Last laugh: having ditched his bad reputation when he moved to Edmonton, star defenseman Chris Pronger is primed for a Stanley Cup run.(NHL)

Publication: The Sporting News

Publication Date: 16-JUN-06

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None ever doubted his ability. It was his attitude that sparked the questions about Chris Pronger. Smart aleck. Selfish. Immature. All that and more from the moment the Hartford Whalers drafted Pronger second overall in June 1993. Yet he also was a lean, lanky defenseman with a good blend of size and quickness, vision and puck control that allowed him to be dominant all over the ice.

So much potential; so much pressure.

Funny, isn't it, that having fulfilled his lofty expectations and finally gotten a shot at winning the Stanley Cup, Pronger comes face to face with the ghost of Chris past. The Oilers are taking on the Hurricanes, nearly a decade removed from Hartford. What better stage for Pronger to prove he's no longer a man-child but a man.

A refresher on Chris past: At 19, burdened by expectations on a struggling team, Pronger was involved in a barroom brawl and less than a month later was arrested for drunken driving. He was booed mercilessly on the ice.

When the Whalers decided to trade him, Pronger...

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