Ahhhh, there she is.

 The Alaska Airlines fish plane.

 I wondered aloud on my twitter account (@WillHoenike, for those of you who feel so inclined) how long it would take someone in an airport to see that plane, notice the logo on our shirts, and ask if that was the Idaho Steelheads’ team charter plane.

First of all, as any seasoned angler would tell you, the fish featured on the side of this new Alaska 737  is a salmon whereas, if you pull a steelhead out of the river, you’ve got your grubby little mitts on a trout.  Big difference.

Or so I hear.  I hate fish.  I figure they’re all underwater for a reason and that’s so I don’t have to deal with them.  Or eat them.  Blech.  Seafood = Guantanamo torture in my eyes.  The only salmon – trout analogy I can draw is that baseball player Tim Salmon was vastly superior to baseball pitcher Steve Trout.

Defenseman Kory Scoran, on the other hand, loves fish.  Sometimes he stares longlingly at the post-zamboni puddles as they freeze up before practice at CenturyLink Arena, dreaming of tossing a fully-wormed hook in there before it is too late.  No body of water should be left un-fished, he’ll tell you.  Lakes, streams, bathtubs.  So if you have any questions about trout, hit him up.  If I ever find a fish hook in my bathtub, someone is getting punched.

Anyway, moving on …

Second of all, no charter flights for the Idaho Steelheads.  We hop from plane to plane, arrive two hours early, and take our travel toothpaste out of our carry-ons just like everyone else.

There are lots of these planes popping up nowadays.  In their various travels, the Steelheads flew on the Washington State Cougar plane (go Cougs!), the Oregon State Beaver plane, even once on the Montana State Bobcat plane.  Think those are all Horizon planes.  We’ve seen the Portland Timbers plane, it’s an Alaska Air jet, but never gotten to fly on it.  Not sure if there is a Seattle Sounders plane, giving the edge in this heated, northwest soccer rivalry to Portland when it comes to “airborne transportation featuring our logo.”  Some of my Puget Sound friends say Seattle has the ultimate trump card in that debate simply because Seattle isn’t located in Oregon, but I’ll let the two sides duke that one out themselves on the pitch during a scoreless draw that features six total shots on goal and at least as many fake injuries.

(Writer’s note:  I love soccer, even play indoor … but, sometimes, you’ve got to have a sense of humor about yourself)

No Idaho Steelheads plane on the horizon, however.  I suspect this soaring salmon is as close as we’ll ever get.  I suppose the ECHL’s Western Conference could approach Alaska Airlines about a collaborative effort since we all use Alaska on a regular basis (to, you know, fly to Alaska to play the Aces).  One wing can be Grizzly green, the other wing Condor red.  One side of the hull Ontario orange and the other Steelhead black-and-blue.  Half of the back fin thingy can be Colorado purple and the other half Vegas black.

Since Alaska already has the whole airline named after them, forget them.  They have the world “Alaska” written on the side of EVERY airplane.  Don’t get greedy, Aces fans.  Leave this little one just for the other eight of us.

We do have to find some room for the Stockton Thunder and expansion San Francisco Bulls.  I suspect there’ll be some negotiating going on between all sides for premier placement.  Maybe put some horns on the front for San Francisco if it doesn’t affect aerodynamics and the little Thunder dude can be on the underside of the plane.

Sure, it’ll look like someone’s Crayola box of 64 was out in the sun for about a month and then thrown on top of a land mine.  But it’d be OUR plane that looked like exploded, sun-burned crayons.  And just think of the looks as people approached it … outside, of course, since it seems like you almost always have to walk outside to get on one of those planes:

“Well what do you know, Irv, they put this plane together by going to an auto-body salvage yard!”

I don’t suppose that mindframe would ease any safety concerns as you’re about to elevate to 30,000 feet for the next two hours.  But it’d be one hell of a conversation-starter.

In our business, that’s part of the game.  Be top-of-mind.  Be unique and stand out.  And make sure that all electronic devices are powered off prior to departure.

This, for teams not playing in the ECHL Kelly Cup Finals, can be the worst time of the year.

This season is over, next season is months away, and we’re still weeks away from any kind of “news” (player signings, new promotions, etc).  So … how to fill the time?

I do it, in part, with an ongoing project to get our team statistics and rankings up-to-date.  A statistical yearbook, so to speak, where I can find every player who has worn a Steelheads sweater since the team joined the ECHL for the 2003-04 season.  I can tell you what years he played, how many goals he scored (or allowed), and what his plus/minus rating was.  I can tell you if he ever won ECHL Player of the Week and I can tell you if he ever received a call-up to the American Hockey League.

Don’t believe me? Idaho’s all-time leading scorer among goaltenders … three-way tie between Rejean Beauchemin, Kellen Briggs, and Colin Zulianello.  Each had two assists.  Beauchemin did it in 73 games, Briggs 31.  “Zuly” needed just 24 games back in the 2004-05 season (for the record, Zulianello is also the last player listed alphabetically onIdaho’s all-time roster).

Yep, I’m further expanding the vat of obscure knowledge in my head.

