| By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF wdoyle@telegram.com |
WORCESTER— T.J. Fox has led his teams in scoring nearly every season since he began playing hockey at the age of four.
But topping his team this season will be his biggest challenge. It might even take him until next year.
Fox is a rookie center for Worcester Sharks, just a few months removed from college. Fox signed a two-year contract as a free agent with the parent-club San Jose in March after his sophomore season at Union College in upstate New York.
It’s quite a leap from Union to professional hockey, especially the American Hockey League. But Fox has the speed and skills, if not the experience.
Fox, 23, had 37 points in 36 games last season to tie Union’s Division 1 record and share fifth in the ECAC. The year before he was leading Union in scoring when he was suspended for the rest of the season on Feb. 12. Fox didn’t want to get into details about the suspension, except to say that he had violated a team rule.
“We were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. “I’m a completely more mature person coming in to Worcester this year than I was two years ago going into college.”
Before coming to Union, he was the top scorer for his junior A team, Chicago of the U.S. Hockey League; Salisbury Prep in Connecticut and several of his youth teams in Syracuse and his hometown of Oswego, N.Y.
Leading the Sharks in scoring would be his biggest accomplishment.
“That would be nice,” said Fox, who played in Worcester’s exhibition game against Providence last night, 4-3 shootout win at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro. “I just want to come in and have a solid first year, not put any expectations number-wise on me, just work as hard as I can. Hopefully, the numbers will add up for me.”
“If he scores 20 goals,” Sharks coach Roy Sommer said, “that’s a heck of an accomplishment in this league.”
The Sharks hosted Providence last night in a preseason game at the New England Sports Center.
Fox’s best shot is a snap shot into top right corner, but he realizes he can’t shoot every time he has the puck.
“Over the past couple of years,” he said, “I’ve tried to balance out my game, giving and receiving. You can’t always be one-way scorer. You have to look to your teammates and dish it out to them as well.”
Fox has always been a strong skater. His father, Tom, never played hockey, but he made sure T.J. did by buying him his first ice skates, helmet, knee pads and elbow pads when he was 2-1/4.
“He said I fell a few times,” Fox said, “but I got up myself and kept on going.”
Power-skating schools helped Fox learn the proper technique.
“They’re not fun,” Fox said, “but it’s something you have to do if you want to play well.”
Things worked out so well, when Fox has a son he plans to have him skating at 2-1/4 and training in power-skating schools as well.
Fox must learn to harness his speed in the pros.
“It’s more of a controlled possession game up here,” he said, “where you don’t really have a lot of time to use your speed. You control yourself, you get the puck and then you use your speed. That’s what I really have to work on right now because I’m being told I’m too hyper on the ice, I just want to go, go, go.”
“There’s a time and a place to speed up,” Sommer said. “He hasn’t figured that out yet.”
A few years ago, Fox’s hockey career was going nowhere. While leading Salisbury Prep in scoring, he left to play junior hockey for Green Bay in the USHL. A scholarship offer from a Hockey East school somehow disappeared so he had to spend two more years in the USHL with Chicago before enrolling at Union. As a Union freshman he was 21, the same age as most of the seniors. He could have tried to sign with an ECHL team and work his way up, but he wanted to at least start his college education. An economics major, he plans to get his degree one day.
“I was questioning my decision to go out west,” Fox admitted, “but in the end I went to the right spot and I played well in the right spot and it got me to here. I’ll play well here and see what happens.”
A couple of weeks ago, Fox experienced his biggest thrill in hockey, skating in a San Jose scrimmage with Jeremy Roenick. Although as a child, Fox considered Roenick his favorite player, he couldn’t bring himself to tell him.
He didn’t want to make Roenick, 37, feel old. If Fox gets promoted to San Jose some day and scores against the Boston Bruins, that would become his new highlight. He and his father were big Bruins fans — until Fox signed with the Sharks. They used to attend Bruins games in Buffalo. Fox would love to become the second member of his extended family to make it big in the pros. The second cousin he grew up playing baseball with in Oswego starts at catcher for the Atlanta Braves and played in the last two All-Star Games, Brian McCann.
