It’s hard to take someone seriously as an athlete when they have amassed a portfolio of modeling shots to rival Anna Kournikova.

There is the locker room shot, sitting on the bench in sandals and t-shirt with one leg pulled up on the bench beside him, smiling at the camera with his gear hanging in his stall behind him.

There is the pouting headshot, closeup on blond hair, green eyes and beautiful skin.

Even his game photos seem to be posed, looking dramatically over his shoulder as he skates with the wind tousling his hair or staring intently into the lens at a faceoff.

This is no denying that Jamie Lundmark is a good hockey player, but you have to wonder what his focus is. These photos certainly don’t do much to keep people focused on his game. And when you are in Hartford, there is no escaping these photos, which are displayed prominently and sold at tables just inside the arena. I walk past the pouting Jamie every time I leave my seat during the game. Frankly, it’s creepy.

Let me get one thing straight up front: I think Jamie is a talented hockey player who tries his very best every night. He is a nice kid, pleasant and respectful with his fans. He throws pucks to little kids and nods at his squealing followers in the stands. There is nothing to dislike about Jamie Lundmark either as a human being or as a player on your team.

So why am I so often frustrated by him to the point of throwing things at the glass during games?

The way I see it, athletes who are under great pressure to succeed, either because of draft history, hype, or play in juniors, respond to that pressure in one of two ways: They either become arrogant, overconfident and even lazy, believing their own press to the point of thinking they don’t have to do work because they are so talented (see Pavel “hot dogs” Brendl for an example) or they work themselves into a frenzy as they try to meet those unrealistic expectations, becoming more and more panicked as they can’t force the goals, hits, or saves to come. In the latter case, the player becomes his own worst enemy, because the more he does to pull himself out of a slump, the worse the problem becomes. Jamie, unfortunately, has shown himself to be one of these players.

How did this happen? Well, whether or not he was like this in juniors I do not know – he did demand a trade to a better team for his last season, so clearly at that point he believed he knew what he was doing. But from his draft day forward, he was always compared to his fellow first round Rangers pick, Pavel Brendl. Brendl is among the laziest, most arrogant, and most frustrating players (to fans of his own team) out there. I met both Jamie and Pavel when they were at a Pack game during our Calder Cup run, having already finished the season with their juniors teams. Jamie had a broken hand, but Pavel was a healthy scratch after two tentative and ineffective games. I chatted briefly with Jamie about his injury, then wished them well and said that I hoped to see them next season (2000-2001). Pavel rolled his eyes and turned to Jamie, saying loudly, “I don’t know about you – but I’M going to be in NEW YORK next year.”

I wouldn’t think that Calgary looked THAT much like New York, but I’m sure those long bus rides back in Juniors felt just like the Ranger’s plane. I was amused when he found himself back in juniors again that year, mostly due to showing up overweight and with an attitude about it (his most famous quote regarding this during training camp was ‘Why should I ruin my summer by working out?') and thrilled when he was traded – not just because of his attitude, but because he really hadn’t performed at the level he had been sold at.

So, being the good kid he is, Jamie must have taken one look at the Pavel and decided he wanted to distance himself as far as possible from that train wreck. He works so hard before and during the games that just watching him makes you hurt. He has to be dragged off the by the ice crew in his sandals and leggings as the fans start to arrive and then again at the end of warm-ups – and when I say dragged off, I mean they send people out to steal his pucks and push the net off the moorings when he isn’t looking. Otherwise, he will stand there, intently shooting pucks from the top of the paint, until his own goalie shoves him out of the way to start the game.

During games he charges into situations for which he is too small (he supposedly was 195 last season, but I’d say that is on the high side by at least 10 pounds) to handle, and spends a significant amount of the game on his butt or smooshed against the boards. Because he gets so manhandled by the opposition, his shots are mostly being taken as he is falling or flying through the air. He gets stood up at the blue line when he tries to go through people, and is an unmitigated disaster on the point (9 short handed goals is 9 too many, folks.) Jamie finished the year a -17, by far the worst on the team. In general he looked miserable and frustrated on the ice, and withdrawn off it.

Yes, Jamie does score – he went 27-32-59 in 79 games last year, shot 11.9% and had 10 PP tallies. But considering he played on the first line for much of the year, more than 27 goals were expected. If he is going to be more than a sniper, than his defensive skills desperately need work – he is a liability as he stands right now. Jamie improved when moved from center to wing, as less responsibility seemed to clear his head, and the Rangers have more than enough centers right now anyway. He needs to be stronger on his skates, and learn to use his speed to go around people rather than trying to plow through them. These are things he needs to learn, and perhaps he will get them with our new coaching staff this year.

Or, there is another possibility.

Jamie seems to be stuck right now, doing more and more of the same, rather than just chucking the mold and trying something different. Perhaps he has found the light, the path, over the summer, as I hear he is tearing up the prospect camp as we speak. If that’s the case, good for him. But if not, I think there may be an unlikely mentor for him on the Rangers roster.

Pavel Bure.

No, really, I’m not kidding. I’ve seen Bure play, and he does things well that would seem to suit Jamie’s game – he sneaks up the wing while the play gets sucked over to the far corner, then scores from in front of the net on the helpless goalie, thus avoiding the physical abuse. Bure is fast enough, not necessarily lightening fast, but neither is Jamie. He maneuvers around people rather than through them (although he will fight hold his spot on the ice if needed) and has the scoring touch that Jamie had at one point. He even has the preternatural beauty that calls the puck bunnies like a siren song.

And, Bure seems to take the game in stride. My lasting image of him is from a game on the Island that I saw – blowing a huge bubble as he worked the power play. Jamie needs this I think. He needs to relax, to try something different, to have fun and enjoy the game. I’m not suggesting that he blow it off – Bure may seem laid back, but he has been busting his butt since he arrived in New York, but still is in sharp contrast to Lindros, who looks like he might start throwing things or actually explode at any point. Of all the players currently on the roster, I think Jamie might relate to Bure the best, and I think Bure might actually be healthy for him.

Who knows? Having a young disciple to train might be good for Bure as well.

As far as making room on the Rangers roster, that’s not my area of expertise – but if he played wing, SURELY there would be a spot for young Jamie on the bench?

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