Want to wow your friends?  Try breaking out some of this trivia at the next back-yard barbeque:

The most-common first name in Idaho Steelheads’ team history (ECHL era) is “Matt.”  Fourteen of ‘em.  Let’s see how many you can name … okay, I can’t wait any more.  Here they are, in alphabetical order: Case, Climie, Cook, Cowie, Craig, Elich, McKnight, Nickerson, Reid, Sorteberg, Stephenson, Tassone, Yeats, Zaba.

The guy pictured isn’t one of them.  He’s a “Weston” (Tardy).  Anyway, moving on …

 Now, if you were to combine the “Mike’s” with the “Michael’s,” that’d be your winner with 15.  But it wasn’t Mike Neal, it was Michael.  Likewise, it wasn’t Michael Gabinet, it was Mike.  So “Matt” is your winner.

The first Steelhead to receive ECHL League honors was forward Miguel Delisle.  He only skated in 25 games with the Steelheads, but the ECHL deemed none was better between December 15 and 21, 2003, when he was named ECHL Player of the Week.  Delisle posted back-to-back hat tricks that week, both coming against the Bakersfield Condors.  He finished the week with seven points (six goals, one assist) in three games.  That means, in his other 22 games with Idaho, he had 12 points.

Oh, and for the record … only player named Miguel in team history.

There are 16 players who have appeared in exactly one game with Idaho.  For David Graham, it was the ONLY game he ever played.  At the professional level, at least.  But he was a teammate of five former Steelheads in college at Nebraska-Omaha – Dan Ellis, Dan Hacker, Cody Blanshan, Mike Gabinet, and David Brisson. 

Brisson, by the way, is another one of the one-game wonders.  Along with Graham and Brisson, you’ve got Tim Baumgartner, Kurtis Mucha, Andrew Pate, Cameron Breitkreutz, Rob Hartnell, Brandon Knelsen, Brad MacMillan, Todd McIlrath, Mick Mounsey, Peter Rouleau, Aaron Slattengren, Ryan Smyth and Brett Ward.  The only one to register a point?  Knelsen, with an assist in 2010.

The all-time leader in save percentage for the Idaho Steelheads is … Andrew Pate.  With both Rejean Beauchemin and Matt Climie called up late in 2009, Derek Laxdal went into scramble mode to find a goaltender for a Friday-night game against the Phoenix Roadrunners.  He found Pate, a former club-level goaltender at Eastern Washington University, and Kurtis Mucha, who had just concluded his junior-hockey season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks.  Both were signed to amateur tryout agreements.

Mucha (pictured, right) landed in Boise approximately 40 minutes before gametime, so Pate drew the start as Mucha put on his gear and received a quick pre-game physical from the team doctors.  Off the opening draw,Phoenix and Idaho battled in neutral ice for about 30 seconds before Phoenix moved into the offensive zone, threw a puck at the net, and Pate gloved it for a stoppage.

With the play stopped, Laxdal made the change from Pate to Mucha, who finished the game… meaning Pate finished his professional hockey career with one minute played, one shot faced, and one save.  A 1.000 save percentage.

Trust me, there’s more where those come from.  But I think we’d all rather be talking about news instead of discussing Marc Rancourt’s tedious hold on 122^nd place on the team’s all-time scoring list.  Next one to ten points knocks him down a peg.

Hopefully there’s some news soon.  Stay tuned … and enjoy your offseason!

So … now what?

You’ve likely heard by now that the Idaho Steelheads did not renew the contract of Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Hardy Sauter earlier this week (note: he wasn’t “fired,” it may be easier to say “fired” but it isn’t accurate).  He’s a good man and it was tough for me to hear the news. 

That means, for the third time in the ECHL era, the Steelheads are in search of a new bench boss.  And it is happening much earlier than we’re used to. 

When Derek Laxdal was hired to replace John Olver, he was announced on August 10, 2005.  When Sauter was hired to replace Laxdal, he was introduced to fans and media on July 27, 2010.  That means each coach more or less inherited his first team from the preceding coach which, no matter how much talent you inherit, isn’t always a perfect scenario.

 Though there is no firm timeline, Idaho’s next head coach should be in place in time to make his own decisions on players for the 2012-13 season, the team’s 10^th in the ECHL. 

The blessing for whomever the next coach – players want to play here.  I visited with a lot of players on “Exit Day” (when the players meet for the final time, clean out their lockers, schedule exit interviews/physicals, etc) and every one of them enjoyed being here.  Enjoyed the building, enjoyed the town, enjoyed the apartments, felt the organization took care of them.  Many of them have made it very clear that they’d like to return next season, feeling this is one of the best places to play in the ECHL. 

That word spreads. 

Now, let’s be honest here … not all the players will wind up back in Boise.  Some will sign with other teams, some may play professionally in Europe, some may wind up in the American Hockey League (the highest level of minor-league hockey in North America).  But they all know other players.  And, if the topic of the Idaho Steelheads comes up, good things will be said.  About the town, about the team. 

