les lazaruk blog question

[wango tango]

i don't know if les comes here with the season over, but if he does i have a request for your blog.

could you do a year end review on the season? also what's coming up in the off season, and what can fans look forward to?

i've enjoyed reading your blog, and hope you continue, maybe a little more often please?

[WestLEAFfan]

You might want to try replying/requesting to his last blog. He may check that more often than this site. Just an idea. I've only read/seen him a couple of times in the BLADES forum.

[wango tango]

might try that westleaf fan.

[bladesvoice]

i don't know if les comes here with the season over, but if he does i have a request for your blog.

could you do a year end review on the season? also what's coming up in the off season, and what can fans look forward to?

i've enjoyed reading your blog, and hope you continue, maybe a little more often please?

...although it is very much delayed in happening. I apologize for that, but life at work and at home gets in the way a lot. I do come on the message boards frequently once the Blades' season is over. I enjoy reading what fans have to say as it gives me a sense of where people's heads are at. Thanks for enjoying the blog...writing a lot is difficult because I already do it at the radio station on a day-to-day basis. I write a daily commentary that I read during my noon sports on CJWW...and post the written text on a blog that is on "saskatoonhomepage.ca". Plus, writing sportscasts, stories, inter-office memos, etc., I feel "written out" many days. I will post this on my blog, "Les' Loft" on the Blades' website as well!

