O'Hara grad on cloud nine skating with Flyers

ROCCO CARZO doesn't remember how the whole thing got started.

Four weeks ago, Carzo was looking for a trainer for the summer to stay in shape for his Division I hockey debut at UMass. Carzo's family adviser, former NHLer Stephane Charbonneau, recommended that he contact Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin.

The next thing he knew, he was lifting weights with Simon Gagne and putting on a Flyers jersey to skate in their annual week long rookie conditioning camp, which wrapped up yesterday at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J.

For Carzo - a 19-year-old Media native and Cardinal O'Hara High grad - just being in the Flyers' dressing room sent chills down his spine.

"An opportunity came across and [the Flyers] asked me to skate in the camp because they saw me working out in the gym," Carzo said. "I had heard a little bit of interest from teams leading up to the draft, but I wasn't expected to [get drafted].

"I was a little bit surprised to hear from the Flyers. I grew up watching guys like Eric Lindros and John LeClair and now I am skating on the same ice and putting on the same jersey. I am still on cloud nine right now."

Only 18 months ago, Carzo wasn't in line for a Division I scholarship - let alone a shot in an NHL prospect camp.

"I was playing for the Little Flyers' Junior A team [AJHL] and I had gotten a call from Des Moines in the USHL,'' Carzo recalled. "I was playing well. It was a Friday night and they wanted me to come out immediately. So I packed up all of my stuff and said goodbye to my family and friends in a day or two. It all happened pretty quickly.''

A winger who can score, but isn't afraid to play a physical style of game, Carzo fit in with Des Moines. The 6-1, 205-pounder posted 20 goals and 13 assists in 45 games this year in the United States' only Tier 1 junior league.

As quickly as he adjusted to juniors - where as a 17-year-old newcomer he competed against players as old as 21 - he found out fast last Tuesday that the pro game is a huge jump.

"Playing out there [in Iowa], it took me a few games. The [amateur] game there isn't like it is here,'' Carzo explained. "But in camp, the speed and the size of the guys is so different. They all have the wheels to go and they are all men. It's definitely different than juniors.''

McCrossin has helped ease Carzo into the professional transition, which undoubtedly will aid him at UMass next season. For the last 3 weeks, Carzo has pushed himself in ways that he "didn't think his body could handle'' without a hint that a camp invitation was even a possibility.

"I'm grateful that they gave me this opportunity,'' he said. "One of the current Flyers players told me that the Flyers are known around the league for having the toughest rookie camp."

At UMass, Carzo will get a chance to make an immediate impact in the Hockey East, alongside Voorhees native Dan Meyers. Both Meyers, an Eastern Regional graduate, and Carzo are part of a growing generation of elite hockey players from Philadelphia.

Only 5 years ago, only a handful had a shot to play in college. And it certainly wasn't possible to get there without leaving home at the age of 14 to attend a swanky New England prep school.

Last season, emergency call-up David Sloane - of Ambler - became the first Philly native to ever wear a Flyers jersey in an NHL game when he skated at Madison Square Garden on April 9.

So last Wednesday, when Carzo's blades cut into the soft ice at the Flyers Skate Zone for the first time as a prospect, it wasn't just a rookie-camp appearance. It was for his family and all of his teammates over the years - many of whom were in the stands watching - who never got the chance.

"I wanted to prove to a few people that I could be here," Carzo said. "I wanted to turn a few heads in the Flyers organization. I am obviously not trying to make the team - I am going to college - but it's a new experience.

"It's humbling. I wanted to see what I will need to make it to the pros. I'm trying to do that." *