That’s a good thing, obviously.  The new coach – whoever he may be and whenever he may be hired – is going to have options.  Talented players who want to come back and talented new players who want to come here.  Remember, no one in Boise had ever heard of Evan Barlow before Laxdal brought him in for training camp in 2009.  No one in Boise had ever heard of Jerry Kuhn before Sauter brought him in at the end of the 2010-11 season. 

Past stars live on in our minds and hearts while new stars will be born.  That’s what is great about this game, this team, this league. 

So, for now, we watch the Las Vegas Wranglers advance to the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Finals to represent the Western Conference.  We hope they win to keep the Cup out west.  And then we tell them, “enjoy it this season, because we’re gonna bring it back to its rightful place in Boise next season.”

“How often do you stop to admire the view?”

An old college buddy once asked me this question several years ago and, every now and then, I think of it.  It rings so true – everyone is in such a hurry, but they don’t often know what lies ahead or where they’re going.  Once they get there, they look back and realize all the things they missed.

We’re guilty of it in the world of the Idaho Steelheads as well.  Looking ahead to the next homestand, the next game, the next great promotion.  Next thing you know, it’s almost February and the downhill slide toward the end of the season has begun.

In doing so, we may be missing a fabulous view.

Sure, the won-loss record is not what we’re used to (with that said, 5^th in the conference with A LOT of home ice ahead given what this team has gone through is slightly remarkable, actually), but we’ve still got a front-row seat for what has been one of the most remarkable individual performances in team history.

No joke.

Goaltender Jerry Kuhn has been that good this season … and you may not even realize it.

So here’s your reminder.  Stop and enjoy the view.  If you’ve been following the team for more than 20 minutes, you know the transitive nature of minor-league hockey.  No promises we get to see him in person, playing for Idaho, after Tax Day (Why did I capitalize that?  Is it an official holiday or something?).  Given the fact that he’s under contract with another organization and on assignment here, there’s technically no promises that we get to see him play again next week, either.  One tweaked groin in the AHL and it could be bye-bye-Jerry.

I’ll slay you with numbers in a moment, but let’s start with this:

-          “I’d be fine never having to play against that guy ever again.”

-          “I think the Western Conference is finally figuring out how good he is.”

-           “I’m not sure I’d take (Las Vegas’s Joe) Fallon or (Alaska’s Gerald) Coleman over him in a one-game setting.”

-           “The dude is a freakin’ Jedi.”

That’s a brief sample of the comments I’ve heard about Kuhn over the past couple weeks from around the Western Conference, from people who watch and talk about this stuff for a living.  Okay, the “Jedi” comment was me, on the air, last week in Alaska.  I blurt out some strange things during broadcasts from time to time without realizing what I’m saying.

Point is this … a lot of casual fans look at his 3.31 goals-against average (as of Sunday) and may dismiss him.  People who watch him every night understand what he’s doing.

He has stopped at least 40 shots in a game eight times this season.  Eight. In 32 appearances with Idaho.  Alaska, Las Vegas, Ontario, Stockton, and Bakersfield fans have watched their goaltenders do it eight times – combined – in 216 total games.

To be fair, it’s not Joe Fallon’s fault that he faces, on average, ten fewer shots per game than Kuhn does.   But the law of averages tells you Fallon’s goals-against (a very solid 2.48 after beating Colorado on Saturday night) is going to rise if he’s facing 37 shots per night, like Kuhn does, instead of 27.  Based on his current save percentage of .912, math wizards can calculate that adding ten shots per game would, in theory, raise his goals-against average by a bit under a goal per game.

A bit under a goal per game, huh?  From 2.48 to, say, roughly 3.31?

What’s Jerry Kuhn’s goals-against average again?  Oh yeah, it’s 3.31.

Trim that number down a little bit more (3.13) in his 32 appearances in Idaho after two rough outings in Greenville of the ECHL to start the season before being reassigned to Idaho by the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League via a paperwork blizzard that would make the ice planet of Hoth (yes, another Star Wars reference, two in one blog) seem tropical.

I’m not trying to knock Joe Fallon down a peg.  He’s really, really good.  And I’m not trying to poke the Steelheads’ defensemen.  When training camp opened in March, the projected top three blue-liners were Kory Scoran, Matt Case, and Steve Oleksy.  Due to injuries to Scoran and Case and a well-deserved AHL callup for Oleksy, that trio has been on the ice together for all of about six games this season.  Idaho’s d-men have given everything they have on the ice and I have a ton (I actually measured it … one ton on the dot) of respect for the effort and heart those guys have displayed through a lot of adverse circumstances, even though the results have not always been picture-perfect.

What I’m trying to do is help you understand just how good Jerry Kuhn has been, no matter what the stat sheet may say at an initial glance.

Think back to December 2 when Idaho defeated Las Vegas, 3-2, in a shootout.  The Steelheads were outshot by forty (57-17) that night and won.  How ‘bout December 21-22-23?  Three games in three nights, two in a shootout and one in overtime, where Kuhn beat the defending Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces with 41, 47, and 35 saves, respectively, along with eight out of ten shootout shooters.  Stopped Wes Goldie and Dan Kissel in both shootouts … and they’re only ranked second (Goldie, 25) and fourth (Kissel, 22) in the ECHL in goals so far this season.

