You can find my story about the Adam Rivet re-signing here, if you are subscribed to our online edition. Here are the leftover quotes from my one-on-one interviews with Coach Ruskowski and Rivet.
Ruskowski on Rivet:
Glenn Hart probably put it best… he’s just a good human being, he’s a good hockey player, he’s great in the community, great in the dressing, he plays hard every time, he wears his passion on his sleeve, and he comes to play all the time. I know what he brings, he brings it every night, and that’s what I can count on. He’s just a good person and a really good player, an All-Star player, so I’d be stupid not to bring someone like him back.
Ruskowski on last season:
It was a tough year for everybody, to tell you the truth. It was a tough year, what were we, 39-25? Some people would die for that, but for us, it’s not what we want, especially to making the playoffs to get knocked out in the first round. Everybody had a tough year, so we’re trying to rebuild, regroup, rebound, and I think Adam coming back is a guy we can count on and a huge, huge asset for us. Now with the young kids coming up, they can look at what he does and emulate him as best they can. If they emulate guys like Jeff Bes, Serge Dube, Adam Rivet, Igor Agarunov, we’re going to be in pretty good shape. Those guys are good hockey players, they’re good people, they’re good leaders, and they know how to win.
Ruskowski on team leaders:
We’re having a young team, so he’s going to have to step up and be a leader, tell the kids what to do and how to do it, his work ethic and how to build it. If the kids are having problems, on the ice or off the ice, they can go to Adam and Adam will tell them the right things to do. I feel very confident that when they talk to Adam, things get done because when they talk to Besser, Dube or Rivet, things get done the right way.
Ruskowski on other returning players:
We’re still negotiating on Besser, still trying to talk to Serge Dube, I don’t know if that’s going to work or not, but we’re trying to do our best to get those guys back. Nothing for sure, they’re still thinking about it, but if we can get them back, it’ll be a huge asset for us. If we can even get one of them back, it’s going to be a huge asset for us.
Rivet on returning:
I’m excited. It’s always fun to come back here to Laredo. I’m looking forward to the season, we’re going to be a different team this year, as far as youth-wise, but it’s exciting.
Rivet on a leadership role:
I think the main thing is just talking to the guys. In the past, we had an older team, we didn’t really have to have one-on-one conversations. This year, particularly, the younger guys… have to build their confidence, hopefully.
Rivet on his goals for the season:
Especially for the team, obviously a winning season and trying to get back to the Finals. We’ve been successful, fortunately, in making those long runs into the playoffs, and that’s always the idea going into the season. From what I understand, we have some solid young players. As far as personally, I want a lot better season than I had last year. It was a tough season, and I know I have to pick it up. This summer, I’ve been able to get away; I went home and totally refreshed myself, and I’m really looking forward and excited to play hockey again. That’s the big thing for me; I know last year, I wasn’t as excited, but this year, I can’t wait to get on the ice and get going.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Junior Bucks
Just passing along some information about Junior Bucks' registration next week...
The Laredo Junior Bucks will host their annual parent meeting on Thursday at at 6:45 p.m. at Gate D of the LEC.
The meeting will inform new and returning players about the Junioe Bucks’ plans for the 2009-10 season.
All parents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the Laredo Youth Hockey Program.
Registration will continue at the LEC on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 6, from 12-3 p.m. at Gate D.
New and returning players must register with USA Hockey at www.usahockeyregistration.com.
For more information, contact Marilyn Campbell at 645-3899.
The Laredo Junior Bucks will host their annual parent meeting on Thursday at at 6:45 p.m. at Gate D of the LEC.
The meeting will inform new and returning players about the Junioe Bucks’ plans for the 2009-10 season.
All parents are encouraged to attend to learn more about the Laredo Youth Hockey Program.
Registration will continue at the LEC on Saturday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 6, from 12-3 p.m. at Gate D.
New and returning players must register with USA Hockey at www.usahockeyregistration.com.
For more information, contact Marilyn Campbell at 645-3899.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Rivet Quote Overload
I am in the office waiting for a co-worker to return from tonight's Martin-Nixon game (a 35-26 Martin victory, by the way) and feeling very futile because I have done literally everything I can do for the daily until we get his story.
