Year-End Grades: Prokop and Rankin

Neal Prokop: A

Am I inflating Neal's grade because he's my favorite? Maybe. I know I'm including in his grade the off-ice work he did to come back to the team. What an inspirational story, eh? Broken femur last spring. Projected to be a year before he could even have full-contact. And yet he worked his ass off all summer and fall to come back earlier than anyone could have thought. That shows immense determination and passion for the game. It also shows the type of leadership Neal has provided for this team.

Prokes was just getting into his groove when a deep thigh bruise caused a big setback. The team never revealed much about why he was out so long, but I know it had something to do with the scar tissue from the broken femur that made the bruise take so long to heal. During that time a guy that sits by me said that Prokop was a waste of a 20-year-old spot. To which I replied he was a waste of a fan spot. Sure, Bob took a gamble at the deadline. But there's no way Bob or anyone could have predicted a thigh bruise that wouldn't heal. A lot of teams are one injury away from losing one of their top guys so to say keeping Neal was a waste is just silly.

Neal ended up only playing 17 regular season games (11 points) and 10 playoff games (2 points). But even with limited games he provided tremendous leadership to the guys and that can be just as important as scoring goals.

----------

Connor Rankin: A

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. What a stud. On the opposite end of the age spectrum from Neal Prokop we have Connor Rankin. Barely 16-years-old, he's had a huge impact. Statistically, he played 70 games and accumulated 19 goals, 25 assists. As a sixteen year old. Holy crap. He skates well and has good vision on the ice. He's been shuffled onto various lines and found the most success with Holland and Feser.

Rankin is, like all of the boys, nice as can be and it's so funny to chat with him. He's very poised and mature. At the same time it's like he doesn't realize what a big deal he is. Maybe he's just modest or maybe he's just a kid who hasn't quite grasped how good he is a a young player in this league. All I know is he's going to be tremendously fun to watch over the next couple years. A whole lot of fun.

Year-End Grades: Schmidt and Shinnimin

Tyler Schmidt: A-

I knew when he was a rookie he'd become a good defenseman in this league. I like being right. Over the years he got smarter and smarter with the puck and finally this season it didn't always look like he had cement in his skates. Statistically he had his best season ever with 11 goals, 42 assists in the regular season, and he ended up a +28. I suspect he got some looks from some NHL scouts and hopefully that will turn up something good for him in the future.

I debated between Tyler and Matt when I awarded "Best Defenseman" and finally went with Matt, but it was a tough call. My biggest--and really only--beef with Schmidt is his inability to shut up and play. His incessant blabbing to refs and linesman often took him out of the game as he was still yammering after play had resumed. By doing that he drew negative attention to himself and his teammates. And he looked like a whiny babyhead. He's better than that, he's a better player than that and in my opinion, if he wants to succeed at the next level he has to knock that off. Yes, I'm well aware that with the "A" on his sweater it's a little bit of his job to talk to refs, but not to the extent that he does.

----------

Brendan Shinnimin: B+

Almost 100 points in only 60 games. That's pretty incredible. Shinny has a drive and an intensity that is off the charts. He loves to score goals, and he apparently loves to help Hughey score goals too. Small, but speedy, Brendan is able to work his way around opponents like he's 8 feet tall. He's a pest, and he's good at it. Look at how much opposing players and fans hate him. Tells me he's doing something right. I know I would really hate his guts if he was on an opposing team--like Brendan Leipsic.

But there's also people who don't like Shinnimin because of the hit on Nichols. In in grading him that can't be overlooked either. His passion sometimes gets the best of him and that was just one example. He deserved the 12 games for it. What he didn't deserve is for refs to look the other way as he was assaulted night in and night out because he developed some sort of "reputation". He served his time, let it be done--but it wasn't. Other times his passion gets the better of him is shown in his sometimes selfish play. It's a fine line between good selfish and bad selfish and he sometimes crosses that line. At the same time, look at his points--so sometimes that selfishness works for him. And with the number of assists sometimes his selflessness works too.

Year-End Grades: Lil Mess and Feser

Marcus Messier: C

Again, I don't like to give rookies a low grade just because they're rookies, but I'm not going to inflate anything either (heh). Marcus isn't bad, just has some learning to do. And hopefully some growing. He's listed at 5'8" 145 lbs., which may be generous. Kid should eat some cheeseburgers. But he is quick and persistent. I awarded him "most tenacious". He's fought to get ice time and with so much depth on the team, that wasn't easy. Injuries helped him a little bit but he was still a healthy scratch many nights. And that's part of being a rookie--paying your dues.

Little Mess has some talent just waiting to bloom. With not a lot of playing time it's hard to say what he'll look like next season, especially if he gets some size over the summer. He's determined to make the lineup and play hard so I figure if he wants it bad enough, he'll figure out how to make that happen best he can.

----------

Justin Feser: A-

Did you know Justin had racked up 63 points in the regular season (26g 37a)?  I didn't either.  Talk about being not very flashy.  He spent so much time improving his defensive game--even playing D when on the eastern road swing--and improving his play away from the puck, that I overlooked his offensive contributions.  Interestingly, he had exactly 10 fewer goals than last season, but the exact same amount of assists.  Players have to be willing to sacrifice lots o' goals to make their all-around game better.

Feser was paired with Patrick Holland and like last season they kept that chemistry going and were very effective at being a good shut-down pairing.  All the line shuffling coach did throughout the season, those two pretty much always stayed together.   I don't imagine the upcoming season will be much different for Feser and Holland and their role(s).  If it ain't broke and whatnot.

Year-End Grades: Willy and Big Mess

Mason Wilgosh: A+

Mason's listed at 5'8" 170 lbs. but he doesn't play like it. He plays like he's an invincible giant. Hence the wrecking ball(s).  Sometime last season I realized he was the new Drew Hoff.  Gritty, determined, and voracious--"like a dog on a bone" to quote Westie (DRINK).  "Hardest Worker" is the award I gave him, but he could have got best defensive forward, most tenacious, and many other things--but I had to spread the love around.  Mason's work on the penalty kill is outstanding and his ability to skate right through (over?) guys is awesome.

Willy started out the his season along side fellow Winnipeggers (Winnipegonians?) Shinnimin and Hughesman and I thought they had something really great going.  He made room--by steamrolling opponents--for those two to do their play-making/scoring magic.  That whole line was small but persistent, pesky, and effective.  Throughout the season he got mixed and matched on different lines, but always playing the same, rugged and relentless.

