From Wednesday's Clarion:
Last Thursday could be considered moving day for the Kindersley Klippers, and not in a good way.
In a period of less than 24 hours from Wednesday night to Thursday night, four players were trimmed from the roster, two of their own choosing and two as casualties of a forward logjam.
Goaltender Scott Hellyer and forward Brett Penner both quit the team; centre Beau Taylor and left winger Pearce Gourley became the odd men out and were told they would be traded to a team that could use them.
The departure of Hellyer, 20, was the most significant. The Brandon native apparently informed head coach Larry Wintoneak after Wednesday’s loss to Yorkton that he was no longer interested in playing hockey.
Rumours abounded that there had been a falling out between Hellyer and Wintoneak after the netminder allowed a pair of soft goals to the Terriers. The coach insisted that wasn’t the case.
“The rumours that fly around when something like that happens, sometimes you shake your head. What had happened was, even the week before, Scotty just wasn’t feeling up to par and he lost a little zip for the game of hockey,” Wintoneak charged.
“His words were, he just doesn’t have the passion anymore. You have to have the passion to play the game, to love the game, and he just felt that he had to move on in a different direction. Myself and Scotty get along really well. We’ve had a good relationship right from the get-go.
“The facts are the facts, and the facts are he left on good terms here and that was his choice, so we have to move on. He gave us what he could give us and in his heart, he didn’t want to play.”
Suddenly needing a goaltender, the Klippers dealt Hellyer’s rights on Friday to the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL in exchange for towering 20-year-old netminder Alexandre Peck.
The Kirkland, Que., native, who stands six-foot-three, was in his second season with the Capitals, one of the league’s basement dwellers in recent years.
He played in a platoon role with the RBC Cup host Victoria Grizzlies in 2008-09; he was the only BCHL puckstopper on the NHL draft watch list that season. He was also short-listed for the Canada West entry for the World Junior A Challenge last year.
“He’s a good goaltender. He’s a kid that I think was maybe in a bad situation in Cowichan, and now he’s got a new lease on life,” said Wintoneak. “He’s pretty excited and enthusiastic about it. We’ll give him an opportunity to take the reins here.
“He plays the puck real well. He’s pretty good laterally, he takes up a lot of the net. He’s got real good rebound control. I think he competes hard,” the coach said of Peck, who was expected to make his first Klipper start on Tuesday against La Ronge.
“The biggest thing is he makes the stop when need be. That’s the biggest thing, it’s the timely saves that you need in a goaltender.”
Hellyer has returned to Brandon and it is not clear if he will report to Cowichan Valley.
Meanwhile, Penner asked for a trade on Thursday night because he wants more ice time, according to Wintoneak. The Klippers’ depth meant Penner was in tough to secure a spot above the fourth line, but he has the skill to play more minutes on a less talented club.
Taylor and Gourley were essentially cut, with the promise of finding them new homes with other teams where they can play bigger roles.
Wintoneak was still trying to work out trades for both players on Monday, more than four days after the players got the bad news.
“They’re both real good kids. They were tough decisions to make, obviously. Not something that you enjoy as a coach, but it’s gotta be done,” he said. “They’re hard decisions because they want to be here.”
Taylor said he thought he was off to a good start, with four goals on the year, and didn’t understand why he was chosen. But he said he wanted to get back on the ice as soon as possible, wherever that may be.
The fact that his family is in Australia makes the situation even more difficult for the 19-year-old, who has only played ice hockey for five years.
“He played here for a whole year. That was a tougher one and there was a little more emotion involved,” Wintoneak said. “Beau was kind of flat-toning; that’s where we see that.”
Gourley was one of the more promising forwards added this season, but Wintoneak said he felt several players had moved ahead of him on the depth chart.
“I think if we weren’t as old up front, he’d be here,” he said of the Saskatoon product.
The coach said his team has moved on from the events of last week.
“We had a good meeting at the end of (Friday’s loss in Melfort) and ... everybody kind of aired out their laundry and got it over with.”
The Klippers did get some positive news last week. Wintoneak finally found an assistant coach, and he should be familiar to fans in the area.
Rocky Zinger is originally from Kindersley and played with the Sr. Klippers for a time.
He has coached in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, and most recently he spent time as an assistant with the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL. He had been promoted to interim head coach there before joining the Klippers.
Zinger joined the team for the road trip to Melfort and Nipawin on the weekend, and he will man the fort when Wintoneak leaves for the World Junior A Challenge on Monday.
No comments:
Post a Comment