Mitch Woods said this afternoon he's not going to be able to play for the Komets this year. It's a combination of a good job opportunity and some other personal considerations. Woods is working as a youth care worker in his hometown of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The job, he said, entails working with kids who have criminal backgrounds or who have been taken away from bad families.
"It's anything from breaking up fights to group therapy work," Woods said. "You try to help them develop social skills or work abilities so they can do something productive with their lives. It's a good challenge. For some of these kids, this is just a stop on the way, but there are a couple you can make a huge impact on. They haven't had too many healthy male role models in their lives."
Woods said the job is the equivalent of going to school for him because it can open other, larger opportunities in the future.
"Coming back to Fort Wayne was a chance to end on my own terms, and unfortunately, that didn't happen," Woods said. "I had high hopes for this season, but maybe this is a blessing. You never know when the next punch could lead to a concussion or I could hurt a knee by throwing myself into the boards. I'm trying to put a positive spin on it. It wasn't an easy decision."
This possibly opens up a spot for a rookie on the Komets' forward lines. When Woods came to the Komets in 2007, no one knew who he was
Comments
Best of luck to you Mitch Woods. You will have good days and bad days working with troubled young people. The feelings of helping will overwhelm you and will keep you going. The bad days will cause you to say "What am I doing this for" It only takes one young man coming back and saying "Thank You!" to make it all worth while. Thank you your honesty.
Komets=WIMPY/ I said before we needed a fighter=now we need 2
Please, you have no idea if they do or not since no one has seen any of the rookies. I'm telling you right now Schrock is pretty darn tough. He's my sleeper to make the team. You guys are going to love him.
mightbite--The game of hockey is a whole lot more than fighting. It takes more skill players than fighters. While a team may need several guys who are willing and can protect the skill players. It needs goal scorers and defensemen more than fighters. The team doesn't just need fighters, (they come a dime a dozen) it needs tough guys who when the need arises will not hesitate to fight. Those same guys must be able to contribute more than their fists. I will give you the player that is the best example of what I am trying to point out. His name is Colin Chaulk. He will go when he has too and wins most of his fights. Remember you can not score goals or get any assists setting in the penalty box. The last time I checked the team that scores the most goals wins the game. I believe it is still that way. (mightbite) Is the most important thing to you at the game the fights? I think not. Vince Lombardi said it best "Winning isn't everything it's the only thing." DO NOT miss the exhibition games the "Fighters" are always there. The tough guys make the team. That is my 2 bit lecture. You got what you paid for, sorry.
Best of luck to Woods....sounds like he is every bit the good guy off ice that I thought him to be. Working with the kids he does is a great job, and one where he should be. He's great with kids. He sure was with mine. He'll go far in life. Good for him for knowing what's important to him.
Defense wins championtrips. Fighters win fans. Schebigs next lecture on Hockey 101 will be at 10am tomorrow at the latch string, free ripple, all lectures sponsored by Wilford Brimley tanning lotion.
Being in education I can say that the battles Woods is/will be fighting in his new occupation are going to be a lot more intense than anything we ever saw him dealing with on the ice. Kudos to him for taking the challenge and I hope everything works out for him.
Mightbite: How many fighters did we have last year when we won it all? Mac (who was hurt and couldn't fight) and Legault (who was sitting near me up in the stands).
It's Hockey Night in Fort Wayne! = Championships + Class + Al Sims - Kalamazoo x 22 / 7 - mightbite(is wrong about the value of fighters) x 2 Guy Dupuis rookie cards - 55 Pascal Morrency autographed jerseys + 1 should-be MVP goalie / October 29 8:00 PM x 11,000 screaming fans + 1 Jungle - 1 Hawthorne x 1 Twister all divided by LET'S GO KOMETS!!
Burgee--Go back to sleep! I will be working at 10am so do not look for me at the Latch String.. While your there order me a saugage roll I'll be in about noon. We can share a bottle of Thunderbird or Ripple if you must..
I'm truly sorry to hear that, but yeah, I'm sure the team will fill out all the same. I'm glad that Miitch has found a career path that he finds so fulfilling. Good for him and good luck with everything going forward.
If RK makes it we'll upgrade to Boone's farm.
When bloomington & musky comes to town and are roughing up are little Komets= you will be saying we need more fighters./ Woods also scored 15 goals the last time he played here./ So bring on the Gomez, Sawyer,BigSnake and co.