You don’t do that by accident.  And you sure as heck don’t do it over and over again, like Kuhn has, without being really, really good.  Not to mention slightly Jedi-ish (three Star Wars references).

Richard Bachman (NHL), Dan Ellis (NHL), Matt Climie (has played in the NHL), Matt Zaba (has played in the NHL), Steve Silverthorn, Tyler Beskorowany … the list goes on.  We’ve been blessed with some outstanding goaltenders in Idaho.  Jerry Kuhn belongs right there alongside them – and may be putting on a more impressive show than any of them along the way.

Stop, indeed.  Enjoy the view.

As I sat in my office Saturday night, watching Richard Bachman’s first NHL start for the Dallas Stars, my mind drifted to a school visit that Richard made while he was with the Steelheads in 2010.

It was an evening community event, where local dignitaries and celebrities read to kids (and their families).  I took Richard to the event and, once Richard was safely in his assigned classroom interacting with kids and their families, I began to walk the hall a little bit to see more of the event.  It was a big event with a lot of people, different politicians and local officials in every room.

As I started to head back to Richard’s room, a woman excitedly ran up to me, saying “there are Boise State football players in that room,” as she gestured to a classroom a couple doors down from Richard.  I asked which players and she replied by telling me that she didn’t know, but they had jerseys on and everything.

“Well, if you go in that room right there,” I advised her. “There’s a guy in a Steelheads jersey that will be playing in the NHL in a couple of years.”

May as well have been speaking in Martian to this lady.  No concept of what I was talking about.

For about two seconds, I was kinda ticked off.  Then, I felt bad.  Felt bad for these people of the Boise area who don’t seem fully aware of what kind of opportunity they have.

I stepped away from this woman as she scurried back into the classroom with the BSU football players and called a good friend of mine in the local media.  Asked who these football players were since I wasn’t familiar with the names.  It was a backup punter and a walk-on lineman of some sort.

Bag any thoughts that this is a “bash on BSU” blog entry.  I have a world of respect for the football program and what they have achieved.  I appreciate the fact that the athletic department participates in community outreach and sent athletes to this event.  Despite what some people feel, they aren’t obligated to do it – they (just like us) do it to be good stewards of their community.

This is a blog of mild sadness.  Sadness that a player the caliber of Richard Bachman can spend virtually an entire season here, be named an ECHL All Star, finish as the runner-up for the league’s goaltender of the year, and help backstop a team to the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Finals and a lot of people simply don’t know his name when he reaches the NHL less than two full years later.  I’m sad for the opportunity missed by the people in the Treasure Valley who didn’t get to meet Richard, who didn’t get to talk to him or watch him play.

To put it bluntly – your loss.  And, to a degree, ours.  We, as a group of people in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon, did not take enough advantage of the time we had when he was right here among us.  Eating at Old Chicago, shopping at the mall, going to movies at Edwards Cinemas.

It’s becoming a recurring theme.  I simply do not think the community, as a whole, is aware of all the cool things going on around it.  Did you know that the Boise Hawks baseball team had more than 25 alums play in the Major Leagues last season?  How ‘bout the fact that 18 of them were on Opening-Day rosters at the big-league level?  Did you know that the College of Idaho volleyball team, with eight women who hail from within 45 minutes of Boise, have reached the NAIA National Tournament five times in the past six seasons?  That they placed fifth at Nationals this season?  Did you see that Northwest Nazarene and the College of Idaho’s men’s basketball teams have gone head-to-head in packed gyms in Canyon County twice already this season?  Did you know that the Idaho Steelheads saw an attendance increase last season?

Probably not.  And it’s truly a shame.

The same media friend that I mentioned before once made a comment that rings really true – “if you put on a show about gardening, eventually you only have gardeners who are watching.”  We, as a community, have such tunnel vision right now that we’re not seeing a lot of greatness happening around us.

It isn’t Boise State’s fault.  It isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault.  But it has happened, which is too bad.  How many great athletes, great stories, have we missed simply because we did not know?

Embrace your community.  Go listen the Boise Philharmonic perform Handel’s “Messiah.”  Go check out an NNU basketball game.  Check out the concert schedule at the Knitting Factory.  Spend a couple Friday nights at Hawks Memorial Stadium with the family next summer.  And, of course, keep coming to CenturyLink Arena to watch the Steelheads.  Bring some friends, too.  Don’t let them miss the next future NHL’er to come through Boise.

Yes, the Idaho Steelheads are 1-6.  A purely barf-o-riffic start.

On this fine Monday, though, I’m here to tell you why it isn’t as bad as it may look on the surface.

 Let me start by saying that I’m not making excuses.  Head coach Hardy Sauter and the players are very aware that this town expects a winner.  Heck, they do, too.  No one moved to Idaho so they could play for a crummy team.

 First, consider this – the Western Conference’s two best teams, Alaska (5-2) and Utah (6-1) have combined to play eleven of their 14 games on home ice.  Idaho and Stockton, who have one and two wins, respectively, have combined to play three home games among their 13 total contests – with one of them being Stockton’s 4-3 win over Idaho on Saturday night.  Three versus eleven.