To avoid sitting around doing nothing, I have decided to share with you almost every single word spoken during today's Adam Rivet press conference. I'm cutting out Bryan Benway's introduction and farewell (Sorry Bryan!) and dividing things by the order in which they were spoken.
I'll break it up to protect your eyesight, but you might not want to read this all at once.
Coach Ruskowski:
One of the things we’ve started a while back, and I think it’s a great thing, we talked about it at lunch today Glenn and I, and we feel this is one of the things that draws attention to the players, to the people who are great sponsors of ours, to tell everybody that we’re here, that we appreciate our fans, appreciate all our sponsorships.
But we’re also here for a reason, to say that we have just re-signed Adam Rivet to another year contract. The reason that we’re doing that is because we’re really changing things up this year. We’ve already signed Igor Agarunov, we probably would have had a conference for him, too, but he’s a pretty shy guy, doesn’t like the limelight as much as Adam does. But we are very appreciative of him; he’s been with us from Day 1 (of his career). I think Adam’s missed one year with us.
He’s been a guy who’s been very, very loyal to the organization, he’s been a very good hockey player, he’s great in the community. What else can you say? He’s a defenseman who scores me probably 20 goals a year, pretty awesome stats; he’s been with us for a couple championships. What we want to do with this organization is to keep the winners together, keep the champions together.
We’re proud of what we’ve been doing, but yet we’re proud of what we’re going to do. Right from the front office staff to everybody who’s involved in the organization. We’re so proud to be back in Laredo and continue to try to keep the success that we’ve had in the past. This year’s going to be a bit more difficult.
We’re bringing a lot of new players in, it’s kind of a revamping year, but we’re going to do it. We’re going to be a little bit grittier, a little bit more determined, a lot more exciting than in previous years, I guarantee you that. We’ve got young talent in here that’s going to do a lot of stuff. But, saying that, when you have young dogs, you have to have some old dogs in the pen. As soon as we sign Besser, I think that will help us a lot, too, with the old dog part.
We’re still working on him, but with no further ado, as an organization, we’re very proud, excited and happy to have Adam Rivet come back for another year of playing, a stable person not only in the community and in the dressing room, but also in the front office trying to do the best he can to get the people to come out. But also, his playing style, his ability, his determination on the ice is a factor we want to build off of. So, with no further ado, we’d like to welcome Adam Rivet to the 1909, excuse me, 2009-2010 Laredo Bucks.
Rivet:
Thank you. Don’t worry; sometimes I mess my numbers up, too, Terry.
It’s a pleasure to be back. It’s my fifth year in Laredo, and I’ve always enjoyed playing here. The community, the team, the front office staff, the players and obviously the friends and the families that you meet in Laredo are awesome. It makes it worthwhile to play in such a city.
I’m looking forward to the season. It’s going to be a new challenge for us. Like Terry said, we’re going to be a younger team, and I’m just excited to have the opportunity to build something new again. Last year was a disappointing year as far as the team goes. We all want to do better, and I think this year, having some fresh legs in there, hopefully we can get back to that status that we’re known for as being one of the premier teams in the league. That’s where we want to go, and that’s where we want to stay.
I’ve been working hard this summer and hopefully it pays off, and we’ll see come October what kind of team we’ll have and new guys come in. I’m excited; I feel like a rookie again, revived and ready to go, so we’ll see when everything gets going."
Glenn Hart:
I want to welcome Adam back to our team for the Laredo Bucks. I want to say, obviously he’s a great player, as well, he’s won all kind of awards in our league, but the best thing about Adam Rivet is he’s a good human being. He’s a leader, he’s a model citizen, he’s the kind of guy you want to have on your team, not just for his playing ability.
He gives freely of himself for causes without compensation. For example, we co-host a hockey ministries hockey camp. Kids from all over Texas come to College Station to participate in a hockey camp that’s a combination of great hockey instruction by professional players, current and former, but also by guys who love the Lord and are interested in teaching kids the right way to live and learn a little bit more about the Bible, and Adam has come for a couple of years now and helped us at the Hockey Ministry camps.
He’s a great human being, he’s a great influence on kids… as great of a player he is, he’s a just great human being. I’m really elated to have him back on the team this year. Thank you."
