| Subject: Silos Cautiously Optimistic |
Author:
Saskatoon Sun
|
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 00:30:06 02/02/03 Sun
After an off-season of change, the Saskatoon Silos begin their 2003 season on Monday with a game against the Charlottetown Islanders. The game against the Isles is the first of two road games to start the season.
The Silos would appear to have a more potent offense on paper, with the likes of Theoren Fleury, Brendan Shanahan and Mark Recchi being added to the lineup. LW Steve Konowalchuk has been added to fill the hole left by former team captain Gary Roberts, while Robert Kron, Jarkko Ruutu and Per Svartvadet bring some defensive skills to the team.
In addition to these newcomers at the forward positions, returnees Alexei Yashin, Robert Lang, Martin Gelinas, and Claude Lapointe will attempt to duplicate the strong seasons they had in 2002.
The defense will be led by returnees Janne Niinimaa and Eric Desjardins, with Niinimaa expected to take his game to another level. New faces on defense include veteran Don Sweeney, solid youngsters Karlis Skrastins, Filip Kuba and Pascal Trepanier, and recent free agent acquisition Alexander Khavanov. Janne Laukkanen will also be on hand to provide some veteran depth, as will Stephane Quintal. Saskatoon also has their +/- leader from last season, Lubomir Visnovsky, down on the farm in case one of their offensive defensemen suffers an injury.
In goal, the combination of Nikolai Khabibulin and Jocelyn Thibault will try to improve on their performances of 2002. "The Bulin Wall", in particular, will be expected to provide more consistent goaltending this year, as he went through stretches in '02 where he struggled considerably. Khabibulin is expected to play in at least 60 games.
Saskatoon registered an 8-4-0 record in the preseason, with coach Bob Hartley trying several different line combinations and defensive pairings. For the most part, Hartley was pleased with what he saw.
"I was 'appy with the way some of our new players, like Fleury and Recchi, stepped in and contributed", smiled the Silos' coach. "I was also pleased with the play of most of our defensive corps, although I thought we struggled as a team defensively."
The power play and penalty killing units were at or near the top throughout the exhibition schedule, which is something the Silos will need if they hope to advance any further this season.
One player that Hartley would like to get going is LW Brendan Shanahan. "Shanny had his chances, but didn't bury the biscuit the way he has in the past", said Hartley. "I moved him around, but he never really clicked with any center."
Saskatoon lead their division, conference and the league through much of the first half of 2002, but they struggled in the second half, barely making the playoffs. Hartley's goal for the team this season, the last season of his contract, is to win the division, and then go deep into the playoffs. Stating these goals will be much easier than achieving them, however.
"The Western Conference has 5 or 6 teams that are playoff-caliber", stated coach Hartley. "We can't let our guard down the way we did last season, or we'll miss the playoffs this time."
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
| |
Feedback: 