» Mark Streit Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

Chara has a heart as big as himself and his game

January 24, 2009

UPDATES earlier version

I’ve known for some time that Zdeno Chara is much more than a tall (6-foot-9), hard-hitting, team captain, all-star defenseman for the Boston Bruins.

Saturday, he won the Cisco NHL Hardest Shot competition for the third year in a row, setting a record of 105.4 mph. More on that later in this blog entry.

Chara’s path to the NHL came through Lexington, where he played for the old Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League. (He is one of two T-blades in this weekend’s NHL All-Star Game at Montreal, along with San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle.)

Chara always was a delight to deal with during his time in Kentucky. Aside from his standout play and the usual chit-chat and interviews that he always carried out in a professional manner, what I remember most about Chara’s time in Lexington is when I encountered him in Lexington Center a day after the season had ended.

Zdeno Chara

Although the ice and team lockers/training area are accessed from the first floor, I came across Chara on the third floor.

“‘Z,’ what are you doing here?” I asked.

He said he was coming from the team’s third-floor media relations office. Said he just wanted to thank Tim Woodburn and his staff for everything they had done throughout the season.

How many players would think to do that?

Chara would.

So it shouldn’t really be a surprise to hear what Big Z is up to on All-Star weekend.

Before going out and winning the Hardest Shot title again, Chara found a way to up the ante and help others.

Chara put up $1,000, challenging Hardest Shot competitors Sheldon Souray, Mike Komisarek, Vinny Lecavalier, Mark Streit and Shea Weber to do the same. Winner of Saturday’s contest takes the $6,000 — to be given to the charity of the player’s choice.

Not only did all players answer Chara’s challenge, so did their teams. Boston, Edmonton, Montreal, Nashville, the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay added $1,000 each. The NHL matched the players pot of $6,000, putting the total destined for charity at $18,000. Then the NHL Players Association added another $6K for a $24,000 pot.

As Dan Rosen of NHL.com wrote, “it’s all for a good Chara-ity, so to speak.”

Chara’s choice to receive the $24,000 is Right to Play, an international humanitarian organization that uses sports to enhance child development in the most disadvantaged parts of the world, including Africa, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

Chara’s shot of 105.4 mph broke the 16-year-old record of 105.2 set by Al Iafrate.

However, Chara is only No. 2 on the “Hardest Shot by a Thoroughblade” list. Shawn Heins, who played briefly for the San Jose Sharks, set a minor-league record by clocking 106 mph.

Chara told Rosen that response to his challenge is “overwhelming. I’m very happy with it. Hopefully this is something we can start for the future so the players can have something between them and, with the League involved, we can raise some good money for charity.”

Chara, whose winning shot in 2008 clocked 103.2 mph, suggested that future competitors in other phases of the Skills Contest and maybe even the All-Star Game itself join in charity causes.

Big Z’s heart is as big as his size and his game.

But we already knew that.