Post by nyrgm on Jan 2, 2018 10:04:10 GMT -5
Hello fans!
To say that 2017 was a disappointment for the Wolfpack would be a colossal understatement. Somehow, despite having the first AND fourth best goal scorers in the league, Hartford finished off the year with an abysmal 7-12-3 record which lands them in 14th in the eastern conference and just one point above dead last for the entire league. "It seems unrealistic that you can have a guy like Michael (Blunden) who is scoring on one out of every 4 shots he takes and yet the team is leaving the building with a loss over 60 percent of the time. Defence has been a major factor in this with all the young guys starting out this year but there's no doubting that the goaltending has best resembled thinly sliced swiss cheese and that's going to need to change if we plan on turning this season around." Those were the not so subtle words of coach Bill Peters who was signed to coach the Wolfpack this off-season and is receiving the 3rd highest salary of all ashl coaches. No doubt he is under the spotlight along with all the struggling players and you can sense his urgency to turn a corner in 2018. With all that's happened the team will likely dress their 3rd goaltender Jamie Phillips but the real question is who will he replace? The obvious answer would be Skapski, however, with only 3 full games and a relief performance this season, he has been the better of the two through the first quarter. Perhaps a ride on the pine is what the doctor ordered for Kristers to step his game up. Coach Peters had one last thing to say about the young goaltender before leaving. "Before we had Carter (Hutton), Kristers was backing up Jones in New York. At this point he is looking like neither an NsHL back up or an AsHL starter and I think it's time we consider that these other guys haven't had the same opportunities as him. It's unlikely that things will get worse for this team given the current standings and so I think it's time we throw a hail mary and see if one of these other 2 guys is ready to take the reins." Not very kind words from a clearly frustrated coach but it's important to remember that hockey, as fun as it is, remains a business and hard decisions will need to be made to achieve the level of success expected by GM Cooper. Peters was hired to make those decisions, plain and simple.
To say that 2017 was a disappointment for the Wolfpack would be a colossal understatement. Somehow, despite having the first AND fourth best goal scorers in the league, Hartford finished off the year with an abysmal 7-12-3 record which lands them in 14th in the eastern conference and just one point above dead last for the entire league. "It seems unrealistic that you can have a guy like Michael (Blunden) who is scoring on one out of every 4 shots he takes and yet the team is leaving the building with a loss over 60 percent of the time. Defence has been a major factor in this with all the young guys starting out this year but there's no doubting that the goaltending has best resembled thinly sliced swiss cheese and that's going to need to change if we plan on turning this season around." Those were the not so subtle words of coach Bill Peters who was signed to coach the Wolfpack this off-season and is receiving the 3rd highest salary of all ashl coaches. No doubt he is under the spotlight along with all the struggling players and you can sense his urgency to turn a corner in 2018. With all that's happened the team will likely dress their 3rd goaltender Jamie Phillips but the real question is who will he replace? The obvious answer would be Skapski, however, with only 3 full games and a relief performance this season, he has been the better of the two through the first quarter. Perhaps a ride on the pine is what the doctor ordered for Kristers to step his game up. Coach Peters had one last thing to say about the young goaltender before leaving. "Before we had Carter (Hutton), Kristers was backing up Jones in New York. At this point he is looking like neither an NsHL back up or an AsHL starter and I think it's time we consider that these other guys haven't had the same opportunities as him. It's unlikely that things will get worse for this team given the current standings and so I think it's time we throw a hail mary and see if one of these other 2 guys is ready to take the reins." Not very kind words from a clearly frustrated coach but it's important to remember that hockey, as fun as it is, remains a business and hard decisions will need to be made to achieve the level of success expected by GM Cooper. Peters was hired to make those decisions, plain and simple.