 Home ice matters.  It isn’t the be-all, end-all … but it matters.  And that factor isn’t in Idaho’s favor early in the season.  Fifteen of 21 away from the friendly confines of CenturyLink Arena to start the season.

 Secondly, consider this – 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1.  Those are the margins of defeat in the current losing skid.  Three by one goal, two by two goals.  It isn’t like the team is getting shelled on a nightly basis.

 October 15 vs. Utah – Two power-play opportunities in the third period while trailing by one.

 October 20 at Alaska – After a dreadful start, Matt Case’s game-tying goal erroneously disallowed in the third period.

 October 21 at Alaska – “Post Night in Anchorage,” as the Steelheads put at least three shots off the iron in a one-goal loss.

 October 22 at Alaska– Lost 3-0, didn’t deserve to win.  But also had a chance to get within one early in the third period when Gerald Coleman made a ridiculous glove save to take a goal away from Michael Neal.

 October 28 at Bakersfield – A bad turnover and a bad bounce give the Condors a 2-0 lead four minutes into the game … a game they win by (you guessed ) two goals.

 October 29 at Stockton – Tie game in the third period.  Then, a missed assignment defensively gives the Thunder a good shot that becomes the game-winning goal.

 So, yes.  Six straight losses.  No two ways around that one.  But the team could have (maybe should have) won at least three of those games, if not four.

 Negative Nancy looks at that and says, “See?  They’re finding ways to lose.”

 I look at it and say, “See?  If they can clean a few things up, they’ll be just fine.”

 Idaho hasn’t been out-talented on the ice yet this season.  Outplayed?  In certain instances, yes.  But there have been plenty of times this season – even in Alaska against the defending Kelly Cup champion Aces – where, for healthy stretches of time, Idaho was the superior team on the ice.  The ability is there, though, and that’s with (a) Steve Oleksy on assignment in the AHL, and (b) Marc Rancourt, one of the team’s most-gifted players, on the injured-reserve list.

 I look back at that disallowed goal on October 20 in Anchorage – a call that the ECHL has admitted was incorrect, the goal should have counted – and I remember thinking at the time that it could be the kind of call that could set the tone.  If that goal counts (which it should have), Idaho has tied the game and has all the momentum in the world.  No doubt in my mind that the team walks out of there with, at worst, one point for an overtime or shootout loss.

 You get that point … heck, maybe even a win … and, all of a sudden, you’re feeling pretty good about yourselves going into the rest of the weekend.  Who knows where we’re at if that happens.

 I know, I know … ifs and buts, candy and nuts, merry Christmas.  Yadda yadda yadda.  And you’re right.

 But, instead of getting a point (perhaps a win), the air went out of the balloon the minute that goal was disallowed and, to this point, the team hasn’t completely recovered.  To a man, the guys are battling.  They’re working hard.  And they’re close.  Painfully close.

 So stick with ‘em.  Be at the arena this week.  Be loud.  And let them know that you know how close they are to turning this thing around.

 Steelheads and Wranglers, Wednesday-Friday-Saturday this week at CenturyLink Arena.  Wednesday is Dollar Beer Night sponsored by Bud Light.  Friday is 4-for-$44 Night along with the first Rat Pack Night.  Saturday night is … well … Saturday.  That’s reason enough to buy a couple tickets and come down to the game.

So … what did we learn?

Two preseason games in the books.  Idaho loses at home, then wins on the road.  Can you put much stock into these games?

Yes … and no.  Don’t hang on every little thing but, at the same time, consider some of the overall themes:

1)      Utah played largely the same lineup each night.  There were a couple of changes in Utah Saturday night (former Steelhead Cody Lampl did not play), but Grizz coach Kevin Colley kept most of his forward lines the same.  Idaho’s Hardy Sauter did not.  There is sound reasoning behind both decisions – Colley wants to build continuity and chemistry, Sauter is giving some players a chance to win jobs by putting them on the power play, offensive-zone draws, late-game shifts, etc.  Camp is about seeing what guys are capable of doing when given opportunity.  I don’t know that there’s a player who played this weekend who can say “I didn’t get a chance to show what I can do.”  The line of Marc Rancourt – Ian Lowe – Chad Klassen was outstanding in the third period Saturday night.  We didn’t see that combo together in Boise on Friday, because Rancourt didn’t play.  Meanwhile, Kael Mouillierat, Marty Flichel, and Tristan King all stayed in Boise on Saturday.  Sauter left them at home and let the youngsters find a way to win, which they did.

2)      Speaking of Rancourt, Sauter seems to have recruited some pretty bright kids.  The bus that the team took to Logan had wireless internet capabilities, but the bus driver didn’t know the password.  Rancourt, Klassen, and goaltender Thomas Speer cracked the code, figuring out the password before the bus driver had a chance to call back to headquarters and ask what it was.  Look out Aaron Hotchner and Penelope Garcia, we’ve got the makings of our own BAU unit (reference to TV show “Criminal Minds,” if you aren’t familiar with the names).

