The Lethbridge Hurricanes closed the book on their 2014 Training Camp presented by ENMAX Sunday.
With a core group of veterans joined by a number of prospects, Head Coach Drake Berehowsky was pleased at how things went from fitness testing to the scrimmages. I think everyone came more prepared this year. “The expectations we had; the bar was set high last year and this year the guys realize the bar is higher for this organization and they all came in and did a great job. The young guys from last year that we couldn’t have on our team also came (to camp) in great shape and they did really well on their tests. I think maybe word got around and they did a great job.”
As Berehowsky has said before, it continues to be a process as they work hard to change the culture of the organization, but seeing the vets return to camp in peak physical shape and the leadership they possess he’s been impressed by what they’ve shown. “We have a good group that came back this year and they’re obviously realizing this is the new way, this is the new culture that we’re setting here and they’re more prepared to play this year. From talking to them they say everyone is real tight down there and it’s been a great atmosphere.”
The Hurricanes are now gearing up for their 6-game preseason schedule. They’ll have four days of practice before hitting the road to Regina Thursday afternoon for a tournament where they’ll play against the Prince Albert Raiders and the host Pats.
Heading into preseason action the Hurricanes will carry their returning roster players from the 2013-2014 season as well as nine players who earned an invitation to stay after training camp.
Those players are:
Brandon Kennedy – 1998
Dexter Bricker - 1995
Ethan King - 1999
Zachary Goberis - 1998
Thomas Lenchyshyn – 1997
Ryan Vandervlis - 1998
Andrew Nielsen – 1997
Jaeger White - 1998
Connor Rokosh – 1998
(From Esther Madziya, Hurricanes Media Relations)
Thanks,
Pat
I don't see the Russians as part of the nine additional players?
ReplyDeleteThe two Russians are part of the team and not considered prospects so they are part of list of players on the roster. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pat!
ReplyDeleteCanes are apparently working extremely hard to resolve issues with Reid Duke. All is not lost and he could report within days. I saw a USHL team out east put him on there protected list hoping that he would become available, not looking that way.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe for a second that Duke is coming back and why would we even want a premadonna player that doesn't want to be here??? It is a privilege to play in this league, not a right! He should be left at home for the season as was Forsberg in PG, apparently he was very grateful for another opportunity the next season there, sorry folks, the tail just cannot wag the dog in this league!
ReplyDeleteLBJ
I disagree. When player/agent/family doesn't believe they are getting proper coaching, training, development, they should be allowed to walk out. That said, it doesn't mean they will get traded. It simply means they can leave and sit at home or go play university or US college hockey. Can't believe you would force a player to sit through another year of the same crap that happened last year?!!
DeleteWhat are the issues? Does Duke want free limo rides to and from the rink for practices and games. Own hotel room with free room service while on the road. Full 2 min shift on every Hurricane power play? If the canes are serious about the culture change they better start here. Tell Duke to report and get to work or sit, that is what they should have told every other self proclaimed super star that has pulled this over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteLBJ
ReplyDeleteWell put. Exactly my thoughts .
When it is multiple players over multiple years, sometimes the blame must be shared. We have a large enough sample size here if you compare us with the rest of the league that shows us this is not a case of prima donna players. If a retailer owns a store and has turnover way over industry average it is not the employees that are the cause of the problem, it is management. The fact that they spew accountability all the time without looking inwards is laughable. The fact of the matter is that these players do have a choice in the matter. They are not paid professionals and do not owe the team anything. If you look at the fact that the canes have not handed out the "top draft prospect" award for probably 5 years now shows you that even the organization passively admits that they are not developing players. It is the job of management to put employees in a position to succeed. If you believe that you as a player will not be put in a good position due to a lack of trust in the organization it is not 100% the fault of the player. At some point when history keeps repeating itself you have to change something.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, interesting that the canes have not announced a date for the annual general meeting of shareholders. I believe that we as shareholders need 30 days notice as per team bi laws. I asked the canes and their PR person on twitter when it is and got no response at all. They are lightning quick to respond to the sunshine that hecklers row put out, but when it comes to an easy question they ignore their shareholders.
Sku
Stu, I just got my notice in the mail today (Sept. 9) indicating the shareholders meeting is slated for Sept. 30. If you're right (and I have NO idea what the bylaw says), they didn't give shareholders 30 days notice.
DeleteHey Sku
ReplyDeleteI defence of the the PR Director, I don't think details for the AGM have been finalized as of yet, so I assume the reason for not giving a date for the meeting would be because it still hasn't been confirmed. Last year the AGM was near the end of the September and I assume that will be the case again this year, but to my knowledge that date is still being worked on. I will have the info posted here on the blog once it is set in stone as I'm sure it'll be posted on the Hurricanes website too. Cheers! :)
That is the problem!! Some of these players are bigger than the team and feel as you put it "do not owe the team anything" You are right in the fact that they do have a choice in the matter these players can report to the team, work hard, be good team mates, and play the role on the team that the choaching staff thinks is best for the team or they can go work retail as you suggest
ReplyDeleteI agree with LBJ and anon (10:00), moving forward hoping for a culture change will not happen if players like Duke remain. Good for the guys like Wong, Watson and all the others who trained hard over the summer and showed up to camp in great shape, ready to play for the team. I hope they are willing to let Duke sit until the right trade opportunity comes along, and if it takes a while, thats a choice that Duke made when he chose to walk out on his teammates. Hoping for a great season this year, the returning vets deserve one!
