This is a little last week, but I thought I would put it up anyways.
An article was released on Yahoo sports Canada, and everyone picked up on it.
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/ohl-ups-the-ante--makes-significant-changes-to-player-benefit-packages-223242217.html
It is about the Ontario hockey league changing it's player benefit package. They made a number of changes dealing with payment of players, expenses, training, etc. You can read all about the changes in the article.
Just thought it was interesting reading for readers of the blog. It brought up a bunch of questions / thoughts I had on it.
Here is another one on it.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/improved-ohl-benefit-package-changes-landscape/
Hockey Challenge 2014
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29 comments :
Very interesting. It will force the WHL and the LHJMQ to at least do something to match up.
The college fund still available if a player signs an AHL contract is huge. I am sure a lot of player were having to make the difficult choice between a one year AHL contract and their scholarship.
The one thing I wonder is the expenses. As far as I know, its scaled depending on the age of the players, 20s making a decent amount more than the younger guys. I am wondering if the expenses reimbusment is also scaled this way.
My understanding is they have equalized pay for ages 16-20 this year - meaning all players make the same amount
,Jon & Tyler what do you guys think of tonight's game? This team is puzzling and inconsistant., why? All the 19's and experience and talent, I just don't get it? Couple of weekends ago a win vs Evt and Tri and then lose 6 -4 to pg. Great win vs port then lose to Evt the next night.
I wasn't too surprised by the result and I wasn't really too upset by the game.
Seattle is a good team but isn't a great team and that means you're going to get a mixed bag on any given night.
Given that Portland is one of the best if not the best team in the Western Conference, playing at home, in front of a big crowd and with the game on regional television... the margin for error was going to be very small for Seattle to win.
When Seattle pulled it into a tie at 3-3 I thought they might have a chance but rather than pepper the backup 'tender Hill with shots they gave up a questionable penalty after they couldn't clear the zone, gave up a goal going into the third period and then let Portland dictate pace.
You have to be near perfect to beat Portland in their place and Seattle was anything but...
So, I'm fully expecting a first-round ouster at this point, particularly if we end up facing Everett or Victoria. It feels like this team is lacking motivation and drive at times. The necessary urgency doesn't seem to come around until the second or third period or not at all. I kinda wonder if things would be different with more than one 20 year old on the roster, because I imagine that the player who knows this is his last hurrah, is older and perhaps more mature, has the wisdom to know he better go out and give his all.
This coaching staff still has not figured out their lines. There are 3 games left in the season and they are still mixing the lines. Very difficult for the players to have consistency when they play with different line-mates every game and every period. Good luck luck to the players in the playoffs and everyone knows play-offs are a whole new season. This is a team that can compete with any team in the league, they have shown that all year. Play for teammates and for your fans that have supported you all season.
Response to 10:29
You mean a 20 year old with 6 points as opposed to Winquist with around 90 points and Holmberg with 110 points? Been a while since a team only carried a single 20 year old into the Memorial Cup. (or any 20 year old forward for the entire season with 6 points for that matter)
I would argue that Everett and Spokane need Winquist and Holmberg as they are teams that seem to revolve around one line. Spokane has scored 8 more goals in 69 games than Seattle, and Everet has scored 28 less goals than Seattle in one less game. Seattle doesn't need a 20 putting up 90+ points. They are getting the production from their 19s and in some cases 16s and 17s. Of the top 41 scorers in the league, only 11 of them are 20 year olds and that takes it down to 65 points on the season. 22 teams in the league, that means that only half the teams on average have a 20 year old with 65 or more points.
I don't have a problem with Elliot being on this team. Yeah, he isn't putting up points like they are going out of style, but that is not what his role on this team is. His job is to provide checking and probably a example of how things should be done for Spencer and Kolesar. I've never seen him on the ice this year and thought good god, why is he on this team. I actually think he has shown some pretty good touch in controlling the puck along the boards.
What do you want them to do, trade a bunch of young guys for 3 new 20s when they were at the trading deadline? They've already traded enough young guys this year. The trades they made probably made them better on paper, but aside from Kozun, I don't think they've made them a whole lot better on the ice game in and game out. Acquiring Yak and McKechnie cost you one 20 year old, a productive 19, and 2 seventeen year olds either directly in the trade or as a result of lesser playing time/role. If I was going to pan something I would probably pan that than a 20 year old that is doing what his role on the team is.
On a positive note, hopefully the team can get energized to play Portland Friday and Saturday and Tri-City on Sunday and finish strong and lock up the 4th seed.
I'm not saying we have to build a top line out of 20 year olds, or that they have to be our top scorers, or they're worthless unless they're putting up points like Holmberg.
I'm saying I think this team would benefit mentally, have more discipline, consistency and urgency in its play, if it had the benefit of the experience and maturity that some or most 20 year olds might bring along.
So I guess the tbird fan whine of the month is that we do not have a "quality" 20 y/o?
Nevermind that comparing Elliot's point production to Winquist and Holmberg is implying that the tbirds could have obtained a guy with that kind of production. (yeah right)
Or that by saying that no team without 3 solid 20 would not win the memorial cup, are you implying that Everett or Spokane are closer to win the Mem cup or the WHL championship than Seattle?
because of 1 20 y/o that have 100pts? (Portland would like to disagree)
Or forgetting the number of quality 19 y/o that this team has. (including 2 30 goals scorers and 2 20 goal scorers.
