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Tailing the Komets

Stayzer update

Blair Stayzer is reporting on his Facebook page that he has signed with the Komets. I asked David Franke about this and he said, "We're talking to him, but nothing has been finalized. I expect him to sign here, that's the way it's leaning, but I don't have any paperwork yet. Then I have to get it approved from the league. I don't know when I'll get that."

Posted in: Komets

Comments

Alan
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 2:31pm

I think David Franke is just following IHL rules and cannot commit to the signing until approval from the league. While I know that "toughness" is an important factor for any team, I would be more comfortable with the signing of Justin Cross. I believe he would be a solid offensive player. I don't know if he plays good defensively for a forward or not. Well, as stated before, no contracts are guaranteed. Not all the players signed will make the team.

Woodman
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 3:17pm

Just curious, if there is no commissioner who is approving contracts for "the league"?

Colby
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 6:38pm

MacMillian has it posted on his facebook that he is a Komet. I take it that he signed! It was posted about 6 hours ago. yahhh!!!

Hoss
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 7:15pm

I might have missed this, but why did everyone get a refund for the Komet Photo book? I take it they are not making it now???

Blake
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 7:54pm

The commish never approved the contracts. That job goes to VP of Hockey Administration Lori Bigwood who is amazing at what she does.

Blake
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 7:55pm

As for the book, they had to sell enough to pay for the production and we were not able to do that.

Hoss
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 9:06pm

Sad, very sad!

Wendy
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 11:34pm

I was just going to ask what the verdict was on Mac's hand. I guess that answers that.

mightbite
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 3:27am

I wonder if they will sign Legault since Stayzer & MacMillan has signed. Get the Mitch Woods deal done.

RunningKomet
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 8:09am

In the opinions of all on here, is Woods really as good as MacMillan? I was always under the impression from those in the stands that Woods was in there just to rough up someone and didn't have the best hockey awareness. It's also been blogged on here that he isn't the easiest to work with/coach. I thought MacMillan really showed that he's more than just a pair of fists out there. Info/opinions anyone?

Alan
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 10:11am

Hey RunningKomet. I think in many ways they are very similar. They both bring a lot of energy with them to the team. Until the end of last season I would have thought that Woods had more hockey skills but I was very impressed with MacMillan toward the end of last year and the playoffs. When he went out on the ice to play hockey, and not just to fight, he did not hurt the team one bit. Plus he played hurt, and even though playing hurt, he still still planted himself in front of the goaltender on the powerplay and took a lot of abuse. I don't see how the Komets can sign or keep Stayzer, Legault, Woods, and MacMillan. It seems at least one too many to me. They need to replace the scoring of Curadeau, O'Conner, and Hodgeman assuming O'Conner is not going to sign. I am assuming that Shafronov and Hukalo will sign.

Burgee
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 10:25am

I would be happy with 12 or 13 fighters.

RunningKomet
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 12:42pm

In your scenario Alan I'd think either Legault or Stayzer would be the odd man out. I'd probably lean towards Legault, although he may not be the better player, just because I've trained myself to hate Stayzer so much and it's tough to change your ways :)

Wendy
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 1:41pm

I've made no secret of the fact that I preferred Woods over Mac. Woods was a master pest as well as a fighter. He made the game fun to watch because he showed so much passion out there. Sure, there were times that he let those emotions get a little out of control, but I'd rather see that than someone who skates around with a scowl on their face all the time. And when it comes right down to it, he did put up better numbers, though it can probably be debated whether that is relevant. I would also add that Mac has sometimes been a little too hard hitting for my taste.

Bottom line: Woods was always fun to watch and I still chuckle to myself at some of the things I saw him do behind the plays. Still, my feeling is that he and Mac play essentially the same role on the team. Therefore as long as Mac is here, Woods won't be. :( But that's about par for the course. Once a player leaves, they rarely return.

RunningKomet
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 1:50pm

Well, if we're putting our wish lists out there, I'd like to have Morrency back. Watching him skate out of the locker room after every intermission like a bat out of Hell really showed me that he was fired up to play. He was quick, put bodies on the boards, and just always seemed to be impressive night in and night out.

In other news, if Aquino would come back here and play, maybe I wouldn't have to explain to so many people why I named my dog Aquino...

When it comes down to it, there sure have been a lot of great players go through the fort. I'm sure everyone has their favorites.

Alan
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 2:19pm

RunningKomet. I agree with you that if I had to choose between Legault and Stayzer I, too, would take Legault. My reason is different, however. I would take Legault because Stayzer takes up a "veteran" spot. If Aldoff does not come back and the Komets do not keep Stayzer they would have two veteran spots open. Sometimes those become precious during the season because players become available from Europe etc. Wendy, I was thinking about what you said about players who leave rarely coming back. I think the Franke's value "loyalty" to an extent but they know that it is a business and will do whatever they think is necessary to help the team. Chaulk, Drouin, Shafranov, and Dupuis are examples of players who have left and come back.This was a real good question by RunningKomet because if both Woods and Mac were given a regular shift they both have proven they can play the game.

