Great article, even greater story about how circumstances (maybe not totally unrelated, but pretty close) can influence things.
I don't think it hurts the K's that his dad is the ass't GM for Nashville either. Certainly not now, but who can tell down the road? Stranger things have happened.
I'm liking the fact that the K's are talking with Faille, Martin, and Leach. All three are "impact" players in my opinion. If they can get them all under contract, the defense will be so very strong and it will mean another weapon up front.
Last season I found the K's to be weak in passing, transitioning the puck from their own zone into the attacking zone (comparing them to Toledo), and faceoff success. They are putting together quite a roster. If they can get the three mentioned above, they will still have three vet slots open.
RG2
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 1:08pm
I agree. This is a great story. When I looked up Fentons stats and noticed his dad was Asst GM at Nashville I thought that would be a great back story for Blake. Since Blake and I think alot alike........ ahem... he got a much deeper story then I knew existed.
Peoria Prancers, yech! what an awful name....Im sure that built up condidence in the locker room. "We're the Prancers! Lets go guys, play Prancer hockey!".
BTW here is a great Fort Wayne sports trivia question. I will donate 4 tickets to a komet game- charity of choice-
The Wizards had a game the same night at the Castle as the 93 turner cup final game in fort Wayne( if you remember the parking lot was beyond packed) what was the wizards score that game( they won)
Blake Sebring
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 1:30pm
I know! I know! I know!
WF
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 1:36pm
I wonder if PJ's father is the same Paul Fenton that played for the New Haven (Connecticut) Nighthawks back in the mid to late 80's. If it is I remember a game in which Paul had a Gordie Howe hat trick and almost a double hat trick. That night he had five goals, two assists and a fight that was so one-sided that his opponent received five minutes for receiving. Paul got called up two games later and we never saw him again in New Haven.
So if Jr. plays anything like Sr. he should be really fun to watch.
RG2
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 2:28pm
Blake - we think alike or you know the trivia answer? :)
e mail me the adress ( you have)of where you want the tickets sent as soon as they are released. Has to be kid related.
Will give four more out to second person.
I_POST_HERE_NOW
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 3:37pm
12-0
RG2
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 5:04pm
I post here now- WINNER!!!
you and Blake each get back with Blake on address. Blake can forward to me.
I think the wizards game -winning 12-0 the same night komets sweep 12-0 has to be one of the most unique and coincidental local sports events I can think of.
Alan
Sat, 08/01/2015 - 5:56pm
Why did the News-Sentinel repeat an article one year old? I'm speaking of the article "Maggio thinks affiliation will benefit K's".
The story was included in the August 1, 2015 sports page (front page, top). It first was printed around July 31, 2014. When I saw Maggio's picture, I thought that maybe it was a "human interest story". But as I was reading I kept thinking "Hey, I've read this before".
Computer glitch?
Blake Sebring
Sat, 08/01/2015 - 6:29pm
That's one guess, but right now there's nothing definitive.
orange_koolaid
Sun, 08/02/2015 - 8:07am
Haha!
Alan
Sun, 08/02/2015 - 10:59am
Getting back to hockey...
Franke stated that they were talking to Martin, Leach and Faille. Great! I am supposing that Faille is looking for an AHL contract somewhere since he played 21 games with Texas last season.
Looking at the "D" for a minute shows that Leach and Martin would be extremely important signings. If those two defensemen were to sign, it would put together one of the finest group of D men to come into camp ever. They have already accumulated size (6'2", 6'4", 6'3", 6'1", and 6'2"). The +/- for the D men are 0, 0, -19, 8, and 46. Levi is the one at -19. Adding Leach and Martin just solidifies things even more. I thought last seasons D (coming into camp) was the strongest in a long time, but this would be a much greater improvement.
So my attention is going to be on the D when it comes to future announcements.
Still only one "vet" signed plus the San Antonio camp players coming here. This is getting closer and closer to becoming "special".
Alan
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 10:43am
Blake, here is a question for you.
Every team has a "weakness". As good as the komets were last season, I always thought they had a problem with making crisp passes (especially making the transition from their own zone into the "attacking" zone). To me it became more clear every time they played Toledo (who I thought was very adept at moving the puck). Sometimes the powerplay looked predictable also (again comparing it to the tick-tack-toe puck movement of Toledo).
I certainly understand that all of these players are ECHL players (not NHL players) but they are competing with ECHL players also.
I know I've used Toledo in my examples twice, but they took the K's out in seven ( losing three games at the Coliseum in overtime).
So my question is this...as you watched all the games last season, what do you think would be the area/ areas for the K's to improve themselves as they put together this roster?
Blake Sebring
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 10:48am
Smarter players who realize they are out-matched in terms of speed and play the gameplan instead of trying to beat the faster, more-disciplined team down the ice.
