Bizzare Goalie Triangle

This sounds familiar.  The Chiefs seemingly get their goalie situation settled and then do something that throws a monkey wrench back into it like bringing in Lasse Petersen last season and then Sittler was brought in over the Summer.  So then the Chiefs trade Petersen away and Verhelst 'quits' which leaves Sittler and Berlin.  Problem solved.

Well, not exactly.  Turns out Verhelst was suspended instead of retired and still wanted to play elsewhere.  Spokane still had him on the protected roster which meant a trade was needed if he wanted to play somewhere.  He got his wish as he was traded to Red Deer with a third round pick in 2017.  The Chiefs get a fifth pick in 2017......and goaltender Dawson Weatherill, which puts the Chiefs back with three goalies.

It's starting to look like the top brass may not have too much faith in the current goalie situation.  The 8-3 thrashing that Tri-City gave us doesn't help.  I feel bad for Sittler and Berlin with the situation this puts them in but anything that improves the team I am all for.  I will note that Weatherill is a 17 year old and could get sent down for the season.  But if Weatherill makes the final roster over Berlin it likely means Berlin's time in Spokane will be done.  It will be interesting to see who suits up for Saturday's home opener.

Speaking of home openers, the Chiefs first home game of the season is less than 72 hours away.  Needless to say I'm a little excited...

Go Chiefs Go!

Textbook Lollygagging

OK, before I talk about that trainwreck of a game I want to mention Zwerger.  He was traded to the Everett Silvertips for a 3rd round pick in next year's bantam draft.  Overall I'd say it's a good move.  It gives Spokane another pick in the draft next year which will help continue to build a contender for the next few seasons and it puts the Chiefs down to the 20 year old and Euro limits.  Plus Spokane keeps Bechtold who is a better defensive forward than Zwerger was.  Downside is he was traded to Everett, which means he will likely try and stick it to us eight times this season.  Too bad there was no one back east we could trade him to.

Now on to that sad excuse for a game Saturday.  It came down to one thing:  Lollygagging.  Tri-City was better at skating, scoring, defense, puck movement, play control, transition, hitting, hustling, line changes, goaltending, and scoring.  I know I mentioned scoring twice but Tri scored 8 times so it gets mentioned twice.  Spokane was clearly the superior team in lollygagging.  They were lollygagging all over the place.  I know this team is young and I know they will lose games, but they need to work hard and show they want to be on this team.  Otherwise it could make for a long and  frustrating season.  I expect a better effort at home.  This team and players are certainly capable of it.  I'd write more but thinking about this game in detail makes me throw up a little bit.

In short:

There are 72 games in the season.  Let's put game 1 in the rear view mirror and get ready to win game 2.  Go Chiefs!

A Message From My Dog Wembley

Since there are other things going on in my life I've decided that this blog won't entirely be about the Spokane Chiefs.  With that in mind here is my dog with an announcement....

Down To Business...and a Prediction

I know it's been a couple weeks since a post but I didn't see any of the preseason games and I don't want to comment on things I didn't see since I can't give a fair assessment on what happened.  You know the type, "I didn't go to the game but my friend talked to a guy who knows someone who works at the arena and his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend knows someone who's second cousin used to live next door to the family that used to be the billet family for Levko Koper and they said that Curtis Miske played well".  Not gonna happen.

Now it's on to the regular season.  I had a positive outlook on the Chiefs after the red white game and nothing has happened over the past couple of weeks to change that feeling.  There is a lot of young talent on this roster and if they perform to their abilities this team will improve from their standing from last season.  Just how much improved is the real question...

Goaltending could get tricky.  Whether it's Berlin or Buskey as the back up it's likely that Sittler will get 50 to 55 starts at least.  That's a lot to ask of a goalie, even for a 20 year old.  If he's capable of it (and he certainly can be) the Chiefs will be fine on the back end.  They have a rock solid defense with a good mix of veterans and young players.  Offensively we need some veterans and young players to step up.  The offensive load can't be left up to the Yamamoto brothers, Elynuik, and Zwerger (if he's still around).  Thankfully the Chiefs have talent with Anderson-Dolan, McIndoe, Miske, Bechtold (if he's still around) and others that are capable of scoring when needed.  And I'm still sold on Jake McGrew.  That kid plays hard.

I think that the Chiefs will be a better team this season than last season.  Just how much better remains to be seen.  I think that Spokane will be better than Tri-City and Portland.  If they consistently play to their potential and stay away from the injury bug that has plagued them in the past maybe even better than Everett.  So here goes:  Sittler plays well like he did in Lethbridge, The Chiefs play with solid defense and balanced scoring, Kailer and Jaret become superstars and the Spokane Chiefs finish just ahead of Everett for second in the U.S. Division.  They also make it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in a while.

Of course, I'm no expert or anything.  Just a guy who loves hockey and has a laptop.

Season starts in six days in Tri-City.  Time to bring it back:  Go Chiefs!

Koby Morrisseau

OK, I definitely have thoughts about this weekend's tournament in Everett, but that will come later.  This will probably turn into a rant to please bear with me.  This is about the game against Portland and Spokane Chiefs forward and likely-to-make-the-team rookie Koby Morriseau.  Morriseau was checked to the back of the head and into the boards by Portland Winterhawks forward Brett Clayton.  Morrisseau went down and was immediately attended to by the medical staff from Spokane and Portland as well as paramedics before being taken off the ice on a stretcher.  Probably the scariest thing to ever see on the ice. I should mention that Clayton was given a major and game misconduct for that hit and I'm sure a suspension is coming. Hopefully everything will be ok as there are reports that Morrisseau was talking and moving all of his limbs.  My thoughts and prayers go out to Koby and his family and I hope for a speedy recovery.

I seem to hear every year about how the league is taking the 'toughness' out of the game.  Every year someone says something like 'they were allowed to hit a lot harder in the old days' or 'pretty soon they won't be allowed to touch anyone anymore' or even 'I wanna see someone get lit up'.  If anyone doesn't understand why the league wants to cut back on this kind of hitting, this is it.  Morrisseau is only 15 years old (he turns 16 next month), is a likely a NHL draft pick in a few years, and as a 15 year old has his whole life ahead of him.  And it sickens me that there are so-called 'fans' that would have cheered if an opposing player went down from a hit like that and didn't get up.  I love hockey for many reasons.  The violent stuff is not one of them.  If you told me that there would absolutely be no fights this season I would still be going.  Remember, these players are just kids.  And yes, I know that there are injuries in every sport out there,  whether it be a contact sport or not.  But if the rules can be changed to help prevent serious injuries to the head and neck and protect these kids better even if it means to cut back on the hitting, then I'm for it.  Hockey will still be fun to watch.  And if you're one of the 'I'm just here to drink beer, see some fights and watch someone get crushed' then might I recommend boxing or mixed martial arts.

Anyway, sorry for the rant but I had to get that off my chest.  But I'd much rather see a player deke a defencemen out of their skates and score a goal five-hole than see a fight.  Bring on the skill and the fun stuff instead!

Thoughts on the rest of the happenings of the Everett tournament coming soon...