Blake
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 2:59pm

I can think of about three dozen players who left and came back over the last 15 years, including Pokey about 17 times. Maybe one of the best things the Frankes do is never burn a bridge. Heck, Guy sued them and still came back.

tantardini
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 3:01pm

i got the feeling one of these years soon the komets might get caught getting a little older and slower than some of the teams. they are going to have to find a young curadeau and hodgeman type players to be successful.

they my as well just be done with the legault project, if i were him i probably would go try another team.

RunningKomet
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 3:11pm

Tantardini: While it's not the most popular thought on here, I'd probably have to agree with you. I think Legault sat up in the section next to me almost more than he sat down on the bench last season. Granted, the scenery (girl) he was sitting up there with was much better looking than anything you'll ever find down on the bench, but still, I'd rather see him out there throwing his weight around.
I also agree with you on what you said about being caught a bit old and slow. I really worried about that last season with some of our veterans, and seeing a bunch of them signing again makes me worry. Yes I know speed isn't always what wins titles, and experience can help to overcome a lack of speed sometimes, but I also know I saw a lot more holding penalties on some of our veterans than in the past because they just flat out got beat by guys who were 10 or 15 years younger. At some point the business aspect will have to overcome the emotional aspect and people just need to be told they aren't fast enough anymore, no matter how much of a fan favorite they are. Believe me, I definitely don't like the idea of seeing some of these people go, but the time is getting very close, if it hasn't already come for several of these guys.

Hit Somebody!!!
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 4:10pm

Sweet to here about Mac....now sign Woods, Legault, and Big Snake...LOL

Castor Oil
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 5:49pm

Three dozen players really let's your age be known. Remember Legault had the nagging shoulder injury last year that he aggravated everytime he hit someone.

chuckitt
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 8:20pm

strictly in a hockey sense, woods and mac would be in and legault would be looking for a job. hes still a project and really has a long way to go. i think stayzer would suprize a lot of people specially with having a real coach telling him what to do.

Blake
Fri, 07/10/2009 - 9:36pm

Actually I was talking to Dickie Dunn today and we were remembering all the good times.

Wendy
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 1:09am

Hey, I didn't say players who leave never come back. Some certainly have. It's just that when you consider everyone who comes through each year, it is a relatively small percentage. Some players move up, some retire, and some just seem to bounce around from team to team. And I didn't mean that as a knock on the Komets organization at all. If anything, players are probably more likely to return here. It's just that it doesn't happen very often ANYWHERE. I think it probably helps to be a skill player. There is always a place for someone like that. Even goaltenders come in twos. But my feeling, as much as it pains me to say it, is that the Komets don't really need two smaller fighter/agitators on the same roster. I would certainly love to be wrong about that, though.

Alan
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 2:20am

Hey Wendy. I know that Mitch Woods is one of your favorite players so I hope for your sake the K's sign him. I think you are correct when you state that the K's don't need two smaller fighter/agitators. That was a perfect description for them. I think there are two things working against Woods now. 1) Mac has apparently signed, and 2) David Franke has said Woods is considering going to the CHL. I don't have any statistics to back this up but it seems whenever I read where Franke states publicly a player is also looking at the CHL the K's don't seem to get him. ( The last player that comes to mind was Bruce Richardson). Like I said, I have no facts to back that statement up. It is just an observation. There is still a lot of time before training camp so I'm sure we will see some surprises. By the way, has anybody seen anything regarding the Flint franchise. It is now going into the second full week of July with no management announcements, player signings, or coaches named. C'mon IHL it is time to get going on this.

mightbite
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 5:08am

I have also been wondering about Flint. Woods had 17 goals the year he was here, I think he's good for 25 goals & 300 PIM.MacMillan would be lucky to get 10 goals. I still want them both./ Colton Orr to Toronto, Donald Brasher to the Rangers.

mouse43
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 7:29am

Chuckitt I agree with you. The secret here is Coach Sims. He can take players that are non-productive on other teams and turn them into a one well oiled and permission running Machine(team). I Know whoever he chooses to keep they will work well for the Komets

Alan
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 11:14am

Blake, what is the latest with Rick Varone? I was told he took part in the festival parade this morning. Doesn't he want to go to Italy? Any news at all on O'Conner? He seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. If these two both came back the K's would be sitting pretty.... and Blake, in your opinion what in the world is going on with Flint? If this wasn't so sad it would be funny.

Wendy
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 1:28pm

Yeah, Brashear to the Rangers. Now that's what I call IRONIC.

Alan: Nope, it's never a good sign when they happen to mention that a player has other teams after him as well. That's been my experience, too. These days if they say, "So-and-so is also considering..." I immediately think, "Oh, okay. Buh-bye then."

As far as Flint goes, I wouldn't even bother to ask. You know they will only say what they want us to hear when they want us to hear it.

So did the Komets do something similar to last year in the parade this morning? I didn't hear a word about it beforehand, so I wasn't sure what they were planning.

Hit Somebody!!!
Sat, 07/11/2009 - 3:04pm

Same old thing with the Komets.....people walking in Komet T-Shirts....a trolley, Michael Franke driving a jeep with jeep girls hanging off the roof, and Varone, Warner and Guy plus Icy walking the route.

I too noticed Varone was there, I had heard from someone who spoke to Nick Boucher a few weeks back that said that Boucher and Varone would most likely both be back as Komets.

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