Anchorage Daily News
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY
Living up to it
Haider proves worthy of early moniker
South High junior left wing Robb Haider and West High senior goalie Emi Williams
of Dimond-West were each voted Daily News/State Coaches Player of the Year.
By KEVIN KLOTT
Anchorage Daily News
Published: February 15, 2007
Last Modified: February 15, 2007 at 09:40 AM
Robb Haider was a freshman skating for South High's first-year boys hockey program when he earned a nickname given only to elite rookies.
South head coach Mike Ashley calls rookies with savvy puck-handling skills who can immediately impact the team "Super Freshmen." Haider was one of four players -- Braden Kinnebrew, D.J. Peterson and Jimmy Gerrin -- who earned elite freshman status. Ashley predicted they would rightly represent South during their first few years of high school hockey.
"There are very few (Super Freshmen) in the league," Ashley said. "Lots of freshmen, but few have an impact."
Now a junior and a veteran of three Class 4A state championships, Haider has gone from Super Freshman to just Super.
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound left wing was voted the 2006-07 Daily News/State Coaches Player of the Year for leading the Cook Inlet Conference -- and likely the state -- in scoring, while helping South capture its third consecutive state title.
"It's amazing," Haider said by telephone. "Pretty unreal."
Also receiving player of the year votes: goaltender Nathan Corey, defenseman Braden Kinnebrew, forward Kyle Pichler of South and defenseman David Piccard of East.
Despite missing three games because of an injury, Haider finished with 30 goals and 24 assists for a team-record 54 points. He averaged 2.08 goals a game.
In just three seasons, he also became the program's all-time points leader with 85 points.
Ashley called that "quite an accomplishment in this league.
"He's one of the finest skaters I've ever coached. This year (he) found the scoring touch he has been looking for."
At the state tournament in Wasilla last weekend, where South earned its title with a 2-1 victory over Dimond, Haider collected four goals and two assists. Three of those goals came against Lathrop in a 7-1 opening round win.
He credited the player of the year award and South's state domination to his talented linemates -- all-state forwards Kyle Pichler and Dylan Jones -- as well as his coaches.
"I'd just like to thank them," Haider said.
He also thanked his parents -- Kurt and Alana Haider -- for supporting him when hockey wasn't his favorite sport.
Haider grew up in Soldotna and played baseball. But life changed when his father was hired as the UAA hockey team's play-by-play radio announcer in 1996 and his family moved north to Anchorage.
While his dad worked, Haider watched such UAA forwards as Stacy Prevost and David Vallieres at Sullivan Arena, quickly learning the game.
The second-grade student was exposed to so much hockey, in fact, he told his parents he wanted to exchange his baseball bat for a hockey stick.
"I wasn't into hockey, but my dad grew up in Minnesota playing hockey outside," Haider said.
Dad took him to Dimond Center rink and taught him more. Pretty soon, Haider was passing pucks, taking slap shots and discovering that hockey could turn his life into something special.
His parents had a way of making the game fun, Haider said, staying frugal without pressuring him to become a star.
"They always preached, 'If I want to do something, I better work hard at it,' " Haider said.
When he was in second grade, he wore used gear from Play it Again Sports and a wooden stick in his recreational league. One day, he broke the stick into two pieces and thought he couldn't play anymore.
But his dad pieced it together in the middle with a couple of metal plates and screws. Before long, he was back on the ice, skating with his buddies.
"It must have looked terrible," Haider said. "Plus, I wasn't that good to begin with."
But the experience humbled him and eventually helped him hone his skills. As a sixth grader, he made the USA Select Team and thought, "Maybe I can keep a good thing going."
The idea became the clearest on Tuesday night when his dad gathered the family for a game of high school hockey trivia at the dinner table -- Kurt had just talked to Ashley on the phone, learning about his son's player of the year award.
On a white board, Kurt wrote, "What do Scott Gomez, Brian Swanson and Evan Trupp all have in common."
Robb sat in silence.
Those are familiar names for most Alaska hockey players, but the young man couldn't think of anything.
Dad gave him an assist.
"They were all players of the year," Kurt said.
Robb was dumbfounded.