I went to check his stats and saw he only played 48 games, I didn't think that was right.  But I forgot he had the broken jaw at the beginning of the season.  But in only 48 games he amassed 12 goals, 24 assists.  That's pretty hawt.  Personally, with his work ethic, I'd put him in the running for next season's captain (I said we'll talk overager situation later).  Besides, he's friggin' goofy:

----------

Jordan Messier: B

Big Mess is another one who didn't play a full season, he only had 58 regular season games.  But man did he start off hot.  By the halfway point (end of December) he had 22 goals and 15 assists.  He'd gotten into his role of being a big guy in front of the net to knock in deflections.  He tapered off a bit at the start of the calendar year, then went down for awhile with conky.  He never seemed to come fully back after that, certainly not to the point he had been at the start of the season.

In the playoffs it was getting difficult to watch him.  He worked so hard but couldn't buy a goal to save his life.  In Round 2 against Spokane Coach was putting him in shift after shift.  He would be banging his stick on the ice to get the pass and I finally said to sister "would you pass to him?"  So many chances, so many shots that just went wide.  I believe he can get back to early season form and we'll see great things from him.  At least that's my hope.  He's got the work ethic and the talent, it's just putting those together to make something click.  He is a big guy so he'll be an Ashton-type player, making room in front of the net, making plays, and hoping for some beauty shots and deflections.

Year-End Grades: Reddick and Hughesman

Kruise Reddick: A

Oh Captain my Captain. Kruise has never been flashy or, well, exciting. But he does work. As I have learned in his various injury stints, the work he does is invaluable. Never the biggest guy but never afraid to back down. Not the suavest of skaters, but does well enough to be in the right spot at the right time more often than not.

Reddick's work paid of with 28 goals, 48 assists on the regular season. Again, not flashy, but gets it done. He's been put in every situation--top line, gritty 3rd line, power play, and of course penalty kill. All apologies to Kruise for the copious amount of shit talked about him during the liveblogs. I can't explain it, it's like he sensed it and would subsequently score. So we kept doing it, yay sarcastic-hating on Kruise! He gave the last 5 years of his life to this organization and became quite the hockey player, and quite the mature young man. His leadership and work ethic will most definitely be missed.

----------

Adam Hughesman: A

FINALLY. This was the Adam Hughesman I've waited to see for 3 years! Busted ass, scored goals left and right and, unlike years past, kept it up the whole season--well, until injury unfortunately cut his season short. He had 39 goals, 42 assists for 60 games of the regular season. I never want to see a guy injured, for any reason, but it really sucked because he probably would have kept on going right through to playoffs. He had a point-per-game in the playoffs, which I guess is pretty good considering how teams, especially Spokane, were really able to shut down him and Shinny.

Adam came into camp in the best shape of his career and in the best shape of anyone on the team, he was ready to go. And go he did. He and Shinny had quite some chemistry going and it payed off quite well for the two of them. I admit, I was prepared to be disappointed by Hughey again by mid-season, but it didn't happen--thank God. Like Kruise he's not the smoothest skater out there, but also tends to be in the right place at the right time.

Year-End Grades: Ashton and Yuen

Carter Ashton: A-

This one's tough. I'm probably over-compensating. But I wasn't that impressed with Ashton. That's a mis-statement: I had incorrect expectations for Ashton. I expected big-time playmaker and goal scorer. He did make plays, had 27 assists in his short time with the Americans (17 goals, 44 points). In years past when Bob's made big trades he's gotten smaller guys who were snipers--Yellowhorn and Fadden. So maybe that's what I expected. Ashton's NOT a small guy. As a big guy he wasn't as good as I wanted him to be with back checking and speed. Hey, I know it takes a big guy time to get a stride going. It was just sometimes hard to watch. He wasn't in the play when/where I wanted him to be. He was good at parking himself in front of the net, big guys should do that, and getting in the way of the goalie.

Like I said, he didn't meet my expectations but those expectations were probably unrealistic. I did think he was invisible in the 2nd round. A big guy like that shouldn't be invisible. Full credit to his buddy Cowen for being able to shut him down. Ashton contributed 44 points to the roster that wouldn't have been there otherwise. Well, certainly not 44. So I'm pretty sure I undervalued his time here. Whether that's worthy of an A-, I don't know.

----------

Zachary Yuen: A-

Can you believe it's only his 2nd year in the league? He's so smooth, so skilled. It's fun to watch him play. And I'm not alone in this thinking, he slowly moved up the ranks in the Central Scouting report for the upcoming NHL Draft. He's steady, reliable, solid. He skates very smooth and is fast--which came in handy when paired with Schmidt.

He's feisty too. Yuen's not afraid to damage those piano-playing fingers to defend himself or his teammates. I saw the most anger/hostility during Portland games (see photo below). He's shown his offensive upside as well, racking up 8 goals and 24 assists during the regular season. As I said at the mid-season point, I can see him becoming a TJ Fast-type defenseman, leading rushes, crashing the net, continuing to show that offensive side. There aren't many obvious flaws in his game, that I can see anyways, maybe the propensity to take ill-timed penalties, but even that got better towards the end of the season.

Year-End Grades: MacKenzie and Sohor

Matt MacKenzie: A+

If you recall from my year-end awards, I gave Big Mac "Best Defenseman". Tough call between him and Schmidt, but I did it. Matt's awesome. He skates very well, he's consistently in correct position. He knows how to finish his checks and blocks shots like a boss. He's very experienced, coming from the Calgary Hitmen who have been quite successful over the last several previous seasons. For the Hitmen he had been a co-captain which tells me he has leadership skillz too.

In my opinion the MacKenzie/Sutherland pairing was the best aspect of the playoffs, especially that 2nd round. Matt's talent, skills, and ability wore off on Sutherland and made him a better player too. Making those around you better--that's a great quality to have. I'm not going to get into whether or not he'll be back as a 20 next season, need more summer content so have to spread this stuff out LOL.

Best story about Mac is when he heard he was getting traded to Tri, he was actually a little mad. There was leftover animosity from the championship series last year, especially between him and Kruise Reddick. But leave it to Captain Kruise to make everything ok, the guys made Matt feel very welcome and animosity disappeared--thank god. It's interesting because really, the hockey community is pretty small, most of these guys on all the teams know each other. Most times they'll tell you they leave it all on the ice so to hear that it didn't get left on the ice for Matt, to me, showed how passionate he is about the game and about winning.