The 2007-2008 Saskatoon Blades' season was one of optimism to start. After missing the playoffs the previous campaign by just 2 points, it was felt the Bridge City Bunch was in a position to make a move into the post-season. G-M and head coach Lorne Molleken hoped the progression shown by returning players from the previous season could result in a top four finish in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the first round. I wasn't quite so stoked about the club, but I did pick them for sixth place as part of my annual poll of WHL radio broadcasters. My concern was where were the goals going to come from? But, I felt they had enough to be better than Brandon and, maybe, Prince Albert.
The first weekend of the regular season was a major eye-opener. The Blades looked slow and heartless in losses of 5-2 in Brandon and 6-1 the next night at Credit Union Centre against the Wheat Kings! Wasn't Brandon suppossed to be on a down-year in the junior hockey cycle? That led the way to a 1-4-1-0 September portion of the sked.
Upon returning home from a three-game Central Division road trip, Molleken was unhappy with the play of the 20-year-olds he had acquired in the off-season. He took action, acquiring Ondrej Fiala from Everett and John Flatters from P-A, for Dustin Cameron (a deal that has been panned extensively throughout the year!) while releasing Curtis Patterson, Michael Kaye and Robert Brandis.
The moves had an immediate positive effect with victories at home over Regina and Red Deer. But, just as quickly, that vanished. On the last home game before leaving on their U.S. Division road trip, the Blades scored first against Prince George...then appeared to start thinking about who was sitting where on the bus and which movies would be watched first for the long trip to the States! The Cougars came back and beat the sleep-skating Blades 3-1. Instead of being .500, the Blades were 3-5-1-0.
And, the road trip made things worse. If goaltending wasn't good one night, then it was lack of goal-scoring the next or a combination of both on another night. The Blades lost all five games and were 3-10-1-0.
The team stumbled through the rest of the calendar year, hindered further by injuries to key players and/or players leaving to take part in international competitions. Once the first weekend of January was done, and all the international competitions were done, Saskatoon was 13-24-2-1 and battling to stay out of the Eastern Conference basement...well out of a playoff spot! Since the end of the U.S. swing, the major problem had been goal-scoring...just 87 in 40 games!
It was time to look to the future and Molleken made a trade he didn't want to, but knew he had to pull the trigger on. He sent 19-year-old captain Justin McCrae to Spokane for 18-year-old forward Chris Langkow and 16-year-old prospect Burke Gallimore.
That was done on a Monday night. The next morning, the team was leaving on a trip that would have them play that night in Edmonton and the next in Red Deer. McCrae came to Credit Union Centre to say good-bye to his former team-mates before the bus left...there weren't many dry eyes. I'm sure that scene played out in almost everyone's minds as the Blades put on a blank performance in losing 4-0 to the expansion Oil Kings!
The next day is when the season turned around in my opinion!
Colton Gillies had been named captain, replacing McCrae, prior to the game in Edmonton. At breakfast the morning after the loss to the Oil Kings, Gillies called for a team meeting...just players, no one else. I've been in the sports media for 29 years and I've played on enough competitive teams (not hockey, but baseball) to know what goes on in these "players-only" meetings. Either the leader or leaders on the team rip everybody and challenges them to be better and do their jobs...or...everybody gets a chance to get a gripe (or two or three) off their chests about the way things are going or are being handled...or...a combination of both! I'm betting the latter happened, I don't know for sure.
What I do know is that the Saskatoon Blades played like a playoff contender for the final 31 games of the season. Too bad they seemed to lack heart and desire, got spotty goaltending at times and only scored 87 goals in going 13-25-2-1 in their first 41 games. It was a chasm they couldn't crawl out of to get into the playoffs. But, Gillies, Chris Durand, Derek Hulak, Teigan Zahn and Braden Holtby were the team leaders and others like Langkow, Fiala, Travis Toomey, Curtis Hamilton, Mike Reich, Garrett Klotz, Sam Klassen, Stefan Elliott, Jyri Niemi, Flatters and Ryan Funk brought their play-level and intensity level up to what is required in the W-H-L. It resulted in a 16-9-1-5 finish with 95 goals scored and 92 allowed. Had they played somewhat similarly throughout the season, they might've finished in sixth place as I had predicted, but...29-34-3-6 is what the final result was...9th place in the Eastern Conference.
Out of the playoffs...again. Six times that's happened in the last 14 seasons...far too many times. Once again, it's "Better luck next season" talk. Oh, how you have been seduced by that phrase so many times in the past...only to be left disappointed the following season!
I'm not going to tell you the 2008-2009 Blades will be a champion. Nor will I tell you they'll have a long playoff run. But, the final 31 games showed me that, with the right leadership, the right chemistry, solid defensive play (which wasn't much of a problem during the past campaign), consistent, stellar goaltending and timely goal-scoring, this team can achieve good things. The game plan is good from the coaching staff...not much changed there as the season went on.
Right now, the hockey operations of the team is geared towards the Bantam Draft on May 1st. The Blades have the 3rd (coming from Prince George along with Stefan Elliott in the Devin Setoguchi trade) and 6th overall pick. Plus, they have the 28th and 42nd pick (the latter coming from Vancouver in the Wacey Rabbit trade). There'll be a conditioning camp next month, during which Molleken, his coaches, the scouts and the training and equipment staff will put all the prospects through their paces...testing and advising them on what they need to do to be ready to make the team and have an impact on the Blades down the road!
As for next season, the key to me will be Gillies. Will he be available to the Blades? I see him going to the Minnesota Wild training camp, playing exhibition games and, at least, nine regular season games before the Wild decide whether to send him back or not. That'll be late October, early November. Then comes Canada's World Junior try-out camp in December and the tournament itself in Ottawa for the rest of the calendar year into January. Assuming he's healthy, I think the Blades will have Gillies for no more than 50 games. Which means the returning vets have to step up the leadership part...much moreso than they did last season.
Reich will be a 20-year-old, so will Klotz if Philadelphia doesn't decide to turn him pro and turn his fists loose in the American Hockey League. The need to acquire one, maybe two overage players is there...so long as they aren't busts as Patterson and Kaye, unfortunately, were this past season!
Holtby will be a 19-year-old goaltender with a younger back-up likely.
The defence is still solid with Klassen, Zahn, Elliott, Niemi and Funk. Mitch Berg will be challenged for playing time by Tanner Sohn, Woody Klassen, Brendan Wall and others.
Up front, Gillies (for as many games as he plays, if he does play) will be counted on for offence...along with Hulak. The line of Hamilton-Toomey-Langkow needs to pick up where they left off. Reich had a 17-goal season and needs to show that again, besides being his pesty self. Walker Wintoneak and Gaelan Patterson will need to elevate their offensive play significantly...and quickly...in order to fend off a lot of young newcomers like Darian Dziurzynski, Gallimore, Charles Inglis, Cody Chikie, Josh Nicholls, Jamie Crooks and others.
Assuming the schedule goes according to what the Blades hope, their B-C road trip won't be until after the New Year. October and January will be the time for road trips as the Blades will be out of Credit Union Centre for most of those months. Winning on the road will be crucial this season, considering they only did that only happened three times in the first 23 away games.
I want to say the Blades are guaranteed to make the playoffs next season. But, I thought they would make it this past season and we all know what happened. But, I'm optimistic...albeit cautiously so...about their chances next season!

[Scout]

Your right alot of what the Blades accomplish next year will depend on if Colton is returned. Say what you want but this guy is a true leader off and on the ice. Also Les, are you any relation to the goalie for Kootenay?

Scout

[bladesvoice]

Luckily for Kris Lazaruk in Kootenay, he is not related to me. I think that also goes for CFL referee Ken Lazaruk. B-T-W Scout, I'm disappointed Swift lost out to Calgary, I picked the Broncos to beat the Hitmen. I'm waiting for Calgary's goaltending to let them down...maybe this round against Lethbridge.

[wango tango]

thank you for your insight and honesty les.

[Scout]

Les: Please check your private messages.

Scout