Captain of my heart fighting for an overage spot
Nice bit in the Herald today about Mike Brown working his tail off for the last of 3 20-year-old spots (Reddick and Schmidt are the other two, obviously).
"It's an honor to play in the league at 20," said Brown, a native of Calgary. "Seeing that it's your last chance, you have to do the right things in the offseason. I took all the ice time I could get and skated with some other guys in the league."
And his hard work has paid off. In five preseason games, Brown has two goals, three assists and 11 penalty minutes.
"He's doing what he should do and he's doing an excellent job of it," Hiller said. "He's a big strong guy and he's more confident with the puck. When he came in last year at the trade deadline, we had a pecking order and his role was limited. Now he's getting time on the power play and penalty kill and making the most of his opportunities."
With other teams trimming down to three overage players, there might be another player on the market that could offer Tri-City a different skill set.
"Certainly at the end of last season we didn't know where Mike fit in," Tory said. "We didn't know how the overage situation would pan out. At that time, we still had Eric (Mestery) and Alex decided he was coming back."
Mestery retired, taking him out of the mix, and Pechurskiy takes up an overage and a European spot, which clouds the picture a bit.
"There are a lot of thing we have to look at," Tory said. "It's healthy for guys to compete for spots and we don't have to make a decision until after our Eastern swing. (Herald)
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Rene Ferran has highlighted Tyler Schmidt in the weekly "Meet the Ams":
What's playing on his IPod? "I don't have an IPod." How about the CD player in the car? "Country music, some hip-hop and rap ... anything really."----------
Anything? Even opera? "Hey, that little girl from 'America's Got Talent' is pretty good." (Examiner.com)
Speaking of Tyler Schmidt, he's been named an alternate captain for the season. Totally expected with his leadership and being a veteran. Like RW13 says "he talking to the refs all night anyways." HAHAHAA YES. I literally LOL'd when I read that. Anyways, here's from the official press release:
Tri-City Americans’ Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today that 20-year-old defenseman Tyler Schmidt will serve as one of the team’s alternate captains for the upcoming 2010-11 season.----------
Schmidt, who will be entering his fifth and final season with the Americans, is coming off one of his strongest seasons yet. He played in a career-high 71 games, while totaling seven goals, 31 assists and 38 points. He followed that up with a career-best post-season run in which he collected five goals, 12 points and 42 penalty minutes in 21 games. In 250 career games for Tri-City, the Winnipeg, Manitoba-native has registered 22 goals and 112 points. Schmidt currently ranks 8th all-time on the Americans’ penalty minutes list and he sits just outside the top-10 in games played. Originally drafted by Tri-City in the 2nd Round (27th overall) of the 2005 Bantam Draft, Schmidt played his first full WHL season in 2006-07, making his WHL debut on September 22, 2006 at the Kootenay Ice.
“Tyler epitomizes what our program is all about,” explained Tory. “His relentless work ethic and courage are what makes him a special player.”
“As a five-year Americans veteran, Tyler understands what the expectations of the team are both on and off the ice for our group,” Tory continued. “The remainder of the leadership group will be named in late October after the team returns from their swing through the East Division.”
“Tyler’s leadership qualities and vast experience will serve our team well as we begin the new season,” said Americans’ head coach Jim Hiller.
Justin Feser is on the main camp roster for the Columbus Blue Jackets. RAWR!
Brooks Macek at Traverse City tournament. Photo from Red Wings Central. It looks like he's on Detroit's main camp roster as well. Double RAWR!!
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$7 Hockey!!!
Tri-City Americans vs.Spokane Chiefs
Final Pre-Season Game!
9/17/10, 7:05PM at the Toyota Center
All tickets general admission and only $7!!!
Plenty of seats available at the Toyota Center Box Office
Call 737-3722 for more information
2 comments:
Shinni is on his way home as I type this.
Detroit has no idea how lucky they are.
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