"It was only a joke. But it spoke volumes as to what type of player Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was about to become.

''We always joked in the minors that there would come a point in his career that he might be able to play the whole game,'' said Trent Yawney, a former Hawks coach and defenseman who mentored Keith for two years with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League.

''When he gets tired, everybody else is crawling off the ice.''

Keith, 26, leads the Hawks in ice time this season and for the last four years. He also logged the most minutes for Canada, which had several standout defensemen, during its Olympic gold-medal run.

But believe it or not, there was a time when Keith had to fight for ice time. In fact, there were some in the Hawks hierarchy who had their doubts about his potential several years ago."