Will the Canes entire season be decided

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Will the Canes entire season be decided in the next 8 days? It realistically may well be said and done 8 days from now, which is next Monday night. The following is from Pat's blog.

"The Hurricanes have a busy week ahead. They'll play 5 games in 8 nights and against some pretty stiff competition. On Tuesday, the Canes host Edmonton, Wednesday it's off to Red Deer. On Friday, the Canes travel to Cranbrook to take on the Kootenay ICE. The following night, the Hurricanes return home to host Swift Current and then on Monday the 17th Lethbridge will entertain the ICE at the ENMAX Centre."

Now there is a schedule to break the rookies into the WHL with. It is going be tough sledding for Lethbridge with only 1 easy game, that being Saturday at home to Speedy Creek. The Hurricanes may well only garner ... say 3 pts out of the 10 points up for grabs; with a win and an O/T loss. That would leave thier record at 3-7-1-1 and a win/points percentage of only .333 after 1/5 of thier season.

Let's hope we catch a few bounces, get healthy and take 5 or 6 points during this tortuous, and some might say, torturous stretch of hockey.

[2speak4all]

But I hope they can pull off a few points too. A rough 10 days and some tired bodies. Hope that no more injuries plague the team. Sofillas has been out so long with a concussion that IMO he will not be back before Christmas. If Merkley had concussion symptoms, I wouldn't be expecting him back before the next weekend. Could be a long hard road for the rest team. Hopefully they get some confidence builders from each game at least. If they play each minute of each game as if that were the only minute, they could garner success.

[canes77]

Will the Canes entire season be decided in the next 8 days? It realistically may be said and done 8 days from now, which is next Monday night.

I agree with you except maybe not specifically the Canes season, but moreso Preston's tenure may be decided in the upcoming weeks. Unless the Canes injury situation doesn't improve.

Why the need for 4 19 year old D-men (not all 4 are even close to being top 4 d-men) and only one 19 yr old forward?! Hopefully something positive is done on or before this Thursday's roster deadline.

[shushu]

I agree with you except maybe not specifically the Canes season, but moreso Preston's tenure may be decided in the upcoming weeks. Unless the Canes injury situation doesn't improve.

Why the need for 4 19 year old D-men (not all 4 are even close to being top 4 d-men) and only one 19 yr old forward?! Hopefully something positive is done on or before this Thursday's roster deadline.

that he doesn't pull a stasiak and make some last ditch effort to try and save his job by unloading young players for a quick fix..................

[Stuck in the Penalty Box]

I would bet and it would be a safe bet, that Preston will not deal off any of his 15,16,17 year old talent that is going to be the backbone of this franchise in a couple of years. I can just imagine the blueline being led by Erkamps and Pilion!
Unfortunately an already weak forward group has been hit by the injury bug and hopefully the likes of Merkley, Sutter, will not be out for a long time. It is hard to take that Fyten is gone for the season ( a player they were really depending on for point production) and Sofillas who had such an upside to him is sidelined indefinitely........and if his concussion symptoms do not go away, he could also be done with hockey.

What has been impressive, is the play of Watson (speed to burn), Leverton, McKechnie, and Erkramps.

There will be player movements...Preston has to get the roster down to 25 by the 12th and his overages down to 3 by the 14th.

I bet there are a couple of teams that will leave an overage spot open in order that they can grab Ketlo for nothing.

Tough 8 days ahead.

Chow for now! yeehoo

[moon]

that he doesn't pull a stasiak and make some last ditch effort to try and save his job by unloading young players for a quick fix..................

If "pulling a Stasiuk" results in the Canes going to the WHL finals then I will gladly take that over a team that repeatedly misses the play-offs that Preston seems to be building.

[LethHnds]

I think there will be movement on the roster this week but not sure about a big trade....you have to give something to get something. A 19 year old and Ketlo in a deal won't get much and the only 19 year old with any trade value is Johnston and he is the best defenceman so not sure you want to give him up, Anderson would be another one with trade value but that starts a whole domino effect with 20 year olds again.. They are going to have to work with what they have unless they trade some picks and prospects. Getting nothing for Guiel was too bad. If Sutter Merkely, Moline come back soon they should be competitive.