3)      Idaho may not have a superstar in net along the lines of Tyler Beskorowany or Richard Bachman, but I think they’ll be okay in goal.  Jimmy Spratt was solid Friday night through two periods and rookie Steve Christie, despite allowing two goals, was solid through two periods on Saturday.  Oh, Thomas Speer, the rookie who had a rough third period in Boise on Friday, was splendid in the third period, overtime, and shootout Saturday in Logan.  He made a couple of huge saves, including stoning a pretty good forward (Utah’s Chris Donovan) on a breakaway in overtime.

4)      Idaho has a solid core of defensemen, but I’m intrigued to see how Sauter pairs them when the regular season starts next week.  How do the numbers fit?  You’ve got good, known-quantities in Matt Case, Chris Hepp, Kory Scoran, and Steve Oleksy.  Cam Ritchie played well over the two preseason games, while both Derek Matheson and Ryan Rorabeck showed that they can handle this level of play.  And don’t rule out the possibility that we could see someone sent down from the Stars organization before long.  Texas, Idaho’s AHL affiliate, had a couple players injured to start the season, players who figure to be in the lineup when they get healthy, which could mean another defenseman joining the mix in Idaho.

5)      The best period (by far) that Idaho played in the two preseason games was the third period in Logan on Saturday.  Sauter said he wanted to see improvement from Friday to Saturday and, aside from a rocky first period, he saw it.  It stands to reason that the sixth period of play would be the best for a group of guys who have barely played together … the guys are starting to find a comfort level.  They ran Utah ragged in the third period, peppering Utah’s Shane Owen in net and keeping the Grizz on their heels the entire 20 minutes.  It was impressive.  It’s a young (in terms of professional experience) team and it’ll probably take a little bit of time for this group to hit on all cylinders.  Back in 2009-10, the team hit the ground running because a lot of guys had a lot of professional experience.  Tyler Spurgeon, Mark McCutcheon, Ashton Rome, Mark Derlago, Flichel, etc.  It allowed the younger guys, like Evan Barlow and John Swanson, to come along a little slower.  This year’s team may not have that luxury.  The Steelheads may need guys like Lowe and Klassen to play leading roles alongside Mouillierat and Flichel.  However, if they can stay together (no rash of callups/injuries/etc), this could be a very, very good hockey team when it’s all said and done.

Oh … and one bonus observation for you.  The team bus?  They have those ginormous windshields in the front.  Based on the size of splats on that windshield, I’m guessing our bus may have hit some cattle at some point.  Holy cow (pun not really intended, but I’m leaving it), what a mess.

Regular season opens Friday back in Utah against the Grizzlies.  This time, we’ll be in Utah’s normal arena instead of the Eccles Ice Center in Logan (which, by the way, is a nice little building … would LOVE to see one like it in the Boise area along with Idaho IceWorld).

Home opener is Saturday night, the 15^th, at CenturyLink Arena in Boise.  See you there!

Over the course of the summer, I get some questions from fans and Season Ticket Holders about the team.  Checking in on players, former broadcasters, and my haircut.

Okay, so no one has ever asked about my haircut.  But, if you were thinking about it, here’s the answer – it’s the same haircut I’ve been getting since I was about 0 years old.  What’s the old saying … if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?  I’m a pretty basic guy and it doesn’t get much more basic than my haircut.

Well, now that we wasted an entire paragraph on my haircut (Paul at Sportsman’s on State and Collister, by the way, is my barber), let’s move on to a few of the questions I’ve been answering in the offseason:

1) Where is CenturyLink Arena?

If you were out of touch over the summer, Qwest Arena is no more.  But the Steelheads will be playing in the same building as they always have in the heart of downtown Boise.  Qwest, the naming sponsor of the arena, is now owned by CenturyLink, so the building’s name was formally changed in late August.  Same building, same everything.  Just a new name.  Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.  I already have, even though I accidentally messed it up in the introductory event.  Oops.

2) Where is Mark Derlago?

You may have noticed that the team has not announced the re-signing of last season’s team MVP, Mark Derlago.  Reason being, “Billy” (as he was known to his teammates) is playing overseas in Europe.  People sometimes want to make these moves out to be more sinister than they really are … fact of the matter is, Mark got a good offer that he felt he could not turn down.  Nature of the minor-league hockey beast.  The players are well taken-care of here but aren’t necessarily making a ton of money due to the ECHL salary cap.  If someone comes along waving a pay raise in their face, they’d be foolish not to consider it.  Same with Weston Tardy and Matt McKnight, who are also playing professionally overseas this season.

3) Where are the returning players?

Again, see above.  Minor-league hockey is a cyclical business.  Guys usually don’t stay in one place for more than 2-3 years.  They’re looking to advance their careers – as they should be.  So don’t read too much into it.  Every team loses guys every year.  Just ask Las Vegas head coach Ryan Mougenel.  He lost about half of last season’s team to Europe.  Same situation for Matt O’Dette, the new head coach of the Bakersfield Condors.  We’ll have some familiar faces around in training camp next week.  Pinky swear.  Just not 20 of ‘em.

4) Where is Jerry Kuhn?