----------

Paul Sohor: D

I wish I could grade on looks. So on the opposite end of the defense spectrum from MacKenzie is Paul Sohor. If he was a 16-year-old rookie I'd give him a lot more leeway. But he's 19. If we were to assign blame, you could look to Everett where he spent 3 seasons. He wanted a trade because he wasn't getting ice time. The lack of ice time could have hindered his development. Or the ice time was limited because he wasn't developing--which came first, chicken or egg?

Statistically he had the best season of his WHL career in Tri-Cities with 3 goals, his first ever WHL goals. He's played with the Winnipeg boys for years so I think it helped him to come here and be able to fit in right away. But if I were to give him a nickname it'd be "Turnover City". He skates good, blocks shots like a mo-fo, but there were often mistakes that I'd expect to see from a rookie, not a veteran. He was paired up with Sam Grist which always made me nervous, they're both decent, but neither good enough to compensate for the shortcomings of the other. But again, Sam's a rookie, Paul's not. I just expected more.

Year-End Grades: Grist and Dow

If you've read this blog for awhile you know I hand out mid-season and year-end grades.  Here's the mid-season ones from this year.  The plan is to post 2 a day for the next while to spread things out (need off-season content, yo).  I'll be going in order by number so to start things off is Sam Grist and Drydn Dow.

----------

Sam Grist: C+

Sam's a rookie so to mark him down for that is a little unfair.  He started out the season real rough, lots of mistakes, not using his size smartly.  But over the season I thought he made huge improvements.  Fewer mistakes overall, but still having some trouble with his size.  He's a huge beast and he needs to remember that and be more careful when he's making hits, especially along the boards.  No more suspensions for hitting guys so hard please.  He's also going to have trouble with high sticks and elbows because of his height to he has to be careful to stay aware of where his body and stick are at.  I know that's hard during the intensity of the game, but c'mon.  Otherwise it'll continue to be dumb penalties at dumb times putting his team at a disadvantage.

I think Sam has a ton of potential and he really started to shine towards the end of the season and played well in the playoffs.  It will be interesting to what he accomplishes over the summer.  With the unknown returnees on the blueline next season I expect Sam will be given a larger role, certainly one of the top 4 D-men and I hope he rises to those expectations.

 

----------

Drydn Dow: B+

Dow started the season as a defenseman fighting for playing time. Personally, I've always thought he was a good d-man, skates pretty good, plays smart. He's small so he's able to get into the corners and fight for the puck pretty well. But that size is apparently a disadvantage for defense so he didn't play a lot. He's never going to be a big-hitting power D-man, he's going to be small and smart. With limited playing time I feared he'd be traded. Or flat out released. The future wasn't looking promising for Dow remaining an Americans defenseman.

When injuries started piling up Hiller put Dow as a forward. Brilliant move. Brilliant. All the above factors--small, gritty, smart--make him an excellent forward. I know he'd rather play defense, but sorry Drydn, I think you've found your niche. He's a mini Mason Wilgosh out there. At forward he's thrived. And got way more playing time than he would have at D. I hope he isn't too discouraged by the move because it really works for him. It wouldn't take much molding to make him a great defensive forward like Kruise Reddick or Mason. I hope this coming season he stays at forward, I really do. It may not be his preference, but he's good at it.

Shots from the Point

First up, Carter Ashton:

The Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL parent club of the Norfolk Admirals, have reassigned forward Carter Ashton to the Admirals from his junior club, the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League, Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Ashton, 20, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound right wing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a first-round draft pick of the Lightning (29th overall in 2009). He split this season between Tri City and the Regina Pats, scoring 33 goals and 71 points with 106 penalty minutes in 62 games between the clubs. He also netted 17 power play goals, tying him for fifth place in the WHL.

Ashton added three goals and eight points in ten playoff games with the Americans. In 239 career WHL games between Tri City, Regina and the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Ashton has scored 92 goals and 181 points with 329 penalty minutes.

Ashton also joined the Admirals at the end of last season, recording one goal in his first 11 professional games while only 19 years of age. The Lightning signed to a three-year, entry-level contract on October 2, 2009.  (Norfolk Admirals)

----------

Second bit, more from/about Chilliwack.  Gregg Drinnan did the gritty work and rounded up a boatload of links, good stuff.  You can check it out here.  This story gets stranger and stranger.  And Darryl Porter says the last 2 months have been the hardest of his life.  Is it just me or does that statement remind you of BP's Tony Hayward saying he wanted his life back during oil spill cleanup?

----------

Around the WHL tonight is Round 3 of the playoffs.  Kootenay/Medicine Hat and Portland/Spokane.  Go Portland, Go Kootenay.  That being said, I would like to direct you to Tiger Turf, fan blog for Medicine Hat.  For some reason I get a lot of visitors here through them so I can return the favor and put up the linky-poo.

----------

Last Time

I hate even bringing this crap up again, and yet here I am.

The question I keep asking myself is "would people be as anti-Hiller if the Ams had lost to any other coach?"  There are some that feel Nachbaur taking the job in Spokane was a slap in the face or to spite Tri-Cities.  That sounds awful conspiracy theory-ish to me.  Until Don Nachbaur himself or Bob Tory himself tell me otherwise, I have to go with the knowledge I have which is that Don's family was still here when he went to Binghamton and he decided to leave there to come back to be closer with his family.  Coincidentally (or not) there was a job opening in Spokane. 

In Binghamton he had a 36-35-0-9 record.  You gotta think that he wanted to get back to the WHL where he'd have more success than a .514 win percentage.  (I think I did that math right...)  When he started as a WHL coach in Seattle, he had a .543 win percentage:

1994-95 0.597
1995-96 0.451
1996-97 0.597
1997-98 0.472
1998-99 0.590
1999-00 0.556

So there were some lean years in there. As there would be for any coach the first several years. What about in his time in Tri?

2003-04 0.528
2004-05 0.438
2005-06 0.465
2006-07 0.667
2007-08 0.750
2008-09 0.701

Also a couple lean years as Bob was busy building a winner. What about Hiller?

