Have fun, will travel

Ask Mike Comrie about his hobbies and he'll give you a one-word answer: hockey. Most competitors love their game, but Comrie takes his love to a next level.

The freshman, who finds himself leading the Michigan hockey team in almost every offensive category, likes plenty of other things a normal Michigan student would enjoy. But hockey is the item on his daily schedule that he doesn't tire of - no matter what.

After the Wolverines finish their drills and workouts at daily practice, Comrie is usually the last one to leave, always playing games - whether its horsing around or pretending to play goaltender - his bright, wide eyes always open and a gleaming smile on his face.

"It's free ice," his usual parnter in fun, defenseman Mike Van Ryn said. "It gives you a chance to be creative and trythings you can't do in practice. He loves it."

Even when "Terrible Tuesday" workouts leave the team withered in fatigue, Comrie still musters a mood of happiness as he walks off the ice.

Not that Comrie works any harder than any of his other teammates, but he truly has an ability to squeeze so much enjoyment and fun out of each day of hockey.

His enjoyment of the game began as early as two years old, when his father Bill and older brother Paul - a senior on Denver University's hockey team - strapped skates on him before he could barely walk.

And for the freshman, hockey wasn't the clarinet that everyone quits after finding out practice consumes two hours a day.

Endless hours of grueling hockey practice?

That was fun.

Comrie was a kid who flooded the area around his house so he could build a temporary ice rink. That way he could get in a couple more hours of practice and one or two more victory skates around the ice with an invisible Stanley Cup.

He even played on his older brother's hockey team to build experience, facing an onslaught of players three years older and three years stronger than him - an amusing challenge rather than something to be feared.

Because for Comrie, shooting pucks excites him more than Little Caesars' Wacky Wednesdays, more than "buy one get five free" at Steve and Barry's and even more than parents trying to get ahold of a Furby.

And with hockey such an integral part of his life, his focus and his determination, it's not ironic that one of the most important decisions of his life had to deal with the pastime he obsesses over.

The Edmonton native lived in a world where one can literally find an ice rink, indoor or outdoor, on every corner. Comrie was from a place that breathes colder and snowier than anything Ann Arborites have to deal with.

In this winter hockey wonderland, thousands of miles away, when a young teenager shows some skill that separates him from the others on the ice, one path always lays ahead: juniors.

Comrie showed unbelieveable hockey skill, swooping by defenders effortlessly with the puck while piling up 138 points in 68 games. This production helped Comrie earn the Alberta Junior Hockey League player-of-the-year award and the St. Albert Saints to a league championship.

The decision for a Canadian player to skip major juniors, which is the fastest path to the NHL, and attend college, is one that Comrie struggled with. At just 16 years of age, the young man had to decide his future with a toilsome choice - to be a freshman or a junior.

Luckily, his family was there to support him in his time of need. Comrie's dad and brother gave him the most support but also had to fill in the gap of a caring mother, who died of cancer when he was just 11.

"It wasn't an easy decision, especially at 16 years old," Comrie said. "I had a lot of different people tell me a lot of different things. My dad had played juniors and my brother played college, so it made my decision easier. They were there for me."

The decision wasn't made any easier for Comrie when his rights for major juniors were traded to his hometown, tugging at him to stay. Juniors would have also allowed him the chance to play almost every night, unlike the two-game-a-week schedule at Michigan.

But when it came down to plain old fun, college offered a life and a plan that juniors just couldn't stand up to. In college hockey, an 18-year old can develop his skills with daily practices for an extensive four-year period, something that Comrie felt was important to have.

"You only play so many games (in college), but you can look at college hockey as professional because you're practicing every day," Comrie said. "At this stage in a player's life you have to practice more and develop yourself as a player. You also gain more experience by playing against older players."

Juniors also meant a life of long bus rides, lonely hotel rooms and the lack of a structured life that a teenager still needs, whether he'll admit it or not. Junior hockey would've meant the absence of the fun atmosphere that Comrie enjoys at Michigan.

"I felt I needed time to grow," Comrie said. "I love it here. We skate every day and work out twice a week. I just try to have the most fun I can, because if you're not having fun, I wouldn't go out there. It's not hard work."

No, daily practices are nowhere near work for Comrie. After a quick lunch, he's usually the first person to scurry down to Yost for practice and the last person to leave.

"I just love to be" at Yost, Comrie said. "It's my favorite place to be."

No doubt Comrie would have enjoyed hockey anywhere he played, but in the end, he found a place where he can play the game he loves, meet people and have experiences that would have been near impossible as a junior hockey player.

Oh, and more fun, too.

- Mark Francescutti can be reached via email at mfrances@umich.edu

- Comments about our hockey coverage can be sent via email to dailyhockey@umich.edu

02-17-99