At Xmas, Royals on Schedule

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12-18-2011, 11:25 PM
pontcanna

At Xmas, Royals on Schedule

At Christmas break, young Victoria Royals are right on schedule

BY CLEVE DHEENSAW, TIMESCOLONIST.COM DECEMBER 18, 2011 8:06 PM

After 17 years away from major-junior, perhaps the return to the Western Hockey League should have come with a primer for Island fans.

The Royals have reached the Christmas break of their inaugural season in Victoria at 13-20-4.

When GM and head coach Marc Habscheid says the Royals are young, it’s not an excuse but a fact.

Unless you’ve forgotten, or perhaps never knew, major-junior hockey is cyclical in nature.

The Royals spent five seasons in Chilliwack as the Bruins and it’s obvious the franchise had built to peak last season in the Fraser Valley with forwards Ryan Howse and Roman Horak, defenceman Brandon Manning and Jeff Einhorn and goaltender Lucas Gore.

Those Bruins players, who either graduated or turned pro after the 2010-11 season, didn’t make the trip across the strait with the team. Hence the rebuilding phase.

The theory in major-junior goes that teams have about three seasons of building to a crescendo and then it starts all over again. The Royals franchise, now with plenty of 16- and 17-year-olds, are in that latter phase.

Give them time. Even the once-mighty Calgary Hitmen and Vancouver Giants are going through this rebirthing process while former youthful bottom-dwellers such as the Edmonton Oil Kings and Tri City Americans are now on top.

The problems occur when an organization continually stays mired without those three-year peaks, such as the Victoria Cougars did in their final sorry decade in the capital before departing for Prince George in 1994.

That’s where your scouting department comes in. If it isn’t able to adequately restock after those 19- and 20-year-old players leave for the NHL, AHL, ECHL, CIS, Europe or civilian jobs, that’s when the trouble starts.

The Royals seem to know what they are doing in that regard and place a great deal of emphasis on their scouting department. Of course, only time will tell, but right now they are exactly where everybody expected them to be in 2011-12: lower middle of the pack but competitive on most nights and with an eye definitely to the future.

By the way, Horak has nine points this season in the NHL for the Calgary Flames, Howse and Manning have struggled as rookie pros in the American Hockey League and Einhorn and Gore are playing in CIS university hockey.

Only one of those graduated big five from the 2010-11 Bruins has made it immediately to the Show, while two may or may not and two likely never will. That should be instructive to those unknowledgeable fans who continually downgraded the minor-pro game during the ECHL era of the Salmon Kings.

It’s not easy to make that jump from junior to pro at any level. AHL-ECHL hockey features bigger, stronger and faster players than in junior. But because the pros are more in control, and don’t make as many mistakes, the pro games tend to be more staid on a night-in, night-out basis than the more helter-skelter, turnover-laced action in junior.

But it’s the same player at different points along the continuum. The first-ever captain of the Chilliwack Bruins, Josh Aspenlind, dropped the honorary first puck at a Royals game earlier this season. The Victoria connection was two-fold as Aspenlind was also on the final Salmon Kings team last season.

Hockey is a giant wheel that keeps on turning, both for teams and players as individuals. A few players will make it to the NHL, most won’t. But there are still places for those who don’t — that’s why those seven Salmon Kings ECHL seasons were not wasted.

There’s a reason and a time for everything in hockey.

That’s also why the Royals are in seventh place in the WHL Western Conference. If the theory holds, their time should come.
12-19-2011, 02:55 PM
CdnSailor

Quote:

Originally Posted by pontcanna

By the way, Horak has nine points this season in the NHL for the Calgary Flames, Howse and Manning have struggled as rookie pros in the American Hockey League and Einhorn and Gore are playing in CIS university hockey.

Only one of those graduated big five from the 2010-11 Bruins has made it immediately to the Show, while two may or may not and two likely never will. That should be instructive to those unknowledgeable fans who continually downgraded the minor-pro game during the ECHL era of the Salmon Kings.

