I wanted to give this a couple of days before posting - to avoid a "knee jerk" reaction. The Regina Pats will watch the remainder of the WHL playoffs, after being swept in four games by the Medicine Hat Tigers. The Tigers eliminated the Pats with a 6-3 victory at the Brandt Centre Friday night.
This was absolutely a disappointing result. The Pats (in general) played at nowhere near the level that was required to compete with the Tigers. Maybe they'll get to that level next year, when the core group of players (Logan Pyett, Linden Rowat, Jordan Eberle, Michael MacAngus, et al) are a year older and better equipped for the rigors of the WHL playoffs.
In the meantime, you have to feel badly for 20 year old stalwarts Kyle Deck, Kyle Ross and Garrett Festerling, who have played their last games of junior hockey. Festerling in particular played his heart out in game four, and deserved a better outcome. But, life - and junior hockey - isn't always fair. Pats fans should thank those three young gentleman for providing great leadership, and inspired play. Hopefully their efforts have laid the foundation for greater success next year, and beyond.
This just in (a flashback to my radio days): The Pats have announced that Garrett Festerling has signed a try-out contract with the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League, and Kyle Ross is in Milwaukee, for a "look see" with the AHL's Admirals. Hopefully Kyle Deck will get a similar opportunity as well.
4 comments:
Well Pete, another season has come to an end. I've been chewing this over a few days and it's still hard to swallow. This was about the 4th or 5th year of the rebuilding process and we still came up miserably short.
We were good enough to beat a .500 eatern division club, barely, but not anywhere close to the Hat or for that matter anyone in the central division.
I've listened to the media, read the papers and blogs and still I am more than a little disappointed in what I've heard. Some are saying the Pats are going to be a national top ten team, some say we will be great next year and for years to come, some say we have a plethera of talent coming back, some saying the Tigers run is over. I say hogwash to most of that. Those comments are eerily similar to what was being said this time last year.
I am not sure that this management and scouting group realize they are not that deep or that talented. Eberle, Tuebert and Rowatt are great young players but they are 2-3 years away. We need more speed and more talent yet I haven't heard anyone address that glaring deficency. We have more than a few guys who showed that when the pace was turned up, they couldn't compete. I get the feeling that this organization thinks that their is speed and talent is good enough. The Tigers clearly showed them otherwise. I don't think they took any notes.
They don't have a good selection of 20 yr olds back. Ofukany is a decent one and perhaps Sauletis but then they would use up one of their euro spots. That would end up making the team younger. Just what they don't need. They have given up too many goals for the last number of years. They have a d-man who has been a minus player for them two years in a row. They are likely to have at least three 17 yr olds next year which goes to make them even younger again.
Although they won't say it, I think we are looking at another rebuilding year or cycle AGAIN. There will be a number of teams improve this season. Saskatoon will be good, Swift is good and will return most of their team and PA will be much better. I wouldn't be surprised if the Pats end up battling for a playoff spot. Nothing in junior hockey is a sure thing. There are a lot of us out here getting real tired of the same old refrain.
Lastly I would like to thank you, Rod, Al, Chris and everyone involved who provided the high quality commentary of the games and post game shows. Your blog site provides great insight and very accurate assessments. I will read it everyday. Keep up the good work!!
OLD FAN
- Everett must be stinging today. One bad period cost them the series. Ouch!
- How weak is the east division? The Wheaties got knocked off fairly easily. The Pats couldn't compete at all.
- Either the Tigers or Hitmen will get an easier ride to the mem cup, because Vancouver will beat PG in 5..too bad the Pats weren't paying attention to that fact.
- The Pats have to add some speed and skill to the lineup. A great European draft and some blockbuster trades are needed. Schira is a minus player and could be moved to get some speed and skill up front. Maybe move him and Sauletis to some team for a first line center and prospect. They could then find two burners in the Euro draft. Also they must turn over some rock and find a hidden gem in tier2 or elsewhere. The have to be more disciplined and cut down on their goals against.
- Parker has a small window to show what he can do but it's getting smaller each year. Like the LP said today. The last two times the Pats were in the 2nd round(96&98) were compliments of Graham Tuer. This year was his team, and it fell far short of expectations.
You both mentioned Craig Schira (well, OLD FAN did it indirectly), and I was thinking about him as the series wound down.
Last year at this time, I thought he was on the verge of being an impact player at this level. However, I think his play actually dropped a notch this year. I have no idea why - maybe the pressure of being the blueline leader while Kyle Deck was out of the lineup, maybe he had a tougher time than others adjusting to the "new" rules, or maybe NHL scouts were filling his head full of .......stuff. But I sincerely hope he turns things around next season. He's a fine young man, and has the ability to be a rock on the blueline.
Ya Pete I meant Schira. A friend of mine , an NHL scout said if your a small d-man you have to be very good defensively or very good offensively. Craig is neither and as a third year guy this year was a minus player. All you can really say is he is a veteran.
I like the kid but I like the Pats logo more. We traded Harding and Smith so I don't think a few more trades matter. If we can locate a quality forward for a d-man, its not a bad idea. Kulchar is ready for sure and Pym is reputed to be a Kris Russell type player.
I like Sauletis but if we could get a non import for him I wouldn't mind. It would maybe give us a shot at two speedy euros. If he is back as a 20 yr old euro, that wouldn't be a real bad option. The expansion draft and the import draft will dictate to a great extent what moves are made. I think the Oil Kings are going to get some good players from league teams.
OLD FAN
Post a Comment