nivek_wahs
10-12-2007, 09:48 AM
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=826ad707-c8f5-4941-adf7-126e13290327
Blades' rookies a good fit
Doug Mcconachie, The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, October 12, 2007
They're the rookies with the Saskatoon Blades and both Stefan Elliott and Curtis Hamilton know their place.
Somebody has to load and unload the bus, somebody has to carry the puck box and the pylons for practices and somebody has to help the training staff with the skate sharpener, the medical box and the stick bag. Somebody also has to carry the vets' bags when necessary and somebody has to sit at the front of the bus. And somebody has to be prepared to take a lot of good-natured shots in the dressing room.
That's where Elliott and Hamilton fit in.
"You do anything you can to help the team," said Hamilton. Mostly that means performing at game time. In that respect, the Blades are delighted with what they've seen.
"They're both still adjusting . . . but both are going to be really good players for us," said head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken.
"Stefan comes in as one of the elite defencemen in B.C. and Curtis was one of the elite forwards."
That got them this far.
How they handle every situation, not only at the rink but also their schooling and living with billets, reveals their true character.
With rookies you're always "trying to put them into situations where they can succeed," Molleken said. "Stefan has passed that test with flying colours. In our last game, Curtis, for the second time this season, had a chance to play a regular shift and he showed responsibility all over the ice.
"These kids understand both sides of the game. You can tell they come from really good hockey programs."
Elliott collected his first WHL point in Saskatoon's first game. In seven games, he has notched four points. Hamilton notched his first two points -- a goal and an assist -- in win over Regina last Monday.
Hamilton celebrated his first goal by going to a pizza parlour with his father, Bruce, owner of the Kelowna Rockets and a former Blade, who was in town.
BLADE BITS: Red Deer comes to Saskatoon for the first of five games in six nights against Eastern Division teams . . . Left-winger Derek Hulak leads the Blades in scoring with two goals and five assists for seven points. Defenceman Sam Klassen is tops in plus-minus at plus-four . . . Rookie defenceman Brendon Wall, who suffered a broken jaw in his first shift in his first game in Lethbridge, is making good progress. He gets the wires off in early November. "Getting tired of chocolate shakes," the 17-year-old Saskatoon native said. The good part is he has lost only about five pounds.
dmcconachie@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
Blades' rookies a good fit
Doug Mcconachie, The StarPhoenix
Published: Friday, October 12, 2007
They're the rookies with the Saskatoon Blades and both Stefan Elliott and Curtis Hamilton know their place.
Somebody has to load and unload the bus, somebody has to carry the puck box and the pylons for practices and somebody has to help the training staff with the skate sharpener, the medical box and the stick bag. Somebody also has to carry the vets' bags when necessary and somebody has to sit at the front of the bus. And somebody has to be prepared to take a lot of good-natured shots in the dressing room.
That's where Elliott and Hamilton fit in.
"You do anything you can to help the team," said Hamilton. Mostly that means performing at game time. In that respect, the Blades are delighted with what they've seen.
"They're both still adjusting . . . but both are going to be really good players for us," said head coach and general manager Lorne Molleken.
"Stefan comes in as one of the elite defencemen in B.C. and Curtis was one of the elite forwards."
That got them this far.
How they handle every situation, not only at the rink but also their schooling and living with billets, reveals their true character.
With rookies you're always "trying to put them into situations where they can succeed," Molleken said. "Stefan has passed that test with flying colours. In our last game, Curtis, for the second time this season, had a chance to play a regular shift and he showed responsibility all over the ice.
"These kids understand both sides of the game. You can tell they come from really good hockey programs."
Elliott collected his first WHL point in Saskatoon's first game. In seven games, he has notched four points. Hamilton notched his first two points -- a goal and an assist -- in win over Regina last Monday.
Hamilton celebrated his first goal by going to a pizza parlour with his father, Bruce, owner of the Kelowna Rockets and a former Blade, who was in town.
BLADE BITS: Red Deer comes to Saskatoon for the first of five games in six nights against Eastern Division teams . . . Left-winger Derek Hulak leads the Blades in scoring with two goals and five assists for seven points. Defenceman Sam Klassen is tops in plus-minus at plus-four . . . Rookie defenceman Brendon Wall, who suffered a broken jaw in his first shift in his first game in Lethbridge, is making good progress. He gets the wires off in early November. "Getting tired of chocolate shakes," the 17-year-old Saskatoon native said. The good part is he has lost only about five pounds.
dmcconachie@sp.canwest.com
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007