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I still think Blades in the off-season...
Posted by Les Lazaruk on Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 02:49:00 PM.
I was asked to do a review of the 2007-2008 Blades' season and an early preview of next season by a poster on "whlfans.ca". My response is also here for your reading enjoyment. Your comments are welcome.
The 2007-2008 Saskatoon Blades' season was one of optimism to start. After missing the playoffs the previous campaign by just 2 points, it was felt the Bridge City Bunch was in a position to make a move into the post-season. G-M and head coach Lorne Molleken hoped the progression shown by returning players from the previous season could result in a top four finish in the Eastern Conference and home-ice advantage in the first round. I wasn't quite so stoked about the club, but I did pick them for sixth place as part of my annual poll of WHL radio broadcasters. My concern was where were the goals going to come from? But, I felt they had enough to be better than Brandon and, maybe, Prince Albert.
The first weekend of the regular season was a major eye-opener. The Blades looked slow and heartless in losses of 5-2 in Brandon and 6-1 the next night at Credit Union Centre against the Wheat Kings! Wasn't Brandon suppossed to be on a down-year in the junior hockey cycle? That led the way to a 1-4-1-0 September portion of the sked.
Upon returning home from a three-game Central Division road trip, Molleken was unhappy with the play of the 20-year-olds he had acquired in the off-season. He took action, acquiring Ondrej Fiala from Everett and John Flatters from P-A, for Dustin Cameron (a deal that has been panned extensively throughout the year!) while releasing Curtis Patterson, Michael Kaye and Robert Brandis.
The moves had an immediate positive effect with victories at home over Regina and Red Deer. But, just as quickly, that vanished. On the last home game before leaving on their U.S. Division road trip, the Blades scored first against Prince George...then appeared to start thinking about who was sitting where on the bus and which movies would be watched first for the long trip to the States! The Cougars came back and beat the sleep-skating Blades 3-1. Instead of being .500, the Blades were 3-5-1-0.
And, the road trip made things worse. If goaltending wasn't good one night, then it was lack of goal-scoring the next or a combination of both on another night. The Blades lost all five games and were 3-10-1-0.
The team stumbled through the rest of the calendar year, hindered further by injuries to key players and/or players leaving to take part in international competitions. Once the first weekend of January was done, and all the international competitions were done, Saskatoon was 13-24-2-1 and battling to stay out of the Eastern Conference basement...well out of a playoff spot! Since the end of the U.S. swing, the major problem had been goal-scoring...just 87 in 40 games!
It was time to look to the future and Molleken made a trade he didn't want to, but knew he had to pull the trigger on. He sent 19-year-old captain Justin McCrae to Spokane for 18-year-old forward Chris Langkow and 16-year-old prospect Burke Gallimore.
That was done on a Monday night. The next morning, the team was leaving on a trip that would have them play that night in Edmonton and the next in Red Deer. McCrae came to Credit Union Centre to say good-bye to his former team-mates before the bus left...there weren't many dry eyes. I'm sure that scene played out in almost everyone's minds as the Blades put on a blank performance in losing 4-0 to the expansion Oil Kings!
The next day is when the season turned around in my opinion!
Colton Gillies had been named captain, replacing McCrae, prior to the game in Edmonton. At breakfast the morning after the loss to the Oil Kings, Gillies called for a team meeting...just players, no one else. I've been in the sports media for 29 years and I've played on enough competitive teams (not hockey, but baseball) to know what goes on in these "players-only" meetings. Either the leader or leaders on the team rip everybody and challenges them to be better and do their jobs...or...everybody gets a chance to get a gripe (or two or three) off their chests about the way things are going or are being handled...or...a combination of both! I'm betting the latter happened, I don't know for sure.
What I do know is that the Saskatoon Blades played like a playoff contender for the final 31 games of the season. Too bad they seemed to lack heart and desire, got spotty goaltending at times and only scored 87 goals in going 13-25-2-1 in their first 41 games. It was a chasm they couldn't crawl out of to get into the playoffs. But, Gillies, Chris Durand, Derek Hulak, Teigan Zahn and Braden Holtby were the team leaders and others like Langkow, Fiala, Travis Toomey, Curtis Hamilton, Mike Reich, Garrett Klotz, Sam Klassen, Stefan Elliott, Jyri Niemi, Flatters and Ryan Funk brought their play-level and intensity level up to what is required in the W-H-L. It resulted in a 16-9-1-5 finish with 95 goals scored and 92 allowed. Had they played somewhat similarly throughout the season, they might've finished in sixth place as I had predicted, but...29-34-3-6 is what the final result was...9th place in the Eastern Conference.
