| "Wasn't Don Cherry asked about that?" says Fisher. "And I think he said it's the exact opposite, that Christians work hard. You can still play tough as long as you're smart and not dirty about it."
Understand, it's not that Fisher is out there gooning it up for the Lord. His is a relentless game of edge and energy, unafraid to grind it out in the corner or the goal crease.
He cites a long line of Christian hockey brethren who have battled before him. More apt to drop the gloves and go were such hockey Christians as Bob Bassen, Stu Grimson and Mark Osborne.
Original Senators captain Laurie Boschman gets teased regularly for being a man of the good book who spent so much time in the sin bin.
Three times in his 14-year NHL career, Boschman surpassed 200 penalty minutes. And yet, Boschman, a first-round draft choice in 1979, had to ask to be traded away from the Toronto Maple Leafs in his third season because then-Leafs owner Harold Ballard felt Boschman's religious beliefs were hurting his game.
"I think Mr. Ballard thought it was a weakness, that I wouldn't be able to play up to my potential as a first-round draft choice," says Boschman, a regional director for Hockey Ministries International and a radio hockey analyst.
"It's an easy thing to point to when you're not playing well," he says. "The fact was that I'd had mononucleosis, and it affected my game."
Twenty years later, Christianity and sport are a more comfortable mix. Baseball and football teams around North America have Bible chapters for sharing beliefs.
Hockey has been slower to bring religion into off-ice routines, but the movement is growing. Based in Montreal, HMI runs 27 hockey camps in five countries - Canada, the United States, Sweden, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Several NHL teams have Bible chapters, available to any interested player without pressure to join. Contrary to Ballard's time, hockey management has come to accept there is a place for religious faith, of whatever origin, that doesn't compromise aggressive or dedicated play.
Fisher, 21, comes by his beliefs honestly. His parents are devout Christians who worship at the Auburn Bible Chapel in Peterborough.
Mike's uncle, David Fisher, conducts a weekly chapel service for baseball players with the Toronto Blue Jays. He is with the Epistle Sports Ministries and also has ties to HMI.
As a Senators player and former OHL junior star with the Sudbury Wolves and Peterborough Petes, Mike Fisher helps out at HMI summer hockey camps in Kingston and Toronto.
The Wolves had a Bible study, and Fisher would love to see one develop with the Senators.
Perhaps the most famous Christian at the Corel Centre is assistant coach Roger Neilson. A legendary hockey figure, Neilson often credits his deep religious faith for helping him deal with a long, difficult and ongoing battle with cancer.
Like Fisher, Neilson makes his summer home in the Peterborough area.
Fisher doesn't find much conflict mixing his beliefs with his professional career, at home or on the road. While he doesn't drink alcohol, that doesn't stop him from going out with teammates. He knows when it's time to go home.
As for female fans, who have been known to admire NHL players, Fisher says he's unavailable. "I have my girlfriend here," he says, "so that is not an issue."
Without fanfare or John 3:16 signs, Fisher carries out his faith quietly. "It's not that I think I'm above anybody else," he says. "It's just what I choose to do. I'm not trying to convert anyone - that is up to God to do. Leading by example is the biggest thing I can do."
Many professional athletes declare publicly they are turning away from a previous wild life to become "born again" to religious beliefs, converting from one extreme to another.
Boschman believes it is more common for athletes to simply realize that there are "other issues" in their lives.
"You have in hockey a lot young players who, as individuals, are very gifted, make good money and are held in high esteem in the community," Boschman says. "The population, as a whole, looks up to them. They say things like, 'He has got everything.'
"But those players also hurt when they're not playing well or when they're criticized in the paper. They have the same questions and needs as everybody else in the community."
Fisher's faith in God hasn't hurt his team's faith in him.
Just yesterday, coach Jacques Martin was citing Fisher's gritty game. "As he gets more experience, he will get more production offensively," Martin said.
Whatever he accomplishes, Fisher won't be afraid to grind with grace.
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