seniority, being a fossil at 21. Besides, the “Man-Child” and the “Mutt” exemplify the chemistry that pervades this Blackhawks roster. They might be opposites, but more importantly, they are teammates.“Fearless,Tomas Kopecky Black Premier Jersey,” praises captain Jonathan Toews, who centers for Saad and Marian Hossa. “Man-Child looks and plays a lot older than he is.”There have been a few Blackhawks of Saad’s ilk. Grant Mulvey was a big, raw-boned kid who got tagged with “Granny” almost instantly. Mulvey rarely hurried, except to reach the NHL. He spent nary a day in the minors, scored his first goal when he was 18 and remains the only man in franchise history to collect five in a game.Then there was Steve Larmer, alias “Grandpa.” Laconic, with a voice that was guttural going on grumpy, Larmer enjoyed a cigarette with his coffee while shunning the limelight whenever possible. Drafted 120th, Larmer became one of the best two-way wingers ever, an iron man who played the same on the road as he did at home while building a consecutive-game streak of 884. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. Ask Denis Savard about “Grandpa.”Saad opened last season with the Blackhawks, was returned to his junior squad—the Saginaw Spirit,Marian Hossa Green Premier Jersey, coached by former Hawk Greg Gilbert—and might have followed Mulvey’s path of avoiding the bushes. But during the NHL lockout last fall, Saad played for the Blackhawks’ farm club in Rockford, where he excelled. When the Blackhawks finally reported to camp in January, he was ready. Strong, smart and steady, Saad entered the weekend with eight goals and a +13 rating.“This is awesome, playing with this team in front of these fans, skating with two of the best players in the world—Toews and Hossa,” says Saad, who was born in Pittsburgh just as the Penguins were winning consecutive Stanley Cups. That first time on skates, at about 2 and a half,Duncan Keith Red Premier Jersey, was emblazoned in his mind. Then he started watching Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.“Hockey was it for me,” says Saad, who admits to being big when he was little, even as he deflects accusations about being old when he’s young. “I played all sports, and was pretty athletic, but I fell in love with hockey.”Saad’s father, George, left Syria when he was 18,Duncan Keith Jersey Black, earned a degree at Columbia University, then furthered his education at the University of Pittsburgh. There, he met his future wife, Sandra, who is Polish. Saad’s brother, also George, plays hockey at Penn State and is a teammate of Eddie Olczyk’s son, Tommy.“Dad is my idol,” says Saad. “He came to the United States with no money, alone, didn’t speak English. He worked hard to build a career and is very good at his profession: industrial engineering, buying and selling commercial real estate. He pursued his dream—to come to America and start a new life. My thought was that if the hockey thing doesn’t work out, I can always get an education. He was