Long idle, 2 free agents are up against the odds

Tim Graham

Thursday, Sept. 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Taking a glance at the Las Vegas Thunder's training camp roster, two new players jump out. They're different than the other 33 players listed not because of what they have, but rather what they do not.

Free agents Shane Bogden and Don Larner have no 1995-96 stats. Next to their names, instead of games played, goals scored and everything else, these two have the letters "DNP." That's scorekeeping shorthand for "Did Not Play."

"We can give them a whole season of stats in just a few days of training camp," Thunder head coach Chris McSorley said of how these players will be measured against the rest in camp. "They will get a much closer look."

The fact that neither of these free-agent centers played last year is about all Bogden and Larner have in common.

Bogden, 26, is a 6-foot-5, 240-pounder who left the game three years ago because he was disillusioned. Larner, 21, is a 6-1, 205-pounder who sat out last season because of head injuries sustained in an auto accident.

"On paper they're long shots," McSorley said, "but if they continue to perform, they're closing the odds on getting an opportunity to wear the Teal and Black."

The last time Bogden wore a uniform of any kind was 1993, when he split time between Cape Breton of the American Hockey League and Kansas City of the IHL, and he sat out the previous two seasons prior to that.

The soft-spoken mountain won't say exactly what made him leave the game, but hinted it was frustration.

"I had to make these steps and it's a hard climb," Bogden said. "My reasons (for leaving hockey) were a little personal and I had enough of bouncing around. I was playing in some places where you were out the door if you had one bad shift.

"With Las Vegas, you feel the hands are open to you and I'm going to work for it."

Bogden did plenty of work while away from the ice. He was a carpenter. He operated a trucking business. He was a personal trainer. He entertained thoughts of professional body building.

After receiving an invitation from Thunder general manager Bob Strumm just over two months ago, Bogden moved away from hard weights and toward aerobic exercise. At that time he was over 260 pounds, but now is closer to his playing weight of 240.

"He's one of the best skaters on the team," McSorley said. "That's a big train on the track.

"We're very pleased with him, but we have to make sure Bogden is able to gain the knowledge of the game he's missed the past three or four years."

Because of that, Bogden knows he's on the spot.

"It's a point to prove," Bogden said. "I don't want people to say 'He has all the tools, why didn't he make it?'"

Larner almost never got a second chance.

Strumm discovered him at a free-agent camp in Edmonton over the off-season. It was such a minor camp, however, that Larner didn't think any interest would come of it.

"It was a nothing camp," he said. "I did all right, but the phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook."

But Strumm called, and according to Larner, he was the only one able to offer a substantial opportunity -- an opportunity not only to work on his dream of eventually playing in the NHL, but also just to get back on the ice.

Preparing for the 1995-96 season with Swift Current of the Western Hockey League, Larner's life was sidetracked. He was riding in the passenger seat of a friend's car when his friend decided to ignore a yield sign. Cars collided. Larner wasn't wearing a seat belt, and his head smashed the windshield.

He suffered a massive concussion and lost feeling in his hands and legs. His ears rang for over a month.

"I never really took hockey seriously," Larner said. "But that accident made me grow up. Now I realize I love the game."

Despite being off for a full year with serious physical problems, Larner now considers himself in the best shape of his career. He proved that by assisting Patrice Lefebvre on two goals in an intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday night.

"I just see myself the same as everybody else fighting for a spot," he said. "I'm playing at the highest level I can. I came here to play."

And that isn't lost on McSorley.

"I will say I'm very pleased to see how he's fit and excelled," McSorley said. "If he can prove to be a consistent performer, he might make a spot on the roster for himself."

Thunder bolts

* IN BLACK AND WHITE: There wasn't a goal shortage in the first scrimmage of training camp Wednesday night at the Santa Fe Ice Arena, as the White beat the Black 8-4. Jeff Serowik scored three goals, including a penalty shot, for the White, while Darcy Loewen added two more. The other White goals were tallied by newcomers Tim Findlay, Geoff Bumstead and Steve Dowhy, who also had a goal missed by the officials. Patrice Lefebvre led the Black with a pair of goals off assists from free-agent Don Larner. The other two came from Jarrett Zukiwsky and Alexandr Matvichuk.