2006-07 0.396
2007-08 0.451

Numbers with the Bruins not great. But come on, doesn't take a genius to know he didn't have a lot of talent to work with. In Tri (and all that talent Bob's accumulated)?

2009-10 0.674
2010-11 0.639

Some more numbers:

Play-offs
Don Nachbaur 2003-09
Play-off wins 27
Winning Pct. .500
Series Wins 4

Jim Hiller 2009-
Play-off wins 19
Winning pct. .594
Series wins 4

Regular Season
Don Nachbaur 2003-09
Wins 229
Winning Pct. .589

Jim Hiller 2009-
Wins 91
Winning pct. .656

I like numbers. Just a few more, bear with me.

Games coached (regular season)
Nachbaur 864 WHL, 80 AHL
Hiller 288

So to say Hiller was "out-coached" is...I dunno, odd. Six hundred and fifty-six more (regular season) games coached is experience. In that sense, I wouldn't say out-coached, I'd say out-experienced. There's a learning curve for everyone--players and coaches--in this league. Is he able to make adjustments like Don Nachbaur? Maybe not, but that doesn't mean he should be fired. It means there's learning to be done, experience to be gained. To want to toss Hiller out after only 2 years, two successful years I might add, is not thinking long-term.

In 22 years of existence, the Americans have had 12 coaches. TWELVE. Thirteen if you count 02-03 when Clouston was fired and Tory took over as bench boss. That's an incredible amount of turnover and with that comes lack of continuity, consistency, credibility. The Americans were an embarrassment. Tory arrived, brought in good scouts and Don Nachbaur. This created an atmosphere of winning and pride. Even moreso after the team was bought out of Darryl Porter's slimy hands.

Getting rid of Hiller would go against what the ownership is trying to continue growing here--success. Remember Bob Tory is part owner, you can be damn sure he's going to get his money's worth by having a consistently competitive team. Are the Ams going to be Division champs or Conference champs or WHL champs every year? God no, that's not realistic. Would it be nice? Hell yeah. Personally, and I know I'm not alone, I like having a respected team that year after year has a chance for a championship.

Final thoughts 1.) None of us knows what goes on behind closed doors. Unless you're in that locker room, it's heresay, rumor, and speculation. 2.) I fully trust Bob Tory. So if Hiller's good enough for him, he's good enough for me.

Almost all stats from Hockey DataBase

*and yes, I'm well aware there are people who disagree with me and that's fine.  I just happen to like the numbers a lot more.   And disagreeers, you're not going to change my mind.  J/S

Shots from the Point--"It's really the off-season" Edition

Bob Tory Quote of the Day:

"As we express gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."  John F. Kennedy

----------

Oh hey, did you hear the Chilliwack Bruins are moving to Victoria?  The WHL announced it yesterday.  As if it was some big secret.  I don't have a problem with Victoria getting a team, but the way they've gone about it is ridiculous and flat out not fair to the fans of the Bruins.  As usual, Gregg Drinnan has the story, you can check it out here.

There was no mention in yesterday's press release of a current WHL team then being relocated to Chilliwack--which is something that was mentioned by Brian Burke a couple weeks back.

----------

Also released yesterday was the one-game suspension of Spokane's Tyler Johnson for the kneeing on Shinnimin the other night.  He'll miss game one against Portland on Friday night.

Another quote, one Westie's said many times--"the enemy of my enemy is my friend" so GO WINTERHAWKS.  In the big picture though I'm rooting for Kootenay.  Both Portland and Kootenay have gone through some rough years which as an Ams fan is nice, but as a WHL fan I don't like to see a team struggle so terribly, I feel bad for the players and the fans. 

----------

"Disappointed is an understatement," Beattie said. "We were one goal short on two different occasions. This one's sour, for sure."

"Normally, we'd have analyzed the tape, gotten ready for the next game," Beattie said. "But there's no following game now.

"The one thing you have to remind yourself is that these are just kids. We ask them to be adults, and for the most part they are. But it's all about momentum. It goes period by period, not just game by game.

"It used to be that a two-goal lead was the worst lead in hockey, but now a three-goal lead is a dangerous lead. Look at the New York Rangers tonight (they lost to Washington in double overtime after leading 3-0 after two periods). That's the randomness of hockey." (Examiner)

----------
In the "LOL" department:

Portland coach and general manager Mike Johnston says he didn't see any such incident and that Ross denied doing anything resembling the "golf swing" gesture alleged by Bartel. Johnston also says nobody in the Kelowna organization, from coaches down to players -- nor anyone else he encountered who was at the game -- mentioned that anything like that had happened. 

TV cameras trained on the game captured no such display, and if Bartel is indeed the only one reporting this, it's appearing more likely that he may have been looking for something that wasn't really there.  (Buzzing the Net emphasis mine)

The End.

The season is over for the Americans. What a sour note to end on--blowing a 3-0 lead to lose in overtime.

They did what they were supposed to--come out hard in the first, got the first goal, gained the momentum. But apparently they came out in the 3rd thinking they had it in the bag and it bit 'em in the ass. Consistency's been a problem all season, this series and last night being no exception.

The first two periods were great hockey for the Americans, even with the loss of Shinnimin. Stay tuned to see if Tyler Johnson gets suspended for the kneeing. Losing Matt MacKenzie didn't help, he's been one of the best defensemen this series. But come on, blowing a 3-goal lead because they came out flat? Not sure they deserved to win after that. Full marks to Spokane they kept the pressure on and knew exactly when to strike, and strike they did. Three quick ones to start the 3rd. Ams fought back to tie it up, but it wasn't enough. Pretty sure Drew would like the 4th and 5th goals back :(

"We came out flat (in the third)," said Americans captain Kruise Reddick. "Give them credit, they came out great and we didn't. I think we just sat back and tried to play too defensive and didn't stick to our game plan. It wasn't supposed to end this way. It's an empty feeling." (Herald)

I'm quite certain this isn't how Captain Kruise wanted to end his career in Tri-Cities. There's no doubt that he, Tyler Schmidt, and Neal Prokop will be missed. Kruise and Tyler spent their entire junior careers here and have had a huge impact on this organization. Neal--has there been a better story? Broken femur last spring, makes insanely speedy recovery to come back his 20-year-old season? Talk about determination and inspiration.

Forty-four wins during the regular season is nothing to be ashamed of, especially in the US Division this year. As a fan it was frustrating how up-and-down they were all year and yes, a lot of that has to do the injuries. I can't remember a time when the Ams had to deal with so much adversity with injuries.

