OPINION

By Daniel Carillo (as told to Steve Greenberg)

updated 9:57 p.m. ET July 23, 2008

Coyotes left winger Daniel Carcillo — 5-11, 203 pounds with a crazy-high 324 penalty minutes in his first full season — is learning the hard way that competitiveness and chaos can be tough to tell apart. Here are his 10 tips for surviving and thriving as a middleweight fighter, as told to SN's Steve Greenberg.

1. You have to want to do it
Unless you're 6-8, 250 pounds, you should never let a coach force you to fight. I'm a pretty mellow guy off the ice; a lot of people who get to know me say I'm totally different than the guy they see at the arena. But I'll tell you something my coach, Wayne Gretzky, and my teammates already know: I like to fight. It's not about size; it's about your willingness to do it. There are a lot of big guys out there who don't like fighting. Do I enjoy fighting a big guy who doesn't like to fight? Damn right I do.

2. Sometimes, though, discretion really is the better part of valor
I fought Raitis Ivanans in L.A. even though I really didn't want to. I'd scored a nice goal and was kind of revved up and skating around being an idiot. Wayne told me, "If he comes out, I want you to come right off the ice." Sure enough, on my last shift, Ivanans came out looking for me. He's a pretty scary guy: 6-3, 263 and incredibly strong. But I didn't listen to Wayne because I thought it would be cowardly to back down. We traded punches, he hit me on the forehead and I went down. It was quick, but it was one of the worst beatings I've taken in hockey.

3. Even a bleeder has to have thick skin
I know hockey fights supposedly are about showing up — not who wins and who loses — but when you get beat up, it's pretty tough to swallow. It's embarrassing, especially when it happens in front of 18,000 people and the 40 guys on both benches. Bouncing back is the biggest thing. It's like being a closer in baseball.

4. Make the guys who really deserve it pay when you have the chance
I had a lot of fun beating up Vancouver's Alex Burrows this season in Phoenix. He's just a little rat; he goes around starting trouble but doesn't back up what he does on the ice with his fists too often. So when he decided to drop the gloves with me, it was good. I grabbed him at center ice and he didn't have anywhere to go. It was kind of like a caveman beating; he was on his knees and I was whaling away.

5. Just throw 'em
Everybody fights differently -- and most of it is instinct anyway -- but the best middleweights try to grab the center of the other guy's jersey and just throw and throw. Hitting them anywhere in the face is good, but the chin area is where if you connect with a good shot, they go good night.

6. But work the body, too
I mean your own body. Summers are tough; everyone assumes we just play golf, but that's nuts. I took three weeks off after the season ended and then I was back in the gym training, with special focus on my legs and my core. I work out in Toronto, where I'm from, with guys like Rick Nash (Blue Jackets) and Patrick O'Sullivan (Kings). We don't mess around. We get after it.

7. Don't leave all the ice at the rink
I live by myself, so I have to take care of myself when I get home after a rough fight. My method of treatment pretty much consists of ice and maybe a Tylenol PM. The good thing is the ice is usually on my hand, not my head. I didn't lose too many fights this season. I had 19. I'd say I won probably 15 of them. I lost only two of them for sure, to Ivanans and to Nashville's Darcy Hordichuk.

MORE FROM NHL

NHL Section Front

Rangers top Flyers, off to best start in 25 years 'Hockey mom' Palin drops puck at Flyers’ game Ovechkin scores twice as Caps bounce back Clement: MVP? Ovechkin is still greatest player Franzen scores twice as Wings clip Senators Parise's OT goal lifts Devils past Penguins Celizic: Rest, not records, bigger deal for Brodeur Tanguay terrific as Canadiens crush Leafs Staal, 'Canes hand Lightning another loss Jokinen shines in Coyotes' debut vs. Jackets NHL Section Front   Add NHL headlines to your news reader: