Florida coach Mike Keenan knows Thrashers 19-year-old sensation Ilya Kovalchuk has the skills to be a dominant player. But does he have the attitude to back it up? Kovalchuk was called for an illegal stick in Florida's win over the Thrashers Oct. 12. In a rematch Oct. 21, a Panthers 3-2 victory, Kovalchuk scored and skated by the Panthers bench rubbing his new blade in a taunting manner. Keenan took offense. "Excellent players in the league, such as Joe Sakic, Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux and Peter Forsberg, they don't do that," Keenan said in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Oct. 23. "They have a lot more respect for the game and for the people they're playing with and against." Thrashers general manager Don Waddell backed Kovalchuk: "I didn't think it was that bad. Showmanship in Russia is very big. That's part of the way Ilya has always played."
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