It'd be easy--too easy--to point fingers. But by God you'd better point them at the whole team because they ALL had inconsistent play (granted, some due to injury and recovery from injury). Come on, how about we celebrate the hard work that did get done and the accomplishments instead. Maybe I'm just a hopeless optimist with such thinking, who knows. It was record-breaking years for Tyler Schmidt, and Kruise Reddick, record-breaking playoffs for Owsley.

Is it disappointing they didn't make it further or higher in the regular season standings? Of course it is. Are the boys disappointed? I'm sure they are. But what's done is done, it's time to be proud of the boys and the entertainment they've provided us. Because remember, at the end of the day it's just a game and they really are just entertainment.

So best wishes to Reddick, Schmidt, and Prokop for their futures, wherever that leads them. Best wishes to the 19s that won't be back. Thank you for your time in Tri-Cities. Thank you to your parents who sacrifice time with their children so we can watch hockey. Thank you to the billets who take care of the boys during the season. Thank you Bob Tory and the coaching staff for another successful season (yes, I think it's been successful, not as much as last season, but still successful). Thank you to all the other fans for supporting the team. Thank you to the readers of my stuff, you are appreciated.

For those of us not ready for the off-season, you can show it off:

you can buy one (or more) here.

Game Six

Bob Tory Quote of the Day:

"Just do what you love and believe in it and it will come naturally"

----------

When Reddick laces up his skates tonight at Spokane Arena, he knows it could be for the last time as an American. Tri-City trails Spokane 3-2 in the best-of-7 Western Conference semifinals.

"I am proud of what we have done this year, and of years past, too," Reddick said. "We don't want this to be our last game, so we are going to lay it all on the line and do our best. Knowing it could be our last game is a weird feeling, but we don't want to let that happen."

Reddick was 16 when he arrived at his first Tri-City camp -- all of 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds. A virtual unknown from a village just as obscure. But he had something then-coach Don Nachbaur was looking for.

"Character. That was easy to define the first time you watched him in training camp," said Nachbaur, who now coaches the Spokane Chiefs. "His play without the puck, his commitment to play without the puck, the way he skated, the way he handled himself, the way he didn't use size as an excuse. Just a tremendous competitor. I learned to love that about him as his coach. When you are on the opposite bench, you are surely aware of him and how important he is to his team." (Herald)

There you have it--do it for Pokey. And Tyler, Neal, and everyone else on the team that has worked to get to this point.

Don't come out flat, come ready to play as a team.  Don't expect Drew to save your ass the whole night.  Quality shots on goal, lots of them.  Don't take penalties.  Be the better team, get the crowd out of it.  I'd say to build off of Sunday's momentum, but they didn't really have any momentum Sunday.  But Spokane does and they're definitely going to use that to come out with intensity.  It's do or die time boys, play like you really want it.

There's my pep talk.  It's up to the boys and the coaching staff now.

There will be a liveblog, so click on the "Read More" to join in.

Read more »

FLAT

Frankly, I'm surprised the shots were so close--43 for the Chiefs, 35 for the Ams.  It seemed the Americans never had control of the puck for the entire game, let alone for long enough to get 35 shots off.

After Thursday's terrific team effort, last night it was back to sloppy, discombobulated play.  Once again, thank God for Drew Owsley.  And Brock Sutherland, he had another great night.  The rest?  Meh.  Full marks to Spokane, again, for putting the pressure on and not letting the Ams have any control of the game.  The Americans came out flat, Chiefs scored the first shift.  At one point Spokant mused that even Mason Wilgosh looked flat.  It's true.  Just not a lot of life there.  When there was life, it was towards the end of the 3rd--to little too late.  Yes, they got the equalizer with less than a minute left, but that was luck.  The only luck they had all night.

Big question--how come no one was on Gal coming out of the box???

Another big question--Why Big Mess?  I love the kid, he works damn hard.  But he couldn't buy a goal right now if it was on sale at the Dollar Store.  And yet he was on the ice pretty much every other shift towards the end of the game.  Personally, I would have gone with Neal over Jordan, but what do I know?  Once again Prokop saw little to no ice time in the 3rd.

Hey boys, Drew can't do it all.  He comes close, but he needs help at the other end.

If that's the last time I see Neal Prokop I will be extremely sad.  Pokey and Schmidt too, but mostly Neal.  And that sexy beard.  I don't even want to think about all the 19-year-olds that we may not see again either.  Oh mercy.

"Just some bad luck," Reddick said. "It stinks. But we didn't get the job done on the power play."

"We battled back the whole game, and losing like this takes a little out of us," Ashton added. "But we know the task ahead of us. We've won big games in Spokane before. We're confident we're going to get the job done." (Examiner)

I'm glad Ashton has confidence.  Not sure I do (#badfan).  If they put out and effort like they did Thursday, sure.  But not if they lay out another stinker like last night.  I do not think the score and the overtime was indicative of the effort.

Even one of the few moments the Ams did have the puck, Pokey shot it up to get it out of the defensive zone and it hit Matt MacKenzie smack on the foot as he was coming onto the bench.  It hit him hard.  Mac was in obvious pain and didn't take that shift.  That sequence of events sorta sums up the whole night.  No luck, no chances to make any luck because Chiefs were all over them.

So now back to Spokane where the Americans have the task of trying to win the next two--two in a row, two games away from the home rink, two against a skilled and determined team.  I'm sure the coaching staff will pull out "take it one game at a time" which is exactly what they need to do.  They were strong and effective in game four so we know it can be done. 

GAME DAY

I haven't been in the locker room (sad, I know) but I'm assuming the game plan is to build off the momentum from Thursday night.  Chiefs will come out hard, Ams have to come out harder.  There's a "that's what she said" in there somewhere.

"We need to play our game. We can't stray away from what has been successful all year," Reddick said. "There are a lot of guys in the room that have been through this before. We just have to do what we do best. Spokane is the same team they have been all year. They are a typical Don Nachbaur team, skating hard to the end. It will be a battle for sure."

"I think you have to look at the numbers (27-8-0-1 during the regular season) -- it is an advantage for us," Hiller said. "We played without Schmitty in the first game. I look forward again to playing with the whole lineup. I thought (Thursday) was our best game of the series. We did a lot of things right, played how we wanted to play offensively, and we had a lot of pressure at the net. We don't want to change anything."

