I talked to David Franke this afternoon and he said he doesn't know if Brad MacMillan will be suspended for fighting Port Huron's Mike Bray after Saturday's game. Franke said Bray speared MacMillan after the game and that is what started the fight. Franke and coach Al Sims both plan to talk to International Hockey League Vice President of Hockey Operations Brad Jones about the situation.
"We won't know anything until late Monday at the earliest," Franke said. "I don't know if the incident was on the gametape or not, but I saw it and Al saw it."
The Komets are bringing in forward Tomas Klempa this week for a tryout but he has not signed a contract. He is 5-8, 170 and was recently cut from Wheeling of the ECHL. He just finished up his college career at Nebraska-Omaha, scoring 14 goals and 23 points last year in 40 games.
Franke said he has not talked to Matt Reynolds but may try calling him tomorrow. Other than that, he said the Komets are still talking to a couple of guys but nothing is firm.
"We almost have to stick with our rookies because we need to play them under the rules and because of where we are on the salary cap," Franke said.
Comments
Would reynolds be a vet? would he be better than any current vets? tomas klempa? he must be pretty good if they are bringing him in, who goes, shrock?
No, I think Reynolds is still under the verterans game limit, so he would be a tweener.
Schrock played the entire game against the Icehawks while I didnt see either Laise or Whitehead from about the halfway point in the second period (or they just didnt do anything to stand out)... I would venture a guess and say those guys are closer to the bubble than Schrock; but the K's are high on both players so who knows...
Have to remember Whitehead had not skated for a few days so his timing might have been off. He'll be fine. Reynolds is a tweener. The problem might be having enough money under the cap.
Last year I think they had seven rookies and the first guy they brought in was O'Connor so that helped with the cap.
So can we venture a guess that another Veteran or Tweener is in trouble here?
Is Bertram hurt worse than we know?
Are they sold on Saidachev?
Reynolds gives them a very solid hard-nosed center who will mix it up and go hard to the net. I think they lack that guy right now. Chaulk is solid obviously and Leo is solid, but after that, who is the other center that leads the play?
This is all speculation, I will trust in Big AL to lead us in the right direction. The whole thing makes me nervous for whatever reason. I just want the roster solid, solved, and the team to start forming chemistry and winning hockey. This year is going to be tough as the other teams are improved. Lookout for QC this year.
I don't understand why you guys always want to get rid of Bertram.
ok , bring back pembroke too.
OK, I will. He'll be here Friday.
Reynolds is a center? Okay, maybe he can play center, but he's always been listed as a left wing, and that's the only position I remember seeing him play.
And I don't want to get rid of Bertram, for what it's worth.
Yesterday morning at 6:22am I posted a few thoughts under the thread "Last nights game." I decided to take a small break from work this morning and catch up on my reading and was kind of surprised with the reactions to it. If my memory serves me correctly Dschebig, JR, Chuckitt, Blake, Burgee, and Wendy posted comments. I want you to know that I appreciate EVERYONES comments, whether you agree with me or not. I also want you to know that I don't take something to be "personal" if a person disagrees with me ( in fact, sometimes it is to my advantage to listen to another point of view). My only exception would be if someone has to sink to the level of name calling or worse. As I posted before I know we are only two games into the season. This is way to early to panic, yet not to early to see the players under game conditions and how they react. Believe me, I am not panicking. I am uncomfortable with the play, so far. For some reason the K's are taking way too many penalties. These penalties are the "wrong" kind of penalties to be taking. Hooking, interference, and tripping penalties are caused by someone being out of position, getting beat during the flow of the play, or just being outskated.......JR, you are right, everybody has a right to express their own opinion without being afraid of the reaction to it.....Dschebig, I know you when you told me to "relax" it was not a personal thing. It was just a manner of speech. You and I have had many blog conversations and I've enjoyed each and every one of them....Burgee, you were right also. It is only two games into the season. I know Al Sims will get this all figured out.....Chuckitt, hockey experience does help when formulating opinions and most of the time the experienced person will be able to break down the game more completely....Wendy, you were also right pointing out that last year was kind of a miserable start for the K's (especially at home, remember) and they still managed to win it all. I would like to see a better start this year than last though, I'm sure you would agree.....and Blake, yes you were right also. We DO need a hockey game....This team doesn't look in sync yet. While that fact isn't too critical two games into the year, it seemed that Port Huron didn't have that problem and to a lesser extent Dayton didn't either. Maybe that is what has me a little unsure. The one thing I am sure of is that we are ALL Komet fans and want to see this team succeed.
good job alan!! as far as bertram, i think that anyone that wants him cut must dislike him no matter what he does! i for one think he is very valuable to the team. he is a good stay at home defenseman, he clears in front of the net and if he has to he will drop the gloves and can give out punishment. he does all the things we want a dman to do except score. i think there are some that think he should fight every game but thats not really his job but it is one he can do if he has too like he did a couple years ago.
I am with you chuckitt. Besides he is a fireman, I know that has nothing to do with hockey so don't hammer me to bad. I have always thought firemen were special people.
I sure wish I could have been at practice today. I would have loved to watch Al Sims put the troops through the penalty kill practice. It seems we have given the opponents more 5 on 3 chances this year than all last year. That is a recipe for disaster as if it doesn't end up a goal, it just wears out the players called on to kill it. It screws up the line changes later and takes some of the strategy away from Al Sims. ( All that when the guys are down 2 men, not to mention all the times they have been down one man.) Penalties just kill momentum.
I know what you mean Dschebig, and I do admire him for being a local "hero". Sure, one could say that has nothing to do with it, but it does reflect on his dedication to teamwork as well as his character.