If you made it through all that, congrats. And thanks, I guess. Only one brief part of one of those quotes will be in my story in tomorrow's Times; everything else is fresh content from my one-on-one interviews. I'll post the leftovers from those tomorrow.
To avoid sitting around doing nothing, I have decided to share with you almost every single word spoken during today's Adam Rivet press conference. I'm cutting out Bryan Benway's introduction and farewell (Sorry Bryan!) and dividing things by the order in which they were spoken.
I'll break it up to protect your eyesight, but you might not want to read this all at once.
Coach Ruskowski:
One of the things we’ve started a while back, and I think it’s a great thing, we talked about it at lunch today Glenn and I, and we feel this is one of the things that draws attention to the players, to the people who are great sponsors of ours, to tell everybody that we’re here, that we appreciate our fans, appreciate all our sponsorships.
But we’re also here for a reason, to say that we have just re-signed Adam Rivet to another year contract. The reason that we’re doing that is because we’re really changing things up this year. We’ve already signed Igor Agarunov, we probably would have had a conference for him, too, but he’s a pretty shy guy, doesn’t like the limelight as much as Adam does. But we are very appreciative of him; he’s been with us from Day 1 (of his career). I think Adam’s missed one year with us.
He’s been a guy who’s been very, very loyal to the organization, he’s been a very good hockey player, he’s great in the community. What else can you say? He’s a defenseman who scores me probably 20 goals a year, pretty awesome stats; he’s been with us for a couple championships. What we want to do with this organization is to keep the winners together, keep the champions together.
We’re proud of what we’ve been doing, but yet we’re proud of what we’re going to do. Right from the front office staff to everybody who’s involved in the organization. We’re so proud to be back in Laredo and continue to try to keep the success that we’ve had in the past. This year’s going to be a bit more difficult.
We’re bringing a lot of new players in, it’s kind of a revamping year, but we’re going to do it. We’re going to be a little bit grittier, a little bit more determined, a lot more exciting than in previous years, I guarantee you that. We’ve got young talent in here that’s going to do a lot of stuff. But, saying that, when you have young dogs, you have to have some old dogs in the pen. As soon as we sign Besser, I think that will help us a lot, too, with the old dog part.
We’re still working on him, but with no further ado, as an organization, we’re very proud, excited and happy to have Adam Rivet come back for another year of playing, a stable person not only in the community and in the dressing room, but also in the front office trying to do the best he can to get the people to come out. But also, his playing style, his ability, his determination on the ice is a factor we want to build off of. So, with no further ado, we’d like to welcome Adam Rivet to the 1909, excuse me, 2009-2010 Laredo Bucks.
Rivet:
Thank you. Don’t worry; sometimes I mess my numbers up, too, Terry.
It’s a pleasure to be back. It’s my fifth year in Laredo, and I’ve always enjoyed playing here. The community, the team, the front office staff, the players and obviously the friends and the families that you meet in Laredo are awesome. It makes it worthwhile to play in such a city.
I’m looking forward to the season. It’s going to be a new challenge for us. Like Terry said, we’re going to be a younger team, and I’m just excited to have the opportunity to build something new again. Last year was a disappointing year as far as the team goes. We all want to do better, and I think this year, having some fresh legs in there, hopefully we can get back to that status that we’re known for as being one of the premier teams in the league. That’s where we want to go, and that’s where we want to stay.
I’ve been working hard this summer and hopefully it pays off, and we’ll see come October what kind of team we’ll have and new guys come in. I’m excited; I feel like a rookie again, revived and ready to go, so we’ll see when everything gets going."
Glenn Hart:
I want to welcome Adam back to our team for the Laredo Bucks. I want to say, obviously he’s a great player, as well, he’s won all kind of awards in our league, but the best thing about Adam Rivet is he’s a good human being. He’s a leader, he’s a model citizen, he’s the kind of guy you want to have on your team, not just for his playing ability.
He gives freely of himself for causes without compensation. For example, we co-host a hockey ministries hockey camp. Kids from all over Texas come to College Station to participate in a hockey camp that’s a combination of great hockey instruction by professional players, current and former, but also by guys who love the Lord and are interested in teaching kids the right way to live and learn a little bit more about the Bible, and Adam has come for a couple of years now and helped us at the Hockey Ministry camps.