It’s not easy to make that jump from junior to pro at any level. AHL-ECHL hockey features bigger, stronger and faster players than in junior. But because the pros are more in control, and don’t make as many mistakes, the pro games tend to be more staid on a night-in, night-out basis than the more helter-skelter, turnover-laced action in junior.

But it’s the same player at different points along the continuum. The first-ever captain of the Chilliwack Bruins, Josh Aspenlind, dropped the honorary first puck at a Royals game earlier this season. The Victoria connection was two-fold as Aspenlind was also on the final Salmon Kings team last season.
Hockey is a giant wheel that keeps on turning, both for teams and players as individuals. A few players will make it to the NHL, most won’t. But there are still places for those who don’t — that’s why those seven Salmon Kings ECHL seasons were not wasted.There’s a reason and a time for everything in hockey.

That’s also why the Royals are in seventh place in the WHL Western Conference. If the theory holds, their time should come.

To COACH, amazing how WHL and ECHL/AHL are mentioned and that Josh Aspelind played both.
12-19-2011, 05:04 PM
coach

Quote:

Originally Posted by CdnSailor

To COACH, amazing how WHL and ECHL/AHL are mentioned and that Josh Aspelind played both.

So What!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where is he now, the Moose with 5 assists. Not a stellar year by any "Professional" standards. Echl & Ahl are paid to perform,not juniors. Understand yet, my point on professionals?

Nice colourful letters, :clap:

I would rather watch players with a chance however small then watch players who will never make it.
12-19-2011, 06:57 PM
50sWHLer

Quotes by Coach – “ Echl & Ahl are paid to perform,not juniors. Understand yet my point on professionals?” -- NO -- WHAT IS YOUR POINT???? – Please explain yourself ! -- I’m sure that I’m not the only person that doesn’t understand !

Quote by Coach - “I would rather watch players with a chance however small then watch players who will never make it.”

--- ERRR—TAKE A LOOK BELOW ---- CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU HAVE STATED, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ECHL PLAYERS DO “MAKE IT” CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU SAY !!!!

The ECHL is a very credible league, with some players just not in the right place, at the right time, plaqued by possible injuries at the wrong time, not receiving enough exposure, or maturing on a little different time table than most.

Coach --- read this -----

Press release: Rallo becomes 476th ECHL player to reach the NHL
December 19, 2011

PRINCETON, N.J. – Former Idaho Steelheads center, and two-time ECHL All-Star Greg Rallo became the 476th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
The 30-year-old had one shot on goal in 3:31 of ice time for the Panthers whose line-up also included former ECHL player Krys Barch.
The Cincinnati Cyclones are the ECHL affiliate of the Panthers and the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League. Former Cyclones head coach, and two-time Kelly Cup champion, Chuck Weber is head coach of the Rampage.

Rallo made his professional debut with Idaho in 2005-06, scoring four points (2g-2a) in seven regular-season games and adding three points (2g-1a) in seven Kelly Cup Playoff games. In 2006-07, he scored 31 points (13g-18a) in 37 regular-season games and contributed 11 points (3g-8a) in 14 Kelly Cup Playoff games as the Steelheads won their second Kelly Cup championship in team history. Rallo also appeared in 28 AHL games with Iowa that season, scoring five points in 28 games. During the 2007-08 season, Rallo tallied 36 points (17g-19a) in 39 regular-season games with Idaho and totaled nine points (4g-5a) in 20 AHL games with Albany, Manitoba and Rockford. Rallo was named to the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2007 and 2008, and is tied for first in the event’s history with four assists in one game (2008), is tied for third with five career assists, is tied for second with five points in one game (2008) and is tied for sixth with six career points (1g-5a).