Out of the playoffs...again. Six times that's happened in the last 14 seasons...far too many times. Once again, it's "Better luck next season" talk. Oh, how you have been seduced by that phrase so many times in the past...only to be left disappointed the following season!
I'm not going to tell you the 2008-2009 Blades will be a champion. Nor will I tell you they'll have a long playoff run. But, the final 31 games showed me that, with the right leadership, the right chemistry, solid defensive play (which wasn't much of a problem during the past campaign), consistent, stellar goaltending and timely goal-scoring, this team can achieve good things. The game plan is good from the coaching staff...not much changed there as the season went on.
Right now, the hockey operations of the team is geared towards the Bantam Draft on May 1st. The Blades have the 3rd (coming from Prince George along with Stefan Elliott in the Devin Setoguchi trade) and 6th overall pick. Plus, they have the 28th and 42nd pick (the latter coming from Vancouver in the Wacey Rabbit trade). There'll be a conditioning camp next month, during which Molleken, his coaches, the scouts and the training and equipment staff will put all the prospects through their paces...testing and advising them on what they need to do to be ready to make the team and have an impact on the Blades down the road!
As for next season, the key to me will be Gillies. Will he be available to the Blades? I see him going to the Minnesota Wild training camp, playing exhibition games and, at least, nine regular season games before the Wild decide whether to send him back or not. That'll be late October, early November. Then comes Canada's World Junior try-out camp in December and the tournament itself in Ottawa for the rest of the calendar year into January. Assuming he's healthy, I think the Blades will have Gillies for no more than 50 games. Which means the returning vets have to step up the leadership part...much moreso than they did last season.
Reich will be a 20-year-old, so will Klotz if Philadelphia doesn't decide to turn him pro and turn his fists loose in the American Hockey League. The need to acquire one, maybe two overage players is there...so long as they aren't busts as Patterson and Kaye, unfortunately, were this past season!
Holtby will be a 19-year-old goaltender with a younger back-up likely.
The defence is still solid with Klassen, Zahn, Elliott, Niemi and Funk. Mitch Berg will be challenged for playing time by Tanner Sohn, Woody Klassen, Brendan Wall and others.
Up front, Gillies (for as many games as he plays, if he does play) will be counted on for offence...along with Hulak. The line of Hamilton-Toomey-Langkow needs to pick up where they left off. Reich had a 17-goal season and needs to show that again, besides being his pesty self. Walker Wintoneak and Gaelan Patterson will need to elevate their offensive play significantly...and quickly...in order to fend off a lot of young newcomers like Darian Dziurzynski, Gallimore, Charles Inglis, Cody Chikie, Josh Nicholls, Jamie Crooks and others.
Assuming the schedule goes according to what the Blades hope, their B-C road trip won't be until after the New Year. October and January will be the time for road trips as the Blades will be out of Credit Union Centre for most of those months. Winning on the road will be crucial this season, considering they only did that only happened three times in the first 23 away games.
I want to say the Blades are guaranteed to make the playoffs next season. But, I thought they would make it this past season and we all know what happened. But, I'm optimistic...albeit cautiously so...about their chances next season!
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What Game Was I Watching?
Posted by Les Lazaruk on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 04:36:00 PM.
Actually, the title on one of the threads in the Saskatoon Blades' page of "whlfans.ca" was "What game where (sic) you watching, Les?" Once again, it's all about opinion and the way a person sees a game.
The game in question was Saturday's 3-2 Blades' triumph over the Kamloops Blazers. On "The Kia of Saskatoon Cutting Edge Pre-Game Show", during "The Keys to the Game" feature, colour commentator Dave Thomas and I discussed our fear at how the Blades might perform in the game. They were taking on a road-weary, down-trodden Blazers' team that was playing their sixth game on the road in nine nights...having lost all five previous contests in regulation time. Our concern was how the Blades would react if they got an early goal in a fairly easy fashion...would they continue to play with the determination they had shown in previous games or would they look at trying to pad their personal stats and forget about team and systems play.
