THERE SHOULD be gray in his beard. That's the immediate thought when Michael Del Zotto finishes detailing his NHL journey so far, and particularly the leg that has led him here.
Worry, doubt, uncertainty, and the cracks in confidence they combined to produce - well, if such things truly did influence the color of one's hair, he might closely resemble the most interesting man in the world by now.
But he's still only 25. The beard is all dark brown. Seven-and-a-half years into a hockey career that has been filled with both promise and disappointment, that has wowed and waned at various junctures, the Flyers defenseman finds himself, in the first year of a career-settling, two-year contract, playing a role on ice and off that only a couple of seasons ago would have been unimaginable to anyone, including him.