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!