Penguins' Chris Kunitz was a merry prankster but a mighty player, says former Sask. trainer

Canadian hockey fans were naturally bummed out Friday after the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Ottawa Senators, the only remaining Canadian team, from the NHL playoffs.

But at least one Saskatchewan man had reason to crack a smile as he watched the conclusion of Thursday night's tense double-overtime matchup.

"I knew he was going to be the hero," said Dave Melnychuk of the Penguins' Chris Kunitz, who scored the winning goal just before midnight Thursday.

Melnychuk, a recently-retired and longtime trainer for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Melville Millionaires, trained Regina-born Kunitz during the NHL star's pre-big-leagues days with the Millionaires.

"He was a physical player and he had a good shot and he always used his shot," recalled Melnychuk on CBC Radio's The Afternoon Edition.

"I could remember his 1998-1999 season with us. He scored 57 goals and he had about 32 assists for 89 points. Every day he came to the rink, he worked hard.

"I knew the kid was going to go somewhere."

'He was a prankster'

That discipline did not extend to the locker room, however.

Melnychuk remembers Kunitz as a literal cut-up: snapping his teammates' new laces with scissors, or putting cups of water in other's helmets.

"He was a prankster," said Melnychuk.

Kunitz never messed with Melnychuk, though.

"Our budget wasn't very much. We bought these guys sticks and most of the equipment. When it came to sticks, he had to be nice to the trainer."

Melnychuk says he hasn't heard from Kunitz in three to four years, though the NHLer did invite Melnychuk and his wife to a Regina barbecue Kunitz held after his team at the time, the Anaheim Ducks, won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

"My wife got an Anaheim Duck game jersey out of that," he said.

Kunitz and the Penguins take on the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final series on Monday.