He was looking at the possibility of signing in Asiago, Italy, but told the Komets he would decide by Aug. 1, so he did.
"I wanted to make sure that I let them know in time, and I didn't want to string anyone along," he said. "I couldn't wait any longer. It's not like there's a bitter taste in my mouth coming back here. I think this team is going to be great."
Asked what he wanted to work on this year, Varone said, "Being more consistent offensively, being accountable in all situations and being not only what coach Sims can count on but also my teammates. I want to bring something to the table every night and make sure that I've done everything I can to help the team win.'
Did he feel like that was a problem last year?
"I think a few times I cou ld have
Comments
Sorry, Whole, didn't have any time to talk to anyone else today. Too much football. It will be next week at the earliest I get a chance.
Thanks Blake!
I like football season, keeps a lot of those punks busy for some of the night on Fridays so I can go out and have a good time for a little while.
Great to have Varone back..I liked his style of play
Good to see Varone is back. I am somewhat surprised. This might end-up being a battle in training camp for a few positions. I have to pull my line projections back out and tweak them too.
I will give it a shot....
Chaulk, Syroczynski, Woods
Thomas, PC, Shafronov
Hukalo, Varone, Saidachev
MacMillan
Schrock
Guy-Mironovic
Rodger-Warner
Bertram-Woodard
Boucher
Haun
One guy out of this group may be cut: Saidachev, Stayzer, or Bertram. Just a hunch. They are going to be heavy on Non-rookie players.....you have to play 4....I say at this point, without seeing any of the others obviously, I will say they are Haun, Rodger, Woodard, and Schrock. They might keep one or two more on the 22-man roster
The K's are loaded.
Blogfoul, football is no excuse, you must sit in box and feel shame, 17 minutes and no ripple allowed in box! You must sit next to Schebig.
He! Why am I still there. I served my time. I'll cut him (Blake)some slack for football but none for tennis. Maybe only a double minor. That's fair. I see QC has a NEW GM & Director of Hockey Operations. Maybe they are getting started (again).
I say they cut Saidachev, keep Stayzer if Legault is not signed.
Saidachev I believe is still consider a rookie...I doubt they will carry anymore than one rookie on the blueline other than Rodgers.
I could be reading into it wrongly, but I just get the feeling Varone only signed because he ran out of time. It kind of seems like a "I'd have rather played in Italy, but I made the mistake of saying I'd tell the K's by August 1st, so to keep my word I'll stick it out in the Fort this year." Am I reading into it incorrectly, or has anyone else looked at it that way? I know Italy gives a lot more money than the Komets do, but I'm just not sensing from Varone's comments that he's 100% fired up about being back.
I'm officially off the Legault bandwagon also. Other than him knocking that guy out in two hits, I can't say he's ever done much more to overwhelm me.
Jason Lawmaster to musky!/ Laaaarryy to port.
Saidachev is a tweener.
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=93801
From talking to him, you are DEAD wrong Running K. Give the guy credit for sticking to his word. That still counts for something.
Well, we don't all have the opportunity to talk to him, do we? Just kind of sounded like that to me, that's why I posed the question. Glad he's ready to go though.
RK, the Italian team might pay more, but given the choice to play in a building like the Coliseum in front of 7,500 to 10,000 fans....compared to 750 to 2,000 and remaining in North America, where one does not have the language barrier and being able to have family and friends watch you play are things that have to be considered when making a decision like that.
I'm sure that the prestige of playing for one of the most successful and respected franchises in minor league hockey is a major consideration also.
I don't know, Bob. There are quite a few players who head to Europe and don't mind the language barriers or not playing in front of family and friends. I don't 100% buy the idea that pro athletes don't follow the money, whether it's at the top level or in the minors. In the past I'd say that was different. These days though, you see even the most legendary mainstay guys switching teams. It goes across all sports. If the money is there, most guys are going to follow it. That's why these teams are dumping insane amounts of money on their players.
Now, if Lebron James turns down a higher offer from a bigger market and stays in Cleveland, or if Albert Pujols turns down a huge offer from the Yankees to stay in St. Louis when his contract is up, come on here and tell me I'm wrong. I truly hope I am. I just think there are too many Favres and Hossas out there, not to mention the "little guys" who aren't mainstays for any franchise.
Hello RunningKomet. I think you can make a case for both. There are certainly players who are going to go where the money leads them. That is human nature. There are also players that feel there is a value to playing in front of large crowds, with a good organization. My beef has always been the players who start the season and then bolt for Europe. I would amend that even further. If a particular player told management that he would sign but, later, if an offer came from Europe he would leave, I could respect that. At least he would be up front and then it would be up to the management to take that gamble. Four years ago, under Greg Puhalski, the Komets signed a center named Mark Smith. Smith was a fast, smooth skating goal scorer. I believe he had 17 goals after 25 games. Around December he bolted for Europe and it really left the Komets in a weak position. It is hard to replace skill and scoring especially that late in a season. Last year you may remember the Komets had signed (or Norfolk had signed a two-way contract with) Jason Beckett. He also bolted and you may recall how long it took the K's last year to recover from that as they had to play a lot of inexperienced defensemen. No one is right and no one is wrong. I believe that is why the K's do such an extensive background check on there prospects. They have been burned before and want to at least limit the chances of being burned again.
