Practice, Practice, Practice

I attended today's practice. There isn't much I can say since it is virtually impossible to identify any particular player. While I was there the focus of the practice was 2-on-1, 3-on-1, 3-on-2 drills and pushups. Pushups? Yep ... bad efforts during the drills were rewarded with pushups by the offender and his linemates. Yesterday evening the TV folks were at practice and in the brief portion of the interview that they aired with Dave Shyiak he mentioned how this years team isn't one of youth but instead one of experience. He intimated that these guys already know the systems and that fewer mistakes ought to be the order of the day.

Besides jonesin to see the guys skate, I went to the practice for some practice of my own. I wanted to get an idea of what I could do with my camera. I've uploaded the pics I took and put them into a Photobucket folder accessible to all. Here it is ...

Click on the picture above and you'll be taken to the folder. Besides the 50 or so shots I took I also tried out the MPEG feature. Below are the three movies ...

The quality on all this media is variable. I'm just learning so bear with me. I expect as the season progresses that I ought to be able to improve certain aspects. Many of the pictures were taken in what the camera calls "continuous mode". That mode should allow me to catch some good action shots ... I hope. At some point in the next few days I'll add a slideshow feature somewhere on the right column. All of the pictures are downsized from the originals which I have on my home computer. If you desire a full-sized picture that you see during the season just email me and I'll send you the bigger version.

That's the hockey content for today. Now, for some more Sarah Palin bashing ...

Sunday Potpourri: 4/5ths of Palin is Pain

Is it over yet? Did Sarah bumble enough yet? I'm crossing my fingers because I'm full to the gills with coverage of her. Governor of Alaska is really just a part time job. In the recent past, everyone up here had been equally fascinated with this chick as the nation now seems to be. But there was never enough real news to keep this poser on the TV that much. Not true anymore.

The most uptight of the uptight broads on the planet is on TV somewhere at virtually any minute of the day. Creepy. She's kinda creepy. Thinking about her kinda makes my skin crawl. She reminds me of this overly prim and proper teacher that once put my chin in a vertical lock between her thumb and forefinger (the vertical part here is important ... if I'd ever imagined someone grabbing my chin it wouldn't have been vertically) then led me to the principal's office (with me still astonished at the effectiveness of her vertical chin-lock on me) after I'd shoved little Skerredy McScaredboy down the slide instead of waiting another 2 minutes for him to finally decide to go. Hey, as a seven year old I was pretty tolerant but I had my limits. I wasn't about to stand up there on the top rung of that slide and wait forever. Christ ... even I knew that recesses were only 10 minutes long. It's not my fault that he rode the rail all the way down; if he hadn't been so freaked out at being 8ft off the ground then it would have been fine. Right? Ok then ... As long as we're straight that I wasn't the bad guy.

Now back to the whole poser angle. Any chick that's ever been in one of those beauty contest things knows that winning is all about posing. They've gotta smile and wave within defined parameters. They've got to walk a certain way. Properly standing in a swimsuit and/or an evening gown comes with big challenges. The best of the best come together in these contests in order to pose better than one another. Posing doesn't have to become a way of life but for Sarah Palin it obviously has become exactly that.

We Alaskans are a bit bemused at some of the obvious mistruths Sarah is repeating at stump speech after stump speech. Of course if she stood up and admitted to being the same category of greedy whore that 90 percent of Alaskans fall into then her VP hopes would fail. So keep up with the whole facade that you weren't trying to grub up every federal dollar you could get your hands on Sarah deary; all of your other posing experience has taught you well. You go girl. And whether they'd admit it or not there are 670,000 people up here that know you'd have taken anything that they were giving AND you'd ask for more.

Did you know that Sarah wears the same sort of shoes as Paris Hilton? Who the hell spent any time figuring that out? Wig sales in Sarah's style have skyrocketed. Broads in Minneapolis/St. Paul are virtually lined up at optical shops to trade in their frames and update to Sarah's style. All this while talking-head Dem chicks are on TV telling the world that women aren't going to vote for Sarah just because she has the same genitalia. BS ... a helluvalotta women are going to do exactly that. They see some glimmer or shadow of themselves in her or even just a glimmer of how they hoped they'd turn out and they "relate". That's enough for them they "connect". And here's what all those women's husbands will find appealing:

I won't complain that she was dogging a Minnesota sports team for how crappy they were. Pretty funny actually. But shitty to see a UAA score where they'd lost to Squarebanks the night before. I didn't bother looking anywhere to figure out what year that was. I remember Julie Hasquet on channel 2 but I don't remember ever seeing that chick do the sports. Anyhow, the fact that Sarah is no where near qualified to be Vice-President (much less President if the old guy croaks) will have little (if any) bearing on the outcome of the election. For the next 6 weeks the women in this country for whom thinking is paramount are likely going to see a huge reason to dislike male America. Because for no reason other than Palin makes it into the "I'd tap that" category they will turn out in droves to vote for her. And by the way ... I wouldn't.