BTW, in my experience, telling someone to "relax" never fails to have the opposite effect. Just FYI. :D
Wendy-- You are correct. I sure didn't want to upset JR or anyone else for that matter. I think Alan understood me. Either way I most likely could have used a better choice of words. "Live & Learn" I guess. I hope he comes back because I enjoyed his comments.
Where did it say anyone wanted to cut him in this thread?
I asked the question is he more hurt than we know? Nothing about cutting him.....gheesh. Maybe Blake wants him to be cut??? LOL
Not you specifically, fans in general. It's always been that way with the defensive defensemen, though. Had the same discussions about Carey Lucyk and others.
Hit, I'm just wondering, not saying you want him cut, but since you keep bringing him up as someone who might be sort of on the bubble, what do you personally think of Saidachev? Do you not like him on this team? I know some on here were wondering earlier because of his prior injuries, and I can't remember if you were one of those guys or not...
And Blake, I think you're right. A lot of people have come right out and said it, be it here or another board in town, that Bert is the one to go. He gets thrown under the bus a lot. He might not be the flashiest of players on the team, but he seems to be sort of steady. He does not make a ton of mistakes. I feel bad that he has gotten hurt the past couple of years. Hope he's back to healthy again very shortly. Have you heard about that yet?
I'm still here, just working nights right now..... Love hockey or I wouldnt be here and other hockey boards... Its funny, I could care less how other people respond to my opinions; but get a lil riled up when I think others are getting a raw deal for thiers....
Blake, I think you only start to hear those types of discussions pop up about defensive d-men when they are getting towards the ends of thier careers and arent shutting down others teams top players like everyone has gotten used to...
If Saturday had been a playoff game, I believe he would have played then. It's a strain, not a pull, according to David Franke.
Maybe, JR, but a lot of folks also don't see the intangibles because they don't have a lot of statistics. There aren't many stats for PK or things like that. Kevin Schmidt was another. Rob Guinn. Troy Neumeier, Grant Richison. Most casual fans, and I"m not saying you are one, look only at offensive stats not defensive. Those players definitely seem to have less room for error from a lot of fans.
I think Louie was one of the all time best D men, an opinion shared by a lot of players who played against him. For some reason he caught a lot of undeserved flak from a certain group of fans.
He had the most amazing feet. There's nobody I'd rather have facing a 2-on-1.
Blake, I am a defensive d-man fan... I tend to get on thier "offensive" counter parts more than them... They are the offensive lineman of hockey, meaning most fans really dont notice them untill they make a mistake or they start to lose a step... Defensive d-men sacrifice self for the team, and I couldnt respect that more... At this point if the armchair coach in me had to choose between Bertram and a younger d-man who's play is similar, then I would go with the younger guy... Just my opinion; but it just seems like all the nagging injuries are starting to catch up with Bert...
JR, I know you are not a casual fan. We'll see what happens. You are 100 percent correct that when nagging injuries catch up, they do so in a hurry and then it's all over. It's usually not a gradual thing.
I personally like Saidachev. I liked him the first time he was here. I love his grit and hustle. But I think he is a guy that would be let-go if they were looking to bring in someone else....I mean, when you look at this roster, who else do you cut as a forward if you bring in another player or 2? The rookies have to be kept because you have to play 4 a night and they also aren't going to make the same coin as a tweener or veteran player. The vets on this team I think are pretty much tied into this town and team.
Bertram comes up alot because he has lost several steps and the injuries have caught up to him. No offense to him or anyone who really likes him....honestly, I like him alot too, but I agree with JR, when it comes down in between a less than 85% Bertram that has lost his skating ability and a younger player who plays the same style, I would take the younger guy at this point. It sucks, but that is the way it goes in sports. If Bert was the Bert of 2 years ago, then I would say "What the heck are you guys talking about" , but he isn't the Bert of 2 years ago. Maybe he can be....I am not sure though.
This team could really use a physical D-Man though. And they really need a gritty goal-scorer. A guy that does the dirty work in front of the net and blasts the puck into the back of the net. I know every team is looking for those guys, but that is what they need.
I think this team will gel and be fine.....I would like to see the lines tweaked and would like to see Shaf and Chaulk on seperate lines. Them together is too much shake and not enough bake....LOL Put young talent with Chaulk and lets roll!!!!!
I think Syro(cantspelltherest)) is that goal scorer, I like the way he went to the net and caused traffic and picked up some dirty goals; but he's not gritty. Big and bulky and doesnt get moved easily. I would like to see what Phillips and Rodger add in the physical d-man category...they arent huge hulking monsters; but they seem plenty tough-nosed.
I've spelled Syroczynski wrong four times already this year but luckily for me the copy desk has caught it. I call him Matt.
Don't you big newspaper fellers have spell check? Savage has it. Saw Schebig's twin on tv today talking about diabeadus. Its too early in the season for all this speculation, the voices in my head are driving me nuts.
Burgee--I appreciate the citing but what just is 'diabeadus'?
Do you mean diabetes? Yes, I am diabetic. It is one of those things that comes along with old age. I am sure my brother had a very good message. You should talk to him about all the suntan lotion you consume. You are also correct, my head is ready to explode. That is what the duct tape is for. When you get to be my age you never want to wish your life away but Friday could come tonight and I would not complain.
Amen, can't wait, get your crayons sharpened, if Jimmie is there we are going to have more hooking calls than a good niGht in vegas. Komets will get 2 unassisted goals friday night, 4 fighting penalties, Mac, Stayzer, Schrock and Leo, dupuis and drouin 5 point nights, chaulk with the hat trick.
Over under on goals is 8.
Are they passing out ice scrapers as we enter the game?