Looking for to better things

[SectionNDeserter]

Yeah, turning Dumba into Tambellini wouldn't have got any complaints from me.

Sort of a lateral move, trading one player that is here for a few months, for another that would be here for a few months. I am talking more about listing Tambellini-caliber players, then convincing them to play in Red Deer for their 18 and/or 19 year old seasons. Sort of like what Medicine Hat did with Pitlick and Vanelli.

[LongTimeFan]

I think where the Rebels miss the boat is that their scouting staff has historically lacked the ability to identify the right players to go after. I may be missing someone as I haven't researched, but the last "high profile" American recruits I can remember coming though here were Poulter, Gionfriddo and the Smith kid from Alaska. If that's the best we're gonna do, I'd personally just a soon see then get some local kids from the midget program that we can at least get behind and support as locals and have a vested interest in.

[calcheyup]

Sort of a lateral move, trading one player that is here for a few months, for another that would be here for a few months. I am talking more about listing Tambellini-caliber players, then convincing them to play in Red Deer for their 18 and/or 19 year old seasons. Sort of like what Medicine Hat did with Pitlick and Vanelli.

Is Tambellini going pro next year a certainty? He's a '94 and a significant upgrade on Kopeck. A year and a half of Tambellini for a disgruntled, unmotivated Dumba wouldn't have hurt my feelings one bit.

[SectionNDeserter]

I may be missing someone as I haven't researched, but the last "high profile" American recruits I can remember coming though here were Poulter, Gionfriddo and the Smith kid from Alaska. If that's the best we're gonna do, I'd personally just a soon see then get some local kids from the midget program that we can at least get behind and support as locals and have a vested interest in.

Also Morgan Clark and Kevin Woodyatt. I'll assume that 'high profile' that you mention is sarcasm, as none of them were ever high-profile players , and none of them were ever legitimately drafted by an NHL team. I enjoy watching good hockey, and don't really concern myself too much with where the players come from. I personally believe that most WHL caliber players struggle to play in their home towns--a lot of distractions for them to try to play through at that age.

Is Tambellini going pro next year a certainty? He's a '94 and a significant upgrade on Kopeck. A year and a half of Tambellini for a disgruntled, unmotivated Dumba wouldn't have hurt my feelings one bit.

I assume that Tambellini was nudged towards the WHL by the New York Rangers, who would have had another three years to sign him had he stayed in NCAA. As I understand it, he now becomes a free agent this summer if they don't sign him. It isn't a certainty, but everything sure seems to point to them signing him and having him play in the AHL for the upcoming season.

For me, I would have been pretty happy to get a sack full of rocks for the playing rights to the Dumba I watched play here last season, and the team really needed a lot more than an impact forward to do anything this past season. I am pretty happy with getting a player a year younger than Tambellini and a pile of draft picks. Would have been a different story had they had a more competitive team this season though.

[calcheyup]

I am aware the club was not one player away, but turning junk into a top-flight junior player is never bad for you, regardless of the stage of development your club is in.

[SectionNDeserter]

With a team that is retooling, I would swing a deadline deal for a player that is good for the rest of the year, and great the season after, rather than a player that is just great for the rest of the season.

Nice to see them upgrade their defense a bit through trades today.

[calcheyup]

With a team that is retooling, I would swing a deadline deal for a player that is good for the rest of the year, and great the season after, rather than a player that is just great for the rest of the season.

Your theory is dependent on a lot of speculation - speculation that Tambellini won't return, speculation that Kopeck will ever be a player of Tambellini's caliber, etc. When you take all the variables and adjust and frame them to reflect your point of view in the most favorable way possible, it's pretty easy to say things like that. You can say Kopeck is gonna be "great" next year all you want, that doesn't make it so. Similar to saying Tambellini is gone. What those guys will or won't do next year is not a known quantity, so what you're saying really doesn't hold any water.

Nice to see them upgrade their defense a bit through trades today.

Just getting rid of Gaudet period improves their defense, nevermind actually picking up an experienced asset at that position. After that disaster this year from Gaudet I was hard-pressed to believe he'd be a Rebel in the fall, and thankfully he won't be.

[SectionNDeserter]

Your theory is dependent on a lot of speculation - speculation that Tambellini won't return, speculation that Kopeck will ever be a player of Tambellini's caliber, etc.

One of the great things about Hockey is that it is full of speculation. Red Deer could have acquired Tambellini, and he could have played 31 games here and gotten zero points. Past performance would indicate that he probably wouldn't. Kopeck had 19 points in 12-13, and was on pace for 40-50 points last season (especially after joining Red Deer) had he played a full season. Like Tambellini, given that he has improved every year since joining the league, all you can do is speculate that Kopeck will put up 50-60 points next season and possibly more the season after that.

In the last 22 years, the Rebels have had tons of impact overage players, and exactly one of them has ever been returned to them by an NHL team, and that was last season with Bartosak. I don't know about you, but those are odds that I wouldn't play.

Just getting rid of Gaudet period improves their defense, nevermind actually picking up an experienced asset at that position. After that disaster this year from Gaudet I was hard-pressed to believe he'd be a Rebel in the fall, and thankfully he won't be.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't hoping more for an experienced 'Underwood' type stay-at-home defenseman than a more offensive, career minus defenseman, but he couldn't possibly be worse defensively than Gaudet.

[calcheyup]

One of the great things about Hockey is that it is full of speculation. Red Deer could have acquired Tambellini, and he could have played 31 games here and gotten zero points. Past performance would indicate that he probably wouldn't. Kopeck had 19 points in 12-13, and was on pace for 40-50 points last season (especially after joining Red Deer) had he played a full season. Like Tambellini, given that he has improved every year since joining the league, all you can do is speculate that Kopeck will put up 50-60 points next season and possibly more the season after that.

Not really what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at is it's so easy to say, "Well if you could have 2 players, same quality, one for 2.5 years, one for .5 years, I take the one that you have for 2.5." It assumes all the worst of my point of view and all the best of yours. It's biased and it's a cop out. Of course given those two choices it's easy to pick which one you'd rather have, but you're intentionally skewing the situation for it to fit what you believe.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't hoping more for an experienced 'Underwood' type stay-at-home defenseman than a more offensive, career minus defenseman, but he couldn't possibly be worse defensively than Gaudet.

It is what it is. There's no way he could be worse than Gaudet, and while it's not ithe most encouraging sign to pick up a d-man who was -2 on a team that scored about 60 goals more than it gave up last year, I can't possibly believe that they're not a better team than they were this morning.

[Moonergroupie]

I think we got our answer to where Sutter's head was at with bringing in older players that could have helped us last year vs players that will potentially develop into something great when we received our ticket renewals with memorial cup letters in the mail. Everything that was done around the team this past year and in the year coming up is built around having a team that is good enough to host the 2016 Memorial cup. I must say I do agree with the letter that we do have the best group of young players we have had in many, many years. I look for Sutter to make a couple of trades to add some impact 18 year olds that will add to the core to solidify where this team will be in 2016. Hopefully everything pans out and we finally get a team in Red Deer that gives us something to cheer about.

As for the promo crew, I don't mind the job that Joe Whitbread and the rest of the crew do but the body in the Wooly Bully suit has to go. Where is the drum? The skates? Even the go rebels go signs? Somehow I don't think, put this suit on and walk around is in the job decription but that is all he does.

And letting him decide where the third t-shirt goes has to stop. Everytime he points North. There can be 2 people on that side making noise and he points North. Show some love to those of us on the South side every once in a while.