One of the many fantastic things about living in East
Tennessee is the sampling we get of each of the four seasons. Our summer is
long and warm. Our spring – my absolute favorite – is quick but probably the
best weather of the year. Our fall is gorgeous with all the color transitions
and temperature and we even get a little bit of winter (a lot sometimes) so everyone
can pull out their cold weather attire a few times.
The downside to the beautiful spring weather we’re
experiencing right now is just that; it’s beautiful. The nicest time of the year
to be out in the fresh air, baseball has started, golf season is in full swing
no pun intended and folks are starting to get their boats into the water for
the lake weather approaching. Hockey has quickly become an afterthought at a
time when it’s never more important for those who play it.
I have spent almost 10 years involved with minor
professional hockey in the South and have stubbornly come to realize that our
product at this level is no match for the weather. We can promote the games, we
can try different things to bring folks in, we can have fantastic teams and
still…… our attendance will drop severely once the spring weather arrives and
our casual or occasional fans entertainment choices expand.
More traditional hockey regions have the benefit of
literally hundreds of years of culture that has ingrained playoff hockey and
its importance into the sporting mentality of the fans who live there and
attend games. It’s the same reason the University of Tennessee can jam 108,000
+ into Neyland Stadium over and over again year after year; those people don’t
all love football, they all love tailgating, they all love UT and just grew up
in a culture where that’s what you did.
I grew up in Canada where my parents had skates on my feet
before I was three, we played road hockey on the street in the summer and then
ice hockey on frozen lakes all winter. You got to choose between the Toronto
Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens where I lived, and by the time you were
old enough to make a conscious decision about where you spent your time and
money, you loved hockey and you loved going to hockey games. That was the
culture I grew up in and it was the foundation for my love of hockey and
further to that, playoff hockey.
A wonderful sport that is jammed full of intensity, speed,
skill and physicality gets even more intense with more speed, more skill and
more physical play. If you’re new to the sport and you come to a playoff game,
you will come back without a doubt. I love it. And we’re excited that it is
just around the corner so we can treat our fans who continue to show up at the
Coliseum through the spring weather to some of the most passionate, hard-working,
emotional and determined athletic competition in the world.
Playoff time also means the regular season is coming to a
close. The SPHL has yet again set the table for a final weekend full of playoff
implications and posturing. It seems like every single season we have to wait
for the final game to be played before we can begin to prepare for our first
round opponent and this season is no different.
With the closing of the regular season also comes the
announcements of the 2014-2015 Awards. Everyone will always say they don’t care
about the personal accolades and nobody will openly admit that it’s on their
mind this time of year if they may or may not be in the conversation to win
some of the SPHL hardware, but they are all lying.
The SPHL passes out these individual accomplishments based
on 24 voting members, I think. Each team will cast 3 ballots on behalf of their
organization, or at least they are supposed to; 1 from the head coach, 1 from
the general manager and 1 from a designated media member. You cannot vote for
any player on your own team, only the other 7 teams in the SPHL. Much debate
always erupts after the awards are announced, but with the current system and
it’s guidelines you’re going to get some wide-ranging opinions when it comes to
the voting. For example, how many teams have a media representative who cover
every game or even travels to a single game and can fairly evaluate opposing
players? We’ve only seen Pensacola play in Knoxville twice all season and
ballots are due in the league office before the Ice Bears have even played a
single game in Lafayette. To that same point, what media representative in this
league, at this level is a true hockey reporter capable of evaluating
individual performances and their impact? No offense intended to anyone, but
there aren’t a lot of paid full-time hockey columnists in the South and these
awards should be based on more than just what you see on Pointstreak in my
opinion. More should go into the selection than goals, assists and plus/minus.
How many assists are secondary? How many minuses came down on the player you’re
looking at that they had no possible impact on? How many of the points came in
blowout games that were mailed in? These ballots will look significantly
different depending on who is submitting them, and that’s the reality of it.
