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Number_4
02-19-2006, 04:42 PM
From lethbridgehurricanes.com


February 19, 2006

Yellow Horn paying attention to D

By Trevor Kenney

Lethbridge Herald

It's been said necessity is the mother of invention, so when the Lethbridge Hurricanes were in need of help on the back end, they reinvented Colton Yellow Horn.
For two seasons Yellow Horn has led the team in scoring as one of the top forwards in the Western Hockey League. A dangler, puck mover and assist machine, Yellow Horn was thought to be indispensable up front, the vital cog to the team's offence. That still may be true but right now, and for the foreseeable future, he's a defenceman.
"It was really difficult," head coach Michael Dyck said of the decision to move Yellow Horn back six games ago. "Especially where we were at the time, we'd scored one goal in three games and to move your top scorer back on defence, it does sound crazy.


"But at the time we needed somebody we had confidence in to go back and get the job done and he not only went back there and provided us with a guy who could move the puck, defensively he was getting the job done as well."


Yellow Horn went on the blueline in Brandon when the team was without regulars Mark Ashton and Randy King. Add to that a nagging injury to Ben Wright, who's expected to miss tonight's game with Kootenay (6 p.m. at the Enmax Centre), and the 'Canes felt they were just too young and inexperienced on the back end.
"We needed somebody to move back. Looking back in the past, when we've moved somebody back from forward to defence, it?s normally guys who were able to read the ice well, moved the puck and who angled well and Colton does all three of those things extremely well," Dyck says.


For Yellow Horn, his coach's request was one he never expected. After all, his exposure to playing defence was limited to spot duty in pee wee hockey where he'd be thrown back to protect late leads, probably because he was the best player on the ice. "I was a little shocked at first, I never thought I'd play defence in the WHL but it's a learning experience and I'm kind of getting used to it," Yellow Horn says. ?It's actually quite fun, I have some good guys back there to play with. I play with Benny Wright a lot and he talks a lot so it makes my job a lot easier back there."


The more Yellow Horn talks about playing defence, the more he says the word "fun". And while the move hasn't been popular with everybody (many fans can attest to that), it seems to sit well with Yellow Horn.
"I miss it up front, sometimes you want to be up there when the game's on the line, being a forward and doing your best in the offensive zone but defence is first right now, that's where I'm playing now and I'll stick with that," he says. "It doesn't matter to me, as long as I'm helping the team out."


The move is not unprecedented. The Red Deer Rebels have employed Kris Versteeg on the back end for more than a month now and just last week against the Hurricanes, Moose Jaw threw league scoring leader Troy Brouwer back on the blueline when they ran short of defencemen.
"Swift Current used to move some of their quickest, smallest forwards back on defence and I remember thinking we could expose those guys using our strength and speed to beat them one-on-one and you couldn't," Dyck said. "Half the time you couldn't forecheck them because they were so quick and moved the puck so well."


It's certainly given Yellow Horn a new appreciation for the position, one he'll take with him if and when he returns to the forward unit.
I've got a lot more respect for d-men now because you get rattled hard," he said. "It's good now, so when I go back and play forward I'll make sure I hold up their forwards a lot more and help (our defencemen) out."


When that move will come is up in the air right now. In the six games Yellow Horn has been back on defence the team has posted a 2-3-0-1 record and been outscored 21-17 (including an empty net goal and shootout goal against).


"Obviously, the big question is, is it taking away from our offence," Dyck asks, noting he's heard the criticism. "Maybe you do have to sacrifice a little bit of offence to take care of your own end. Down the stretch here I think it's probably more important to take care of our own end right now.
"Is he going to play there the remainder of the year, it's hard to say right now.?

grainbear
02-20-2006, 12:56 PM
Sometimes we question coaching decisions. Yellowhorn gets overtime winner on the powerplay last nite against Kootenay. Once again playing defense, we certainly needed more offense out of our defense. Look at the numbers coming from the Hats defense and also at the pro level . Transition becomes a lot more important with the crack down in interference and hooking. Good job Yellowhorn !

loudi94
02-20-2006, 04:20 PM
While I am certainly not opposed to Yellowhorn playing D, he will be prone to getting burned occasionally. As nice as it was to see him get the OT winner, the Ice' second goal was all Yellowhorn's fault. we'll see how it works out in the playoffs. Maybe there will be a surprise or two. ;)

KOOT: Billsten (19) Unassisted 4:15 (SH)
The Hurricanes were on the power play when Adam Cracknell stole the puck creating a two on one. Curtis Billsten gobbled up the puck and tore down the right side before ripping a shot past Leclerc.