Gomez plays for the New Jersey Devils and won the award twice for East (1995-96). Swanson, who played for the Edmonton Oilers and Atlanta Thrashers, won it for Chugiak (1993).
And Trupp, who's playing for the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League and has committed to play for North Dakota next season, earned it for South (2005).
Haider is good enough to leave Alaska for more competitive hockey leagues like juniors, major midgets or even at some prep school, Ashley said. Haider said he's waiting until summer to decide his future.
Ashley said he's ready to go.
Alaska loses its elite players to outside leagues every year, Ashley said, and high school coaches built teams around sophomores and freshmen.
"Odds are we'll lose him to somebody," Ashley said. "I'd love to have him back. But whatever he does, I think he'll be OK."
Coach of the Year
Service's Brush Christiansen was voted coach of the year for the first time in his six-year high school coaching career.
The former UAA coach guided the Cougars (14-13-1) to their first winning season in three years. He help them regroup from a dismal season in 2004-05 when they finished 4-18-0.
Service made the state tournament for the first time since 2004 and finished fourth.
"He did a great job with the team he had," East coach Yvan Corbin said. "The players respected him and his message.
"He's a fixture of Alaska hockey."
Daily News reporter Kevin Klott can be reached at kklott@adn.com or 257-4335.
2006-07 Anchorage Daily News/State Coaches
All-State Hockey Team
First Team
Forward -- Robb Haider, South; Eric Vilce, Dimond; Dylan Jones, South. Defense -- Braden Kinnebrew, South; David Piccard, East. Goaltender -- Nathan Corey, South.
Second Team
Forward -- Kyle Pichler, South; Micah Wheeler, Chugiak; Jed McGlasson, Kenai. Defense -- Matt Bennett, West; Trevor Allred, South. Goaltender -- Andrew Tatham, West.
Honorable Mention
Forward -- James McMullen, Chugiak; Anthony Wilson, East; TJ Liebl, Lathrop; Jay Baldwin, East; Danny Powers, West Valley; Kory Roy, Service; Brock Kowalchuk, West Valley; Logan Rounds, Service; Owen Dukowitz, Kenai; Nolan Youngmun, Dimond; JJ Waldrop, Dimond; Nick Merkle, West; Brad Fusaro, Kenai; Adam Friese, Wasilla; Shane Rall, South.
Defense -- Cory Mesick, Dimond; Brandon Goentzel, South; Zach Morse, Chugiak; Sam Olson, West; Bret Chisholm, Dimond; Matt Sutherland, Dimond; Chris Koenen, North Pole; Carl Brent, Wasilla; Justin Gabriel, Kenai.
Goaltender -- Mickey Geraghty, Dimond; Lauren Baldwin, Kenai; Jim Isaacs, Palmer.
Award winners
Players of the Year
Year Name School
2007 Robb Haider South
2006 Sam Cehula South
2005 Evan Trupp South
2004 Drew O'Connell Service
2003 Eric Walsky East
2002 Nick Mazzolini Service
2001 Patrick Lake Dimond
2000 Billy Bagron Chugiak
1999 Jordan Pennington Service
1998 Gabe Palmer Dimond
1997 Chris Fournier East
1996 Scott Gomez East
1995 Scott Gomez East
1994 Nathan Wheeler Dimond
1993 Brian Swanson Chugiak
1992 Scott Swanjord Service
1991 David Vallieres Chugiak
1990 (tie) Ray DeFrance West
1990 Ty Senden Service
1989 Cotton Gore Palmer
1988 Kevin Dillard Dimond
Coaches of the Year
Year Name School
2007 Brush Christiansen Service
2006 Mike Ashley South
2005 Mike Ashley South
2004 Jeff Carlson West
2003 Erik Drygas West Valley
2002 Dennis Sorenson Dimond
2001 Dennis Sorenson Dimond
2000 Rod Wild Chugiak
1999 Lars Swensen Service
1998 Shawn Lundgren West Valley
1997 Rob Larkey East
1996 Russ Audycki Colony
1995 Rob Larkey East
1994 Paul Brauneis Chugiak
1993 Paul Brauneis Chugiak
1992 Steve Gasparini East
1991 Paul Brauneis Chugiak
1990 Ken Ross Service
1989 Steve Gasparini Wasilla