From my perspective, after the Blades scored 37 seconds in, they became a group of individuals on a "point night" mission as Dave commented on a couple of occasions when one player would dangle with the puck, only to be stopped by Blazers' goaltender Justin Leclerc or turn it over without passing to a team-mate. That style of play continued for most of the rest of the game and the Blades dominated play, as evidenced by out-shooting Kamloops 40-26, On this night, individual Blades were better than individual Blazers. I mean, if time of possession was a statistic in hockey, Saskatoon would've had the advantage by at least a 2-1 margin, if not 3-1. But, several times, especially on an 0-7 night on the power play, the Blades didn't adhere to their systems and gave Kamloops plenty of good chances to score. And, with the exception of one soft goal, Braden Holtby was there to bail his team-mates out.
But, if you don't believe my comments, especially with regards to Holtby being first star of the game, how about the analysis of Cory Wolfe from Monday's Star-Phoenix...
"The Blades, who have relied heavily on Holtby this season, know the feeling. Outside of a softy goal to Ivan Rohac midway through the third period, Holtby was worthy of first-star honours. He made 24 saves, including a couple of point-blank stops on C.J. Stretch in the late going. '"He'd like to have that second one back, but other than that, he was outstanding," said Blades coach-GM Lorne Molleken. "Kamloops really stormed the net and really got everyone involved in the offence. Holtby stood his ground and battled in traffic.'"
I don't mind having my opinions questioned...but I think the Blades were fortunate to win over Kamloops...if not for a goaltender who was sharp on all but one of the shots he should've stopped and finding just enough team play to score three times. They had played better against Medicine Hat, Regina...heck even in the 7-4 loss to Lethbridge.
*****
Oh boy, I'm reluctant to answer a question. But, I found this comment under my post titled, "Trouble Spots in the Dub":
"Les i'm wondering what your feelings are on the path the blades organization is taking we seem to be in a continous rebuilding mode do we need new ownership that's committed to winning a coach that can get the most out of our players or new scouting staff or maybe all of the above it's sure hard to sit and watch this every year i hope i'm the only person that feels this way so i'm wondering what your thoughts are on the blades thanx for your comments Dwight Gervais"
Dwight, and others, can check the archives for my last post before Christmas where I boosted the idea of the Blades hosting the 2010 Memorial Cup, feeling that they were heading in the right direction with their talent. One of the subsequent comments about ownership not being committed and coaching being a problem irked me to respond in a snarky way...for which I was royally roasted.
I'm sticking with a lot of what I said about the future talent. The team's last 26 games (13-9-1-3) has me hoping they can get off to that kind of start next season on the way to being in the playoffs. But, I'm at a loss to figure out Dwight's contention that the Blades are, "in a continuous rebuilding mode." I ask you, readers, to define rebuilding. My definition is a process until such time when a team has a full complement of above average overage players, a large number of above average 19-year-olds and a supporting cast of young prospects...all of which makes the team a contender for a championship.
I think the 2004-2005 Blades and the 2005-2006 team fall into that definition. They won 37 games with 86 points in 04-05 and won 41 games with 88 points in 05-06...good for second place in the East Division both seasons. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round to P-A in 05 and in the second round to Medicine Hat in 06. Consider that four teams with similar records this season will be out after the first round and another two will be gonzo after the second round. Outside of Brandon, none of those teams are in rebuilding mode anymore. They're built to contend now...as the Blades were in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. They just won't make it...as the Blades didn't in those campaigns.
And, there have been other Blades' teams that were better than .500 since 1994 that have fallen short in the post-season. The 94-95 squad, the 99-00 team, the 02-03 Bridge City Bunch. Those teams weren't rebuilding, either. They just lost to better teams. The gaps in between those winning seasons can be attributed to scouting...as second-guessing allows us to do.
Former G-M Brent McEwen told me one bad year of picks at the Bantam Draft means a three-year down-turn in fortunes. Two bad draft years in a row means a seven-year wait for the good times, he said. Unfortunately for him and the Blades, he knows that from experience...one of the reasons why he is no longer employed by the team!
I think the path the team is on now is the right one...but a good start to next season is paramount. But, my question remains to you...define rebuilding?
