Outshot badly

[grainbear]

Once again we see against Portland that we were badly outshot . I belive it was 58-22 for the Winterhawks. They pursued our defense relentlessly and at one time is was 7-0 for them. We at least made it 8-5 in the final . Our youngsters on defense are sure getting a quick welcome to the WHL. I also see on one of the blogs that we have an average age of 17.5 the youngest in the league an we will certainly have a tough time at the start due to being on the road for so long. However, I do like that we are not giving up and this many shoots will certainly allow the coaching staff to make decisions as to who is ready for the WHL and what 2 goaltenders we are going to go with. Well , tommorrows TRI-City and we will see if we can at least win one in the preseason to build some confidence.

[BugsBunny]

on the positive side as you say they did not quit. I like the fact that Portland was 1-9 on the powerplay and the Hurricanes were 3-6. They are giving up too many shots for sure. But all they have for veterans on defense are Ross, Ryckman and Castro all of who are in their second year and Castro saw limited duty. This will be the youngest team in the WHL and certainly provides Preston with building blocks. Moser, Tarnasky, Jackson, all have played well. What 2 goaltenders? Good question, because they used a Euro spot for Ville you would have to think they are going to give him a long hard look. Then it is a battle between Anderson (who faces TC tomorrow) and Tajdeh who has faced almost 90 shots in two games. Over age goaltender should be one of the early deals they make. Nasty start to the schedule too. Wonder when we get some NHL camp guys back. I hope the up and down fans in this city will be patient with this team. They are young but will be much better come the end of the season.

clrkthj Go Canes Go!

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Not that it helps a lot but it can't hurt (or can it)that we will get Mestery back right away. After his rookie camp tryout with Washington they did not even list him on their pre-season roster. Go figure eh!
I can just see the look on NHL caliber coaches faces as they watch his weak attemp at a poke check as player after player blows by him completely untouched.

[BugsBunny]

What a waste of a 2nd round draft pick by Washington! Mestery remains a mystery. Good luck trying to deal him! Can Preston afford the time to try and change him?
These and other exciting questions will be answered during the season.

clrkthj Go Canes Go!

[BugsBunny]

power play was 2-4 in the Canes 6-5 OT loss to Tri Cities. Michael Tajdeh and Ville Kolpanen split the game with Taj giving up 2 goals in 21 shots and Ville 4 goals on 22 shots. Henke and Rener each had a pair and Sutter got the other. Newcomers Tot, Bailie (2), Moser and Brossoit all had points and Cody Castro had 2.

But once again the young defense of the Hurricanes gave up 43 shots on net and this trend will have to find a way to be stopped.

The question remains heading into a week of practice and player movements, what will Rich Preston do about his young inexperienced defense and his goaltending. If he gets an over age goaltender (the names Jung and Rowat keeping coming up) then he can only get one overage defenseman. Or if he thinks the goaltending will come along then he can go with two overage defensemen.

One thing is clear, this will be a young team. However, the strength of this club over this year and next will be the youngsters who make it.

clrkthj Go Canes Go!

[CrazyCanesFan]

I think Preston should go for two overage defensemen to help our shaky young defense system to stop giving up so many shots. If there aren't as many shots on goal, the goalies won't have to work as hard, hence, they can handle more games if they're not fatigued. If Tadjdeh can make 51 saves in a game he can easily handle the starting goaltender role if he doesn't have to work as hard every game. Kolppanen is also very capable. The goaltending and the offense is fine. The defense is the problem.

[BugsBunny]

two overage defensemen, Preston would have to move some of his current defense so that some of the very promising rookie "d" men can be brought along.
Having no sense of their pre-season play, I would think that Ryckman, Castro and the mystery man Mestery would be moved.
One thing that seems to be working is the power play and that is a good sign even though it is pre-season. In his second year as coach of the Regina Pats their powerplay was almost at 30%.
The next few days prior to the regular season could prove interesting. Now we need to get our pro camp guys back!

clrkthj Go Canes Go!