Source: http://calsun.canoe.ca/Sports/Hockey...81955-sun.html
Sat, January 19, 2008
Anze's a Slovenian idol
UPDATED: 2008-01-19 02:43:23 MST
By RANDY SPORTAK, SUN MEDIA
The smile on Bostjan Golicic's face was ear-to-ear.
Golicic, the Calgary Hitmen forward from Slovenia, took the opportunity yesterday to have some words with star countryman Anze Kopitar after the Los Angeles Kings' morning skate.
"He's my idol. I dream to play NHL, to be the second (Slovenian) in the NHL," Golicic said. "It's unbelievable what he's done in a couple years.
"He makes every kid think, 'He succeeded, so we must try to be like him and to learn from him.'
"He's an idol to every kid back home. He's really doing great.
"I got to play against him back home and we'd have a guy and his objective was just to cover him. He still scored four or five goals every game."
Actually, it doesn't matter what country you come from, be it the hockey power of Canada or less-heralded Slovenia -- part of the former Yugoslavia -- young hockey players could learn plenty from the Kings' rising star.
Kopitar may have only turned 20 last summer, but he's one of the NHL's top youngsters. Named to the Western Conference all-star team, the second-year NHLer was atop the Kings scoring race prior to last night's game with the Flames with 44 points.
The 6-ft.-4, 220-lb. centre, drafted 11th overall in 2005, is possibly the best player fans outside of California haven't heard of.
"I'd never played against him, only heard about him before this season and he's no fluke. He's the real thing," said Kings defenceman Brad Stuart. "He's only 20 years old but you think he's a lot older than that from the maturity level. And he brings it every night, which, for a guy his age, is not that common.
"He's not your typical offensive guy who is a defensive liability, either. We rely on him to play 20-plus minutes a night and to do that, you've got to be good in your own zone."
Although last year's rookie crop didn't have the truly elite stars -- like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, the year before -- it did feature some exciting players with the likes of Evgeni Malkin, Paul Stastny and Jordan Staal.
In fact, Kopitar wasn't even a Calder Trophy finalist despite a 61-point rookie campaign.
But he's proving to be a legit rising star with nearly a point-per-game pace on a last-place club.
The Calgary Sun: Anze's a Slovenian idol 
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