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Tailing the Komets

Sunday's stories

Comments

whole_n_one
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 11:42am

Here is what Florida did over the past weeks to improve:

Brent Henley 6-7, 250

Tyson Gimblett 6-3, 220

Daniel Koger 6-4, 205

Maxime Langelier 6-1, 206

Matthew Pistilli 6-2, 219

Florida was struggling to make the playoffs just like we were.  They went out and got bigger and better.  These are not players that were sent down from the AHL.  Their coach was able to mold all of them very quickly into their "system".  We brought in guys that are 5-9, 160lbs. 

I think it is ironic that Sims commented after both games about how big and playoff ready they are.  Yes, they are; but a month ago they were in the same position that we were.  The difference was that they went out and got the type of players that they needed to compete and get a playoff spot.  They also have a coach who obviously demands respect from his players and was able to implement a game plan, or "system", that is easily learned and executed. 

Then they came into our building and totally and completely dominated us in every aspect possible.  I have always been, and will continue to be a Komet fan.  But as a paying fan, I am extremely disappointed in the lack of any kind of attempt to make this team better.  If we tried to improve and missed the playoffs, so be it. 

I think that as fans, we deserve answers as to why we spend our hard earned money only to see our team get embarrassed on home ice, night after night.  We deserve answers as to why other teams can go out and sign big, physical, skilled players that improve their rosters and we cannot.

Who/SuZ
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 12:10pm

Love your comments Bret, sure would love to see you come back next year as our Captain.....your attitude and leadership definitely show.

We need Chaulk to retire, coach somewhere else for several years and come back after that...maybe bring in Gary Graham or someone like him....definitely someone younger that can relate better to the players....time to go Al.

Sure hope Marino comes back as well...we need his scoring and aggressiveness.

Orange and Black
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 12:27pm

I agree. Chaulk needs to hang up the skates. Hopfully marino stays next season. I think he will be consided a vet if we do sign him. Hopefully we get some defensemen who are willing to put a check on someone, and also not cough up the puck. Nycholat does that 5,6,7 times a game. Not happy with the physical play this year. And wasnt there an article at the beginning of the season with how the Komets were physical and had each others back? I may be wrong and might have been another team but that article was CRAP! Somtimes when the little kids play during intermission that is alot more exciting than the actual game. We suck. Hopfully next year we are back to real komet hockey. Maybe get the feeling of the jungle back as well. It wasnt ever "rockin'" this season. Franke's need to clean house. Sign marino, Milam and Smitty as vets and bring in another. Get some other good d-men infront of our goaltender. All ive seen this season is they shoot, they score. AND WE NEVER SHOOT! Shoot the damn puck on the power play! at least the season is about over. GO HAWKS! 

Orange and Black
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 12:30pm

Oh, i forgot... after the performance this season, the ticket prices better not go up. The fans do deserve answers. The prices are already high and its not worth it when we continue to lose night in and night out. They should lower prices after this season...

Andy Sherman
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 3:07pm

You guys do realize Chaulk missed over 30 games with a bad foot infection and shoulder injury that has left him with nerve damage and difficulty with his hand?  Just asking because I think it would be difficult to ask a guy to be 100% on the ice given those issues.  All that said, he's still gotten us a little under a point a game...not THAT bad.  

Who/SuZ
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 3:15pm

Chaulk is to old and to slow....prior to being injured he was still slow and was taking hooking calls....he needs to know when enough is enough.

As to ticket prices, they went up $35 for the season, basically $1/game.....sorry.

Smitty, Marino, Schrock and a defenseman to be named later are my 4 vets....hopefully Auger and Rizk as well.

Andy Sherman
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 3:39pm

I disagree about Chaulk being too slow.  He's not the fastest player on the ice no doubt.  But he's a more deliberate play maker who doesn't just go running around like so many players in the league do.  Todd Robinson isn't fast either, but he is smart and makes plays.  But to each their own.  I think he can still play and he brings a lot to the table as far as leadership.  Now, can I ask how can you bring Schrock back as a vet next season?  Has he even been playing lately?  I haven't noticed him at all.  When was the last time we saw a fight or a big hit from him?  For me, he's one of the guys at the top of my list to get walking papers this offseason.

Who/SuZ
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 3:51pm

Schrock, walking papers, maybe and a big maybe....he is a hometown boy with drawing power at the box office which is part of what minor league hockey is all about....my goodness look at all the advertising around that rink....sad sometimes.

Sadly I do not think any of our current vets on defense can come back as a defensive leader....we need someone from another team with that capability and I am not sure who that could be.

Who/SuZ
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 3:52pm

One other thing, last night was the first night in a long time that a player came to the defense of one of his fellow comrades....cudos to you JR.

Andy Sherman
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 4:27pm

Suz, you're def right about the advertising in excess and the potential to bring him back based on other factors besides his play on the ice.  

mike from Toronto
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 6:37pm

Well, here it comes, for all the people who forget about the 5 Championships and playing hurt and putting up with the lack of respect 91 gets. I hope he goes somewhere and never comes back. The guy scores his 1,000 point and there isn't one good going or shout out from one of you. There is only a few people who post here who understand what it takes to play this game professionally. If you want to be the STH and vent that is your right. But don't mistake the amount you are paying for seats to give you any insight into this game.

 

olddguy45
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 7:01pm

We have not forgotten,hoever when it is time to move on.

Hoss
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 7:11pm

Simmer down there Mike, not all of us from Ft Wayne want to kick him out! He still gets the loudest cheers from anyone at the game, just not on the blogs...

mike from Toronto
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 9:58pm

From your comment "old guy" you have already forgotten. Hoss, thanks for the "heads up".  Fort Wayne has won nine "championships" in their history and Colin Chaulk has been on 5 of those teams. Some of the players who were on the first 4 teams are reveered (sp). Has any player won 5? Al has coached 5. 