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Time to Start Thinking "Awards"
Posted by Les Lazaruk on Wednesday, February 27, 2008 at 02:24:00 PM.
It's three weeks until the season is over for the Saskatoon Blades...or seven games remaining...at the time of this writing, take your pick.
The annual Blades' Awards Gala will be held Monday, March 17 at T.C.U. Place...and, yours truly, will climb onto the stage and read out the names of the winners of the 17 awards handed out by the club each season.
Voting is done, almost exclusively, within the management and coaching offices with the Blades...with minimal input from the media (to some, that may be a good thing, lol!) But, that won't stop me from throwing in my "two cents worth" on the awards that I feel I have a qualified opinion to vote on...as follows:
Hardest Hitter: Colton Gillies, no question. Watch opponents put their heads on a swivel when they go after a loose puck near the boards when #18 is on the ice!
Diamond in the Rough: Chris Langkow...quite a revelation since his acquisition from Spokane as part of the Justin McCrae trade. Darian Dziurzynski would also be a good choice.
Hardest Working Player: Chris Langkow. His arrival brought out the best of Curtis Hamilton and Travis Toomey and his work ethic was infectious to others as well.
Brian Skrudland Trophy (Best Defensive Forward): Chris Durand...hands down. Need a defensive zone face-off won...or kill off a penalty...or win a battle for puck possession? Durand was the most reliable.
Most Gentlemanly Player: Derek Hulak...skates well enough that he doesn't need to foul an opponent and doesn't lose his cool easily.
Most Dedicated Player: A combination of most improved and a "comeback" player award. Ryan Funk would get my vote. Missed almost all of last season and got better as this season went on.
Most Improved Player: Travis Toomey...at both ends of the ice, offence, defence, in the face-off circle, his growth as the season went on was dramatic.
Rookie of the Year: Stefan Elliott & Jyri Niemi...I can't choose between them, but I know they're both around for the next two seasons at least!
Defenceman of the Year: Sam Klassen...The +/- stat is one that can be misinterpreted quite often. This time, it tells quite a tale to me.
Most Valuable Player: Colton Gillies...as of right now, since he became the captain, the Blades' record is better than .500. And, a lot of that had to do with a "player's only" meeting in Edmonton following a 4-0 loss to the Oil Kings. Throw in the fact Gillies leads the team in goal-scoring and he gets the nod from me over a host of other players who made significant contributions to a team that struggled for the first half of the season, but has come on in the last seven weeks!
Those are just my opinions...yours are welcome!
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Trouble Spots in the "Dub"!
Posted by Les Lazaruk on Thursday, February 21, 2008 at 10:52:00 AM.
Before I get into this topic, I want to thank all who have expressed their sympathies and condolences to me and my family following the passing of my father in Winnipeg last week. Receiving the phone call from my sister just before the Blades-Edmonton game a couple of Fridays ago that Dad had collapsed from a stroke was a kick in the groin to say the least. I missed four Blades' games as a result, so I'd like to quell the rumours that Dave Thomas had "greased the skids" for me, resulting in me being let go by the radio station as the morning sports reader and radio play-by-play announcer for the Blades. I'm still the Director of Sports Programming for the Saskatoon Media Group, I still do Blades' play-by-play and I don't do morning sports anymore because I wanted a change after 28 years of doing it! I also want to thank all the well-wishers on my 49th birthday yesterday...it lightened the mood from the previous couple of weeks for me!
Now, for the topic at hand...addressing a pair of Western Hockey League trouble spots.
Yup, live up to the responsibilities inherent with ownership of a Western Hockey League team...or else face suspension of the franchise and relocation...or dissolve it entirely!
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Some Random Thoughts on a Rare "Off" Day
Posted by Les Lazaruk on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 01:25:00 PM.
It's not just my imagination, but the Saskatoon Blades have played a lot of games lately! Most of them on the road! Once this weekend's home games against Edmonton Friday and Brandon Saturday are complete, the Blades will have played 18 games in just 33 days! And, there were six off days between a January 19th home game with Red Deer and a January 26th visit to Moose Jaw! In fact, this weekend will be the fifth time in the 33-day stretch where the Blades played four games in five nights!
No wonder I'm gassed...and all I do is call the game!