He’s a great human being, he’s a great influence on kids… as great of a player he is, he’s a just great human being. I’m really elated to have him back on the team this year. Thank you."
If you made it through all that, congrats. And thanks, I guess. Only one brief part of one of those quotes will be in my story in tomorrow's Times; everything else is fresh content from my one-on-one interviews. I'll post the leftovers from those tomorrow.
Bucks Re-Sign Rivet
As I expected (since it wasn't at Whataburger), and as most of you probably know by now, today's press conference was to announce the re-signing of defenseman Adam Rivet.
Rivet will be in his fifth season with the Bucks, for whom he has played his entire professional career.
He's earned All-Star and All-Rookie honors, along with being a finalist for the Most Outstanding Defenseman award, and his greatest strength is obviously his ability to join the rush and help out on offense.
Rivet is perennially among the top CHL d-men in scoring and had 13 goals and 26 assists in an "off year" last season.
I know for a fact Rivet was very disappointed with his play last season, but he said he has been relaxing this summer and is prepared and excited for the new campaign.
Bucks majority owner Glenn Hart was in town for the re-signing, so I spoke to him about a variety of topics; hopefully I'll be able to do a story with those quotes this weekend or sometime soon.
We are experimenting with the whole video side of technology right now, so we actually have video of Rivet and Coach Ruskowski from one-on-one interviews at the press conference today. You can check those out http://YouTube.com/LMTSports... once they get posted. Should be soon, though.
There's no video of the words spoken during the actual announcement, but I'll post some quotes that I don't use on here at a later date. Highlights that won't make the story included Ruskowski accidentally welcoming Rivet back for the "1909" season.
Three other Bucks from last season's team were at the presser, and I'm sure you'd have no trouble guessing who. Those usual suspects, Igor Agarunov, Jeff Bes and Serge Dube, seem to be the only players Ruskowski has any interest in re-signing... and that's only if Dube decides he wants to get out of the front office and back on the ice for one more season.
I need to get to writing this story and one about high school football (in hopes of finishing before the Red and White scrimmage tonight), but I will definitely be posting more this weekend and in the coming weeks.
Rivet will be in his fifth season with the Bucks, for whom he has played his entire professional career.
He's earned All-Star and All-Rookie honors, along with being a finalist for the Most Outstanding Defenseman award, and his greatest strength is obviously his ability to join the rush and help out on offense.
Rivet is perennially among the top CHL d-men in scoring and had 13 goals and 26 assists in an "off year" last season.
I know for a fact Rivet was very disappointed with his play last season, but he said he has been relaxing this summer and is prepared and excited for the new campaign.
Bucks majority owner Glenn Hart was in town for the re-signing, so I spoke to him about a variety of topics; hopefully I'll be able to do a story with those quotes this weekend or sometime soon.
We are experimenting with the whole video side of technology right now, so we actually have video of Rivet and Coach Ruskowski from one-on-one interviews at the press conference today. You can check those out http://YouTube.com/LMTSports... once they get posted. Should be soon, though.
There's no video of the words spoken during the actual announcement, but I'll post some quotes that I don't use on here at a later date. Highlights that won't make the story included Ruskowski accidentally welcoming Rivet back for the "1909" season.
Three other Bucks from last season's team were at the presser, and I'm sure you'd have no trouble guessing who. Those usual suspects, Igor Agarunov, Jeff Bes and Serge Dube, seem to be the only players Ruskowski has any interest in re-signing... and that's only if Dube decides he wants to get out of the front office and back on the ice for one more season.
I need to get to writing this story and one about high school football (in hopes of finishing before the Red and White scrimmage tonight), but I will definitely be posting more this weekend and in the coming weeks.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Bucks Sign Eaton
Preparation for our high school football tab is in full-swing, so I'm just getting time to post that the Bucks have signed another rookie, forward Alexander Eaton.
Eaton is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound winger, and Coach Ruskowski made it pretty clear that the guy is coming in here to hit and drive to the net.
He played four seasons of junior hockey before taking the past two years off to finish up college, so we'll see at training camp if he's a little rusty.
