By Budd Bailey
There’s a new “Rollie the Goalie” in the area, and the original is here to keep him company.
You might remember that Dwayne Roloson spent two seasons as a member of the Buffalo of the Buffalo Sabres. The first one was memorable. Roloson, who picked up the nickname during his 18-year pro career, was the backup to Dominik Hasek during the Sabres’ run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1999. Dwayne had one more year with the Sabres before the Columbus Blue Jackets took him in the expansion draft.
Roloson’s best moments probably came in 2006. He led the Edmonton Oilers to an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Dwayne finally retired after the 2011-12 season with Tampa Bay. Now Roloson has found himself as the new Director of Hockey Development at Niagara University. Sons Brett (I guess he’s ‘Rollie the Goalie Junior”) and Ross, a senior and sophomore respectively, are on the Purple Eagles roster.
Roloson took some time before a recent game to talk about his career, particularly about the days in Buffalo.
Buffalo Sports Page: Let’s start with Niagara University. How did you wind up here?
Dwayne Roloson: Both my boys transferred here because of UB medical. They both want to pursue a medical profession after hockey. Jason Lammers (the Niagara head coach) and I go way back. He was at the University that I went to (UMass Lowell). He coached there, and coached at Dubuque (of the United States Hockey League) – and I did some stuff there. I had the opportunity to come up this year and work with him. It works out perfect – see the kids and coach here.
BSP: So have you moved here?
Roloson: We bought a house in Lewiston. We’re not here full-time (the family is headquartered in Port Dover, Ontario), but for the most part I’ve been here 90 percent of the time. It’s been a good change.
BSP: Sounds like you like coaching.
Roloson: I love coaching. It’s fun, fun to get back. For me, I’m branching out here. I’m working more on offense, trying to create some offense. I try to stay within the structure here but give them new stuff – things that we can do. It’s been fun that way, and the rest of the staff is great too. Assistant coaches Mark Phalon and Nate Skidmore are great too.
BSP: Did you ever think of yourself as a future coach in your playing days?
Roloson: Ah, probably not. The game has an appeal to me. I played until I was 42, so at that point my degree was no longer of use. I’d have to go back and up everything. I was in computer programming, so the computers have changed so much. The Internet was just coming out when I graduated so with all these upgrades, I wouldn’t have done well. It’s great to get back to the guys, the younger guys. They all have the passion to play and they all want to get better and move up. If I can help out, great.
BSP: Does being around college hockey players now give you a throwback to when you playing college hockey?
Roloson: Yeah, it does. Anybody that’s going to tell that when they retire, what they miss is the locker room. For me, I wear two different hats – a Dad hat and a Coach’s hat. It’s fortunate to be around my kids and walk through the locker room as a Dad. The guys can chirp me. That’s what you miss. This allows me to stay around and have fun. When the coaching hat comes on, it’s good to be able to articulate what’s going on and work with them.
BSP: And I assume the skill level of college hockey from your days has gone exponentially up. It has in every other level.
Roloson: Yeah, the game has evolved so much with the speed. When they took hold-ups on D, the speed of the game picked up. They are so skilled at doing things at a high speed. You got the McDavids of the world, and you see how they do everything at top speed. These guys can do, but they aren’t as clean with it. They have to learn how to receive passes cleanly. They all see the big photograph of the McDavids – all these guys. But how do they get there? We’re trying to give them the small tools to do that.
BSP: Buffalo was your second stop in the NHL after Calgary. Do you have good memories here?
Roloson: Great memories here. Losing in the Stanley Cup Finals wasn’t a great memory, but we got there. I grew up an hour and a half away from here. My first NHL game (as a spectator) was the Sabres at the old Aud. It’s second nature. We’re over here every weekend, even when I wasn’t living here., for shopping and seeing people. We had a post office box here. I’m still in contact with (equipment managers) Rip Simonick and George Babcock, and I do some alumni stuff. It’s fun to come back, fun to see people. For the knock from people that never have lived here, it’s an awesome city. It’s a great place to have a family, a great place to live.
BSP: I would argue that you won the biggest game in Sabre history that no one remembers. You started the first game of the Conference Finals against Toronto in 1999. Dominik Hasek was hurt, and you won in Toronto to take the home-ice advantage from the Maple Leafs. The Sabres went on to win that series in five games.
Roloson: Yeah, I remember that game. It was a little nerve-wracking. Lindy (Ruff, the head coach then and now) did a great job. I have so much respect for Lindy, how he hid (the decision) away from the media. I knew, the team knew, and everyone rallied. It surprised them a little bit, beating Toronto in Toronto – which was unheard of. To get a win and a split on the road was great for me personally and great for the team. It was confidence building. Then Dom came back and we won the series.
BSP: Was it always – to use a well-chosen word – interesting to work with Dom, who remains the best goalie I’ve ever seen in my life?
Roloson: Yeah. It was very interesting. I learned so much from Dom. He’s a borderline genius. He has a Masters’ in history. He’s a unique individual. He was awesome. We talked a lot and built a relationship which some other guys weren’t able to do – my predecessors. I wasn’t a threat to him, and he knew I wasn’t going to be taking his job. That took away some of the stress. I have the utmost respect for him. He invited me to his Hall of Fame dinner, which was great. I talked to him when he was in Detroit how things were different for him. I loved my time with him.
BSP: I’ve never seen a better practice goalie.
Roloson: No, he was remarkable. Everyone heard that he never left the ice when he was scored upon. I can say that’s true. He made sure whatever the drill, he would stay out for a full round and make sure no one scored.
BSP: It sounds like you’re happy that Lindy is back on the job in Buffalo.
Roloson: I’m glad Lindy is. I don’t want to speak my mind too much, but it was unfortunate that he left. Maybe he should taken over at the time. Kevin (Adams, the current general manager) is going a great job now, but I’m glad to see Lindy back home. He coached our team to a level that not too many coaches could have brought that team. He’s a remarkable human being. I have the utmost respect for him. We went down to watch a game, and talked to Lindy a little bit. He’s the same old Lindy, and it’s great he’s back.
BSP: You played with six NHL teams; was there one team that is more important to you in hindsight than the others?
Roloson: No, a little piece of you goes around to every team. Obviously every stop is different, but it’s the locker room that you always miss. There are great friendships. I got to play with Michael Peca in Edmonton, like I played for him here. He scored a big goal against Anaheim one time. As soon as I turned my stick over, he took off and he scored a big shorthanded goal. That was a game-winner. The relationships are the things you remember. At the alumni stuff, it’s great to see the guys.
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