Blake, have you had a chance to talk with David Franke lately? I am curious to see if anyone has signed Sean O'Connor as yet. Also I am curious how he and Al Sims will negotiate this roster knowing that four rookies must dress every night. It really looks loaded to me with a nice blend of players. Hey Blake, is there something wrong with this site? I posted a reply to runningkomet about three hours ago and it hasn't shown up. Anybody else having the same problem or is it just me? Thanks in advance.
I was having issues with it last week, Alan. I had 3 that didn't post on separate days. Figured it was just a sign to keep my mouth shut. What did you have to say though? :)
RK, I see what you are saying. Would Varone have liked to have played in Italy? I'm sure he would have. But that doesn't mean he had his heart set on it to such an extent that he didn't really want to sign here. The way I see it, if he felt that way, he could have simply said "No thanks" to the Komets when the time came, contract or no contract. If he look half-asleep come training camp, his motivation could certainly come into question. But if that's the case, he's going to get cut anyway, because the Komets are loaded this year.
Hi RunningKomet. At the risk of my other post showing up and this being a duplicate, what I was saying was that there are certainly players that will follow the money. That is just human nature. There are also players who find value in playing in front of large, knowledgable fans, and playing for a great organization. I guess what always rubbed me the wrong way was when a player signed, started the season, and then fled to Europe. I would understand it if a player warned an organization that if a Europeon offer came he would take it and leave. In that regard the organization would have to weigh the risk and decide to gamble on the player. Four seasons ago, under Greg Puhalski, the Komets signed a slick skating, skilled goal scorer by the name of Mark Smith. He scored 17 goals in the first 25 games and then around December left for Europe. He was smooth and very talented. It is very hard to replace that type of skill and scoring ability that deep into the season. That was a tough defection to take. Last year you may remember that Jason Beckett, whom Norfolk signed to a two-way contract, left Fort Wayne for Europe. When he left you will recall that the K's had to rely on a lot of inexperienced defenseman and it took most of the year and the eventual trading of Dominic Osman for Rod Aldoff before things really settled out. I think that is one of the reasons the K's do as much research as they can on prospective players. So, in essence, your not wrong and your not right. It is just life and the choices we make as we live it.
Hey if Varone needs it Woods will run him.
Do NHL scouts look more to the European leagues than they do the IHL?
I can tell you that the NHL does have a central scouting bureau and has a huge number of scouts that cover the european leagues.
It's hard to tell how much coverage the IHL gets, but I think that IHL games are covered, just perhaps not as much as juniors, college, etc.
Which may be another reason, on top of the extra money that is not taxed in Europe, that a player would go that route over staying in the Fort. I really think a lot of people are living in a dream world thinking that people are going to stay for a sense of loyalty to a team. Turn on ESPN at some point and prove me wrong.
to review something idly or casually and often inconclusively, to take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence.
Superfans the man' I'll wait for him, I can't speculate, it would drive me crazy and that's a short trip anyway.
My posts go through right away, I think you all are getting censored.
Super Fan....
I know you are extremely busy....when you get a chance....could you ask me a question to the appropriate person? Please?
How are the arrangements with AAHL affiliations going to work? I read where Battle Creek and Muskegon are affiliated now as well as Evansville and the Komets. If we designate a player out of training camp to Evansville for instance, is that player sent to Evansville protected by the Komets where we could recall him at any time, or is there waiver processes involved. There is a bit of confusion on this out there as some are saying that a player must clear IHL waivers before the Komets could send that player to Evansville. And in reverse, can we call up a player from Evansville without worrying about waivers, or without another IHL team raiding players from Evansville?
My point being here is this: If a player has to go thru the waiver process first, what is the advantage and point of having affiliations as we would not be allowed to protect players we have recruited and found if other teams could just take them from us....???
Are there 2-way contracts involved between the IHL and AAHL like those set-up between IHL and AHL players ie: Curadeau last season?
Thanks in advance, I hope my questions are clear, as I feel this is a very interesting issue that needs some clarification....and I think others would enjoy your responses as well on this.
Cheers. Hit Somebody!!!
Sorry, Alan, for some reason it went to spam, and I just got home to check the blog for the first time in a while today. I don't know why. I haven't killed any responses in a while other than Toe once in a while to keep him on his... Toes.
How about that Mad Ants schedule?
Teresa, I'm getting to your email ASAP.
Sorry, Hit, just haven't had time. Just buried with a few fires on and off the ice. Relevant questions, though. I won't have a chance until mid-next week or later.
Let me interpret, hit you are not important, I enjoyed my blog bonus for a full week on the maumee but your posts don't really matter, RK and Alan are implants that I use to keep you in suspense while I am abusing Burgee's credit score all over town ($26.50 lunch tab), and Dschebig is an alternate identity so I can say bad things about Hawthorne. I don't know about y,all, but my priorities are 1. Making the playoffs, 2) yelling at Hawthorne all year and completing the championtrip!!!!!!!!
Hit, you have to know by now I love you, RK, we are kind of still dating, Alan, we should have lunch.
Have fun, who else have repeated as hockey champs, god bless david franke!!!!!!!
Someone please cut that man off! Better yet, give me two of what he's having, er... had.