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Sput
12-30-2006, 03:25 PM
Courtesy of: www.princegeorgecitizen.com

Saturday, December 30, 2006
Slumping Cougars head to Kamloops
by JIM SWANSON Citizen Sports Editor

Watching Thursday’s excruciating 6-2 loss to the Spokane Chiefs, it wasn’t hard to wonder if some Prince George Cougars players – particularly a few of the ‘big name’ veterans – were playing less for the crest on the front of the jersey than for a trade to another team.

The team’s head coach couldn’t help but think that, too.

“Is that a fair question? Sure it is,” said Drew Schoneck, who again will try to right the sinking ship when the Cougars visit the Kamloops Blazers tonight, the final game for the Cats in this calendar year.

“After an effort like that, you start to question yourself. But over the month and a half I’ve been here, I haven’t seen that yet and I don’t think so. It was a bad night for us, we didn’t come ready at all and some of our guys weren’t ready to play.”

Thursday’s debacle wasn’t the first time this season the Cougars have appeared to have no pride whatsoever – not in the least. At least in part, that’s what cost Mike Vandekamp and Stew Malgunas their jobs on Nov. 2. There is more recent evidence, such as a Dec. 15 home game against the same Blazers they’ll see tonight, when the Cats put in a meek, half-hearted effort and lost 3-1.

At least one player wouldn’t blame general manager Dallas Thompson if he blew it up and traded away all his veteran pieces, starting the rebuilding process yet again. That has to be the best option – hold on to those who can be here next year, such as three key 20-year-old candidates, but auction those who are done with junior hockey as of the end of this season for property that will meld with Dana Tyrell, Lance Redden and Dale Hunt in coming winters.

“No, not at all,” 19-year-old defenceman Kalvin Sagert, one of few players who has played at a suitable level most of the season, replied when asked if he’d be stunned to see Thompson come to the conclusion that the next-year approach is the right answer.

“The only people we can blame is ourselves right now. The only ones who can change this is (the players). We’re a pretty close team, but we have to get better starts. We have to be more intense and show more emotion. It’s frustrating, and everyone in there is frustrated right now. It’s past the half-way point and we have to start making a push if we want any kind of confidence, or get on any kind of roll.

“The biggest problem this season is not being consistent. We have a lot of skill and we can be dominating, but playing like that in two out of six periods (against Spokane ) isn’t good enough. We can’t take shifts off, and we can’t take teams lightly. I think everyone’s ticked off inside, and some guys just show it more than others. No one can be happy about what we did (Thursday).”

Here it is, said again – this team is full of talented players. One scout who was at both Wednesday and Thursday’s games will tell anyone within earshot that the Cougars have the best top-two lines in the WHL, yet the Cats have just 96 goals for in 37 games (an average of 2.6 per game). That offensive ineptitude is one of many reasons for a 14-18-2-3 record.

Without question, the Cougars have run away and hid with the league’s unofficial title as underachievers. No other team is close.

“At times, we’ve played like one of the top teams in the league and we’ve showed it against teams like Vancouver, Everett and those kinds of teams,” said Sagert.

“We seem to get a couple of wins under our belts and everyone gets overconfident. You can’t do that – you have to take that in stride and keep going. There are times we’re strong systematically, and other times we play like individuals and that’s costing us.”

Recent efforts bring a question – are the players telling the coaches they care, grinning and listening to proper instruction, then turning their back and following their own agenda? That theory is not hard to buy, either.

“Ultimately it comes down to each individual in that room,” said Schoneck.

“We can put forth the gameplan and show them how we want to play, and ask them to do that, but they have to go out there and do that. We haven’t had enough guys willing to pay the price and show the commitment needed to win a hockey game. We have to get back to work and keep working at fixing our game because we have a big game in Kamloops (today).”

Making things worse, apparently, is that both Devin Setoguchi and Real Cyr (knee injuries) are unlikely to play today. That leaves Hunt, 16, on the second line, and 18-year-old Jordan White in the crease.

Jesse Dudas won’t play either because of a combination of his knee injury and personal issues that have him back home in Alberta .

Sput
12-30-2006, 03:35 PM
At least Sagart was able to admit what the fans have been saying for a while now. No one would blame Thompson for dismantaling this team and go young. Trade Hunter, Drazinovic, Walker, Wishart, Setoguchi, Dudas all for young talent. Surely one of the top teams would be interested in some of these guys. I like Swanson's idea of keeping 3 legitimate 20yo candidates for next year, and find someone, anyone, who cares enough to show some desire to play the game. The majority of the vets here don't look like they give a s**t about being on this team. Fine then. Get someone in here who WAnTS to play hockey at the highest caliber in Canada, and that might just give a little bit of effort when the puck is dropped.

PGFlyfisher
12-30-2006, 04:57 PM
You have some valid stuff there, Sput. A part of me feels like Dallas should gut this team like a fish and start anew.

However, on the slim chance there is anything left to salvage this season there are some other options that Dallas could consider.

1)Bring in more Tyrells and Deagles, kids who WANT to be here. Kids who work their ***es off every shift, regardless of the score! Kids who appreciate the opportunity to play at this level, not take it for granted. That' s what I pays my money for.
2) When the C and A's aren' t doing their jobs, sit their butts down and give the others ice time. I don' t entirely blame Prab and Dan or anyone else for that matter, for wanting out if the same 6 forwards get all the ice time. Spread it out a bit and get some depth. It could help!
3) As for players with no heart. Deal 'em!
Example: Game 2 against Spokane: White gets knocked over at least 3 times that I saw. Not ONE player makes someone pay for it! Only player I saw stick up for anyone was Thiessen, a 17 yr old new guy, after a late hit on another Cougar!
4) Pride. Start showing some. Some of these young men seem to have forgotten that it is also a reflection on the fans, city, WHL and NHL teams that drafted them!

I guess I could go on and on. Bottom line is time has pretty much run out to right this ship. Hopefully some big changes come down and soon. :burningma

dondo
12-30-2006, 07:00 PM
how's Schoneck as a coach? I suppose Vandekamp wasn't the problem, eh?

Sput
12-30-2006, 07:34 PM
how's Schoneck as a coach? I suppose Vandekamp wasn't the problem, eh?

I know a guy from work who billets a Spruce King player that played under Shoneck in Manitobia's OCN. He thought he was a great coach, and player's type coach, and that he felt the Cougars got a good one. I thik its a simple case of the players as a group don't seem to give a s**t about playing for pride, and it wouldn't matter if Scotty Bowman was behind the bench, this squad is just plain old lazy with piss poor attitudes.

For the love of the game boys.....play for pride in yourselves. Play for your own futures. At this rate you won't even be motivated enough to get a job flipping burgers let alone playing in any pro league.

PGFlyfisher
12-30-2006, 07:35 PM
IMO Vandekamp or Malgunas weren' t the problem on the ice at all. I don' t want to badmouth or spread rumors, but I believe Vandekamp' s firing was due to off ice issues and Stu was a "drive by casualty". And in Stu' s defence, he didn' t have a lot of healthy troops to work with for a good portion of the season due to some seriously prolonged injuries on the back end.

Schoneck seems ok, but once again, he doesn' t sit some lazy butts some nights when he should send a message. Maybe, because the GM is behind the bench with him these days, he doesn' t have much say on what lines to roll. I don' t know.

Both Mike and Drew came from a Junior A as well, and perhaps this team needs someone like a coach Hay or a Constantine with some big time experience to motivate these guys.