Model T-Bird

KRIS CANTU'S smile tells a story. The high-scoring forward's polished play is one of the big reasons the Seattle Thunderbirds are one of the teams to beat in the upcoming WHL's Western Division playoffs. It's Cantu's last chance in his bid for junior hockey's top prize, the Memorial Cup. -----------------------------------------------------------------

Cool teeth can be a hot topic among young hockey players.

Kris Cantu has a few fake ones that draw admiration from his Seattle Thunderbird teammates.

"I want teeth like Kris'," right wing Bret DeCecco said before recent oral surgery. "You don't want the pull-out kind. You come into hockey with good teeth. You might as well leave with good ones. Kris showed me his and said I'd get the same kind, and I thought, `Oh, good. I've got the Hollywood smile now.' "

Cantu also has that casually elegant, GQ bearing. And a face boyishly charming and unblemished - that is, until T-bird goaltender Cody Rudkowsky accidentally creased his chin with an errant puck in a Western Hockey League game at Kelowna.

Roommate Jeff Blair, accompanying Cantu through the front door upon their 2 a.m. return, announced gleefully, "Kris is ugly now!"

The T-birds love Cantu's off-ice flash, but they know his on-ice polish has helped put them in the WHL playoff spotlight.

Seattle will open a best-of-seven first-round series against the Kamloops Blazers at 7:05 tomorrow night at KeyArena.

When Cantu came to T-bird training camp as a walk-on with Ontario Hockey League experience, he brought a double-edged resume. He could play with finesse or force.

The latter, he said, "is mostly what I did to earn my ice time. But here I'm a big part of the offense."

"A guy like Cantu I never expect to fight," said T-bird Tyler Willis, who's happy to take his place. "He's a goal scorer. He doesn't need to fight. He should stay on the ice."

Until Torrey DiRoberto went on a seven-goal spree last weekend, Cantu was the team's second-leading scorer behind Patrick Marleau, his linemate and the Western Conference player of the year.

Cantu, a 6-foot, 175-pounder from Warren, Mich., has 42 goals and 77 points - virtually on target with his aim of 40 goals and 80 points. He leads Seattle in power-play goals (17) and game-winners (seven).

"He started with a bang for us," assistant coach Rob Sumner said, "and everybody was wondering if he could keep it up. He has. He has worked hard all year and been consistent."

Cantu and Marleau were linemates early in the season and, after injuries and frustration caused Coach Don Nachbaur to tinker with shifts, they have clicked since the first part of December.

"They feed off each other," Nachbaur said, "and they're excellent penalty killers."

They're two big reasons the T-birds kill 82 percent of their penalties. Cantu and Marleau also have 13 of the team's 19 short-handed goals.

These WHL playoffs are crucial for Cantu, at 21 an overage player who cannot return to the T-birds and expects to sign a professional contract this summer.

"It's not a joke in the playoffs. The guys have got to realize that right now," he said.

Cantu, who turned down full scholarships from seven NCAA Division I universities - much to his mother's annoyance - to pursue his dream his way, plodded his way to Seattle. He had to be released from the North Bay Centennials as well as each of the other OHL teams to play in the WHL.

Cantu, who takes long walks to prepare for each game and when he's home in Michigan runs 5 miles nightly on a track near his home, convinced his mother, Charlene Cantu, that he was training 365 days a year and planning to further his education through the WHL and T-bird scholarship funds.

"They have to follow their dreams. He's committed, and I'm so glad he's in Seattle," Charlene Cantu said. "This is a very classy organization. It truly cares about its kids more than any team I've ever seen."

The extra year and extra exposure on a winning T-bird team have made Cantu more attractive to NHL teams, and his chances of being invited to a tryout are strong.

When his hockey days are finished, Cantu, a cousin of Seattle Mariner catching prospect Jason Varitek, said he likely will follow in the footsteps of four uncles and become a policeman.