You can read more about Ruskowski's take on Eaton and his training camp lineup in tomorrow's Times.
Another signing will be announced on Thursday, this one the second re-signing of the offseason, which means it's time for a press conference. Funny how the first signing press conference of the summer is taking place 90 minutes before our press run for the football tab...
I will leave you with one of several Eaton fight videos on YouTube, this one starting with a hard hit in the corner.
Eaton is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound winger, and Coach Ruskowski made it pretty clear that the guy is coming in here to hit and drive to the net.
He played four seasons of junior hockey before taking the past two years off to finish up college, so we'll see at training camp if he's a little rusty.
You can read more about Ruskowski's take on Eaton and his training camp lineup in tomorrow's Times.
Another signing will be announced on Thursday, this one the second re-signing of the offseason, which means it's time for a press conference. Funny how the first signing press conference of the summer is taking place 90 minutes before our press run for the football tab...
I will leave you with one of several Eaton fight videos on YouTube, this one starting with a hard hit in the corner.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
THN Jersey Rankings
I follow The Hockey News on Twitter, and today, they continued their series of jersey rankings by breaking into the "low minor leagues," including the CHL.
Just as they did in last year's logo poll, the Bucks finished second, proving that they are consistently considered aesthetically pleasing.
"Great logo and some nice flourishes on the side," is the verdict.
Good thing they didn't rank based on special holiday sweaters.
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees took the top spot because, "If you're from the Southwest, turquoise is a legit sweater color."
The Wichita Thunder came in third in spite of last year's last-place logo finish because of their "excellent striping."
I have to say some of the criticisms are quite amusing, especially for three of the four bottom teams:
10. Odessa Jackalopes - "Jury divided on the mythical Jackalope"
12. Arizona Sundogs - "Sundog 'S' a little too soft for hockey"
13. Colorado Eagles - "Too generic for our tastes"
Guess the Eagles don't have everything going for them after all.
The IHL's last-place Dayton Gems took the worst of it with, "We're all for originality, but wow. I mean…wow."
You can see all of the rankings at the link posted above; just figured I'd share that since it it had crossed my path.
Just as they did in last year's logo poll, the Bucks finished second, proving that they are consistently considered aesthetically pleasing.
"Great logo and some nice flourishes on the side," is the verdict.
Good thing they didn't rank based on special holiday sweaters.
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees took the top spot because, "If you're from the Southwest, turquoise is a legit sweater color."
The Wichita Thunder came in third in spite of last year's last-place logo finish because of their "excellent striping."
I have to say some of the criticisms are quite amusing, especially for three of the four bottom teams:
10. Odessa Jackalopes - "Jury divided on the mythical Jackalope"
12. Arizona Sundogs - "Sundog 'S' a little too soft for hockey"
13. Colorado Eagles - "Too generic for our tastes"
Guess the Eagles don't have everything going for them after all.
The IHL's last-place Dayton Gems took the worst of it with, "We're all for originality, but wow. I mean…wow."
You can see all of the rankings at the link posted above; just figured I'd share that since it it had crossed my path.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Bucks Sign Styffe
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but the Bucks announced earlier today that they have signed forward Justin Styffe for the upcoming season.
Though Styffe comes into Laredo billed as an enforcer, he will be expected to do more than drop his gloves for the Bucks, and Coach Ruskowski already sees potential for improvement in the 24-year-old winger's play.
Styffe racked up 233 penalty minutes in 60 games with the International Hockey League's Flint Generals last season while scoring six goals and handing out nine assists, only the second time in his career that he has had more assists than goals.
His previous experience comes via three years of college hockey and one year in juniors; the number of penalty minutes he managed to put up in college is pretty impressive considering you can't even fight at that level.
Ruskowski mentioned that he got to know a lot more about Styffe by seeing him on YouTube, so here are a couple videos you can watch to get an idea of how he fights:
He lands some brutal punches, yikes.
As far as skill goes, we'll have to see about that at training camp. Ruskowski mentioned that Styffe is a good skater but needs to be more aware of the puck and drive to net a little more.
