It will be a brief homecoming for Kalamazoo Wings' goalie Jeff Levy, the most successful product of Utah's youth and high school hockey programs - the first local to be drafted and signed by a National Hockey League team.
The Wings play the Eagles tonight - Salt Lake's home season opener - and Monday night in the Delta Center, and then they're gone for the regular season. It's their only scheduled visit to Levy's hometown in 1992-93.Levy is expected to play one of the two games, likely Monday, and if his career goes as planned, it might be the only time he ever plays a pro game in Salt Lake City. "I'm ready to make a name for myself in the NHL," Levy says. "It's never any fun to be patient and wait."
He knows, of course, that he must wait and learn, along with rookie goaltending partner and Minnesota native Jeff Stolp, but the North Stars' goalkeeping was just average last season, so Levy has hopes of moving up.
This weekend, "It's going to be fun. I'm excited to play in front of everybody," says the Highland High grad.
"I'm glad it only happens once a season," Levy adds. "It's strange doing it this early in the season."
This early in a career - it will likely be only his second regular-season game as a pro and his first game in Salt Lake since he was a Highland junior, except for summer-league get-togethers.
That's pressure for a 21-year-old who left home to play on a Junior A team in Rochester, Minn., before his high school senior year, came back to graduate with his Highland class and then played two seasons at the University of New Hampshire.
"A lot of eyes will be on me," said Levy by telephone from Phoenix, where the Wings opened their season Thursday and Friday.
Levy has been well groomed for this day. "He's playing very well. He had a strong training camp with Minnesota," says Kalamazoo coach Bob Hoffmeyer.
With Minnesota, Levy played parts of three NHL exhibition games, two against Tampa Bay and one against St. Louis, and didn't feel out of place. "It was great, an adrenaline rush," he says.
Levy, born in Omaha, Neb., but a Salt Laker since age 3, began skating with older brother Scott, also a Highland hockey star and now a University of Utah student, at Hygeia, which burned down several years ago. Jim Levy, who coached his sons' high school teams, never played hockey, but the boys learned to skate early both with a neighbor who made a backyard rink and because Hygeia was close to their home.
Jeff's style, he says, was learned by imitating daily what he saw on TV.
Jeff began thinking as early as his high school sophomore year of going to prep school, but Junior A meant more hockey and scholarship possibilities.
His career has "moved along pretty quick since I left Salt Lake," he says.
New Hampshire offered a scholarship, as did other schools, and he also could have signed following the North Stars' draft in 1990. "Pros didn't make much sense. That would have been pushing my luck. I needed to spend a couple years in school," Levy says.
"He always wanted to go East and play hockey because of its popularity and exposure," says Jim. UNH had a senior goalie. "He thought he'd get some ice time," Jim says.
He ended up being an All-American, Hockey East Rookie of the Year with a 15-7-2 record and leading NCAA Division I in save percentage (.925) and the league in saves. Levy's second year wasn't as good, but he was second-team all-league and second in goals-against in the league (3.29) with a 20-12-2 record.
Minnesota was tempting this summer, says Levy, because the North Stars need goaltending, and, "I was a little bored at school and wanted to make a start at my pro career," he says. He will complete his degree.