{coyotes} Coyotes' Max Domi more like his dad, Tie, than you realize

 

Amazon.com - Amazon.ca - Wal-Mart - Mr.Beer - GameStop - Match.com - Work From Home

Arizona Coyotes top prospect Max Domi takes issue with any suggestion that his playing style bears no resemblance to how his tough guy father played the game.

Young Domi is a dynamic scorer and Tie Domi was a dramatic puncher. But Max believes he has more Domi DNA than anyone realizes. His dad played 1,020 NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets from 1989 to 2006.

"We are obviously very different players," he says. "But at the same time, we have a lot of similarities, too. He played hard and he was a great teammate and he did whatever it took to win. That's what I try to put in my game. He did many things to help his team, and he scored some big goals, too. At the end of day, he did more than people give him credit for."

Domi spent this summer working out in Arizona to be ready for training camp. But he says he talked to his father every day.

"He's definitely my No. 1 fan and he's my role model and he's a guy I look up to, for sure," Max Domi says. "I bounce questions off him all of the time and he always gives me his honest opinion."

The younger Domi has inherited his father's drive to be the best he can be. He was disappointed that he didn't make the Coyotes at last year's training camp, but didn't sulk when returned to junior hockey. He posted 32 goals and 102 points in 57 games.

"I treated every day as if I am already a pro," Domi says. "I worked out like a pro and I tried to play like a pro and hopefully that transfers to this season."

The Coyotes ranked second to last in the NHL in scoring last season, and Domi's offensive flair is an important element of their offensive reboot. The Coyotes are short on forwards who have magic in their offensive ability.

"Physically, emotionally, mentally, he is ready for the NHL challenge," says Coyotes general manager Don Maloney. "Last year, he took such a huge stride. He was disappointed to be returned his junior team, but he was named captain. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but he led his team into the playoffs and he starred on the world junior team."

Maloney said Domi's status as the son of a former NHLer helped him deal with the disappointment of not making the NHL.

"He has spent so much time around NHL players," Maloney says. "He may not have liked the decision, but he understood it."

Maloney says the Coyotes are glad they sent Domi back to juniors because they witnessed vast improvement in his play without the puck. They view him as fully ready to play in the NHL.

No one has ever questioned his preparedness because he has overcome Type 1 diabetes just to get to where he is today.

"It is whatever you want it to be," Domi says. "Obviously, it's not easy, but you can't let it hold you back. I have been doing this, and I want to show young kids that it is nothing that should hold you back. It's a complex disease, but it is manageable."

He wears an insulin pump and tests his blood up to 15 times daily.

"It's hard to take in," Domi says. "But it's a lifestyle that I've learned to accept."

The grind-it-out attitude is something he gets from his dad. He hears about it regularly.

"Every single day, he is all over me," Domi says, chuckling. "Even when I play well, he's on me. But that's a good thing. To him, it's all about working hard."

The younger Domi said his dad has no regrets about never winning a Stanley Cup "because he did everything he could to win every day."

That's what Domi wants to do.

"I want to be known as a winner," he says. "That's what I take most from my dad. You have to do whatever it takes win. … I'm lucky to have a dad like mine."

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html