He has also told me that he only plans to have 18 players on his active roster this season for salary cap purposes, with Igor Agarunov at least starting the season at forward, so we can expect a few more defensive signings this summer.
The Styffe signing should be the only announcement this week, though, so I'll have some time to catch up on some stuff that has fallen to the wayside recently.
Though Styffe comes into Laredo billed as an enforcer, he will be expected to do more than drop his gloves for the Bucks, and Coach Ruskowski already sees potential for improvement in the 24-year-old winger's play.
Styffe racked up 233 penalty minutes in 60 games with the International Hockey League's Flint Generals last season while scoring six goals and handing out nine assists, only the second time in his career that he has had more assists than goals.
His previous experience comes via three years of college hockey and one year in juniors; the number of penalty minutes he managed to put up in college is pretty impressive considering you can't even fight at that level.
Ruskowski mentioned that he got to know a lot more about Styffe by seeing him on YouTube, so here are a couple videos you can watch to get an idea of how he fights:
He lands some brutal punches, yikes.
As far as skill goes, we'll have to see about that at training camp. Ruskowski mentioned that Styffe is a good skater but needs to be more aware of the puck and drive to net a little more.
He has also told me that he only plans to have 18 players on his active roster this season for salary cap purposes, with Igor Agarunov at least starting the season at forward, so we can expect a few more defensive signings this summer.
The Styffe signing should be the only announcement this week, though, so I'll have some time to catch up on some stuff that has fallen to the wayside recently.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Who's Coming Back?
I just got off the phone with Coach Ruskowski, and he said something that will probably interest a few of you.
During our conversation, he repeatedly stated that Igor Agarunov was coming back whether he was going to count against the vet limit or not, and when I asked if having that added flexibility helped him with his roster at all, he said no.
In fact, he said he expects to have only three or four players returning, then mentioned he wants to bring in young guys with the character and talent of the "(Jeff) Beses, (Serge) Dubes, Agarunovs and (Adam) Rivets" to groom and keep around.
Obviously, those guys are players he brings back every year, and with Dube pretty set on retiring, Agarunov, Bes and Rivet might be the only three returning.
I guess this isn't really too much of a surprise considering how few players Ruskowski brings back on a seasonal basis, but it does leave a few guys who have been Bucks for more than a season out in the cold.
I'm interested to know if you have any thoughts on this situation and whether or not there are any other players you'd like to see back in a Bucks' sweater next season. And do you think that a team made up mostly of rookies and second-year players can thrive under Ruskowski's systems? It seems like time will be telling that story this season.
During our conversation, he repeatedly stated that Igor Agarunov was coming back whether he was going to count against the vet limit or not, and when I asked if having that added flexibility helped him with his roster at all, he said no.
In fact, he said he expects to have only three or four players returning, then mentioned he wants to bring in young guys with the character and talent of the "(Jeff) Beses, (Serge) Dubes, Agarunovs and (Adam) Rivets" to groom and keep around.
Obviously, those guys are players he brings back every year, and with Dube pretty set on retiring, Agarunov, Bes and Rivet might be the only three returning.
I guess this isn't really too much of a surprise considering how few players Ruskowski brings back on a seasonal basis, but it does leave a few guys who have been Bucks for more than a season out in the cold.
I'm interested to know if you have any thoughts on this situation and whether or not there are any other players you'd like to see back in a Bucks' sweater next season. And do you think that a team made up mostly of rookies and second-year players can thrive under Ruskowski's systems? It seems like time will be telling that story this season.
Bucks Re-Sign Agarunov
The Bucks announced earlier that they have re-signed forward/defenseman Igor Agarunov for the upcoming season.
I doubt this comes as much of a surprise to anyone because Agarunov is a part of that core of players Coach Ruskowski tries to bring back every year, and he has yet to play a pro game for anyone other than the Bucks.
Last season, Agarunov played in all 64 regular season games and scored a career-high 19 goals while handing out 16 assists and posting a plus/minus of +17.
He is a very defensively responsible player who can obviously also bring a scoring touch when necessary, and thanks to the new rules, he's not even going to be a vet this season.
This is the team's 12th signing announcement of the offseason, the fourth of a player with CHL experience, and the first of a returning Buck.