Hiller shortened his lines late in the third and during both overtimes, holding Adam Hughesman and Neal Prokop off the ice and short-shifting his defensemen.

"It was a coach's decision," Hiller said. "We had what we felt was a group of guys that were going better, and that's what we went with. We also knew that we would get a healthy break between games and thought we could run them a little harder than usual and still be fresh enough for (today)."

"He (David Conrad) has really played well in the playoffs," Hiller said. "David won the important face-off on the winning goal. He's a guy that kind of fell through the cracks." (Herald)

Reminder of the later start time--7:30.  It's gonna be a rough Monday if it goes to overtime again, especially double OT.   Well, for me at least.

Perhaps you've caught a glimpse of former American Mitch McColm around the concourse the last couple games.  I had a chance to catch up with him.  He started the season with the Allen Americans, torqued his shoulder, ended up only playing 3 games for them.  He's been in Tri-Cities doing shoulder rehab for a couple weeks, will be here for a while longer--"it's still snowing in Calgary so I'll stay here".  Can't blame him for that.  He's hoping the rehab will do the trick, he gets it looked at in about a month to determine if it's healing or if he'll need surgery.  It was great to see him, he's such a nice guy.  I know that sounds generic, but he really is an outstanding guy.  Here's hoping to a speedy recovery and continuing hockey for Uncle Mitch.

And here's to a good game tonight!  GO AMS!!

You've got to be kidding me

From Buzzing the Net today:

Tri-City goalie Drew Owsley, who hadn't been making much impact on the series through three games, made 47 saves in Game 4, including several sparklers in overtime. (BTN)

"hadn't been making much impact on the series"

HADN'T BEEN MAKING MUCH IMPACT ON THE SERIES.

You cannot be serious.  Owsley stopped 35 shots in game 1 compared to 18 for Reid.  He stopped 40 in game 2, Reid had 15.  In game 3, Owsley stopped 41, Reid 21.  Drew MF Owsley is the only thing that kept games 2 and 3 from being complete blowouts by the Chiefs.  And the only thing that kept the Americans in game 1 to win it.  To say he hasn't made an impact on the series is just flat out ignorance.  I doubt article author Scott Sepich has even watched a game of this series to know what the hell he's talking about.  And if he has watched these games, then he's just stupid.  Toss in this bullshit and I think I've got my answer:

Even more amazing, the teams played more than 82 minutes and no holes opened up on the Toyota Center ice. 

STFU.  I'd almost rather Buzzing the Net not even mention the Americans if that's the crap they're going to write.

Wowza

First off, condolences to Bob Tory and his family following the loss of his father yesterday.  My thoughts and prayers are with the Tory family.

As for the game?  I'd like to take Tyler Schmidt's double-overtime game-winning goal out behind the bleachers and make out with it.  HAWT.

Overall it was a great game.  Nervous time from the very start.  But the Ams played so much better.  They played like a team, played as well as we all knew they could.  I can't stress enough how awesome I think the pairing of Sutherland and MacKenzie are.  For reals.  I told Sister my theory that not only has Brock been better from the start of the season, but bringing in Big Mac and pairing him with Suds has elevated Brock's game even more.

Drew Owsley...holy crap.  He was outstanding, once again.  With the win he becomes the winningest goalie in Americans playoff history.  Also outstanding was the Holland-Feser-Rankin line.  Rankin didn't start out on that line, Prokop did, but I didn't see Neal (except on the bench) after the beginning of the 3rd period.  Also not playing much in the end was Adam Hughesman.  Pretty much in OT it was Shinny-Ashton-Big Mess and Holland-Feser-Rankin.  I'm glad it ended when it did, guys were getting tired.  It came down to which tired team would make the first mistake.

"We kind of had that feeling in the room that we had to get that goal or else we'd dig ourselves a deep hole," said goalie Drew Owsley, who had another monster game with 47 saves. "Obviously, we felt some desperation in the room, for sure."

"That shows the character of this team," Owsley said. "We could have rolled over after we gave up that second one, but we kept pushing and got three quick ones. That got the ball rolling." (Examiner)

It could have ended in the first overtime when Shinny was awarded a penalty shot, but Reid was able to stop him.  I also feared it was going to end in the 1st period when the Ams were showing some frustration, but they were able to keep their composure for the most part and keep going as a team.

"It felt good to get that overtime winner," said Schmidt, whose shot came from the top of the slot. "I've never had one before in my career. After sitting out, you want to get back out there. I got lucky at the end. We needed this win."

"We had it in overtime, double overtime," Nachbaur said. "It came down to a testament of character and will. They were blocking everything and we didn't do that on the game-winning goals. Guys didn't pay the price. You want to go on to the next round, you've got to pay the price. Plain and simple."

"It was an outstanding game," Tri-City coach Jim Hiller said. "We didn't play well the last game and we didn't feel good about ourselves. I'm proud of them."

"I thought both goalies were really good," Hiller said. "If you look at those two, that's why this game went to so long." (Herald)

So now two days off (probably not "off", probably practicing) before game 5 Sunday night.  Remember there's the ridiculous start time of 7:30 (supposedly, I bet it gets moved to 8).  After last night I'm sure the boys slept well and today they'll need to eat Costco pallets full of food to replenish.

----------

I am quite honored when every once in a while Puck Daddy himself, Greg Wyshynski, asks for my input on something from a female hockey fan perspective.  This time around the topic was the female equivalent of the playoff beard.  My response?  Check it here. 

Happy Friday!

Hunger

Desperation.

"We have to go through the tape again, but what is this, 18 times with them?" asked Americans coach Jim Hiller. "We know how they play. It's just a matter of executing and being more desperate.

"It's time for us to be extremely desperate."

"We've had a little bit of experience now and know what it takes," Americans forward Mason Wilgosh said. "We have to get the ball rolling again. Come out hard (today) in the first shift, the first period. We have to let them know we aren't going away. We win (today), it's a whole new series."

"We will welcome him (Schmidt) back with open arms, for sure, but it will take more than him," Hiller said. "We have 19 guys who have to be better." (Herald)

I hope in their day off yesterday they have figured out how to match and actually exceed Spokane's drive.  Willy's quote sounds good, but I want to see it actually happen.  Will over skill.  But throw in some skill too.  I know the Chiefs are going to continue blocking lanes and shutting down the top guys, but those top guys--Shinny, Hughey, Ashton--have to find another gear and make good things happen.  Don't try to be fancy, it's going to take some hard, physical work to get through the Chiefs and get to the net.  