Kuhn, the darling of last season’s playoffs for the Idaho Steelheads, is in training camp with the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League.  The rookie goaltender out of Western Michigan was absolutely fabulous during the postseason for Idaho, helping the team reach the Western Conference semifinals.  You had to figure someone at the AHL level would give him a shot … and Connecticut is that team.  I guess it isn’t impossible that Kuhn would return to Idaho this season, but I wouldn’t count on it.  I know head coach Hardy Sauter isn’t.

 5) Where are the Colorado Eagles?

Loveland, Colorado.  North of Denver, near Fort Collins.  Idaho takes two trips to visit its new Western-Conference foe and the Eagles make one trip to Boise in December.  Coincidentally, we’ll be spending two holidays in Loveland (Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day).  Colorado will be here for … uh … the 150th birthday of Melvil Dewey, the creator of the nearly-obsolete Dewey Decimal System, on December 10.  That night is also the annual Teddy Bear Toss at CenturyLink Arena.  We’ll see which of those two events creates a bigger buzz as that date approaches.  Hopefully the Teddy Bear Toss does.

So there are five.  Seemed like a nice, round number and, for the most part, captured the spirit of a lot of the questions I received during the offseason.

Training camp opens October 3, the Season Ticket Holder Only exhibition game is on Friday, October 7, and the regular season opens on October 14 when Idaho travels to Utah to face the Grizzlies.  Home opener is the next night back here in Boise.  Little over two weeks away … do you have your tickets for opening night yet?

See you at the Link!

There’s a memorable scene in the movie “Major League” when Jake Taylor, an aging ballplayer making one last go-round with the Cleveland Indians, is asked by an elderly woman which big-league team he plays for.

When he tells her that he plays for the Indians, she says, “Here in Cleveland?  I didn’t know they still had a team.”

That’s how I sometimes feel about our affiliation with the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.  Not among the hard-cores (who, generally-speaking, are the people who read this blog).  For instance, it has been brought to our attention more than once that some of the casual fans dislike our “Future Stars” nights, when we wear Dallas Stars jerseys to be auctioned off to benefit local non-profits, because they can’t tell which team is the Steelheads.

It happens.  And I’m not solely going to blame those people.  Their lack of certainty about “Future Stars Night,” where one team is wearing a jersey with a giant STAR on it (while the other team wears, say, Ontario Reign uniforms) means that I need to do a better job reinforcing the fact that we are affiliated with the NHL’s Dallas Stars.  So I’m trying to do that.  I’m doing so in perhaps the least-effective venue possible, too – a blog that is read by the hard-core fans who already know all about our affiliation with the Dallas Stars (NHL) and Texas Stars (AHL).

It’s public-relatin’ like that which will earn one the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award.

Anyway, moving on …

Dallas has opened training camp and there are a handful of former Steelheads competing for jobs with the parent club.  Playing the numbers game, it doesn’t look likely (though it isn’t impossible) that any of them, aside from Dallas returnee Tom Wandell, will actually break camp with the big club and open the season in the NHL.  With injuries, though, it could happen.  So we’ll let that play itself out.

That doesn’t mean, however, that players can’t make big-time impressions.  Playing in the favor of the remaining former Steelies (Mathieu Tousignant, Francis Wathier, Luke Gazdic, Richard Bachman, and Tyler Beskorowany) is that they all played for new Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan in Texas last season.  So “Gully” knows each of those players well.

The Stars scrimmaged on Sunday, with Team Black defeating Team White in a shootout.  Perhaps the most notable thing for the Steelhead hard-cores is that Bachman, who was the runner-up for ECHL Goaltender of the Year in 2009-10 here in Idaho, turned aside every shot he faced in the shootout in helping his team get the win.  And he didn’t face camp-fodder chumps, either: Steve Ott, Jamie Benn, Loui Eriksson, Vernon Fiddler, and Radek Dvorak.  Eriksson and Benn each scored over 50 points with the Stars last season and Ott has somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 career points at the NHL level.  Fiddler should surpass 500 games in the NHL this coming season and Dvorak is closing in on 1,200 career games (and over 550 career points).

So Richard Bachman, the little guy who people keep wanting to doubt, continues to get the job done.  As a Stars blogger once said (I’m paraphrasing because I can’t find the exact blog to quote), all he does is stop pucks.  Which (paraphrasing complete, by the way) is what you hire goaltenders to do.  I don’t care that he’s only 5-foot-10.  I don’t care that you’d have to attach 30 pounds worth of sandbags to his elbows to get him up to 210 pounds.  The dude makes saves and he wins games.  Always has.  I’ll take that on my team any day of the week.

Richard and, for that matter, Tyler Beskorowany appear to be blocked in the short term by NHL veteran Andrew Raycroft.  However, if Richard and/or Tyler have especially strong camps, there’s nothing written in stone that says the Stars can’t move Raycroft to keep either Bachman or Beskorowany around to back up starter Kari Lehtonen.

So, you ask … how can we reinforce the affiliation better?  Well, there are three ways that I can see:

(1) NHL continues to surge in popularity.  Attendance, television ratings, television exposure.  All, as a whole, seem to be moving the right direction.  Although some of the numbers may be slight (like the uptick in attendance, which is pretty small), every little bit helps increase awareness about hockey.