Deveopmental league, name one guy, in the whole league,  who will play more than 20 games in the NHL in the next 3 years.

Or are you grooming players for the AHL? 

mike from Toronto
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 10:15pm

Oh, and by the way having a number up in the rafters is wonderful but any "great player" wants one more chance to win it all. You have not had many like this guy and I am p...d at the amount of people who don't realize it.

Andy Sherman
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 12:44am

Mike, it's the age old story: you don't know what you got till it's gone.  I think we sometimes get used to the production that some of the guys have achieved and temporarily forget about it.  I think at times we take certain guys for granted.  It's human nature to believe the grass could be greener on the other side.  With the injuries Colin has had this season, it wouldn't surprise me if he really pursued coaching somewhere and heavily considered hanging them up.  That's not to say he couldn't play.  IMO he can.

teresa215
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 7:12am

I know it's been a miserable season, but I can't believe the way some of you are ready to hang Colin himself from the rafters after all he's done for this team and this town!  As far as I'm concerned, Chaulker can play until he's old and gray, skate on only one leg and play with a blind eye and still have more heart and soul than any player out there and I'm sure he will still give 110% every night.  Chaulker will know when it's time to hang 'em up and when he does, hopefully he will get the opportunity to continue to stand behind the bench as our coach. 

 

We, as fans, have been spoiled rotten for the past ten years.  It's a new league and it obviously took some time to figure it out.  Unfortunately for us, too long, but remember back to our first year in the CHL.  It was not such a great year either, but the K's came back roaring the next year and won the President's Cup.  If you're a longtime fan, think back to the 70's and 80's.  Life as a Komet fan was not all that great.  We had many disappointing seasons, but we lived through them and we will again. 

 

Yes, as Komet fans, we are disappointed with how the season turned out but at least we know there will be Komet Hockey next season.  There are plenty of other places and towns that can't guarantee that, so be thankful with what you do have.  "Chaulk" it up as a learning year and look forward to be a part of Komet history when year number 63 begins next fall. 

Primeval Forest Primate (Formerly JM)
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 8:15am

Mike, I think many of us appreciate what Colin has done for the Komets. I for one worry about his health at this point. The injuries are piling up and after what he's meant for the Komets, I don't want to see him hobbling around the arena when he's 42 because he stuck around too long. I think he'll be a great coach in the future, but the Komets also have to keep in mind that developing the next player to lead this franchise moving forward is vital. We've had Chin, Dupuis, Chaulk.... right now I don't see the guy that takes that spot. It would be nice to have Chaulk around to help develop that player in some capacity. I just don't know if on the ice is the right place. 

Some of the comments go a little far, insulting Chaulk isn't justified. 

JR1
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 9:04am

First, I agree with JM's post above about not wanting to see Chaulk go from warrior to the guy who held on one season too many.  I also do not want to see Chaulk go from bruised warrior to a crippled one because he's coming back from injuries too soon or pushing too much.  

Second, "Spoiled" is an over used word here on the local blogs...  Are STH's "spoiled" from good season's or are the Komets "spoiled" for having such a large STH base that is more than willing to put all their money up front for tickets without knowing what the product will be?  These STH's are putting a ton of faith in Komets management to use their hard earned dollars wisely...  Most cannot just "write off" that amount of money because of a bad season, so they get frustrated.   So, who is spoiled, the Komets or the uber loyal fan base who show up rain or shine, good or bad, no matter what???

Who/SuZ
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 9:36am

Hmmm, nothing wrong with giving Chaulk his cudos, but like any sport you have to realize that when you can no longer compete you should know that enough is enough....it has been nice to see him hear during the prior several years however the time has come.....some will just have to get over it.

Andy Sherman
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 12:05pm

Can I ask how some poeple are saying it's time for Colin to hang em up, and then also defend Schrock?  If we are talking about on ice production, Chaulk has at least produced slightly under his normal level.  And he's too old as some say.  Well what about Schrock's production?  Fighting rarely, points are way down and he's a minus player.  He can't even catch a pass most nights, and I think Henley's comments are spot on.  He is in way over his head in this league IMO.  I don't understand the one way street here...

Anthony
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 4:11pm

I would like to see Colin Chaulk become our Head Coach or full time Asst. Coach but what do i know im not a Franke or Andy Sherman who thinks he has all the answers for the komets. I would also like a Steve Martinson or a Jason Christie

greta12
Mon, 03/11/2013 - 4:49pm

I think some of you brilliant minds are reaching.

As evidence I give you Colorado. They moved to the ECHL just like we did. They took some of their players with them, just like we did. They signed CHL players from other teams, just like we did. They have an affiliation, just like we do. Some of their players are small - look at Riley Nelson.

The difference is, they treated their existing players like a core group and built around them. They didn't drop them every time a player got sent down to them. They worked them in and got them ice time, but they kept their eye on the prize. We didn't. We were all so fascinated with the higher level garbage, we didn't take care of business.

We have the talent on this team. It's a terrific group. But the Komets themselves have made things harder on them than they ever needed to be. They shuffled and pushed and reorganized time after time around every affiliated player sent down and didn't really give the core group the chance to do what they do best. They weren't just playing opponents, they were playing against management. I'm just not real sure who in management though, Al or the Frankes or some combination. A lot of you guys egged them on, too.

I don't know if the league is really better, but I do know our players are good enough to play in it. They go to another team and they do fine. So the only conclusion I can come to is, we beat ourselves. If we don't get smarter about this, we'll beat ourselves again next year no matter who we sign.

Now quit messing with my team. Go Komets.

 

Black and Orange
Tue, 03/12/2013 - 7:40am

Ticket prices are seriously going to be 35$ a game?

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