Either way, I cast my ballot this morning and thought I’d
make my selections public this year with a bit of dialogue about what went into
the decisions. I’ve also included some unofficial awards of my own for your
enjoyment to help celebrate another great year of hockey. KNOXVILLE FANS – I
wasn’t allowed to vote for my own team, please keep that in mind before you
e-mail me J
2014-2015
SPHL REGULAR SEASON AWARDS
MOST VALUABLE
PLAYER – Kyle Rank, Peoria.
This was the most difficult selection of all the categories
for me. An MVP is tough to select because each position is so different and
each of the guys in the mix played such different and specific roles for their
respective teams. If I have learned one thing after 5 seasons of coaching, it
is this; your goaltender is your most important player during 60 minutes of
hockey. Always. You can do whatever you want in the other end of the ice, you
can run whatever d-zone system you choose, but without a great goaltender you
cannot be a successful hockey team. It also came down to head to head
competition for me, I didn’t get to see Max Strang much, I didn’t see a lot of
Peter DiSalvo, etc. Ranker was always solid and more often than not,
spectacular when we played Peoria. He gave them a chance to win every game, he
was in net for 75% of the 1st place team’s wins and he was a horse
with 41 games played and over 2300 minutes. Statistically, did some other
goalies have better years? Yes. But from where I stood Kyle Rank was more
valuable to the Peoria Rivermen than any other player was to their team this
year. Ranker has developed into a premier goaltender in this league and I’d be
lying if I didn’t look back and question myself for the day I sat him down in
my office and told him I was placing him on waivers.
GOALTENDER OF THE
YEAR – Kyle Rank, Peoria.
If you’re the league MVP, you’re also the top goalie.
DEFENSEMAN OF THE
YEAR – Andrew Randazzo, Mississippi
Big minutes in all situations, a great first pass, a
quarterback of their powerplay and always a focal point of our pre-scouting and
preparation prior to playing the Riverkings. Andrew’s stat line is impressive,
his minutes are always efficient and he’s the centerpiece of a really nice
d-core in Memphis.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
– Bryce Williamson, Columbus
Columbus is a helluva story this year. To go from the start
they had to in contention for 1st place overall going into the final
weekend is simply unbelievable. Bryce came in from Reading on November 1st
and has done nothing but produce since he got here. He was an electric addition
the top line in Columbus with Matt Gingera and Neilsson Arcibal, he is
dangerous whenever he is on the ice and he’s one of 5 – yeah, count em’ 5 –
Columbus rookies in the SPHL top 10 who have helped them to a great season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
– Jean-Guy Trudel, Peoria
I’m not gonna lie – I can’t stand Guy. Nothing to do with
him as a person at all, but everything to do with how well coached his Peoria
Rivermen are. They play the same 60 minute game night in and night out and he
has had that group bought into playing tight checking playoff style hockey
since October. He’s had to contend with being a prime call-up location
geographically and rarely having all his top guys in the lineup, he’s had his
team systematically ready through some ridiculous travel scenarios and he has
them poised to win a regular season championship. Look at the leading scorers
in the SPHL this year, 1 Riverman in the top 10 and three in the top 20. They
have banged out wins with a complete team approach. Eff you Jean-Guy, you and
Tuck’ have done a great job.
SPHL ALL-STAR 1st
TEAM
(G) Kyle Rank
(D) Andrew Randazzo
(D) Andy Willigar – probably not going to see Andy on many
other 1st team All-Star ballots, but having faced Columbus as much
as we have and doing so much video already with them as a potential 1st
round opponent, I have come to appreciate his game immensely. He competes so
hard 1 on 1 down low in the d-zone, he clears out the front of his net and has
great body position defensively all the time and he mixed in 8 goals from the
backend to go along with a plus 14. One of COL’s unsung heroes, but I’m willing
to bet he’s not if you follow the Snakes.
(F) Adam Pawlick – I almost couldn’t find a place for Adam
on the 1st team simply because we don’t play Pensacola much – ever.
