Originally Posted by
Nook
Judging by the tone of the Star Phoenix article late this week, It seems to me that Molleken may step down from the Blades and probably retire. I think this past season has taken a lot out of him. The tremendous pressure of having to build a Memorial Cup calibre team with what he had to work with in the beginning was a big burden. In hindsight, 2013 probably wasn't the time for Saskatoon to bid for the event.
But if Molleken steps down as GM, where does the club go from there? I have no idea who would be waiting in the wings willing to take on the challenge that will be re-building the Blades. I would imagine that Struch would be the next head coach, but if you get a new GM, he may very well wish to bring in his own guy.
I know the bantam draft situation in terms of 1st rd picks is slim, but the bantam draft is such a crapshoot anyways. There are many examples of this, but the fact that Jordan Eberle was a 12th round pick is enough proof.
As a fan, I'm actually looking forward to the re-build. This team was on "borrowed time" in terms of competing in 2012 and 2013. I would imagine that they will grab a couple of 17 year old European players in the import draft this offseason.
This team will have issues finding the win column for a few years, but after the disappointment and pressure of the past season, I honestly don't mind watching a young team with no expectations. They may very well surprise.