I am willing to let Coach worry about those things. He knows what he needs and desires to compete.
Uh-oh, Burgee, if the lecture is sponsored by Wilford Brimley, does that mean I have to sit next to them and feel shame since I'm still in the penalty box (for the next 10 years or so?)? I hope my boss is more understanding and flexible than Mitch's....LOL.
And mightbite: isn't Syro a big guy? I'm thinking calling us "little Komets" might be slightly incorrect. We got it covered. Keith Rodgers was all over it last season, but came into it towards the end, so was really unable to show what all he had, toughness-wise. I'm betting we'll see something out of him.
Besides, we'll be blowing past these guys on the ice and putting pucks in the net so fast, they won't touch us anyway....if they do, their mistake. We'll take care of it, always have.
Wasn't the same argument made last year when we played Muskegon in the playoffs? How well did having all the big tough guys work for them when we flew right past them and had countless fast break opportunities that we turned into goals? Speed and conditioning, along with superior talent tend to win out most of the time.
The Woods announcement means that the Komets are probably going to keep Stayzer. A few threads ago I stated that I thought one of these four (Stayzer, Bertram, Woods, and MacMillen) would probably not make the team. I would have preferred it to be Stayzer as he takes up a veteran spot and has no Komet ties (obviously Bertram does). The opening night game is not until October 23rd and I know the K's are probably watching the player transactions around the various leagues real carefully. There are going to be quality players looking for jobs. If they think they need a fighter, they will find one. As of today, though, and trying to be as realistic as possible, I think we should analyze where the Komets find themselves. 1) We know Woods is not coming, 2) we know Hukalo has a bum shoulder, 3) we know Varone has an issue with a rib injury, and 4) we have found out that Whitehead must be a pretty good player (because he is lasting so long at Norfolk's camp) but we have no idea if and when he will be here. OK, Hukalo and Varone will heal eventually but I think now is the time to bring in more SKILL, not fighters. I've posted before that I would like to see another sniper and an "offensive" defenseman. Now I am of the belief they need two snipers and the defenseman. They can be "rookies" or "tweeners". With the players that are becoming available the Komets need to upgrade their skill whenever possible. Why do I think this? 1) Injuries provide uncertainty to a roster, 2) Whitehead appears to have a good chance of sticking with Norfolk, and 3) the rest of the teams in the league will be upgrading if they are smart. Now is the time to be proactive. Opening night is three weeks and two days away. That is plenty of time to do some homework and to bring players in for a look.
I wish Woods all the best. Working with kids can be difficult and he seems as if he is up for the challenge and that is his calling.
Mightbite - how many fighters do you want on a team? I ask this because, as we all know, there is a time and a place for the occasional fight in a game. And, even though a good fight will bring a smile to my face, that smile is only sustained with a Komet victory. I agree with the majority of people (Alan, RunningKomet, Deshebig) that there is more to the game than the fights. I want victories. I want a team who is going to go out there for every game, who will want to win and settles for nothing less. In order to do that we need skilled players.
I believe in Sims, that he will put the best Komet team together with the talent that is available, and if need be, make changes to ensure that we are seeing the best. I believe that we, as fans, can be a motivating factor to the Komets when they are tired, or hurt, or just don't think they have it in them. That we can inspire them, no matter what is going on, to keep them playing at 100% for every shift they are on the ice. Simply stated, I believe in the KOMETS! I am so excited for this opening night, and for this season. LETS GO KOMETS!!!
3to5 fighters will be needed this year, take a look at bloominton & musky rosters.Last year very few fighters.
i dont think the goal every night will be to match each team -fighter for fighter . just bring home the W
lets see some rookies in an exibiton game before we cry about not being tough. and geez, we have bert and mac and strayzer and thats three more than when we had in some other seasons, so i think we will be ok. lets not worry about some of the other teams cement heads cause they will either spend most of the game in the box for stupid minors or they will be suspended!
I'm not concerned about toughness either. Actually, I was thinking with Mac around, Woods probably wouldn't be fighting nearly as much. But one thing did strike me as a bit odd in Mitch's interview above. He did leave hockey on his own terms. No one made him leave when he was in Cincy, and surely he knew what would happen when he did, so I don't really get that. But never mind that now. It's all water under the bridge, over the dam, wherever you like it.
Something else that just struck me, re-reading the above article...Mitch Woods, breaking up fights? What?! That just sounds funny....I know, I know, it's kids and all, but still. Sounds funny to say it out loud.