Player Quotes

As promised, here are some of the quotes I got from players this week, in order of when I spoke to them:

Darryl Smith

On his play last week: I think, not even on a personal level, but on a team level, it was really big for me. We’ve had a lot of injuries on our team, and we’ve been kind of hurting for guys lately, so especially with the ‘A’ on my sweater, just being a counted-on guy, it was important for me to step up. I was just trying to get pucks on net, and things went well of me.

On the effect of last week’s wins: I think that’s going to be a huge confidence builder for us. They are the top teams in the North, and we came out with four of six points, and even the game we lost, everybody was happy with the way we played. We battled really hard for those wins, and especially on a long road trip against good teams, that should be a big confidence builder.

On being honored for his efforts: Obviously, they’re really nice; it’s great to get noticed for the things you do during the season, and it’s something you can look back on in a few years and say that you’ve done. It’s nice to be recognized throughout the league and even amongst my teammates.

On his play this season: I sure wasn’t happy with the way I started the season. I’ve had trouble scoring and things like that. Being able to turn it around in a week like this is a matter of getting confidence back, being able to relax with the puck and take my time with it. Things like that will definitely help me, and help the team.

Jeff Bes

On having Brent Cullaton last week: Him coming in and playing, first of all, brought in some veteran leadership and a high quality of play. He's so patient with the puck, he sees the play unfold and maybe hangs onto the puck that extra second. It was really good. The younger guys look up to the older players coming in, and he came in, played very well. He's played in a lot of different leagues and at a higher level, so he knows what he's talking about. He earned a lot of respect last weekend with the way he played. Personally, it was like old times out there playing with him. It's not very often you get to play with a player that you know where they're going to be and what they're going to do all the time, and certainly Cully and I have that connection. It was a lot of fun to play, and he really contributed in the two wins that we had.

On Smith's play: You know what, Darryl's a good player, he's just been getting a lot of chances that haven't been going in. He's been working really hard, and really battling, and as Player of the Week, six goals, two assists - he played phenomenal. A couple of those goals were unassisted, one-man shows, great plays on his part. He's starting to get his confidence back, and with him scoring, it gives our team that much better of a chance to win.

On the team's confidence level: Playing against the best teams in the Northern Conference and beating them... we had a chance to win that second game in Colorado, but unfortunately that didn't happen, but we were in the game right up to the end. The team's feeling really good about themselves. I'm not going to lie to you, it was a hard, tough trip, but we did what we needed to do. We played the system, we stuck to the system, we used our game plan and executed our game plan, and we were successful. I think the guys now realize that if we do that, we have a chance to win each and every night.

On this weekend's games: This weekend, and throughout the rest of the season, every game is important. We're playing in the Southern Conference, there are teams behind us trying to catch us, we want to catch the teams in front of us. We want to make the playoffs and set ourselves up to be ready for playoffs and win a championship here, so we look at it one game at a time, but each and every game from now on for the rest of the season is a big and important game.

Paul Elliott

On coming out of retirement: I just had the opportunity to. I'm working with another company right now, and the owners are good friends of our family, and they were really understanding with it. I got the opportunity to talk with the team here, and some of the guys, and for the last bit of the year, three or four months. Like I said, just got the opportunity and was able to do it, and I figured, 'Why not?'

On what he brings to the team: Staying at home. I've never been one to fool myself and say I'm a big scoring defenseman or anything; I'll leave that to Rivs and Looby and those guys. My job out there is to stop goals from happening. It's not flashy a job, but it's one I think I do fairly well, and that's what I bring.

On how things are going so far: Good. We had a couple rough patches against Corpus Christi, but other than that, I think the team's played great. Obviously, the last road trip was a huge road trip for us. Beating Colorado two out of three times (on the season) and playing them well the third time, our team's starting to turn around, and I think we're doing really well.

On this weekend: These games are incredibly important. Texas is two points ahead of us; we win (tonight), we’ve got two games in hand and we’re tied with them. Then Corpus coming in again on Saturday, they’re always a battle, then playing the No. 1 team, Odessa Sunday … it’s a huge weekend for us, and we have to perform well.

On solving the IceRays: We have to match them. It's nothing they do special or spectacular, they just work hard, and they do what they do well. We just have to do the exact same thing. If we play the way we did against Colorado and Rapid City, I think we'll be fine.

Kevin Desfosses

On signing his new contract: I was really happy with the opportunity the team was giving me, and now that they’ve given me the chance to stay here the rest of the season, I’m even more grateful, more happy about it. It's a new start, and in life, you don't need to take anything for granted, especially in pro hockey, things can turn around pretty quickly. So I'm taking one shot at home, one game a time, and not looking too far forward, just worry about tomorrow and that's all you can worry about.

On his play so far: The team has been playing better since I came over here, we’ve gotten some players back from the injured list, maybe it was that. Also, I came in, and I wanted to prove myself and play well, and I think it’s worked out pretty well with the team and the chemistry with me. But, like we said, it happened in the past. Things in the past stay in the past, so we’ll try to get a new good streak over the weekend and over the next few games.

On this weekend (and the rest of the season): These are four-point games, and there are only 26 games left in the season, so we have to play every game like it’s the last one. As far as (tonight), they’re right ahead of us in the standings, and it’s a four-point game, if we win, we can tie them, so it’s a big opportunity for us to move into the third seed because we don’t want to stay fourth, we always want to move forward and climb the ladder. It’s a big challenge for as a team and as group coming off the road trip and a good week of practice. We need to be ready for tomorrow, come out flying and play the system, and everything should work out well.

Obviously, some of that Elliott stuff is a bit belated, but because his comeback was so sudden and immediately preceded the craziness of the All-Star Game, this was the best chance I'd had to talk to him so far.

I'll be back with a game day blog in a little bit.