Just once in this series (ok, more than once) I'd like to see the Americans outshoot the Chiefs.  Of course, those should be quality chances, not just random shots on goal.  Granted, random ones go in sometimes too (TWSS), but it's the need for quality chances.  And getting gritty and being down low to get the rebounds and garbage goals.  Chiefs have been able to keep the Ams out in the perimeter, full marks to them for that effort.  Now I'd like to see the Americans do that to the Chiefs.

----------

In other WHL news, in case you missed it, the Saskatoon Blades got swept by the Kootenay Ice last night in their series.  Like Wazz said, Kootenay's sell-the-farm plan worked out much better for them than for the Blades.  Red Deer finally won a game against Medicine Hat, making that series 3-1.  Rebels were without Ms. Conduct's goalie of the future Darcy Kuemper with what is being called a lower body injury.  Backup Guhle stepped in and did a stellar job.  Another team 3-1 are the Portland Winterhawks.  After being sloppy and undisciplined in game one they've come back strong against the Rockets.

----------

Drinnan takes a look at concussions and CTE again after PBS' Frontline has aired an episode about youth concussions:

Football High referenced Owen Thomas, a player with the University of Pennsylvania football team. A team captain, Thomas was 21 when he committed suicide in April 2010.

When his brain was examined, researchers were stunned to discover it was in the early stages of CTE.
Why were they so surprised?

Because Thomas had never been diagnosed with a concussion. Not even once.

This discovery was just one more step towards what appears to be an inevitable conclusion.

“Because a young athlete’s brain is still developing,” explains part of the discussion at pbs.org, “the effects of a concussion, or even many smaller hits over a season, can be far more detrimental, compared to head injury in an older player.”  (Taking Note)

----------

Messy

That was as sloppy as a 3-year-old's handwriting.

You could blame officiating (but what's the point?), you could say it's because Schmidt was out.  There could be a lot of excuses, but the bottom line is the Ams got out played.  They were chasing their tails all night.  Full credit to the Chiefs--their game plan was to make things difficult for the Americans and they stuck to it.  Probably their actual game plan was full of more hockey lingo and whatnot--puck possession, block passing and shooting lanes, get shots on net--but they flat out dominated.  It was like they had puck magnets in their sticks, while the Ams were turnover city.  I swear next time I see some bullshit no-look drop pass go to an opposing player I will flip out.

I know there's not really any sort of "set plays" in hockey because of the fluidity of the game, but there are there are ways to set up plays (systems?) based on how the game, puck, and players are moving.  The Chiefs wouldn't let the Ams even get close to setting anything up or getting any flow.  In that sense, the Chiefs' "set play" was to get in the way of everything, they were everywhere.*

Difficulties that the Americans have had all season are showing through--lack of a consistent, strong effort; no puck luck; and struggling against the Chiefs.  Srsly.  I don't know what it is about Spokane that our boys have such trouble with.  Yes, the Chiefs are a good hockey team.  But so are Portland and Vancouver, they haven't given the Ams trouble like Spokane.  Is it some of the boys worried about playing against their former coach?  Are they somehow intimidated?  Do they try too hard, knowing it's going to be a battle every time?  Is there too many individuals, not enough of a team effort?

A couple (not many) positives from last night--Drew was outstanding.  It could have easily been like 10-1 if not for his efforts.  The Americans finally got some shots on goal.  Not enough, but it's something.  Right?  In the absence of Tyler Schmidt (or because it's playoffs) Brock Sutherland had a great game (all things considered).  As did Matt MacKenzie.  Semi-newbie Clinton Atkinson played well, he's going to be a solid, reliable addition to next years squad.  Neal Prokop's goal (and that sexy beard).

"It's close to do-or-die," said forward Neal Prokop, who scored Tri-City's only goal midway through the second period. "We've got to win the next two, because we know it'll be tough to go up there and win two in Spokes."

"As frustrating as it is, though, it's a seven-game series, and we're down only 2-1," said Mason Wilgosh. "We win Thursday (in Game 4), and it's 2-2 and a whole new series."

"That got us on our heels, and we never recovered," said Ams coach Jim Hiller. "I thought we'd have better pushback early, but they kept the puck away from us. We had a hard time generating any scoring chances."

"We've got to fire pucks at the net, create chaos in front and hope one goes in," Prokop said.

Hiller said, "We've got to be more desperate. We're the team that's trailing in the series. We didn't make enough plays tonight, and you've got to do that to beat good teams."

"I thought it was Drew's best game of the series," Hiller said. "He was really good. He made some quality saves. He needed to make too many."

Wilgosh added, "We can't have all those turnovers. We need to be sure at each blue line. We need to be sure it's out and it's in when it's needed."

"It (Schmidt's suspension) definitely had an impact," Hiller said. "All you have to do is look on the wall (of records outside the dressing room) to see he's an important part of this franchise. We'll definitely welcome him back (Thursday), but it's going to take more than that. It's going to take 19 other guys, too." (Examiner)

So they're saying the right things, but it needs to get put into action.

Apparently Nachbaur was watching a different game than I was:

"I'm not sure we carried the play, but we played a style that was good for us and we had some good results," Spokane coach Don Nachbaur said. "We had to get back in this series and that was a good way to do it. We played a solid game without the puck. It was a good effort by our guys." (Herald)

Didn't think they carried the play? Solid game without the puck--when did the Chiefs NOT have the puck?

Oh well. It's over. Westie, on the post game show, was stressing the importance of putting the game behind them and moving on to Thursday. Sure, that sounds easy. The Ams have one day--today--to make improvements for tomorrow night's game. I don't know what I'd do or say. Then again, I'm not a coach.
----------
SWX has short clip on Comrie's WHL debut:


----------
The Ams sent over a couple more photos from the Williams signing:

*this entire paragraph is worded/thought out poorly.  But I typed it anyways.

Game Three

Bob Tory Quote of the Day:

"He who throws mud loses ground"

----------

Late Monday afternoon, the WHL handed down a one-game suspension for Tri-City veteran defenseman Tyler Schmidt for a clipping major and a game misconduct for a hit on Spokane's Darren Kramer during the third period of Game 2 on Sunday.

