"Right away, I knew I wanted to return to Long Island." - Mariusz Czerkawski

When Mariusz Czerkawski learned the Montreal Canadiens would not be retaining his services for the 2003-04 season, he recognized the release as a chance to put the toughest stint of his NHL career behind him. Ironically, his first step toward the future brought him back to a setting of his past.

"Right away, I knew I wanted to return to Long Island," Czerkawski said. "This is where I wanted to rejuvenate my career, after that big dive last year."

While other teams expressed interest in the skilled right wing, he asked agent Neil Abbott to complete a deal with the Islanders. Opting to sign a one-year contract with the team that sent him packing last summer required Czerkawski to cast aside some pride, but the rough edges were sufficiently trimmed off his ego in Montreal. And then some.

When all is right in an offensively inclined player's universe, there is a magnetic connection between the puck and the back of the net. Shots taken from bad angles effortlessly manifest into goals and the headlines of the morning papers sing praises. Given the laws of balance, there are also periods marked by bounces against; when point-blank shots hit the crossbar and all the effort in the world just doesn't pay off. It is during these stretches that every opposing goaltender faced gets hot just in time to put on a clinic.

During one such period as an Islander, Czerkawski joked that he was in every highlight reel of the week as "the guy every goalie made the save of the game on."

While Czerkawski may be as approachable as a goal scorer in a drought comes, his happy-go-lucky attitude is sometimes mistaken for complacency. He isn't one to hurl his stick to the ground en route to the locker room after a loss, nor is he the type to brood for hours on end. Instead, you may find him outside the arena, signing autographs for fans, ever friendly and accommodating.

Those who don't see through Czerkawski's surface may mistakenly equate his easy-going nature with a lack of heart. One needs only to observe the frustration in his eyes, however, to get past the mask of a smile on his face. It's the frustration of a player who hit the 35-goal mark in 1999-00 and accumulated a total of 14 points in 2002-03, a season that started with an air pocket of insecurity and ended in sheer turbulence.

"We (Montreal) won the first game and I had a goal and it should have felt like a good start, but something just didn't feel right. We lost the second game, then the third; by the fourth game I was already in the stands."

It was an angle the former 30-goal scorer became all too familiar with, at least until he was sent to the Hamilton Bulldogs, the organization's AHL affiliate. Czerkawski had visited his share of doghouses through the years, but he'd never before made a home of one. He played only 43 games in the NHL last season, his fewest appearances since his first four games in1993-94.

"We (Montreal) won the first game and I had a goal and it should have felt like a good start, but something just didn't feel right." - Mariusz Czerkawski

While Aaron Asham, who was exchanged for Czerkawski to supply grit, exceeded expectations with 15 goals and 34 points, much fun was poked at the highest-paid player in the AHL, Czerkawski.

"Confidence can go quick in this league," he said. "When things don't go well, you have to take some responsibility. But it can easily become a circle of self-doubt because it's hard to turn things around when people don't believe in you and when you feel you've been written off."

At the close of the season, Czerkawski hoped to gain some confidence back in the World Championships, but hours before his plane took off, he learned he wouldn't be on it. He was sent back to Hamilton for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

"Hamilton thought I'd be unavailable so they left me off the roster. At that point, it was too late to change it so I didn't get to play. I was really sad because when they saw I wasn't playing, people were saying I couldn't even break the lineup in Hamilton."

To say the least, the season was a humbling experience and one Czerkawski wishes he could erase from his memory banks. To do so, however, would be to wipe out the personal growth he has yet to realize has occurred as a result.

Take the fact that he was exposed in this year's waiver draft and didn't take it personally.

"There are a few talented guys here who are much younger than me," he said. "I didn't take it as a bad thing, it's part of the business. I still feel welcome here."

Mariusz Czerkawski is hoping to begin a rejuvination on Long Island in 2003-04.

Then there's the lesson of discovering the limitless power of the human mind.

"The best way to make a fresh start is to change your thinking," he said. "The negative may be in the back of your head but you have to think about the positives to make good things happen. I have a lot of positives to concentrate on here."

And when you've spent time somewhere you don't feel comfortable, you can appreciate the places you do that much more. Czerkawski said it was special to walk through the doors of the Coliseum and locker room for the first time this year; to breathe in the familiarity of what has come to be his hockey home.

"I had a little break," he said. "I've been joking that I was on maternity leave and out of work for the year. But I didn't get the Rockefeller prize money for being the first man that was pregnant."

While his sense of humor is still intact, Czerkawski's pre-season demeanor suggested a greater air of seriousness than the time of the year typically generates. As well as facing the pressure of a career in need of a turning point, he is also adapting to a different style of play than he is used to on Long Island, a defensive-minded system implemented by the new coaching staff.

"Mariusz has done a good job with it," said head coach Steve Stirling. "A lot of what we're putting in defensively is something that Mariusz has had to learn. But he's a better defensive player than people give him credit for and he's bought into our system. It took a little bit away from his offense in the first few games of the preseason, but he's catching on and picking up the tempo and doing the type of things we expect of him both offensively and defensively."

"There's a lot on the line for me to come back and prove I can play in this League, not just play, but really contribute and help the team." - Mariusz Czerkawski

While Stirling is a first-year NHL coach, he has a natural knack for understanding individuality and may find the right approach to consistently tap into Czerkawski's well of talent. Some players respond to tough love but Stirling knows this is not the method that will build back fractured confidence. And as Czerkawski has a reputation for thriving when surrounded by lesser-known players, Stirling just may be the guy who helps him realize that stars shine regardless of whether or not they're the brightest in their constellation.

"He lets you know when you do something right or wrong," Czerkawski said of Stirling. "You have to know the negative, but he does it in a positive way. He's a very likeable guy, very professional. The entire coaching staff is very clear about what they expect of you."

And what does Poland's pride and joy of hockey expect for himself?

"A lot. There's a lot on the line for me to come back and prove I can play in this League, not just play, but really contribute and help the team. Why not score 20, 30 goals again?"

Only one visiting player tallied, maintained consistent effort and a posted a plus rating in the Islanders' opening debacle in Washington on Thursday. For the team that went 7-0 in the preseason, it was a lesson in humility. For Czerkawski, who is now certified to teach the course, it was a bright new beginning disguised as a dark loss.