Anonymous
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 11:36am
Here's a question for all of you, Marino hasn't signed anywhere yet. What do you guys think of the Komets trying to bring him back in?
zanderson_84
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 1:45pm
What cost us against Toledo and was our only weakness? Toledo owned the puck possession game against us in the smaller rink in Toledo. The inability to win a sideboard battle 1 vs 1 to get the puck out of the d zone in a smaller rink killed us against both K-zoo and Toledo. Our forwards would have to come down in the zone to help dig the puck out, which would leave nobody to get the outlet pass to in order to get the pucks out of our zone. It let guys like Lampl and Czar and Ftorek basically pinch every play because they didn't have to stay honest and play back at the blue line. Teams can't do that against us here at the coliseum though because there is too much space for our forwards to skate with the puck once they win one of those battles. It gives them time for the other forwards to start heading up the ice to make the outlet pass. When we could play in our end, which we did most of the time on the bigger rink at home we were fine. The problem is we didn't have a chance to do it very much in those road situations.
Alan
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 4:15pm
Thanks.
Blake, your answer ( and I agree that the Komets seemed to try to play the other teams game too often) and the points made by zanderson 84 (thanks to you also, zanderson 84) echo each other. My points about passing the puck would also enter into those same equations. Each phase of the game affects another phase. I think we've watched the game the same way, that is, recognizing some areas of the game that we have a chance to address while restructuring this years' roster.
Anonymous, Brandon Marino would be a welcome addition. A veteran winger, a scorer, a league recognized top player. Of the forwards, I see four "A" players and one "B" player already. It would almost be too much to hope for to sign Faille and also lure Marino back to Fort Wayne.
I'm still looking forward to see if the K's can sign Martin and Leach. They are so important (to me) to get under contract. Used to be on Tuesdays that announcements were made, this year it's been more likely on Wednesdays. Thanks again.
RG2
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 8:27pm
i smell a signing soon and Im thinking anonymous just gave us a scent....
I like the smell a lot if its what I think it is..
Blake Sebring
Mon, 08/03/2015 - 9:30pm
IDK. two weeks ago they said they were not interested.
RG2
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 5:25am
Of course on the other hand, I used Anonymous stock tip and the problem is the price keeps droppimg below what I paid for it. But, the market seems to move when Anonymous starts blogging
Anonymous
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 6:12am
RG, there is more than one Ananymous. I am the one that gave the info on Heard. I am not the one that mentioned Marino.
RG2
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 7:21am
good to know. I wont get prosecuted for insider information.
Anonymous
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 8:21am
I am the one who asked about Marino and what everyones thoughts were. Speaking of former players, Jordan Southorn tweeted he will announce where he will be playing next season this week.
chuckitt
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 10:37am
by looking at the rampage site you would think that they werent in business this year! where can i go to see the roster?
Alan
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 10:39am
I always enjoy the speculation regarding who may sign.
Of the unfamiliar players who have signed I am intrigued by two. One is Alex Boak, a defenseman, who has AHL experience.
The other is Adam Pawlick, a center, who scored 27 goals with 14 assists two seasons ago in the SPHL. He followed that up by scoring 32 goals with 34 assists (in 66 games) last season. His production earned him the league scoring title last year.
How does that success translate to the ECHL? Well, who knows? We have seen SPHL players do pretty good for themselves in the ECHL. Then we have also seen others who have not, when signed to a "AA" team. I remember well, and with some optimistic anticipation, the signing of K. J. Vorhees. He could "light the lamp" with Knoxville of the SPHL, but just didn't quite find the net as easily back when Bingham brought him in.
I'm hoping we have found a "gem" in Pawlick.
who/suz
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 11:40am
As with Pawlick..so I hope it goes with Thomas...
As to Southorn..liked him..had a chip..would be nice 2 c him come back
Marino..hhmmmm....2 old maybe. .but ok on him as well
orange_koolaid
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 1:14pm
Chuckitt, here is you 2015-16 San Antonio Rampage Training Camp Roster as of today. http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=848
And if Marino is definitely not too old at a fresh 29. Sivak and Fenton are older.
who/suz
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 1:37pm
Maybe Sivan and Fenton fall in the Marino category as well. ..although leaders r necessary. ..hmmm
Blake Sebring
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 2:06pm
Like the way you guys are thinking on Southorn. Somebody's been paying attention.
Anonymous
Tue, 08/04/2015 - 7:33pm
I do not know much about our scorers but I'm only comfortable with four so far. I'm really now waiting to see what other vets we bring in. Southorn can replace Martin if he ends up not coming back but imagine those two as a pair. I'm confident with management that this will be another fun season.
Alan
Wed, 08/05/2015 - 9:11am
Jordon Southorn?
