I'm surprised the ECHL lets the Komets continue to pull these roster shenanigans at gametime. Very unprofessional.
Anyway, rookie defenseman Steven Shamanski has been signed out of Providence where he had 16 points in 39 game and 24 penalty minutes.
It's also true that the Komets released Nathan Martine by phone, which is just a crock.
Comments
The team looks like this is a preseason game. Passes to no one, too many offsides, bad break downs. They do not look like a team fighting for a playoff spot!
Blake, I was unable to make it to the game tonight, what roster shenanigans are you refering to?
I agree, the way Martine was delivered the news is BS!
They didn't announce the signing until after warmups started when they were asked about this player specifically before the game.
Thanks for your brutal honesty Blake. I am stunned by the unprofessionlism of the Frankes. I cannot believe that anybody, with any respect for people, would do what they did to Martine. I am stunned. It makes me sick to my stomach. Again, for the second time, I have posted I am sickened by what the Frankes have done this year.
tell us how you really feel blake!
Love the unbiased honesty Blake. Makes me enjoy coming to this blog that much more. I know I read an article last season that talked about how a player gets let go. I believe both Sims and David answered the questions. It said the two of them would go to Sims office...get a game plan of how to break the news, then the player would be called into the office, given the news, and then given some sort of evaluation good and bad on their performance. Yes, I know Sims isn't coach now but I find it hard to believe that the basic procedure would not be very similar. Especially at this time of year..and point in the season. So tired of things not making any sense this season.
What a classless act that was. Nobody will want to come here to play once the word gets around the league. Can't say I would not blame any player not wanting to play here. That was very disrespectful to Martine.
Unpopular to think, but....if this was spur of the moment, you don't have time to sit down and rub the guys shoulders. He isn't the first and won't be the last, take what you can, move on, and explore something better. There's intangibles here, good or bad, we haven't been able to factor in with our 'conspiracy theories'. Do I know the whole story? No, but I do know enough to know I don't know everything. Stay neutral on this folks until everything is known.
Short on time is an excuse now? Not that there is not a better reason for how it went down, but time is no excuse for poor business ethics. Of course this seems to be the direction all managment takes these days.
Good unbiased opinion. This was a crock and I'm still not sure why he was released. I thought Martine was a pretty solid defenseman that actually would play physical when given the opportunity. This just adds to a long line of bad decisions by the coach and general manager this season. This is sad because with a coach that could check his ego at the door and adapt to situations, this team could have been really good. Let's look at the suspect decisions of this season: 1) They hire a coach with little experience without interviewing anyone else; 2) They alienate one of the best players ever to play for the organization; 3) The coach loses control of the locker room; 4) They deal top talent without getting much back (Embach is the only good deal); 5) They haven't really taken care of the goaltending issues; 6) They make Schrock captain instead of Marino; 7) They release Martine with a phone call, etc. I'm sure I have obviously missed some. I just think Graham is in over his head and probably needs to be an assistant at this level for a year or two to learn the ropes just like Chaulk is doing in Kzoo. He may just be a great assistant coach and not a good head coach. That happens a lot. Just look at the guys that have left this team. Pretty much all of them have had more success (Lang, Vaskivuo, Firman, Hughes, Tuzzalino, Lyon) and you could add Kevin Walrod (24 pts and a +16 in Reading) and Kyle Bochek to that list. Granted Bochek has been in the CHL but look at the 3rd line players we have had this year. Those two guys could have made a big difference.
This team will make the playoffs but I can't see them winning a series. They are too small, not physical enough, and don't have the leadership from their captain to win a 7 game series. It's too bad because this team could have a top one in the Eastern Conference.
JC,
You pretty much hit it on the head. I would add that Southorn was a reallt good addition. This latest episode of "Franke & Graham Place" is really sickening. The only business person that lets someone go over the phone is a "gutless" businessman. As mentioned by others, this kind of disrespect gets around and when players have choices of where they can play, it is taken into consideration. I have said this before, but, this summer should be very interesting on the player signing front! I think that we will see far fewer players from this team play here next year then anyone expects. Graham can say all he wants about locker room cancers and that junk but the players know the real story. I personally think that if Graham and Schrock did not live in Fort Wayne that neither of them would have ever been associated with this hocket team! If that were the case, Chaulk may have been retained as at least an assistant coach which I contend would have been a better situation for the Komets!
JC,
You pretty much hit it on the head. I would add that Southorn was a reallt good addition. This latest episode of "Franke & Graham Place" is really sickening. The only business person that lets someone go over the phone is a "gutless" businessman. As mentioned by others, this kind of disrespect gets around and when players have choices of where they can play, it is taken into consideration. I have said this before, but, this summer should be very interesting on the player signing front! I think that we will see far fewer players from this team play here next year then anyone expects. Graham can say all he wants about locker room cancers and that junk but the players know the real story. I personally think that if Graham and Schrock did not live in Fort Wayne that neither of them would have ever been associated with this hocket team! If that were the case, Chaulk may have been retained as at least an assistant coach which I contend would have been a better situation for the Komets!