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Note - This information is some what old. It may now be different!
	A veteran to hockey today, Jaromir Jagr has been illuminating the NHL ice arena's with his stick skills, speed, and intensity. But what many people dont' know, is that he struggled to skate with the boys of Kladno when he was young.  Says Jagr, "At the beginning it was very difficult for me. I was the smallest and the youngest. I always played with the older kids who teased and made fun of me." Eventually after years of practice and hard work by himself, he became one of the most repsected at the rink . When he was 16, he was playing on the Elite team, against grown men who were 2X his age.  A little Info about his past(and some present) He is the III since there is no jr. or sr. in the Czech Republic, and  was born on February 15, 1972.  He currently weighs in at 6'2 ,225 lbs. He currently is the highest paid player in the NHL ( well deserved may I add)  His best friends are Martin Straka and John Cullen. He was chosen BEHIND Owen Nolan, Petr Nedved, Keith Primeau, and Mike Ricci in the 1990 draft picks.  He is the only one remaining of those four playing for the Penguins.   When he was six he was playing in a tournament and the coach of the other team asked his  father why he wasn't enrolled in the hockey school ( which was for third graders) his father responded "He's only in first grade" the other coach walked away shaking his head with the response "Unbelievable".(If you were wondering, his team won, and he scored 2 goals!!) He is the terror of 279 in Pittsburgh. In fact when Darius Kaspiritis came to the team he said " I hear there is someone on this team who is a worse driver than me". He has scored the most points ever by a right winger with 149.  He holds the records for most assists in Stanley Cup finals, youngest player to score a hat trick ( he was 18). He scored his first penatly shot on John Vanbiesbrouck in his rookie year. Says Jagr "Everyone needs a teacher, Mario was mine" In a Jan. 2000  interview Jagr showed that although he is growing up, he is still a kid at heart. It starts out to say,"the best hockey player in the world has a towel wrapped around his head and a towel around his waist. He is waving you through a half open door with a smile, boasting 'I am the king of Egypt'". Going on to say that "his playfulness is nothing new and that he's been everyone's kid brother since they can remember. Although, he shows signs of growing up. He has taken his captaincy with the Pens so seriously, that he cut those trademark locks befire this season, one who has taken the role so seriously that he has actually aired out a few of his teamates this season." The article also explains about the firing of Kevin Constantine and his staff after the team got off to a terrible 8-14-3-4 start.  Also, later in the article, it tells about how Jagr and Barnaby start with eachother(arguing,as friends) . It starts out with Baranby taunting Jagr for missing practice.  Then Jagr says(still with the towel wrapped around his head, "I am the King of Egypt. I am the sheik, and sheik don't practice" Then Barnaby says "A sheik is supposed to have a harem, all I ever see you with are two other guys". It goes on back and forth like this for a short time, until  Jagr finally says to Barnaby, " every time I see you naked, I feel bad for your wife". Later Barnaby, emerging in the same exact pullover sweater as Jagr's will rave about his captain as a player and as a friend, desrcribing himself and Kip Miller 2 of the "harem" that sometimes accompany Jagr off the ice.  Jags has won many awards. Hart Trophy, Pearson award, the Stanley Cup, etc. But perhaps the most memorable award of all, the Gold Medal. In the 1998 Olympics(Nagano, Japan) Jagr helped his team with a full sweep to become the 1998 Gold Medal Champions.