude," Parrish said. "He played with no fear. The abuse he was willing to take to get a goal ... it was amazing."

It wasn't strictly watching Ciccarelli play for the North Stars that convinced Parrish the place to find goals was the front of the net.

"I would say it started at [Bloomington] Jefferson with John Bianchi, our assistant coach," Parrish said. "He was a big advocate for tipped goals and screened goals. He would say, 'Get in front of the net, get a goal, and I'll buy you a steak dinner.' I've always been a sucker for a steak dinner."

It took three seasons (two at St. Cloud State, one in Junior A) for Parrish to go from Bianchi's bribes to the NHL.

"It was a great break to be with Dino during my rookie season," Parrish said. "He showed me his tip drills. He gave me ideas on how to hold space in front of the net."

Ciccarelli was reached by phone on Saturday at his home in the Detroit suburbs. Nine years after their time as teammates, Dino is proud to have a protégé, Parrish, still going.

"Kids are always taught to go to the net," Ciccarelli said. "A lot of them don't do that. They go to the side of the net, they go around the net, but they don't go to the front.

"Parrish knew from the start that the front of the net is where you get goals. I had 608 goals, and 100 of them probably came off my butt, off a knee, off a skate, because I was in front of the goalie."

Parrish has this theory on Ciccarelli's career: "If he had played with the same penalty enforcement we have now, Dino would have 1,000 goals. He played when a defenseman could cross-check you in the back without a penalty being called.

"There's a night-and-day difference now even to when I came into the league. I used to dread playing against New Jersey when Scott Stevens was there. He would beat on you unmercifully to get you away from the net."

Parrish scored his 18th goal with a tip-in on Thursday against Calgary. Two nights earlier, he lost one when the league's replay crew ruled he had tipped in a shot with a high stick.

Parrish and Dino do have this contrasting view on tipped shots:

• Parrish: "If the defenseman is throwing it on the net, I'm going for the tip. If Brian Rolston or Kurt Foster tee up a shot, I'm going to let it go. I might get a stick on a blast and tip it away from the net."

• Ciccarelli: "I tried to get a stick on everything. Even if you don't hit the puck, it's distracting to the goalie. Actually, I think deflections are more important than ever, because the goalies are so good now. You have to create confusion."

Dino did agree with Parrish on this: No one made a goal-seeking squatter feel more unwelcome than Stevens.

"We had some battles," Ciccarelli said. "What I realized is that, with a big 'D' like him, the tighter you got to his body, the more it frustrated him.

"It's like a boxer who keeps getting inside an opponent with longer arms. In hockey, they can't use the stick on you if you're body-to-body."

Parrish might have it a bit easier in front of the net with tighter enforcement of the two-handers, but Ciccarelli does admit to an advantage few other forwards ever had as the inside guy on a power play.

"I was on the power play in Detroit with Paul Coffey and Niklas Lidstrom on the point, and Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov up front," Ciccarelli said. "I never handled the puck. I didn't want it. I just wanted to feed off their garbage."

To which Parrish said: "Nobody did it better in front of the net than Dino. He's my hero."

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com