A native of Gurnell, Ill., Rallo has spent the last four seasons in the AHL with Manitoba, Texas and San Antonio, scoring 117 points (56g-61a) in 226 regular-season games and adding 16 points (6-10a) in 51 postseason games.
Nine ECHL players have made their NHL debuts this season: former Greenville Road Warriors defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon (Philadelphia on Nov. 21), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Joe Finley (Buffalo on Dec. 2), former Victoria Salmon Kings defenseman Kris Fredheim (Minnesota on Nov. 17), former Toledo and Reading center Bracken Kearns (Florida on Oct. 20), former Bakersfield center Maxime Macenauer (Anaheim on Oct. 7), former Idaho Steelheads center and two-time ECHL All-Star Greg Rallo (Florida on Dec. 18), former Reading Royals goaltender Ben Scrivens (Toronto on Nov. 3), former Cincinnati Cyclones defenseman Frederic St. Denis (Montreal on Nov. 16) and former Ontario Reign defenseman Colten Teubert (Edmonton on Nov. 3).

There have been 56 players from the ECHL All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League including 40 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The ECHL had a record 81 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 79 from a year ago and marking the ninth year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 15th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 476 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including 23 in 2010-11. The ECHL has had 284 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 220 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last seven seasons for an average of more than 31 per year.

There are 30 coaches with an ECHL background working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including including Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach and 2011 Jack Adams Award winner Dan Bylsma, New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano, Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel. It is the seventh consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award. Bylsma, who played in the ECHL with Greensboro from 1992-94, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2010-11.

There are 22 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2011-12 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Ghislain Hebert, Jean Hebert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre, Graham Skilliter and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Matt MacPherson, Tim Nowak, Bryan Pancich and Jay Sharrers.

The ECHL was represented for the 11th year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Boston Bruins assistant coach Geoff Ward, players Rich Peverley, Michael Ryder and Tim Thomas, radio broadcaster Dave Goucher and scout Tom McVie. Thomas is the first former ECHL player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There were 34 former players and 19 coaches on the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the sixth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the eighth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

• The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

In the last seven seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 3,000 call-ups involving more than 1,500 players and in 2010-11 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.

**** Coach, you know as well as I that the Salmon Kings would have met with more success than they did, if RG had marketed the Team properly.
RG never did want the ECHL to be successful here, and only went after the ECHL Franchise to fill their requirement of bringing a ‘Main Tennant’ into the SOFMC.

They NEVER did want a payroll, with their only vision to the financial ‘bottom line’, with NO concern for the Fans.

Four Junior Teams within 15 minutes of each other?? -- Gimmee a Break !!

Fans in the Capital City of British Columbia deserve to see the highest quality hockey possible, ESPECIALLY in the Arena that our Tax Dollars help build and support
12-19-2011, 07:18 PM
coach

Quote:

Originally Posted by 50sWHLer

Quotes by Coach – “ Echl & Ahl are paid to perform,not juniors. Understand yet my point on professionals?” -- NO -- WHAT IS YOUR POINT???? – Please explain yourself ! -- I’m sure that I’m not the only person that doesn’t understand !

Quote by Coach - “I would rather watch players with a chance however small then watch players who will never make it.”

--- ERRR—TAKE A LOOK BELOW ---- CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU HAVE STATED, A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF ECHL PLAYERS DO “MAKE IT” CONTRARY TO WHAT YOU SAY !!!!

The ECHL is a very credible league, with some players just not in the right place, at the right time, plaqued by possible injuries at the wrong time, not receiving enough exposure, or maturing on a little different time table than most.

Coach --- read this -----

Press release: Rallo becomes 476th ECHL player to reach the NHL
December 19, 2011

PRINCETON, N.J. – Former Idaho Steelheads center, and two-time ECHL All-Star Greg Rallo became the 476th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
The 30-year-old had one shot on goal in 3:31 of ice time for the Panthers whose line-up also included former ECHL player Krys Barch.
The Cincinnati Cyclones are the ECHL affiliate of the Panthers and the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League. Former Cyclones head coach, and two-time Kelly Cup champion, Chuck Weber is head coach of the Rampage.