That could prove to be a detriment for the Americans, who saw defenseman Matt MacKenzie leave Game 2 after his first shift and not return.

"That is unfortunate," said Tri-City general manager Bob Tory of Schmidt's suspension. "We didn't view it the same way the league did. We have to accept it and move on. Matt is fine. We expect him to be playing (today)." 

Losing Schmidt will be rough.  As much as he pisses me off with his yapping, he's a damn good defenseman.  Better than Sohor and Grist combined--which is what we'll see.  Dow will probably see some time on D tonight too.  If Big Mac is back, that will help.  A lot.  If he's not...oof.  Could be rough.  Really rough.  It will truly be will over skill if the Ams want to win.  Don't get me wrong, it will take a lot of skill too.

"It's definitely a welcome sight to come back to Toyota Center in front of our fans the next three games," said Tri-City captain Kruise Reddick. "Tri-City and Spokane in the playoffs, what more do you want? The fans will get what they came for."

"It wasn't our best game," said Americans forward Adam Hughesman of Game 2. "It was a tough game. There were a few bad bounces early in the game. We've got home-ice advantage back in our favor and the ball's in our court now and hopefully we can forget about (Sunday) and worry about (today). We have three home games in a row, which is pretty rare in the playoffs, We are looking to take advantage of it."

"It's nice being tied 1-1," Cowen said. "They played really well in the first and so did we. It's hard to play (at Toyota Center). It's hard to explain. The fans are always on your case and they are always in your ear. It gets to some guys. It's not an easy environment to play in."  (Herald)

So there you have it.  We fans have to be real loud, supporting our boys.  Obviously, Chiefs are going to try to score early and take the energy out of the building.  Won't be that hard to do on a Tuesday night, but let's make it hard (heh).

Rene Ferran continues with his "Meet the Ams" feature, this time focusing on new behbeh goalie Eric Comrie:

"They just said, 'Go in and do your best,' and I tried to do that," Comrie said Monday, an off day in the series that resumes Tuesday night at Toyota Center with the teams tied at one win apiece.

"I was pretty nervous before the game, and then especially when I went in, but I thought I played well," added Comrie, who stopped 13 of 14 shots (the only goal he allowed came on a 5-on-3 Spokane power play) in the final 20 minutes of the 6-3 defeat. "I was getting used to the speed of the game in practice, so it didn't seem too fast. And the defense did a good job in front of me, which really helped." (Examiner)

Comrie's going to be with the team through the playoffs, as will yesterday's signee, Brian Williams.  Williams and Comrie were teammates with the L.A. Selects so they've got some familiarity with each other.

Surprisingly enough, I'm not that nervous about the game tonight.  I mean, sure, I want them to win and I know it will be intense.  But I had a dream last night that gas was over $6 a gallon and I couldn't afford to go to games anymore.  So really, in that context, I'm just glad I'll be watching hockey tonight!

Brian Williams signing

As expected, Brian Williams signed with the Americans today:

Photos courtesy Tri-City Americans

KENNEWICK, WA – Tri-City Americans Governor/General Manager Bob Tory announced today at a press conference that the team has signed 2010 8th round (137th overall) bantam draft pick Brian Williams to a standard WHL Players Contract.

Williams, a native of Claremont, California, was the first native-Californian drafted by Tri-City in the Bantam Draft since Jason Beeman (2nd Rd, 2001) and was projected as a top-5 pick prior to the 2010 Draft but fell after he expressed interest in pursuing an NCAA scholarship.

Last season, the 5’9, 160 pound center played in 34 games in the Elite League for the LA Selects Midget U16 club, where he recorded 15 goals and 34 points. Additionally, along with teammate and current Americans’ signee, Eric Comrie, Williams led the LA Selects to a semi-final berth in the 2011 National Championship Midget U16 Tournament in Simsbury, Connecticut, before falling to silver medalist Shattuck St. Mary’s. Additionally, Williams attended the U.S. Select 15 Festival this year and the U.S. Select 14 Festival in 2009-10.

“We are extremely excited that Brian and his family have chosen our club, and the WHL, to pursue his hockey aspirations over the NCAA route,” explained Tory. “Brian is a skilled, fast forward who will only add to the depth of our hockey club.

“Brian will join our team for the remainder of the WHL Playoffs,” Tory continued.

Ugly

"It's certainly frustrating," said Ams associate coach Scott Beattie. "Spokane took their game to another level tonight. They came out hungry and determined, and we didn't match that by any means."

"We needed to be ready for it," Beattie said. "It's human nature to lighten up when we got the first one, but we don't consider these guys to be normal. They're elite athletes, and they were not ready from the drop of the puck tonight.

"This is going to be a long series, a hard series, and we've got to be ready for 60 minutes every game." (Examiner emphasis mine)

The good news is they split the road games and now head back home for 3.  Also good news--Eric Comrie is the real deal.  The rest?  Ick.  

Lost MacKenzie in the first, no word on him.  And there likely won't be word on him, it's the playoffs.  Schmidt's clipping major...dumb dumb dumb.  Bear in mind, I haven't seen the hit and even if I did I don't know if I could identify "clipping", that's one that's rarely called.  Regardless, the call was made and the league will review.  If he's suspended and Big Mac is out...that's trouble.  I'm sorry but I don't have enough confidence in Grist and Sohor to pick up the slack of two of the top defensemen.

Shots were 40-15 Chiefs.  I don't care if the tallying is off in Spokane, 15 shots is not going to win hockey games.  It's easy to say they should shoot more.  Duh.  But you can be damn sure that Spokane's blocking shooting lanes pretty effectively.  When there's nothing to shoot at, there's nothing to shoot at.  Full marks to Spokane for coming out hard (heh) and stopping any momentum the Ams may have tried to get.

Barring suspension and/or Big Mac injury, it's clear the team that wants it more is going to win.  Will over skill.

Now it's a day off before game 3 tomorrow.  It was mentioned in the interview Craig West had with Bob Tory during intermission last night that there would be another announcement of a signing today.  I'll pass along word when I hear (and when I have time).
----------
NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings are out.  Of interest, Zachary Yuen ranked at 69 overall in North American skaters, Sam Grist at #91.
----------
Bob Tory Quote of the Day:

"Don't let yesterday use up today"