Sunday, October 28, 2007

That's A Wrap...

Just a few takes from this past weekend.... no weekend game recaps to bore you with. I will say the Broncos played well with a pair of wins in Red Deer and Edmonton. Although the score was close in both, the Broncos vastly outplayed their opposition in both outings. No homer talk here... anyone who saw the action would have no choice but to agree. I like this team, and I like their chances every night.

- The Broncos depth continues to be evident. In the words of Kevin Constantinue, "you always tend to see other teams' greatness while seeing only your limitations." A very true statement. However, with this Broncos team I haven't felt that way.

- Getting back to that aforementioned depth. You add Geordie Wudrick and Dale Wiese back in the line-up this week and there may not be enough pucks to go around for this team! You can take a big piece of this team through injuries or penalties.... but there's still an awful big piece left. Whenever one of the younger players has to fill in on one of the top two lines they do a great job and make a good case to remain there. The same holds true on the blueline. I am completely comfortable with whichever of the seven defenseman are on the ice in all situations. There isn't a player from top to bottom that can't get the job done.

In back-to-back nights it was those "depth players" making the difference. David Steiler in Red Deer and Matt Tassone in Edmonton. Both were deserved 1st stars.

- Are there any nicer kids out there than the Czech import players we have seen over the past few years here? Matej Trojovsky, Danny Rakos, David Steiler, and Jan Dalecky are/were nice kids first, good hockey players second. Maybe it takes a mature person to leave home and go overseas to play hockey. It must play a role on some level.

- Im going to enjoy myself this season. No reservations here. Sometimes you can rebuild for three of four seasons just for that one year. The Broncos are at the top of their current cycle. Enjoy it fans, we've waited long enough. This group isn't too far away from championship calibre. It still may be missing a piece or two but what current contender isn't?

-Speaking of my last post and the "Sutter Way". If you ever get a chance to talk to Dean Chynoweth. Ask him about "The Chynoweth Way". He should be eager to tell the story.

- Caught up with the Lanigan folk at the West Ed Mall Saturday. Most of them didn't have a voice left after a wild Riders/Eskimos game the night before. West Ed was nuts to say the least. So much going on there, so many people, so much traffic in and out. I was happy to get out of there after a few hours. Lots of Riders gear on display from fans at the mall. I noticed Eskimo apparel was all 50% off at Jersey City. haha.

Looks like the regular staples of the mall are all doing well... Bourbon Street, the ice rink, waterpark, Fantasyland....etc. One major change - no more dolphin show. They've been replaced by sea lions. Sea lions?? Boo. I was just happy to find the plethora of coffee shops. I picked up a Skinny vanilla Latté and life was good.

- I was happy to be off the hook today for our "AAA" Wildcats broadcast in Prince Albert considering we arrived home sometime after 5am. Young Donovan Fehr and Alexis Van made the trek up there for the inaugural Wildcats broadcast of the season. The game ended in a 4-4 tie.

- I had take-out delivered tonight. The delivery guy asked what I was up to, I told him I was going to watch the World Series game tonight considering I've missed the first three. He then told me he was happy the Broncos game was presently on his car radio. I pondered that for a second and wondered aloud "how could that be?" He said it was tied... I think he had his teams mixed up. At least I hope so.


- Is there any correlation to the amount of powerplays a team draws to their overall team speed? Short answer, yes.

Everett - 108 pp chances

Swift Current - 105

Lethbridge/Regina - 104

Calgary - 102

Brandon - 101

Conversely, slower teams mean less of a chance to wind up the powerplay.

Edmonton - 76

Portland - 80

Kamloops - 81

Kelowna - 82

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Another Monday night Best Western Meet the Broncos takes us to the Modern Family restaurant. Travis Yonkman and another player TBA will join me from 5-7pm. Come on down.

Jon

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