Richard Matvichuk -- The defenseman no one really knows

If Richard Matvichuk had stayed a goalie when he was a little boy playing midget hockey in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he, not Marty Turco, would be playing goal for the Dallas Stars right now.

But, he didn't.

You see, Matvichuk, who began skating at the tender age of three, started out as a goaltender, then he got smart.

He decided, "let someone else stop pucks all the time, I'll just block them occasionally."

So for the past 12 years, Matvichuk, who says, "he was kinda pushed into playing defense," is the defenseman nobody really knows.

Currently, he has quietly patrolled the blue line for the Dallas Stars.

In a sport with such well known blue-liners like Colorado's Rob Blake and Detroit's Niklas Lidstrom, Matvichuk was even overshadowed by former teammate, Derian Hatcher, who left Dallas as a free agent.

Behind every hockey player, there are many influences in their lives, and Matvichuk is no different.

"If it weren't for my mom, dad and sister, I wouldn't be playing hockey today," he stated after a recent Dallas practice.

Besides family, a hockey players' best friend is his coach.

In Matvichuk's case, it's the Stars' defense coach and former NHL coach Rick Wilson.

"He's been with me for 12 years," said Matvichuk. "He took a 19-year old under his wing and taught me about playing defense."

If helping the goaltender by going down on the ice to stop a puck whizzing by your head at 100mph weren't scary enough, Matvichuk, who refers to himself as "an adrenaline junkie," likes to jet ski and fly a helicopter.

He received his helicopter pilot's license this past June and he doesn't have to wait to get an Air Canada jet to get him home to visit the folks.

He's actually flown a helicopter from "Big D" to Canada, making two stops of course.

On the same day that he was interviewed, the Stars had signed another veteran, Shane Corson.

Matvichuk feels that this will help the team the same way that the signing of his new defense partner, Don Sweeney, has helped the team-Dallas can only get better.

One might think that Dallas fans wouldn't know their hockey, and they would be wrong.

The Dallas fans have tasted the Stanley Cup and they want another one.

"Dallas has a very loyal fan base and they expect nothing less than first place and the championship," Matvichuk stated.

Philadelphia's Jeremy Roenick and Detroit's Brett Hull are two of the most opinionated players in the league today.

They aren't afraid to speak their mind regarding what's wrong with hockey.

Matvichuk is no exception, he's just a little less vocal than Hull and Roenick.

Ask him about some of the proposed changes in the league and the normally steady Matvichuk acts as though an opposing player has just taken liberties with the Stars' big guns, Mike Modano and Bill Guerin.

He's not a happy camper and bristles at the notion that the game needs fixing.

"Hockey is a great hard hitting game," he countered. "Those who say it needs fixing need to watch what goes on at a game closely.

Richard Matvichuk may be the defenseman you've never heard of, but when it comes to hockey, this "adrenaline junkie" is as vocal as the best ones in the NHL.