Back to Annoying

For the second year in a row, Missouri Mavericks forward Karl Sellan has been honored by his opponents in the Central Hockey League.

“Honored? Well, I guess you could call it an honor,” Sellan joked when asked about being named the Most Annoying Player in the CHL in the league’s annual Best of the Best Awards. “I won it last year (while playing for Arizona), and I guess that means I get under guys’ skin and go out and get the job done.”

His coach agrees with that comment.

“I never got a vote for the Most Annoying Player back when I played,” Mavs coach Scott Hillman said, chuckling, “but I can see why Selly’s won it the past two years.

“He’s a guy that you always need to know where he is. He makes things happen, he’ll take on anyone and he likes to talk. And, hey, if you back it up, do it.

“I know one thing, he might be annoying to other teams, but we’re not in the playoff hunt without him.”

As he listened to comments about Sellan and his “annoying” personality, Sellan’s roommate had to get in on the conversation.

“Annoying? THE most annoying roommate I ever had,” said goaltender Charlie Effinger, doing his best to suppress a smile. “He watches the most terrible TV – just awful. He’s not the cleanest guy in the kitchen and he’s never taken out the trash. He’s totally annoying.

“After rooming with Selly, I don’t think I can ever watch another TV reality show. It’s all he watches. Talk about annoying.”

Yet, when asked about Sellan as a teammate, Effinger gets serious.

“The best teammate you could have,” Effinger adds. “Everyone respects Selly – everyone. If you annoy someone from the other team, you have that guy’s respect. And no one works harder.”

It was Sellan’s work ethic that helped him get back on the ice in just seven weeks, after injuring discs in his lower back in a Dec. 31 game against Colorado.

“Some guys would have been out three months or had their season come to an end,” Mavericks athletic trainer Wes Fillingame said, “but not Karl. He was in great shape when the injury happened, and because of that – and his amazing work ethic – he was able to rejoin the team in seven weeks.

“A return, from an injury like that, is pretty amazing.”

Shortly after Dr. Bert Park of Centerpoint Hospital performed arthroscopic surgery on Sellan, he began a grueling rehab session with Centerpoint’s director of spots medicine, Matt Hess.

“Seven days after the surgery, we met six or seven days a week for three weeks,” Hess said, “and not only did Karl never miss a session, he was never late and he never complained.

“We’d meet at 24 Hour Fitness at 7 a.m. and he was there on time – usually early – and worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever worked with. It’s so rewarding for me and the Centerpoint staff to see him back on the ice having the year he’s having.

“I know how tough it was for him when he was out with the injury. So he worked hard and now, well, we were all surprised he was able to come back as quickly as he did. That shows the surgery went well, the patient was willing to work hard and people like Wes (Fillingame) are continuing to work with him so he remains strong.”

Since his return, Sellan has recorded the only hat trick (Feb. 13) in the team’s short history and he has rankled enough opponents to be second on the team in penalty minutes (215).

“We traded for Karl early in the season because we knew what kind of an impact he could have on our team,” Hillman said, “and believe me, we haven’t been disappointed.

“Things might not be as close here at the end of the season if we’d have had Karl healthy all season, but we’re just thrilled to have him. Period.”

And Sellan feels like Independence is home.

“I love this community and I love this team,” Sellan said. “It was easy to work hard to come back and help this team try to get into the playoffs. And our fans are amazing. When we’re ready to skate out onto the ice and everyone is going crazy, it makes all the hours of rehab seem worth it.”

One final question: Is there any other award you’d prefer to win than the one you’ve claimed the last two seasons?

“Oh, MVP maybe,” Sellan said, “but the only honor I care about is being a champion. And Scott and Brent (Thiessen, team president and general manager) are building a championship team and I want to be a part of it for a long time.”