IceMan
04-13-2005, 12:14 AM
I don't want to get all long winded here and comment on every last friggin thing this season, I'd rather just post a few thoughts on the end of the year, and hope that this thread turns into one where everyone can wax poetic about this season.
I heard a guy asking his buddy on the way out of the arena tonight ... "What went wrong with this team?". The answer, quite simply, is "not a damned thing". This was supposed to be a rebuilding year. I think that all of us on the boards, and most of the STH knew that coming into the year. Personally, I was hoping that this young crew would somehow sneak into the playoffs and get a little bit of post season experience.
The parallels to last year are tough to make, but there are some. The thing that jumps out to me, is that there was really just a handful of guys that returned from last year ... so once again, Coach had to basically teach the team the system, get them to buy into it, and to execute it on a nightly basis. With last years experienced squad, the challenge was to change their mindsets into more of a team concept. The scouting crew did an unbelievable job of giving Coach players that he could mold quickly, and look at what happened... this year, the scouting staff again gave Coach a crew of teach-able guys, but a lot younger. The challenge wasn't to get guys to change their pre-programmed ideas of how to play in the WHL, it was to teach these young guys and rookies how to play in the WHL period. --and-- learn the system. The results are obvious. Once again, we over-achieved this year. Not on such a monumental level as last year, but to compete for second place .... to win a game 7 on the road ... to play the best team in the league as tough as we did ... all are things that nobody expected. As fans, we're learning to expect the unexpected from this team. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it's dangerous ... either way, it's fun as hell isn't it ?
This was a roller coaster season, for sure. From the high of that New Years Night 3 goal comeback against Seattle to the brutal January record, to the rally in February, the line brawls, having, what, 9 guys out playing in the various all star tournaments (that's good scouting!) ... winning in 7 against Portland. You name it, we had it this year.
Looking ahead, we have a good young crew of skill and speed players in Calla, Hamill, Hromas, Wookie ... and some big beef on D in King and Ellington coming back. There's a lot of question marks as to what other players are coming back of the 19's and 20's, so we'll see what happens, but you can bet your hind quarters that this organization, the scouts, coaches, everyone, will ensure that we have as much consistancy as possible, and the players coming in through the draft, trades, and this years part timers will all be quality, hard workin guys that will contribute.
We'll have a whole new team to fall in love with in a few months. In the meantime, let's ponder on what this squad did. While it's not going to make ESPN's greatest achievements list like last years team ... I'll go out on a limb and say that this team, given it's age and experience level did even more to exceed what anyone expected than last years veteran squad did.
Thank you to all of the Silvertips Players, Coaches, Scouts, and Management for one fun season, and thanks in advance for your efforts in the coming offseason.
I heard a guy asking his buddy on the way out of the arena tonight ... "What went wrong with this team?". The answer, quite simply, is "not a damned thing". This was supposed to be a rebuilding year. I think that all of us on the boards, and most of the STH knew that coming into the year. Personally, I was hoping that this young crew would somehow sneak into the playoffs and get a little bit of post season experience.
The parallels to last year are tough to make, but there are some. The thing that jumps out to me, is that there was really just a handful of guys that returned from last year ... so once again, Coach had to basically teach the team the system, get them to buy into it, and to execute it on a nightly basis. With last years experienced squad, the challenge was to change their mindsets into more of a team concept. The scouting crew did an unbelievable job of giving Coach players that he could mold quickly, and look at what happened... this year, the scouting staff again gave Coach a crew of teach-able guys, but a lot younger. The challenge wasn't to get guys to change their pre-programmed ideas of how to play in the WHL, it was to teach these young guys and rookies how to play in the WHL period. --and-- learn the system. The results are obvious. Once again, we over-achieved this year. Not on such a monumental level as last year, but to compete for second place .... to win a game 7 on the road ... to play the best team in the league as tough as we did ... all are things that nobody expected. As fans, we're learning to expect the unexpected from this team. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe it's dangerous ... either way, it's fun as hell isn't it ?
This was a roller coaster season, for sure. From the high of that New Years Night 3 goal comeback against Seattle to the brutal January record, to the rally in February, the line brawls, having, what, 9 guys out playing in the various all star tournaments (that's good scouting!) ... winning in 7 against Portland. You name it, we had it this year.
Looking ahead, we have a good young crew of skill and speed players in Calla, Hamill, Hromas, Wookie ... and some big beef on D in King and Ellington coming back. There's a lot of question marks as to what other players are coming back of the 19's and 20's, so we'll see what happens, but you can bet your hind quarters that this organization, the scouts, coaches, everyone, will ensure that we have as much consistancy as possible, and the players coming in through the draft, trades, and this years part timers will all be quality, hard workin guys that will contribute.
We'll have a whole new team to fall in love with in a few months. In the meantime, let's ponder on what this squad did. While it's not going to make ESPN's greatest achievements list like last years team ... I'll go out on a limb and say that this team, given it's age and experience level did even more to exceed what anyone expected than last years veteran squad did.
Thank you to all of the Silvertips Players, Coaches, Scouts, and Management for one fun season, and thanks in advance for your efforts in the coming offseason.