18 eighty 5's Dynasty - Operation Sports

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Posted on September 22, 2010 at 10:40 AM.

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NHL 11 Be A GM, Phoenix Coyotes
By Fierce Robot

It Begins in the Inbetween : GM's Preamble

There is something very important about the time bewteen when one season of hockey ends and a new one begins. In this seeming down time, a shrewd GM is awarded a finite opportunity to add future prospects to the list, foster cogent relationships with his current player base by renewing contracts or setting players free and wishing them well on new ventures, strengthening the structures of the organisation by making key staff appointments to positions of responsibilty and generating the impetus necessary to build a franchise that is both a powerhouse on and off the ice. A successful hockey club and a robust and healthy hockey franchise begins in the inbetween time otherwise known as the off season and the preseason. It begins here, because the moments to reflect, scrutinise, change and try new methods are far more accessible than during the heat and momentum of a big 82 game schedule and post season play.

As the 2010-2011 NHL season draws ever closer, this is an update on how I have utilised this inbetween time and how the team has prepared themsleves to achieve great things.

New Players

It was a prioity during the off season to gather some size and quality to add to our defensive lines. To that end I gained Brent Seabrook and Bryan Allen through separate deals with their respective former clubs. Seabrook has taken up post on the first defensive line whilst Allen has been partnering Derek Morris on the 2nd D line. Having an intimidating and skillful triplet of defensive units onboard provides us with a tough back line that Bryzgalov, Barbera and Montoya can depend on. The aquisition of Seabrook and Allen further affords the Coyotes a depth to the defensive roles that has been lacking.

Also new to Phoenix this season are Antoine Vermette and Brendan Morrison (FA). Vermette provides skill on the faceoff and speed and strenght around the ice whilst Morrison brings experience and all round capacity that can help some of our younger guys whilst also being a useful threat on offense.

The Draft and the Preseason

Given that the Coyotes have a stock of young talent, the draft was not of overly high concern. I am pleased to say that we didn't miss out on securing some promising talent who are fitting into our organisation well. The preseason games however, proved just how difficult it is to manage the current core of up and coming young players liker Boedker, Tikhonov, Turris, MacLean and Colin Long (who are already developing in our system) and provide them with good opportunities to develop and prove themselves capable of stepping up at the highest level.

Even for players who are a little bit older like Lauri Korpikoski (24 yo), Martin Hanzal (23) and Keith Yandle (24) the pre season was an especially useful opportunity to set themselves for a season which will require that they deliver at a consistently high level if this club is to impress again by making it to the playoffs for the second consecutive season. This time, though, the fanbase will be expecting a greater return from the team by finally going past the first round and with a healthy optimism, even threaten for the cup.

The preseason yeilded mixed results. Early perfomances against LA and Anaheim were impressive. The team handled the Kings with ease in LA and nearly bested the Ducks, just losing in a shootout.

Despite some promising signs on offense during the preseason, the one glaring deficit remains in the area of team play on defense. At times there appeared to be a total breakdown in the defensive system and it was left up to individual efforts to help out the tenders.

This collapse in team effort was highly evident in the last two games on the card againt Dallas and San Jose. As a result, poor Lababera will need to soak his ego in ice just to recover after the mauling he received at the hands of these two teams. Especially against the Stars who in the opening period found themselves 3-0 up within minutes of the puck being dropped. It was a terrible game that the team just never looked like getting into it. Post match the leadership group admitted to an embarrasingly lack lustre performance. The real dissapointment in the Dallas game was that it was infront of the home fans at Jobing.com Arena who had come out to see the new look team and by the first intermission many of them must have been wondering if Wayne Gretzy was back on board as head coach. The Stars eclipsed the Yotes by a score of 4-2.

The preseason concluded against San Jose and the Sharks proved how nightmarish elite lines can be to defend against. The Sharks won 5-0. Thornton began the demolition early when he found himself in space and launched a wrister that had Lababera guessing at. Again, the defensive effort in this game was inconsistent at best and indicative of the focus this club must begin to commit itself to.

A noticeably shining light during the preseason was the form of Ilya Bryzgalov, who handled the heat in net exceptionally in the two games he kept goal (LA & Anaheim) and is showing that he is the type of net minder a champion team can be built around. Other notable performances were from Colin Long, Vernon Fiddler and Martin Hanzal and Sammi Lepisto. Long will most likely spend time in the minors alongside young potentials Kyle Turris and Victor Tikhonov but they will get there chances to perform in the big league soon enough.

With the season about to start, the Coyotes are putting the last changes in place in order for the squad to make a strong start in Boston on Saturday, 9th October.