And I would also argue that the mental difference between a 19 y/o and a 20 y/o is minimal at best and is very player dependent. I would rather have Mckegnnie, Yak and Maxwell as 19s than lets say guys like Prab Rai or Burke Gallimore as 20s. Also it would be noted how the tbirds teams with theses 20s in their lineup.
Seems to me like we are nitpicking and we are runnign out of things to complain about.
Next thing is probably that the coaches stinks.
I think we can all agree that the team needs to pick up some points today and tomorrow. Can't rely on Spokane and Everett to lose out.
At this point I don't think it matters. They quit playing a month ago. They'll be one and done no matter who they play in the playoffs. My guess is they face Everett and get swept.
There are times I read the comments here and think that Anonymous is a synonym for negative.
I don't comment very often. In fact the Last time I said something on this blog was probably early December. But I do want to point out that regardless of the outcome from here this has been a good season. We will finish with forty wins which is something many of the farwell bemoaners said would never happen, we will finish with more goals scored than we have seen in a long time, and we will face a first round opponent that we have a ligitimate chance of beating. Fourth place was the mark of success we set out at the beginning of the year and if we end up in fourth I will be pretty happy. Actually I see the next two or three seasons as being pretty exciting. Watching Barzal and Group start to mesh this season makes me think that when Barzal is 18 and Gropp is 19, we may have one of the top offensive units in the league.
pathetic quitters
I just don't understand this team? How can they be playing so bad and at this time of year and.......with a bunch of 19 yo's that we have? I just don't get it? People say that the teams we have been losing too are playing desperate hockey, where is our desperate hockey? Where is our D? Where is the offense? In Portland again and we get blown out down there?
Too bad Mr. Tell isn't running the team. Probably with his hockey expertise the birds could have won it all.
Thom buening stated that Danny mumaugh was the best t bird on the ice tonight???????? What???????? So what does that say about our D???? What does that say about our team?
Hey Russ..... Want to sell me play-off tickets? Forget it. I am not wasting my money.
You know what's wrong with this team? No Mas Cojones !!!!!!
"There are times I read the comments here and think that Anonymous is a synonym for negative."
There are times I read the comments here and think that certain handles are synonymous with Pollyanna.
How about this gem? "Seems to me like we are nitpicking and we are runnign out of things to complain about." That's right people. Move along, nothing to see here. Everything is fine in Kent. This is what 10 19 yo players will do for a team. There is a difference between being negative for no reason, and simply calling things as they are (reality).
Nothing says conviction like being anonymous.
I don't think this team is playing very well right now, but I have hope they will return to the form they had most of the season because that is the team I believe them to be. There is one more game this season and then a entirely new season starts. If people want to say it's over and they aren't coming to any playoff games, what is the point of doing that on this fan blog? Why don't you call the T-birds and tell them that, I think that would have a greater effect than just trying to piss off fans that are trying to find a reason their team will turn it around and give them another few weeks of entertainment.
Were you telling it like it was when this team was winning 15 of 18? Were you saying this team was a paper tiger, that they were going to have the inevitable collapse?
You may want to call me Pollyanna, but to borrow a phase from one of the anonymous brethren (or maybe it is you, who knows) at least I have the cojones to sign my name to my opinion.
Actually I did let the T Birds know I wasn't buying any play-off tickets. Everett will probably sweep and Coach K will come on after every game, scratch his ear, and say that we got outworked. For whatever reason the coaches can't motivate these guys.
Was Troock hurt last night or a healthy scratch?
Troock was serving a one game suspension last night for hia major the night before.
My apologies to anon 9:47
I certainly did not want to have my nuanced opinions about hockey (and this team)be construed as some kind of expertise on my part. I just don't think that things are as simple as "Farwell bad".
As far as getting out in the first round this year...How many peoples were convinced that Kelwona was going to wipe (in four) the floor with the tbirds last year? It ended up being the most competitive serie (with a goalie that allowed 4 goals to Port in 30min in the last game) in the whl playoffs until the eastern final.
Who knows. Things are different in the playoffs.
The match up is probably bad for the tbirds since Evt plays a good trap. But to say that they cannot figure it out is a bit premature.
Hopefully a good win gets them back where they were and how they should be playing.
I only wish the front office didn't make such a bonehead decision to sacrifice playing the first two games of the series at home so they could have a two for drunken Tuesday. That mortgage company must be paying a crapload of money to balance out half price tickets and below half price concessions. I can't wait for people to walk in front of me all game long for game 3. It's nice to see that as a season ticket holder I rate behind people who attend maybe 8 games a year.
Oh and congrats to the T-birds on improving their win total by 17 from last year and moving from 7th to 4th for the playoffs.
I'm looking forward to the second season.
Marc- I wish that I agreed with you on your statement about 2 for Tuesdays. I don't like having to deal with drunk hockey novices who don't know how to sit down any more than the next guy. But the problem is that our core fans (including season ticket holders) seem to disappear come playoff time. I swear that the number of overall fans in the building for game 4 against Kelowna last season was far less than the number of season ticket holders that the team has. The T-Birds have a responsibility to fill the seats, and half price Tuesday is a proven way to do it. If there's one thing to question, it's that our organization employs people in charge of marketing who have had 5 years in Kent to compete with Everett and still we worry about the Tips bringing an overwhelming number of fans. Those people have a certain level of responsibility when it comes to getting Seattle fans in the building next weekend.
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