ReplyDeleteHC
I agree with HC and the other two who have expressed their thoughts on Duke. Let him sit, even for a year like Forsberg. The WHL did not step in and order PG to deal Forsberg, so he sat. Brad Robson will be making a huge mistake (no win situation) if he allows Duke to come back. Why kind of message does it send to the rest of the players and the coaching staff? Will he tell Drake that Duke is coming back, so deal with it? If there is enough interest in Duke, then let the deals come to him. (As long as it is not Brandon). Regardless of the situation, Robson is in a no-win situation with Duke, unless he sticks to the suspension. Stay the course with the message to the rest of the team......you walk, you sit!
ReplyDeleteAs for the AGM, it is complete accurate that the shareholders must be given 30 days notice. Even if the notices are given to the post office on Friday, 29th, that means the earliest possible date for any shareholder to receive the notice would be Sept 2nd..(long weekend).
If they put it in the paper, not all shareholders read the paper, if they give it to the radio and tv media, not all shareholders will hear or see it due to being away for the long weekend. They have left it far too long (whatever the reason being). But I would not blame the PR person for the Canes as I am guessing she can only do when & what she is given.
RJS
Have to agree and disagree. Duke stuck with this team through some brutal times and it cost him a ton in the draft and he has tons of people telling him that. The night prior to camp he re tweeted my tweet on twitter saying I was glad to hear he was reporting. I don't for one second believe his issues resemble the other players such as Erkamps and Pilon. Give the kid a break until he either reports or is traded. Nobody has a clue what is going on with him and what issues are being dealt with.
ReplyDeleteMy point was that whether or not Duke is coming back is not the issue at hand. It has gotten much bigger than that. The issue is that this continues to happen year after year. We have to look at this from a macro level rather than by a specific case. It's no longer why is Player X refusing to play for the canes. It is why have all our top players wanted out before hitting their WHL prime? This is no longer a "kids these days" issue. If it is how kids are these days the organization must adapt. Wong and Watson are great players but they do not have the leverage at this point. You have to look at the way they came into the league. Sadly, hard working over achievers do not get the same credit that top picks do. They are good players to build around but are not pedigreed stars in this league. The players who are difference makers (Pilon, Merkley, Duke) all chose that their path to pro hockey did not include Lethbridge. Long windedly, what I am trying to get to is that management has not adapted or taken responsibility for the state of the franchise. I just hope they have some systems in place this season. Time to stop blaming the kids and look at the root of the problem. It's not because the kids are brats. As Pat has stated in the past online and on the radio a great majority of the kids who have left are great character kids. I had a job that crushed my soul daily. I quit and found a job in the same industry at a much better place and my life is much better because of it. These kids are doing the same. I applaud them for taking control of their lives and not wasting a junior career with an organization who can not develop players. Don't believe me that they can't, check the draft history for the canes since the King/Boychuk days. It has been long enough now to say that they can't develop NHL players. Numbers don't lie.
ReplyDeleteSku
Sku
I get where you are coming from but at the same time, I do not see as much value in Duke as you and others do. I do not see Duke as a "pedigreed star in the league"…He did not win one game for the Canes last year, he was not a go to guy. Is he very talented? Of course! Is he too good to play in Lethbridge? No. Brayden Point played on a weak team as well (not as weak as the Canes obviously) but still managed to go 79th because he was a game changer. If Duke had deserved to go that much higher in the draft, he would have. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHC
Not a difference maker? Axel was evaluated as a third line player on the worst team in the CHL? Somehow Axel went to a top team and became a top player. It will be interesting to see Reid Duke in a different organization that will utilize him for his strengths. This organization owes it to their fans to get the best value for both Reid and Erkamps, so that after this current regime moves on, we won't be stuck with a team void of players and prospects. We are also going down a slippery slope in dealing with our current players and prospects as the NHL may not want to invest draft picks in our players and future prospects will not want to sign with our team. Just my opinion. -Long Run
DeleteAxel was put on a line with 2 excellent players. That made his point production rise without too much change in his play. Also, he knew that Victoria wouldn't put up with the lackadaisical attitude he put out in Lethbridge, AND he had Winnipeg breathing down his neck to show improvement. I don't think he is as good an example as you do LR.
DeleteAs for Duke, I think that Robson must draw a line in the sand and not give in to their demands. It has to stop sometime to break the trend or it never ends. Duke is as good a time as any since he is good, but as mentioned before, not a "game changer". If he comes back with the right attitude, move on, if not sit him out.
CDD
That's because these players (Duke) are playing for inexperienced coaches who don't know the first thing about developing their players. This is NOT a Duke issue. It's a management/BOD issue.