[shushu]

the way the 2 gm's went about it are completely differant, stasiak build a short term success program which left us with really nothing 4 prospects after that run and preston has been building for the long term which would really never leave us short handed once though players came of age..i'm not saying that preston is the man 4 the job but it hard to compare the 2 in that way............i think dylan purcell said it the best on pats show about preston when he said, did preston build a good talent pool ,yes...did he get here fast enough, probably not. and did he stunt the growth of this team by trying to make the playoff with half a team....DEFINITELY......i couldn't agree more with what he said.............

[jkanes]

stasiuk did build a short-term team. yes, we did make the finals, but where have we been since? and how many good 19/18 year olds do we have that we drafted? he ruined our team, but slowly, we are building that back. 2/3 years from now, we will have an awesome team!

[shushu]

stasiuk did build a short-term team. yes, we did make the finals, but where have we been since? and how many good 19/18 year olds do we have that we drafted? he ruined our team, but slowly, we are building that back. 2/3 years from now, we will have an awesome team!

i just think preston should have gone 100% towards getting the rebuild going instead of keeping older player and trying to win with half a team....could you imagine where this team would be right now if fyten /braes would have been traded last year in a trade market that was through the roof (price wise), instead of being 2/3 years away we could have save at least 1/2 year of waiting to get there........

[jkanes]

Yes, we could have gotten rid of braes/fyten, but we would now have won any games... We need to have some good players to keep attendance, and attendace to keep the team. Braes/fyten also provided leadership for the young guns, which they need to succeed in their careers.I think Preston did it perfectly

[moon]

the way the 2 gm's went about it are completely differant, stasiak build a short term success program which left us with really nothing 4 prospects after that run and preston has been building for the long term which would really never leave us short handed once though players came of age..i'm not saying that preston is the man 4 the job but it hard to compare the 2 in that way............i think dylan purcell said it the best on pats show about preston when he said, did preston build a good talent pool ,yes...did he get here fast enough, probably not. and did he stunt the growth of this team by trying to make the playoff with half a team....DEFINITELY......i couldn't agree more with what he said.............

This left with nothing crap is just that crap.

Preston had two very good trade chips in Ashton and Beach but instead of getting anything of value he traded them away for absolute crap.

This team does not have a good talent pool at all and don't look close to being good for the long term.

Preston has done a good job of building a team that is crap now and looks to be crap going forward.

[lethbridgefan83]

Not to take anything away from the likes of Braes/Fyten/Bancks/Sutter etc.. But these players never have been and never will be 50g/50a players.. When is the last time that Lethbridge has had a player of a Nugent-Hopkins calibre talent (answer is that its been a long time).. Don't get me wrong, Id take a Braes/Fyten/Bancks player on my team any time as they play with a lot of heart, and do provide a lot of leadership, but you still need someone that can put the puck in the net on a night by night basis.. We do have some players that look like they may be up and comers (Jamal Watson looks like he may have some talent just to name a name).... However if we go for another 3 seasons without making the playoffs and being one of the bottom feeders in the league there will not be any fans left to attend the games, myself included (cant even fill the stands at 25% off season tickets).. Preston needs to get some 18yr olds with some talent that can get us in the playoffs this year, and give us a run in next, and he needs to do it now.. Or we can write off another season...

[moon]

When is the last time that Lethbridge has had a player of a Nugent-Hopkins calibre talent (answer is that its been a long time)..

Boychuk was here what 3 years ago, maybe 4. So not that long ago.

[lethbridgefan83]

3-4 years in between Star Players is an eternity for a JR Team.. Our best player was 64th in League Scoring last year.. Next guy was 80th.. There were teams with 2 or 3 guys in the top 20..

Once again, not bashing these players, just stating a fact that getting more then a point a game shouldnt be there role within the team..

[dagnabbit]

How can anyone develop in to that role when those other aforementioned players get all of the ice. All I hear is we need more production out of our vets. They don't have it in them. They are a group of mediocre players given roles that they can't handle. You can't win in the WHL with 2 lines and defensive d-men quarterbacking the PP.

[lethbridgefan83]

They are a group of mediocre players given roles that they can't handle. You can't win in the WHL with 2 lines and defensive d-men quarterbacking the PP.

I couldnt agree more..