Never even gave a thought to him coming back here. I would welcome his signing. "13-14" Komet defenseman of the year, scored 13(?) goals, he's always been at even or better on the +/-, 6'3" , and I believe would not qualify as a veteran, but has plenty of experience. What's not to like about that?
Still want to see Leach and Martin signed. It always seems to be very hard to find an offensive defenseman. I'm hoping that we know more sometime today.
I'm very intrigued about how the K's are going to use their veteran slots. So far this "defense" is filling out nicely. The names being bantered about are not veterans, so it may seem like the K's may use the vets up front. Will they sign four, or will they sign three to leave a spot open for later in the year?
Comments
"...and a little child shall lead them..."
Great article, even greater story about how circumstances (maybe not totally unrelated, but pretty close) can influence things.
I don't think it hurts the K's that his dad is the ass't GM for Nashville either. Certainly not now, but who can tell down the road? Stranger things have happened.
I'm liking the fact that the K's are talking with Faille, Martin, and Leach. All three are "impact" players in my opinion. If they can get them all under contract, the defense will be so very strong and it will mean another weapon up front.
Last season I found the K's to be weak in passing, transitioning the puck from their own zone into the attacking zone (comparing them to Toledo), and faceoff success. They are putting together quite a roster. If they can get the three mentioned above, they will still have three vet slots open.
I agree. This is a great story. When I looked up Fentons stats and noticed his dad was Asst GM at Nashville I thought that would be a great back story for Blake. Since Blake and I think alot alike........ ahem... he got a much deeper story then I knew existed.
Peoria Prancers, yech! what an awful name....Im sure that built up condidence in the locker room. "We're the Prancers! Lets go guys, play Prancer hockey!".
BTW here is a great Fort Wayne sports trivia question. I will donate 4 tickets to a komet game- charity of choice-
The Wizards had a game the same night at the Castle as the 93 turner cup final game in fort Wayne( if you remember the parking lot was beyond packed) what was the wizards score that game( they won)
I know! I know! I know!
I wonder if PJ's father is the same Paul Fenton that played for the New Haven (Connecticut) Nighthawks back in the mid to late 80's. If it is I remember a game in which Paul had a Gordie Howe hat trick and almost a double hat trick. That night he had five goals, two assists and a fight that was so one-sided that his opponent received five minutes for receiving. Paul got called up two games later and we never saw him again in New Haven.
So if Jr. plays anything like Sr. he should be really fun to watch.
Blake - we think alike or you know the trivia answer? :)
e mail me the adress ( you have)of where you want the tickets sent as soon as they are released. Has to be kid related.
Will give four more out to second person.
12-0
I post here now- WINNER!!!
you and Blake each get back with Blake on address. Blake can forward to me.
I think the wizards game -winning 12-0 the same night komets sweep 12-0 has to be one of the most unique and coincidental local sports events I can think of.
Why did the News-Sentinel repeat an article one year old? I'm speaking of the article "Maggio thinks affiliation will benefit K's".
The story was included in the August 1, 2015 sports page (front page, top). It first was printed around July 31, 2014. When I saw Maggio's picture, I thought that maybe it was a "human interest story". But as I was reading I kept thinking "Hey, I've read this before".
Computer glitch?
That's one guess, but right now there's nothing definitive.
Haha!
Getting back to hockey...
Franke stated that they were talking to Martin, Leach and Faille. Great! I am supposing that Faille is looking for an AHL contract somewhere since he played 21 games with Texas last season.
Looking at the "D" for a minute shows that Leach and Martin would be extremely important signings. If those two defensemen were to sign, it would put together one of the finest group of D men to come into camp ever. They have already accumulated size (6'2", 6'4", 6'3", 6'1", and 6'2"). The +/- for the D men are 0, 0, -19, 8, and 46. Levi is the one at -19. Adding Leach and Martin just solidifies things even more. I thought last seasons D (coming into camp) was the strongest in a long time, but this would be a much greater improvement.
So my attention is going to be on the D when it comes to future announcements.
Still only one "vet" signed plus the San Antonio camp players coming here. This is getting closer and closer to becoming "special".
Blake, here is a question for you.
Every team has a "weakness". As good as the komets were last season, I always thought they had a problem with making crisp passes (especially making the transition from their own zone into the "attacking" zone). To me it became more clear every time they played Toledo (who I thought was very adept at moving the puck). Sometimes the powerplay looked predictable also (again comparing it to the tick-tack-toe puck movement of Toledo).
I certainly understand that all of these players are ECHL players (not NHL players) but they are competing with ECHL players also.
I know I've used Toledo in my examples twice, but they took the K's out in seven ( losing three games at the Coliseum in overtime).
So my question is this...as you watched all the games last season, what do you think would be the area/ areas for the K's to improve themselves as they put together this roster?
