 Conroy remained one of the League 's top defensive forwards in 1998 – 99 . While he missed several games with a high ankle sprain , he scored his first career hat @-@ trick on February 26 , 1999 , against the Calgary Flames and finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting that season . He faced a difficult season in 1999 – 2000 , however , as Joel <unk> adopted a new strategy that abandoned the concept of a checking line . Conroy struggled at both ends of the ice , and frequently found his ice time limited as a result . He finished the season with just 27 points . 