[canes77]

3-4 years in between Star Players is an eternity for a JR Team.. Our best player was 64th in League Scoring last year.. Next guy was 80th.. There were teams with 2 or 3 guys in the top 20..

Once again, not bashing these players, just stating a fact that getting more then a point a game shouldnt be there role within the team..

You're right, it's def not the players. It's all about the adequate coaching/teaching done by the Canes. The Board has no cash to compete with the WHL in terms of coaching selection. The Canes players usually are all top notch midget players, better than most midget players that end up on teams such as Spokane, Tri-City, Vancouver, Kootenay, Brandon, Medicine Hat, etc. The problem is that those teams ALWAYS have great coaching and can turn an average group of players into a league contender EVERY year. In Leth, the only times we have had a great team in the past 20 yrs was when the stars were aligned with that 1977 and then 1989 group. That's luck rather than anything else. The players who weren't born in those two years have suffered and had almost no chance of becoming pro.

[shushu]

This left with nothing crap is just that crap.

Preston had two very good trade chips in Ashton and Beach but instead of getting anything of value he traded them away for absolute crap.

This team does not have a good talent pool at all and don't look close to being good for the long term.

Preston has done a good job of building a team that is crap now and looks to be crap going forward.

there was another HUGE assest he pissed away..........

[Big Torro]

there was another HUGH assest he pissed away..........

I am guessing SBISA

[shushu]

I am guessing SBISA

nm.............

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Is Anderson done as a Hurricane? Ketlo is starting tonight against the Ice and Tanner Kovacs is the backup. When questioned about the goaltending situation the last few days, all Preston says is a move is imminent. The only reason Anderson is even on the Canes 50 man list anymore is probably because no one has offered Preston anything worthwhile. Is that how far Anderson's stock has fallen in the Dub?
If you were a GM of one of the other 21 teams would you pay much for a supposedly cantankerous, hugely underachieving puck stopper? I think not. I said it earlier that all Anderson is worth these days is about a 3rd round pick and a prospect.
Time for Preston to get what little he can for an "NHL signed" puck stopper and move on. This mess must be effecting the dressing room.

[NumberOneCaniac]

It sure looks like his days are numbered....here is hoping they can get the win they need tonight....it would sure boost their confidence level

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

I must be a real sucker for punishment. I looked at the Cane's schedule for the next 6 weeks, or 17 games, and it ain't pretty. From now until Dec 4th we have what can best be described as a fairly brutal road ahead. In the next 8 games there is an opportunity to pick up say 6 points. The next 9 games after that you could say, unless the Cane's improve an lot, they may possibly get ZERO points. In those last 9 of these 17 games, we play Red Deer and Edmonton 3 times each, and then have 1 game against the Hat, Saskatoon and Spokane. Every team we play in those last 9 games has a win percentage of at least .625%. Not an even slightly easy game during that 9 game stretch.
I am not trying to drive the final nail into the Cane's coffin but the Hurricane's could have a record of 2-13-1-1 in these next 17 games. Even if we give them an extra win and O/T loss or 2 somewhere along the way, they still quite likely could go 3-10-2-2 in those 17 games. That would put their record for the season at a dismal 5-21-2-3 for 15 out of a possible 62 points and a win/points total of .241 percent. Before you blast me for being to negative, it is called reality. As of today, Lethbridge's win percentage is a brutal .179%. Go look at our schedule and tell me where we may get more than 8 to 12 points during this 17 game span.
I for one hope this team can turn things around and make me eat my words but I will not hold my breath waiting for that to happen. If the Cane's do as poorly as they possibly and probably will these next 6 weeks, how long does Preston keep his job as coach?

[2speak4all]

When you are the bottom of the Divison, Conference, and League, there are no EASY teams. You cant even classify Calgary any longer as they shown slow and steady progress. It seems that they just have to show up to play 60 solid minutes each and every game. In the past few games they have shown a total of about 40 mins sporadically throughout the game, but they need to muster a total of 60 mins each and every game, maybe get a few lucky breaks and they can turn some of this around. There is no taking a game or a night off.

[HURRICANE'S ROCK]

Just a shot in the dark here. I think the Canes will win 1 of their 2 games this weekend. A hot goalie and finally getting the bounces and we will take down one of these 2 really good teams.