Go to an East Lansing sports bar tonight and there will be a sea of Detroit Red Wings fans watching Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. In fact, a huge majority of sports-minded MSU students are afflicted with Red Wings fever right now.
But there also is a faction - albeit small - of Spartans rooting for the underdog Carolina Hurricanes. Some of the ’Canes-backers are originally from the Tar Heel state, some just don’t like the star-studded Wings and some have other justifications.
Senior Troy Ferguson, a forward on MSU’s hockey team, has his own reason to root for Carolina - his father practically built the Hurricanes into what they are today.
Sheldon Ferguson is Carolina’s director of player personnel and director of amateur scouting.
In his seven-year tenure with the club, which dates back to when the team was called the Hartford Whalers, Ferguson’s eye for talent and decision-making skills have helped transform the ’Canes from doormats into cup contenders.
“As a scouting staff, we’re certainly very proud of the players we have out there right now,” Sheldon Ferguson said a few hours before Game 2 on Thursday in Detroit.
“The scouts and myself are certainly a cog in the machine, but we’re just a part of it.
“I don’t think that anyone or any scouting staff could ever win a Stanley Cup by itself. It’s an entire team thing.”
Still, Ferguson, who lives in Kitchener, Ontario, is reaping most of the front-office credit for the Hurricanes’ success.
As Carolina stormed through the NHL’s Eastern Conference bracket, Ferguson was featured in Sports Illustrated, The Hockey News and on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. He’s also rumored to be in the running for the vacant Ottawa Senators general manager post.
The major reason experts are praising him is because Ferguson led the scouting staff that drafted All-stars (Sami Kapanen), role players (Niclas Wallin) and future standouts (Erik Cole) for the Hurricanes during the past seven years.
And, much to the delight of some locals, he has also drafted Spartans.
The Hurricanes own the rights to senior defenseman Brad Fast, sophomore left wing Kevin Estrada and Ferguson’s son, Troy, when they turn pro.
The elder Ferguson says the pipeline of players between East Lansing and Raleigh, N.C., is a “coincidence,” although he calls Troy his “right-hand guy” when it comes to evaluating draft-eligible college players.
“We consider Michigan State to be one of the really good college hockey programs in the country, along with Michigan and really anyone in the CCHA or in the West,” Ferguson said.
“It’s not so much MSU as the college game in general right now. Most (NHL) teams are really focusing on scouting the college game because the quality of players is so good.”
Of course, he had good things to say about his Spartan prospects. Ferguson picked Fast in the third round in 1999 and Estrada in the third round in 2001 and he said they “absolutely” have a chance to make it in the NHL.
“Brad Fast, we’re so proud to have him,” Ferguson said. “He’s such a great player and going to MSU has certainly helped him.
“And it’s hard to find guys that can skate like Kevin Estrada. He had kind of a rough freshman season (4 goals, 7 assists), but he led the British Columbia (Junior Hockey) League in scoring two seasons ago. We’re really hoping he continues to develop because he’s still a real good prospect.”
As for his son, Ferguson didn’t really pull any parental strings when the ’Canes picked Troy in the ninth (and final) round in 2000.
Troy Ferguson said that his dad wasn’t even in the room when Carolina’s scouts decided on him.
“He left near the end of the draft and left the last pick up to his staff and they made the decision to pick me,” Troy Ferguson said.
“Their general manager, Jim Rutherford, was the one who called me and he reassured me that it wasn’t because of who my dad is. He said they were real excited about my freshman year, so that felt real good to hear.”
Fast lived with Troy Ferguson last year, and he said he got to know his roommate’s father “pretty well.”
“He comes to watch us practice now and then, but he doesn’t really jump in where he’s not supposed to,” Fast said.
“He realizes we play for Michigan State and not anywhere else yet.
“As much as he probably wants to, and as much as we maybe want him to give us some advice, he steers clear and lets our coaches do their jobs.”
Ferguson makes it to about 10 of his son’s games a season, but says he wishes he could see more. His hectic schedule has him traveling across the United States, Canada and Europe most of the year, and when he’s not out of town, he evaluates the current Hurricane personnel with Rutherford.
“I come to MSU whenever I can, but I do wish that I could have seen every game Troy’s ever played,” Ferguson said. “It comes with the territory when you work for an NHL team.”