08-09 The Bigger Picture

Previewing some of the strengths of each individual class is just the first step in generating a picture of what I think the team will look like this year. I'm most happy about the burgeoning maturity on this team. 12 upperclassmen equals a solid amount of experience. Don't underestimate the power of maturity. Teams with larger productive upperclassmen succeed in the WCHA more often than not. Add in 8 veteran sophomores with 224 games under their belts to the experience/maturity column. The surest path to knowledge is down the road of failure. We all learn the best lessons from our mistakes. It matures us. I see this years team as one that is dramatically less prone to mistakes. As the season progresses that factor should be more and more strongly in UAA's favor. What I think that translates to is bye bye to the ugly second half of the season that plagued the Seawolves the last two years.

In 2006-2007 the Seawolves opened the season with a 10-8-3 record through December. After December they went 3-16-1. In 2007-2008 the Seawolves opened the season with a 6-7-5 record through December. After December they went 1-14-3. It's been easy to point to the second half both of the last two years as the barrier to success. What to do about it has got to be the biggest question in the coaches mind. I don't think they have to do much. I think maturity will rule the day. I think upperclassmen will tell underclassmen how damned hard they have to work day in and day out for the whole season. I think they'll foster unity and a team attitude that shows they know you can't take a night off in the WCHA. I think they'll help younger guys fully understand that 100% effort is the minimum. Of course that all starts with the coaching staff emphasizing this most important factor. The better teams in the WCHA get better during the second half. This years Seawolf team will have to do some of the same.

There are five very key players on the Seawolves roster with whom this maturity must fully be in evidence all season long. Mat Robinson, Shane Lovdahl, Kevin Clark, Paul Crowder, and Josh Lunden. Expect these five guys to be top scorers on both offense and defense. That is almost a given. These guys on-ice committment and leadership is going to serve as the primary example for everybody else. I hope that Brian Bales can grow into being the same sort of example as the season progresses. I don't mean to sell short the contribution that I believe will come from the other upperclassmen on the squad. They might not pop in as many goals as those six guys but Backstrom, Hunt, Selby and Tuton are all going to fill very important roles. Their experience and maturity will make the PK improve from last season for example.

With a large sophomore class all the upperclassmen will have plenty of opportunities to support their second year teammates. Without leadership this important class won't fully succeed. I see three guys in the sophomore class as key players. Kane Lafranchise, Brad McCabe and Craig Parkinson need to continue their progression and up their production this year. I see Daychief, Grant and Vidmar as important players of course and perhaps they can each double their point totals. I see Jeff Carlson essentially as a freshman though he is physically mature at 22. He should develop as the season progresses and perhaps turn into a threat at some point. We'll have to see. I see Wiles and Haddad as two guys who will need to carve a role out for themselves.

There are three not so pretty numbers from last season that must be addressed. The penalty kill wasn't horrible but it wasn't top notch either. There isn't a reason it should be anything less than top notch this season. Campbell Blair knows how to get that done as he proved at Maine. With a large group of veteran players I know he can find 8 guys with the skill sets necessary to fulfill his plan to make the PK as good as anyone's in the league. I'm serious. Both of the last two years we've had freshman on the PK as often as not. This season that isn't the case. Many of the guys Campbell needs to get this done are experienced with his penalty killing philosophy already. Like I said, 82.2% last year wasn't ugly. Wouldn't between 88 and 90 percent be pretty?

Speaking of pretty ... that's something last years power play wasn't. 13.4% is getting down to a low enough number where you'd have to classify it as inept. There are bulls to be taken by the horn on the power play. Quite frankly and ironically it's the favorite refrain of the ignorant hockey fan. We've all sat behind the boob who yells, "shoot ... shooooot" the whole game. If those boobs were yelling that last year when we had the power play they would have been right. The Seawolves have absolutely got to find a way to get more rubber to the net when they've got an extra man. It's a stat that needs to open in the 20 percent range and stay there all year. At minimum.

The final not so pretty number from last season is the GF/GA ratio. We scored 81 while "they" scored 112. I've seen uglier numbers. In 05-06 the team finished the season with just six wins and scored 68 while giving up 138. I think that helps cement my assertion that last years team wasn't as bad as their record. Which of course means that this season the team will be better than most people expect. Overall last year the Seawolves outshot their opponents. And while that's heartening it wasn't by much 959-927 (just for comparison UAA was outshot in 05-06 1344-827). A big part of the Seawolves offensive game plan could be classified one where players are using their size and strength in the offensive zone. That sort of effort is made so you can be in position to snatch up a rebound. For there to be a rebound someone has to shoot the puck intelligently. Maturity is a factor here as well. Smart shots come from experienced players right? The Seawolves will score more than 81 goals this coming season. I have little doubt of that. How many more is the biggest question. I'm assuming of course that we'll see a marginal drop in the number of goals the Seawolves give up. Under 100 certainly sounds quite do-able.