I doubt this comes as much of a surprise to anyone because Agarunov is a part of that core of players Coach Ruskowski tries to bring back every year, and he has yet to play a pro game for anyone other than the Bucks.
Last season, Agarunov played in all 64 regular season games and scored a career-high 19 goals while handing out 16 assists and posting a plus/minus of +17.
He is a very defensively responsible player who can obviously also bring a scoring touch when necessary, and thanks to the new rules, he's not even going to be a vet this season.
This is the team's 12th signing announcement of the offseason, the fourth of a player with CHL experience, and the first of a returning Buck.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Smith to Try Out with Thrashers
I just got off the phone with Darryl Smith, and though I felt bad making the kid talk when he just got his wisdom teeth removed, that was one of my favorite (work-related) phone conversations ever.
As some of you have probably seen my now, Smith will be participating in a prospects tournament with the Atlanta Thrashers in September.
Though the odds are that he will end up playing for the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, this is an absolutely amazing opportunity for a young player, and the way Smith described his feelings about it was priceless.
It was a lot of fun to watch Smith play this season, but I think it was obvious he deserved to move on, and I'm very happy to see him do so.
There will be a story in tomorrow's Times about this announcement featuring quotes from Smith and Coach Ruskowski, who I also spoke to about the Neil Trimm signing from Tuesday.
I'll post some quotes about the signing as well as more about the Smith announcement later today or at some point tomorrow.
As some of you have probably seen my now, Smith will be participating in a prospects tournament with the Atlanta Thrashers in September.
Though the odds are that he will end up playing for the Thrashers' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, this is an absolutely amazing opportunity for a young player, and the way Smith described his feelings about it was priceless.
It was a lot of fun to watch Smith play this season, but I think it was obvious he deserved to move on, and I'm very happy to see him do so.
There will be a story in tomorrow's Times about this announcement featuring quotes from Smith and Coach Ruskowski, who I also spoke to about the Neil Trimm signing from Tuesday.
I'll post some quotes about the signing as well as more about the Smith announcement later today or at some point tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Bucks Sign Trimm
The Bucks announced yesterday that they have signed forward Neil Trimm for the 2009-10 season.
Trimm spent his rookie season with the New Mexico Scorpions last year, and the team suspending operations for the upcoming campaign made him a free agent.
He is just the fourth player with professional experience that the Bucks have announced signing, and the third with playing time in the CHL.
Trimm was 10th in the league in rookie scoring last season, scoring 17 goals while handing out 27 assists for a point total of 44.
The Bucks obviously had a better rookie on their roster in Darryl Smith, and Trimm was even second among rookies on his team to Torren Delforte, but his totals were actually better than or at least equal to those of all but four players who spent time with the Bucks last season.
The players who beat him out were Brent Cullaton (who has since retired), Smith, Jeff Bes (who managed to log 60 points before his season ended in January) and Alex Goupil.
Of the three of those players who haven't retired, Bes is the only sure thing to return for the Bucks, and Trimm's numbers are better than the career highs of the other new players with CHL experience, so this is arguably the biggest signing of the offseason to date.
That fact makes it even worse for me that his signing was announced on a day that I was off work and out of town without access to a computer... but I'll be sure to follow up on Trimm next time I talk to Coach Ruskowski.
Just in case any of you were worried by the fact that I didn't post anything last Friday, rest assured I kept up with all the Sidney Crosby Day festivities, thanks in part to the videos on NHL.com. Fun stuff to watch if you're bored.
Oh, and my only comment on the Patrick Kane situation is that he has inspired some very awesome Photoshop work, haha.
Trimm spent his rookie season with the New Mexico Scorpions last year, and the team suspending operations for the upcoming campaign made him a free agent.
He is just the fourth player with professional experience that the Bucks have announced signing, and the third with playing time in the CHL.
Trimm was 10th in the league in rookie scoring last season, scoring 17 goals while handing out 27 assists for a point total of 44.
The Bucks obviously had a better rookie on their roster in Darryl Smith, and Trimm was even second among rookies on his team to Torren Delforte, but his totals were actually better than or at least equal to those of all but four players who spent time with the Bucks last season.