Rallo made his professional debut with Idaho in 2005-06, scoring four points (2g-2a) in seven regular-season games and adding three points (2g-1a) in seven Kelly Cup Playoff games. In 2006-07, he scored 31 points (13g-18a) in 37 regular-season games and contributed 11 points (3g-8a) in 14 Kelly Cup Playoff games as the Steelheads won their second Kelly Cup championship in team history. Rallo also appeared in 28 AHL games with Iowa that season, scoring five points in 28 games. During the 2007-08 season, Rallo tallied 36 points (17g-19a) in 39 regular-season games with Idaho and totaled nine points (4g-5a) in 20 AHL games with Albany, Manitoba and Rockford. Rallo was named to the ECHL All-Star Game in both 2007 and 2008, and is tied for first in the event’s history with four assists in one game (2008), is tied for third with five career assists, is tied for second with five points in one game (2008) and is tied for sixth with six career points (1g-5a).

A native of Gurnell, Ill., Rallo has spent the last four seasons in the AHL with Manitoba, Texas and San Antonio, scoring 117 points (56g-61a) in 226 regular-season games and adding 16 points (6-10a) in 51 postseason games.
Nine ECHL players have made their NHL debuts this season: former Greenville Road Warriors defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon (Philadelphia on Nov. 21), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Joe Finley (Buffalo on Dec. 2), former Victoria Salmon Kings defenseman Kris Fredheim (Minnesota on Nov. 17), former Toledo and Reading center Bracken Kearns (Florida on Oct. 20), former Bakersfield center Maxime Macenauer (Anaheim on Oct. 7), former Idaho Steelheads center and two-time ECHL All-Star Greg Rallo (Florida on Dec. 18), former Reading Royals goaltender Ben Scrivens (Toronto on Nov. 3), former Cincinnati Cyclones defenseman Frederic St. Denis (Montreal on Nov. 16) and former Ontario Reign defenseman Colten Teubert (Edmonton on Nov. 3).

There have been 56 players from the ECHL All-Star Game who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League including 40 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The ECHL had a record 81 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 79 from a year ago and marking the ninth year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 15th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 476 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including 23 in 2010-11. The ECHL has had 284 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 220 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last seven seasons for an average of more than 31 per year.

There are 30 coaches with an ECHL background working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including including Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach and 2011 Jack Adams Award winner Dan Bylsma, New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano, Dallas Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan, Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette and Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel. It is the seventh consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award. Bylsma, who played in the ECHL with Greensboro from 1992-94, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2010-11.

There are 22 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2011-12 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Ghislain Hebert, Jean Hebert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre, Graham Skilliter and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Matt MacPherson, Tim Nowak, Bryan Pancich and Jay Sharrers.

The ECHL was represented for the 11th year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Boston Bruins assistant coach Geoff Ward, players Rich Peverley, Michael Ryder and Tim Thomas, radio broadcaster Dave Goucher and scout Tom McVie. Thomas is the first former ECHL player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There were 34 former players and 19 coaches on the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the sixth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the eighth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

• The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.

In the last seven seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 3,000 call-ups involving more than 1,500 players and in 2010-11 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.

**** Coach, you know as well as I that the Salmon Kings would have met with more success than they did, if RG had marketed the Team properly.
RG never did want the ECHL to be successful here, and only went after the ECHL Franchise to fill their requirement of bringing a ‘Main Tennant’ into the SOFMC.

They NEVER did want a payroll, with their only vision to the financial ‘bottom line’, with NO concern for the Fans.

Four Junior Teams within 15 minutes of each other?? -- Gimmee a Break !!

Fans in the Capital City of British Columbia deserve to see the highest quality hockey possible, ESPECIALLY in the Arena that our Tax Dollars help build and support

My expectations of "Professionals" are very high, Players like Luongo will never meet them, especially at a 64 million dollar contract, for that much money not a single puck should ever cross the line.These players are all millionares not working stiffs like us. Take the criticism that Luongo gets verus Schneider.(pay verus pay) Even the sportcasters take the same line.

The ECHL did not succeed IMHO due to NO rivalries, lack of other Canadian teams, poor play, and yes poor backing of the team by ownership. But Victoria was promised a WHL team first.

I prefer Junior hockey, my expectations are nothing more than an effort each game by the players, they are not paid. Team management a different story, they are free game. Victoria had the highest quality hockey they have had in years when Bozak, Benn played on the same line for 2 years @ Bear Mountain. They never went ECHL route,Thank God.