I think the Seawolves are due for an honest to god winning season. That's right. I think the overall record at the end of the season will be above .500. For a couple of years now I've thought that next season would be one that all us fans could call a "breakout season". I still believe that's the case. This year is a building block to next year. It's not a rebuilding year but a building year for the Seawolves. There is every reason to believe that this years team can get to the WCHA Final Five. An outside shot at getting into the NCAA's is even a possibility with that sort of record in the WCHA. In 09-10 this team will have a massive upperclass with a real nice talent base. Watch out for a helluva season then and a chance at making noise in the NCAA's. But that's not likely this year.

The 08-09 Freshman Class

A freshman's job in the WCHA is too adapt. A new player has to first adapt to the hectic routine that is common for all 1st year college students. Then the player has to learn how best to integrate playing hockey into that routine. Then the player can hit the ice and learn how to adapt to the faster game. Anyone expecting really big things out of a freshman in the WCHA is going to be disappointed 99 percent of the time. So we fans have to be patient. That said, there is still much to like in the three skaters and one goalie described below.


Curtis was the leading scorer amongst defensemen in the AJHL last season. Yes. I know he is listed @ #25 and as a forward. According to the UAA web bio on Curtis he played "the majority of the season" on defense. My fan forum perusing enlightened me to Okotoks defensive style last year and I'd read that at some point Curtis was playing forward. It's difficult to say exactly how many additional points came when he was playing forward instead of defense without going to a boxscore of everygame (and I ain't going to do that). So since he is coming here to play defense and played the majority of last seasons games at defense, then I'm proclaiming him the highest/leading scoring defensemen for the 07-08 AJHL season. Does that get your attention? A kid doesn't accomplish that without a great set of wheels, a heads up style and a great sense of the "game" around him. Interesting to note here that one-time recruit prospect Adam Henderson (who picked Michigan State over UAA) finished 8 points lower than Curtis on the leading scorers table. And he played forward all year. Curtis could be a real real real nice find. The last kid called Curtis we had from Alberta turned out that way. Here's hoping that lightning strikes twice eh?


Tyler Moir was much more than just a top ten scorer in the AJHL last season (8th on the overall scoring table), he was a top ten penalty minute leader as well! That's a good thing. It shows me that along with having good size (6'1" 205lbs) he plays with some attitude. The coaching staff will be emphasizing ways to utilize that attitude positively while eliminating the penalty minutes. Tyler won't be the first kid to come to UAA with lots of penalty minutes on his resume'. He won't be the last. Tyler's last coach told me in an email that he was a prototypical power forward. I think when we look through the UAA lineup that we see more than just a couple of those sorts of guys in a Seawolf jersey. You have to have an effective cycling game as part of the repetoire in the WCHA and guys like Tyler turn that crank. If Tyler can manage as nice a freshman season as several of last years then he'll have been effective. If he excels then it's a bonus.


In the recent tradition (it's beyond a trend now) of large framed good skating forwards Jade comes to UAA from the AJHL as well. He played for Curtis Glencross's old team, the Brook Bandits. Jade scored a moderate amount last season (14g-26a in 60 games) finishing wth the 4th highest point total on his team. He's 6'3" 200lbs. He was named the team's MVP for the playoffs; which only lasted for the 3 games it took for Tyler Moir's team to sweep them. Jade doesn't have big stats preceding him. I don't find any written talent analysis of his play on the internet. Regardless of any hype or lack of hype, Jade will have the same set of challenges to meet in as the other freshmen. And as with them we'll have to patiently sit back and watch their development.

Dusan Sidor
Recruiting skaters and recruiting goaltenders are two different things in terms of timing. A school needs a new defenseman or two and a forward or two every year. But a team doesn't need a goalie every year. Because of that timing is everything. Both for the school and the player the timing needs to match. Dusan Sidor thought he'd made a good step verbally committing to a D-III school last season until a few days later when UAA called. He quickly rescinded even though he was probably going from solid playing time to what must only be a "no promises" situation. Good for him. That tells me he's confident enough to believe that he can impress the staff with his practice play and earn playing time. In a rotation with two guys in front of you that's a gutsy move to make. I don't see Sidor as a kid with no ambition happy to sit on a WCHA D-1 bench for 2 years. His dad is a former goalie and goalie coach. He came to the U.S. to develop as a player and by all accounts was capable of some outstanding play from time to time up in Wasilla. Hard to know if he'll get any ice time that isn't a result of filling in for an injury his first year. But who knows ... maybe NOBODY will score on him in the first two weeks of practice. I'd bet he'd get a start that way though.