DeleteDuke is a decent player and may be a great player one day. This franchise gave him everything last year. He played 1st center as a 17 year old and every pp and pk with medicore results He was -56 and did not even have 20 goals or 40 points. No one on the team played more and you cannot blame these number on the rest of the team. He decided not to come back and hold out. Jay Merkley did not hold out. As a 17 year old he was playing 3rd/4th line and...less then 10 mins icetime a night. He was traded on the trade deadline for nobody to SC by BR and RP. He had 14 goals and was on pace for 28 when he was traded. He did not want to be traded...the team was improving and he was sucking up the lack of icetime. That trade was forced on him. He did not do that well the rest of that season in SC however this was a lot for the then 17 year old traded in his draft year in the middle of his grade 12 year. Pilon and Duke made their choice but Jay had no choice . Lethbridge screwed Jay and gave up on him at 17. Despite 34 goals and 66 points last year in SC there seems to be little NHL interest in Jay. By the way hes only 6 months older than Duke! This was the start of things. Others saw how Jay was treated as a high bantam pick and they were scared of the same. Lethbridge is poorly managed. These players move from their homes, leave their friends because they have dreams. They make no money but are treated like they are owned. Teams will drop them and trade them without blinking...there is no honour, Their families and their agents are looking out for the players best interest just like we all do for our kids. What goes around comes around. I hope we can sign Bellerive but don't be nieve to think he, his family and agent have not discussed all of this. This could be the best franchise in the league...this is a hockey town...its time to get it right!!
ReplyDeleteAnon:16:03
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments .You seem to have a very good grasp of what has been happening the last few years . If we don't stop this ridiculous trend of players putting themselves ahead of the team we will never be competitive . Why don't these players , if they think they are so good , put in their best effort best effort to improve this team and be a leader instead of a quitter. I like the attitude , commitment and effort the players we did get in the trades last year have shown .
I would only trade these tow holdouts if we got better or equal value in return, nothing less.
You completely missed 16:03's point. It's NOT a Duke problem! It's a management/BOD problem. He saying that Duke has good reason not to show up to camp.
DeleteMr. Duke should be very ashamed of himself, along with Yak, MeKeg,Merk, Lumen,Erkamps, shame on the whole works!!! To bad the GM didn't have the balls to let them stay at home for a year? Its a GD joke, now we have Ice players walking on contracts. This league is becoming an example of what not to do!
ReplyDeleteLBJ
Too bad you don't understand how badly this team is run......
DeleteForgot to mention Mr. Pilon, he got the biggest reward for being a quitter??? Hard to believe that a guy like McCrimmon would support this type of activity at the Jr level?
ReplyDeleteLBJ
LBJ your point is exactly correct, McCrimmon WON'T put up with this kind of crap. I am sure that was the first conversation he had with Pilon when he arrived in Brandon. Robson's mistake was drawing a line one year too late. After Yak and Sam pulled their stunt Robson should have sat Pilon for a good long time. Pilon got what he wanted, but he would be committing career suicide if he tried it again with McCrimmon.
ReplyDeleteCDD
Thats right! Has to be crushing for players like Walters, in the top 2 in Brandon, then gets traded to Lethbrige for a quitter? Good character on him, he could have easily bailed this year and frankly, I am surprised that he returned? Players like him are what this league used to be about? Robson's mandate moving forward will likely depend on how he handles the latest defecting players, there needs to be a statement made if he hopes to sign players the likes of Bellierive? Or he will simply step on to the bail train as well! Duke likely just passed on the very best opportunity of his career, all he had to do was win the adversity battle, step up and be a leader this year, instead, he makes the selfish choice thinking he is going to be rewarded with a QUITTER Pilon deal? If that happens, I will never watch another WHL game, did not renew season tickets yet, going to wait and see how the Canes handle the latest debacle...
DeleteLBJ
I was on the WHL website and came across their mission statement which I found very interesting.
ReplyDeleteWHL Mission Statement: To remain the world’s premiere Major Junior hockey league by continuing to provide the best player development and education opportunities while enhancing the entertainment value of the game for our fans.
"provide best player development" I ‘m no expert but this has not happened in Lethbridge in quite some time. If this is what the WHL claims it will provide then that is what the players should expect to receive, and if clubs cannot provide that then the WHL needs to hold them accountable. Teams do have their ups and downs but 5 years is unrealistic…. it is a sign that there are bigger issues within the club. The WHL needs to step up and do what's right and look after the well being of the players.
Also, I do not believe that the players asking for trades, especially Erkamps, think they are too good for the team. A more likely reason is that they had a hard look and realized that their skills have not developed while in Lethbridge and with little changes over the summer there is no reason to believe anything would be different this year. Truth is the Canes have not lived up to their responsibility of developing players over the years and the stats and NHL drafts support this, and that is the true reason players are not returning. Interesting that a few months ago there were blogs suggesting players leave before the canes totally destroyed their careers and now people are shocked that players have taken this advice. Even the assistant coach left.
People need to be realistic about the true issues in this organization and the issues are not the players! Just ask all the season ticket holders that did not renew this year
For the players sake I do hope that Maxwell can help and they have a better season!
Just an opinion