Smarter players who realize they are out-matched in terms of speed and play the gameplan instead of trying to beat the faster, more-disciplined team down the ice.
Here's a question for all of you, Marino hasn't signed anywhere yet. What do you guys think of the Komets trying to bring him back in?
What cost us against Toledo and was our only weakness? Toledo owned the puck possession game against us in the smaller rink in Toledo. The inability to win a sideboard battle 1 vs 1 to get the puck out of the d zone in a smaller rink killed us against both K-zoo and Toledo. Our forwards would have to come down in the zone to help dig the puck out, which would leave nobody to get the outlet pass to in order to get the pucks out of our zone. It let guys like Lampl and Czar and Ftorek basically pinch every play because they didn't have to stay honest and play back at the blue line. Teams can't do that against us here at the coliseum though because there is too much space for our forwards to skate with the puck once they win one of those battles. It gives them time for the other forwards to start heading up the ice to make the outlet pass. When we could play in our end, which we did most of the time on the bigger rink at home we were fine. The problem is we didn't have a chance to do it very much in those road situations.
Thanks.
Blake, your answer ( and I agree that the Komets seemed to try to play the other teams game too often) and the points made by zanderson 84 (thanks to you also, zanderson 84) echo each other. My points about passing the puck would also enter into those same equations. Each phase of the game affects another phase. I think we've watched the game the same way, that is, recognizing some areas of the game that we have a chance to address while restructuring this years' roster.
Anonymous, Brandon Marino would be a welcome addition. A veteran winger, a scorer, a league recognized top player. Of the forwards, I see four "A" players and one "B" player already. It would almost be too much to hope for to sign Faille and also lure Marino back to Fort Wayne.
I'm still looking forward to see if the K's can sign Martin and Leach. They are so important (to me) to get under contract. Used to be on Tuesdays that announcements were made, this year it's been more likely on Wednesdays. Thanks again.
i smell a signing soon and Im thinking anonymous just gave us a scent....
I like the smell a lot if its what I think it is..
IDK. two weeks ago they said they were not interested.
Of course on the other hand, I used Anonymous stock tip and the problem is the price keeps droppimg below what I paid for it. But, the market seems to move when Anonymous starts blogging
RG, there is more than one Ananymous. I am the one that gave the info on Heard. I am not the one that mentioned Marino.
good to know. I wont get prosecuted for insider information.
I am the one who asked about Marino and what everyones thoughts were. Speaking of former players, Jordan Southorn tweeted he will announce where he will be playing next season this week.
by looking at the rampage site you would think that they werent in business this year! where can i go to see the roster?
I always enjoy the speculation regarding who may sign.
Of the unfamiliar players who have signed I am intrigued by two. One is Alex Boak, a defenseman, who has AHL experience.
The other is Adam Pawlick, a center, who scored 27 goals with 14 assists two seasons ago in the SPHL. He followed that up by scoring 32 goals with 34 assists (in 66 games) last season. His production earned him the league scoring title last year.
How does that success translate to the ECHL? Well, who knows? We have seen SPHL players do pretty good for themselves in the ECHL. Then we have also seen others who have not, when signed to a "AA" team. I remember well, and with some optimistic anticipation, the signing of K. J. Vorhees. He could "light the lamp" with Knoxville of the SPHL, but just didn't quite find the net as easily back when Bingham brought him in.
I'm hoping we have found a "gem" in Pawlick.
As with Pawlick..so I hope it goes with Thomas...
As to Southorn..liked him..had a chip..would be nice 2 c him come back
Marino..hhmmmm....2 old maybe. .but ok on him as well
Chuckitt, here is you 2015-16 San Antonio Rampage Training Camp Roster as of today. http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=848
And if Marino is definitely not too old at a fresh 29. Sivak and Fenton are older.
Maybe Sivan and Fenton fall in the Marino category as well. ..although leaders r necessary. ..hmmm
Like the way you guys are thinking on Southorn. Somebody's been paying attention.
I do not know much about our scorers but I'm only comfortable with four so far. I'm really now waiting to see what other vets we bring in. Southorn can replace Martin if he ends up not coming back but imagine those two as a pair. I'm confident with management that this will be another fun season.
Jordon Southorn?
Never even gave a thought to him coming back here. I would welcome his signing. "13-14" Komet defenseman of the year, scored 13(?) goals, he's always been at even or better on the +/-, 6'3" , and I believe would not qualify as a veteran, but has plenty of experience. What's not to like about that?
Still want to see Leach and Martin signed. It always seems to be very hard to find an offensive defenseman. I'm hoping that we know more sometime today.
I'm very intrigued about how the K's are going to use their veteran slots. So far this "defense" is filling out nicely. The names being bantered about are not veterans, so it may seem like the K's may use the vets up front. Will they sign four, or will they sign three to leave a spot open for later in the year?