(2) A strong run from the Dallas Stars.  There are those who think the team is heading the right direction with players like Loui Eriksson, Jamie Benn, and Kari Lehtonen.  There are others who think the team took a step back when it lost Brad Richards.  There are others who say the team is merely treading water until all the bankruptcy/sale/etc. stuff is resolved.  Whichever camp you fall into, there’s little debate that a strong Stars team creates and drives attention which, in turn, helps us sell the relationship to our fans.

(3) A Stars “star.”  For better or worse, Idaho’s three most-talked about NHL alums (Zenon Konopka, Dan Ellis, BJ Crombeen) have done the vast majority of their NHL damage for teams not named the Dallas Stars.  From that standpoint, it’s tougher to reinforce the affiliation when we’ve yet to really have a player break through at the NHL level for the Dallas Stars.  Getting someone like Bachman, Tousignant, Gazdic, or Beskorowany to become a regular, steady contributor in Dallas would create an easy vehicle for us to push the fact that, hey, that dude used to play here … and the only reason he did play here was because of our NHL affiliation with the Dallas Stars.

Hey, look at this, as I’m typing about the affiliation, I see that JB Bittner – a former Stars prospect who spent time with the Steelheads – has been named assistant coach of the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.  Doesn’t do much to drive home the point, but it gave me an avenue to name-drop a former ‘Head who only played in Idaho because of our affiliation with the Stars.  A stretch?  Sure.  Odds are good it won’t be the last.

Keep your eye on Dallas’s training camp and, starting a week from today, the AHL camp in Texas.  We could be assigned a couple of players when its all said and done from the Stars organization, keeping the relationship alive and well.

Idaho’s camp opens October 3 here at CenturyLink Arena.  The boards are up, the glass is up, the floor is chilling in preparation of putting in the ice.  Yessiree, it’s just about “go-time,” hockey fans.  Get excited.

Season-Ticket Holder Only game on Friday, October 7 … regular-season opener in Utah on October 14 … home opener on Saturday, October 15.  Right around the corner.  Let’s get after it!

Doesn’t seem right with training camp here in Boise still three weeks away, but events on the ice are taking place that can (and likely will) have an impact on the Idaho Steelheads roster for the 2011-2012 season.

It’s called the Traverse City NHL Prospects Camp.  A handful of teams, including the Dallas Stars, Idaho’s NHL affiliate, send teams of prospects to Michigan to compete against one another for a few days.

The Stars roster includes three players who competed for the Steelheads last season – goaltender Tyler Beskorowany along with forwards Tristan King and Matt Tassone.  Beskorowany, slated to play in the American Hockey League this season, is likely just there getting extra work in.  He’s still a pup (born in April of 1990 … yikes, I’m getting old).  King and Tassone are both interesting prospects.  Both lost a lot of time to injury last season, so both are trying to show the Stars that they belong in the long-term plans as well.

Started well for the Idaho trio as Beskorowany got the win, King got an assist, and Tassone had a goal and assist in the team’s 8-2 romp over Carolina on Saturday.  Didn’t go as well for the Stars (or Idaho’s three players, though Beskorowany didn’t play) on Sunday, when Dallas was felled by the New York Rangers.  The Stars face St. Louis on Tuesday and then an opponent yet to be determined on Wednesday, when the tournament concludes.

Most of the Stars’ top-shelf prospects are there.  Former first-round picks Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, and Jamie Oleksiak are there, as is defenseman Brenden Dillon, forward Matt Fraser, and forward Brett Ritchie.  Any or all of them could turn into household names in the hockey world.

Steelheads head coach Hardy Sauter is there with the Stars this week.  Heard from him Monday morning and he said the three Steelhead players mentioned above have played okay thusfar, which is good news – especially for Tassone, who is recovering from a serious knee injury.   I received the following text message from Tassone Monday morning as well: “Good, good so far, just working away.”

Will we see any of those players back in an Idaho jersey this season?  I’d be stunned if Beskorowany were to return, there’s simply no reason for it at this point in his career.  He’ll share netminding duties in the AHL this season with another Steelhead alum, Richard Bachman.  King and Tassone?  Maybe, maybe not.  For their sake, I hope not.   I hope they do enough to show the Stars that they deserve to take that next step up the ladder.

This week is also a valuable evaluation tool for Sauter.  Some of these kids could be earmarked for Boise and this tournament gives Idaho’s bench boss a great opportunity to see them in live, full-speed game situations.  You cannot duplicate those kinds of situations and experiences in practice.  Only the bright lights, referees, and a different team on the opposing bench can create that environment.  That will benefit the Steelheads down the line if any of these players are assigned to Idaho since Coach Sauter will have had an opportunity to judge the player’s strengths with his own eyes over the course of this week.

After this week in Traverse City, some of the prospects will head to the main NHL camp with the Dallas Stars.  Others will take a few days off before heading to training camp with the AHL’s Texas Stars.  Still more will return to their junior-hockey teams to compete at that level this season.  Will any land in Boise for Steelheads traning camp, which begins on October 3?

Stay tuned …