The players who beat him out were Brent Cullaton (who has since retired), Smith, Jeff Bes (who managed to log 60 points before his season ended in January) and Alex Goupil.
Of the three of those players who haven't retired, Bes is the only sure thing to return for the Bucks, and Trimm's numbers are better than the career highs of the other new players with CHL experience, so this is arguably the biggest signing of the offseason to date.
That fact makes it even worse for me that his signing was announced on a day that I was off work and out of town without access to a computer... but I'll be sure to follow up on Trimm next time I talk to Coach Ruskowski.
Just in case any of you were worried by the fact that I didn't post anything last Friday, rest assured I kept up with all the Sidney Crosby Day festivities, thanks in part to the videos on NHL.com. Fun stuff to watch if you're bored.
Oh, and my only comment on the Patrick Kane situation is that he has inspired some very awesome Photoshop work, haha.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Schedule Announced
The Central Hockey League has announced the schedule for the upcoming 2009-10 season.
You can see the Bucks' complete schedule here and read Bryan Benway's press release about it here.
The Bucks open their season on Friday, Oct. 16 at the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, and the home opener is Saturday, Oct. 24 against the Allen Americans.
They close the season at home on March 20 against the Wichita Thunder.
They'll play the Corpus Christi IceRays and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 14 times apiece, Odessa Jackalopes and Texas Brahmas seven times apiece and the Americans five times.
The thing that stood out most to me when I was typing up the schedule to put on our agate page was the fact that the Bucks will host the IceRays on New Year's Eve and Kids' Day this season, rather than the Killer Bees as it had been the past few seasons.
I'm sure Coach Ruskowski is thrilled that the team will be home for the holidays this year, as being on the road for Thanksgiving and Christmas was one of his main problems with last year's schedule. He also likes to be on the road to start the season, so I guess this schedule worked out in his favor.
You can see the Bucks' complete schedule here and read Bryan Benway's press release about it here.
The Bucks open their season on Friday, Oct. 16 at the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, and the home opener is Saturday, Oct. 24 against the Allen Americans.
They close the season at home on March 20 against the Wichita Thunder.
They'll play the Corpus Christi IceRays and Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 14 times apiece, Odessa Jackalopes and Texas Brahmas seven times apiece and the Americans five times.
The thing that stood out most to me when I was typing up the schedule to put on our agate page was the fact that the Bucks will host the IceRays on New Year's Eve and Kids' Day this season, rather than the Killer Bees as it had been the past few seasons.
I'm sure Coach Ruskowski is thrilled that the team will be home for the holidays this year, as being on the road for Thanksgiving and Christmas was one of his main problems with last year's schedule. He also likes to be on the road to start the season, so I guess this schedule worked out in his favor.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Bucks Sign Festa
Sorry again for the lack of posts; the explanation this time is something more personal than I'd like to share on here. But anyway...
Last week, the Bucks signed rookie goaltender Dustin Slade, and today, they followed that up with the signing of fellow rookie netminder Gerry Festa.
Festa's most complete stats can be found here, but it took some mathematics on my part to figure out his career save percentage.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Calgary native played the past four seasons at the University of British Columbia and prior to that spent four in junior leagues.
You can read more about him in my story in tomorrow's Times, which mentions Coach Ruskowski's other plans for the goalie position and an NHL connection for Festa.
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees also announced some netminding news today, as they re-signed second-year backstop Wylie Rogers to play alongside Andy Franck. Well, not literally.
I've been told the CHL schedules should be announced soon, and we can possibly expect another Bucks' signing later this week.
Last week, the Bucks signed rookie goaltender Dustin Slade, and today, they followed that up with the signing of fellow rookie netminder Gerry Festa.
Festa's most complete stats can be found here, but it took some mathematics on my part to figure out his career save percentage.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Calgary native played the past four seasons at the University of British Columbia and prior to that spent four in junior leagues.
You can read more about him in my story in tomorrow's Times, which mentions Coach Ruskowski's other plans for the goalie position and an NHL connection for Festa.
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees also announced some netminding news today, as they re-signed second-year backstop Wylie Rogers to play alongside Andy Franck. Well, not literally.
I've been told the CHL schedules should be announced soon, and we can possibly expect another Bucks' signing later this week.
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