BWK
01-05-2008, 09:47 AM
Had to drive to Winnipeg last night and miss the Wheat King game but caught the Mantoba Moose game on the radio. Tyler Plante started foor the Rochester Americans and got lit up for 5 goals, including one by Juraj Simek, but it didn't sound like he had much help from a pretty bad Rochester team.
http://winnipegsun.com/Sports/Hockey/2008/01/05/4753646-sun.html
In this case, father definitely knew best.
Before Tyler Plante left home to begin his first season as a professional hockey player, his dad Cam -- a former defenceman who carved out a nice pro hockey career -- offered a sage piece of advice that's served his eldest son well.
"The harder you work, the luckier you get," said Tyler, a goalie with the Rochester Americans who was in town to take on the Manitoba Moose.
"My dad told me that and he got it from Glen Hanlon in the gym one day when he was working out. It's an interesting piece of advice. I took it to heart and it seemed to work."
Plante finds himself in an interesting situation this season.
With the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres sharing an affiliation agreement with the Americans, each NHL organization is responsible for supplying one goalie.
When it came time to make the decision after training camp, Plante lost the job to David Shantz and was dispatched to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.
Some young players might have complained, but Plante is not one of them.
"Unfortunately for me it didn't work out right away, but you can't complain about playing in Florida," said Plante, who was 4-5-1 with a 2.81 goals against average and .921 save percentage in 10 starts with the Everblades before being recalled by the Americans. "It was pretty amazing. Great people, great fans, great organization. They treated us well.
"Now I've got my chance up here and I'm trying every night to help the boys out, working hard every day to get that much better. Hard work pays off eventually."
During Plante's second training camp with the parent Panthers, he enjoyed working alongside Tomas Vokoun.
'FOCUSED'
"He's an incredibly focused guy and one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. That shows in the way he plays," said Plante.
In his NHL pre-season debut against the Calgary Flames, Plante earned a victory.
"That was nice. Sitting in the dressing room with the guys you were watching on TV growing up, like (Olli) Jokinen and (Jay) Bouwmeester and playing against guys like (Jarome) Iginla, (Kristian) Huselius and (Daymond) Langkow was amazing.
"I was happy to be part of it."
The biggest adjustment Plante has needed to make this season is learning to live without the comforts of home, since he's one of the few players who lived with his parents while playing junior hockey for his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings.
"There's no meals made for you, but you take it in stride. It's a nice change though," said Plante, who won the WHL rookie of the year award in 2004-05 and finished his Wheat Kings career with a record of 89-49-16 with 12 shutouts, a 2.89 goals against average and .905 save percentage. "There's a lot of history there (in Brandon) and I was proud to be part of that organization."
Moose forward Juraj Simek saw Plante up close as a teammate last season with the Wheat Kings and came away impressed.
"He's a goalie you can trust in a tough situation," said Simek
http://winnipegsun.com/Sports/Hockey/2008/01/05/4753646-sun.html
In this case, father definitely knew best.
Before Tyler Plante left home to begin his first season as a professional hockey player, his dad Cam -- a former defenceman who carved out a nice pro hockey career -- offered a sage piece of advice that's served his eldest son well.
"The harder you work, the luckier you get," said Tyler, a goalie with the Rochester Americans who was in town to take on the Manitoba Moose.
"My dad told me that and he got it from Glen Hanlon in the gym one day when he was working out. It's an interesting piece of advice. I took it to heart and it seemed to work."
Plante finds himself in an interesting situation this season.
With the Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres sharing an affiliation agreement with the Americans, each NHL organization is responsible for supplying one goalie.
When it came time to make the decision after training camp, Plante lost the job to David Shantz and was dispatched to the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.
Some young players might have complained, but Plante is not one of them.
"Unfortunately for me it didn't work out right away, but you can't complain about playing in Florida," said Plante, who was 4-5-1 with a 2.81 goals against average and .921 save percentage in 10 starts with the Everblades before being recalled by the Americans. "It was pretty amazing. Great people, great fans, great organization. They treated us well.
"Now I've got my chance up here and I'm trying every night to help the boys out, working hard every day to get that much better. Hard work pays off eventually."
During Plante's second training camp with the parent Panthers, he enjoyed working alongside Tomas Vokoun.
'FOCUSED'
"He's an incredibly focused guy and one of the hardest workers I've ever seen. That shows in the way he plays," said Plante.
In his NHL pre-season debut against the Calgary Flames, Plante earned a victory.
"That was nice. Sitting in the dressing room with the guys you were watching on TV growing up, like (Olli) Jokinen and (Jay) Bouwmeester and playing against guys like (Jarome) Iginla, (Kristian) Huselius and (Daymond) Langkow was amazing.
"I was happy to be part of it."
The biggest adjustment Plante has needed to make this season is learning to live without the comforts of home, since he's one of the few players who lived with his parents while playing junior hockey for his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings.
"There's no meals made for you, but you take it in stride. It's a nice change though," said Plante, who won the WHL rookie of the year award in 2004-05 and finished his Wheat Kings career with a record of 89-49-16 with 12 shutouts, a 2.89 goals against average and .905 save percentage. "There's a lot of history there (in Brandon) and I was proud to be part of that organization."
Moose forward Juraj Simek saw Plante up close as a teammate last season with the Wheat Kings and came away impressed.
"He's a goalie you can trust in a tough situation," said Simek