The schedule this season has been weird to say the least. The Blades have played 56 games, thus have 16 remaining...12 of them at home. In fact, once next weekend's three games-in-three nights swing into Red Deer, Calgary and Kootenay is done, the Blades have 10 of their final 11 games at Credit Union Centre! Methinks it's time the WHL put schedule-making into the hands of an independent body that uses a computer!
Boy, do I appreciate the work put in by Alan Caldwell out of Calgary and his blog, "Small Thoughts at Large"...you've gotta love playing around with numbers to get all the "magic" numbers for the entire league updated on a day-to-day basis. At least I don't have to do it! What I do know is, what people have figured ever since that early-season nine-game losing streak...the Blades' chances of catching an Eastern Conference playoff spot is fading...and fast! As it stands today, the "magic" number for Saskatoon to be eliminated is 9 points. Any combination of points lost by the Blades (two per regulation time loss and one point for every overtime or shootout loss) or won by Brandon (two per win and one for each overtime or shootout loss) equalling nine, between now and the regular season, officially puts the Blades on the sidelines.
Congratulations to two other regular bloggers...friends and broadcast bretheren Rod Pedersen in Regina and Regan Bartel in Kelowna. To Roddy and his very informative and thought-provoking blog, congrats on winning the first-ever Canadian Sports Blog award. To Regan, kudos on having been blogging for a full year. The time and effort required to regularly blog is "massive", the kind of time I find hard to commit to because of family and work...especially following the "Bridge City Bunch". (The quotes around the two words in this paragraph are for Regan's benefit, lol!)
Another blogger who gets my vote of support for "hanging in there" is Andy Kemper, the first-year play-by-play voice of the Portland Winter Hawks. With the Hawks on the verge of official elimination from the playoffs, those lop-sided scores against and huge shots on goal totals against are going to continue as the organization finds out which players are committed to playing for the crest on the front of the jersey as opposed to the name on the back. Trust me, Andy, I saw that first-hand in 2003-2004 when the Blades won just 7 games! I empathize and sympathize with you!
I know there are many out there who have responded on this blog by saying that this season's edition of the Blades is no better than that 2003-2004 team that won just 7 times. I am going to disagree and say that this Blades' team is also better than the 1996-97 "Young and Reckless" Blades that won just 18 times, the 1998-99 team that won just 16 games and the 2000-2001 "Bridge City Bunch" that won only 19 games. Let the contradictory posts begin...but my rose-coloured glasses tell me there are better years ahead, so long as the current regime is allowed to continue to build. Over the next week, it is my hope to post some numbers and facts that will explain this year's disappointment plus go back over the past 14 seasons and what has led to the discontent that is felt here in Saskatoon and area.
So, which appears to be the best playoff bound Saskatchewan-based W-H-L teams that I have seen of late? a) the Regina Pats...not that impressive in an overtime win and a 6-2 loss to the Blades, showing they can lose their composure at the drop of a hat...or helmet and glove if you will! b) the Moose Jaw Warriors, a pair of shootout wins at home over the Blades leads me to wonder about the intensity and urgency of their two prized 19-year-old defence acquisitions in Ty Wishart and Keaton Ellerby. They're good, but need to be better. c) the Swift Current Broncos. So long as they can stand up to the physicality that a Moose Jaw or Regina or any other team might throw at them, the Broncos' speed and skill might take them a long way in the post-season! I guess I'm saying c), Swift Current!
Those recent games against Regina have brought back memories of "Old-Time Hockey". It even has folks, who know better than I do, comparing some players of today to those from those very popular Blades' teams of 20 years ago. Assistant coach Dave Struch, who played on those teams, compared super-pest Mike Reich to Shawn Yakimishyn. G.M. and head coach Lorne Molleken likened 16-year-old rookie Darian Dziurzynski to Shane Calder. Based on what he did last time into Regina, I'd compare Garrett Klotz to Tony Twist...someone I did see do very well in scraps with Gord Donnelly of the Winnipeg Jets when the Jets held training camp in Saskatoon in 1989 and '90 and hosted the St. Louis Blues in pre-season action. In fact, if the Blades had a few more guys on this team who played like Ryan Fujita, Mark Wotton, Mark Raiter, etc. from that era...they might actually have some long-time fans not wanting to consider never coming back as the feedback I'm getting now would indicate!