Tim Tyers 

Is Sergei Berezin facing "mission impossible?" 

All the fast-skating Russian has to do is provide some of the scoring the Coyotes lost when they traded Keith Tkachuk to St. Louis, while also providing the entertainment value lost when free agent Jeremy Roenick ran off to Philadelphia. 

What's more, management has tossed him into a pressure pot by publicly acknowledging those very points. 

"That is what I expect from myself, too," said Berezin, 30, whom the Coyotes acquired by trading the rights to Mikael Renberg. "I've been playing in Toronto, so I know pressure. The media is all over you after every game. It doesn't matter 
if you have a good game or a bad game. They write about hockey all year. So I'm used to pressure. 

"All I can say is that I've worked hard, and I'm looking forward to having a good season." 

Berezin, a product of Voskresensk, Russia, led the Maple Leafs in shots for the last two seasons. 

In three of his five NHL seasons, he has scored at least 25 goals. 

His top season came three years ago, when he led the Leafs with 37 goals. The past two years his production has dropped along with his playing time - 26 goals two years ago; 22 goals and 50 points last season. 

"I love it here - even the heat," said the 5-foot-10 Berezin, who lost 15 pounds this summer and increased his already amazing quickness. "I was excited when I heard I was coming here. It's the biggest chance of my life. It's my biggest challenge. It's a young team with lots of speed, which is what my game is all about. 

"It offers me new opportunities and new chances. I didn't get a lot of chances in Toronto in five years there. That's just the way it is. 

"I got traded for the first time in my career, and I'm looking forward to having the best year of my life." 

Berezin brings finesse to a left wing spot that Tkachuk ruled with brute force. 

He will join center Daymond Langkow and physical forward Shane Doan on the Coyotes No. 1 line, though second-line center Michal Handzus is capable of stepping up and changing that mix. 

Berezin said that the chemistry with his new linemates has yet to surface in just three days of training camp, but it's coming. 

Doan, however, has seen enough of Berezin to be duly impressed. 

"Did you see him on that one shift?" Doan said, after Friday's scrimmage. "Langkow and I were laughing. He went through about four guys, then beat me twice and Lanks once - and we're on his line. He can handle the puck, and he can do it at such a high speed. Both he and Langkow are so fast that I'll be the trailer going up ice, getting all the late stuff." 

The rap against Berezin in Toronto was that he didn't play defense, which was the very reason his playing time ebbed when the Leafs abandoned a wide-open game. Coyotes coach Bobby Francis said he's not sure the rap is warranted. 

"I don't know if that's a rap against him or not. I haven't heard that," Francis said. "I have had a couple of people who looked at his numbers and know his skill level, who came up and asked why Toronto let him go. 

"We gave up something for him. Look at the quality we gave up, and it speaks volumes. He's a pure goal scorer, and he's a dynamic player that all the fans are going to enjoy."