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Squig
06-11-2005, 10:36 AM
A Look Back…(and ahead) President & General Manager, Bruce Hamilton
June 8, 2005

DS: Bruce, how do you feel about your team’s early exit from the Memorial Cup tournament now that you’ve had a couple of weeks to reflect?

BH: We’re real disappointed in how we played in London. To go there and not win was very discouraging. A lot of what happened stemmed from our first game when we lost to Ottawa. We knew heading in that in a short tournament like the Memorial Cup, your first game is almost as important as the final game.

DS: Overall, would you say this year’s team met or exceeded your expectations?

BH: The guys exceeded my expectations for sure. I was never convinced that we had the right team until mid January. In December and leading up to the trade deadline, I thought we needed to make some changes. But, then some guys really started to come along for us. Also, the consistency of our older players was an issue until later in the season.

DS: You must be pleased with Jeff Truitt, especially since he stepped into some big shoes and had to defend a Championship as well?

BH: Jeff did a great job. He’s a great coach and he’s got a very, very bright future ahead of him in this game.

DS: And, likewise, Derek Yeomans excelled in a seemingly ‘no-win’ situation?

BH: Derek did a pretty amazing imitation of Kelly Guard. Like Kelly, he got his opportunity and he ran with it. He started the regular season off slowly but we knew we had to give him some games to get his feet on the ground. Then, he got off to a rocky start in the playoffs losing game one. And had we lost game two at home, we’d have gone with Westblom in game three. But, Derek gutted out the overtime win in game two and never looked back.

DS: Will your crease be too crowded for both Yeomans and Westblom next year given how well Westblom performed after Yeomans’ injury in the WHL Finals?

BH: The way I look at it, we’re going to have the best 2 goalies in the league. That’s a good position to be in. Whoever gets hot is going to play.

DS: How is Derek’s knee injury progressing? Is he fully healed yet?

BH: He’s right in the middle of his rehab now and he’ll be 100% ready for training camp in the fall.

DS: Given Derek’s injury, you were allowed to add Everett’s Mike Wall as Westblom’s backup for the Memorial Cup. Did you have a choice of other WHL goalies and if so, why did you settle on Wall?

BH: The league gave us a list of guys that we could pick from. We chose Wall for a couple of reasons. First of all, we wanted a quiet guy who would blend in. Kim Dillabaugh (Rockets’ goalie coach), knew Mike well and said he was a great guy and he really was. Also, we knew that Everett played a similar style to us so he wouldn’t have had much of an adjustment if he’d been forced to play.

DS: Can you talk about the 3 graduating 20-year-olds, Tyler Mosienko, Brett Palin and Darren Deschamps?

BH: Mosey and Pales were just great, great ambassadors for our organization. I think back 5 years ago when they both arrived here. Mosey was just a little squirt but he got his chance and he took it. He’s a good story for younger guys to emulate. If you’re committed to working hard all the time, it doesn’t matter how big you are. Pales didn’t have a lot of talent when he got here but he got our attention with his courage. Now he’s grown into a guy who’ll probably get a pro contract. He’s a heart and soul guy who follows right in line with the other Captains we’ve had here recently. As for Deschamps, he was a spare part much of his time here but he was there for us when we really needed him.

DS: Even though he has another year of eligibility I guess we’ve probably seen the last of Shea Weber with the Rockets?

BH: It would be the greatest surprise in the universe if Shea were back here to play for us next year. Like Randall Gelech, D.J. King and Josh Gorges last year, he’s ready to move on. He’ll either be with Nashville in the NHL or their farm team in Milwaukee in 2005-06. Our time with him is over but it was a special time. Shea’s a great player and a great person.

DS: Are you concerned about next year’s defense knowing that 3 of your top 6 won’t be back?

BH: We’ll have some holes to fill, no doubt about that. But, we’ve got a lot of young guys coming in and we may draft a defenseman in the Import Draft as well. Plus, we’ve got plenty of capable forwards whom other teams would love. We’ll see how our young guys come along and if we have to, we’ll make a trade.

DS: Who are some rookies we might see here next season?

BH: We have about 5 or 6 guys who are going to get a long look at training camp. Tysen Dowzak is a big, strong (6’5”, 225 lbs.) defenseman who we’re hoping will join us. We drafted him 2 years ago. He played for Shattuck St. Mary’s High School in Minnesota this past year and he’s from the state of Minnesota. We’ll know soon if he’s coming here. Plus, we have Luke Schenn who was our top pick in last year’s Bantam Draft. We know he’s going to play here someday, hopefully next year. Myles McRae was with us at times this year and he’s another one who could stick for good.

Jovorock
06-13-2005, 06:10 AM
I didn't realize that Tysen Dowzak was still on the radar. It would be great if he came here instead of the USHL or Aemrican College.

kelownakarl
06-13-2005, 11:10 AM
I didn't realize that Tysen Dowzak was still on the radar. It would be great if he came here instead of the USHL or Aemrican College.

I am pretty sure I read somewhere that he is staying down in the states and gonig NCAA route.