But it’s impossible to ignore 31 goals, 224 shots and a league leading 65
points. Pawlick is a 3-zone player too, which I think gets overlooked by a lot
of people who submit ballots. He’s great in the faceoff dot, he has a very high
compete level and is a trusted player on the ice late in games for Pensacola.
(F) Matt Gingera – I close my eyes when Matt Gingera gets
the puck in our end, for real. He’s as offensively gifted a player as we have
in the league right now. A great shot, quick feet that go from 0 to 100 mph in
seconds and a nasty side that makes him very tough to play against. 6
gamewinning goals, 14 tucks on the powerplay and an eyelash away from being my
pick for MVP.
(F) Matt Whitehead – So skilled. Whitey has the tools to
singlehandledy take a game over with his speed and skillset and he did it once
or twice against us this season. His open ice, flat out speed and ability to
make plays at full tilt make him a nightmare to cover 1 on 1. He has developed
his game into a much more 200 ft style and the results are evidence of that.
SPHL ALL-STAR 2nd
TEAM
(G) Andrew Loewen, COL
A big game goalie who keeps his team in long enough to get
results. Off-nights or weak goals just aren’t part of his game. Again,
statistically he wasn’t the 2nd best goaltender in this league, but
Pointstreak doesn’t have a category for how many “big saves” or game changing
plays he was a part of for Columbus. He’s a consummate pro and and embodies
everything this level is about.
(D) Stuart Stefan, HSV
A converted forward who has transformed his game from a
top-line center into a gifted offensive defenseman this year. Stu makes probably
the best first pass in transition of any d-man in the SPHL and has worked very
hard to make sure his gap control and net front awareness in the d-zone is
acceptable. During a pretty frustrating year in Huntsville he kept his game at
a high level every night and chipped in 11 goals as a d-man.
(D) Cole Ruwe, PEO
A veteran guy who put his work boots on night in and night
out. Ruwe does so many little things over the course of a game that go
unnoticed and unrecognized by the casual observer. He is excellent in his
d-zone, he is a great leader for the 1st place team in the league
and he plays against top match-ups every single night. He has also played most
of this season injured and has really battled hard for Peoria.
(F) Bryce Williamson, COL
(F) Alex Hudson, PEO
Another guy who isn’t going to make many other ballots, but
a player who was a wrecking ball against my Ice Bears and a no-brainer to put
on my ballot. To me, Hudson was the most complete player in the league this
year. From his dominance in the faceoff dot, to his physical presence, whether
it be taking the body or dropping the gloves at the right time, he fills
quality minutes and adds great depth to the Peoria lineup.
(F) Leo Thomas, MSR
Another guy who plays the entire ice from end wall to end
wall. Leo is beast when he’s on his game and can really take over shifts. His
+25 is a great example of just how hard he battles without the puck and then
his vision and skillset when he or his Riverkings have it. A great leader and
an all-situations centerman who can play several different styles depending on
what is needed on a night to night basis.
SPHL ALL-ROOKIE
TEAM
(G) Kevin Murdock, FAY
Gave Fayetteville some heart & soul starts this year and
helped them pull points out of many games that it didn’t look like they would.
Just a thoroughbred puck stopper who uses all parts of his body and never, ever
gives up on the notion that he can make the save.
(D) Reid Campbell, MSR
Old school style d-man who did a great job this season in
Mississippi. Similar to COL, MSR got off to a rough start and Reid was a big
part of the change in play they went through. Great first pass, always has his
head up and low turnover rate. Great rookie campaign.
(D) Christian Weidauer, PEO
A kid I personally recruited and moved to PEO in a
mid-season trade. Chris is a big-bodied guy who has great reach, soft hands and
a lot better shot than most people know. He has come so far since October and
is really a true rookie with a 1993 birthdate. With the ECHL merger and quality
defensemen getting snatched out of almost every SPHL lineup, I was shocked
Weids’ didn’t get a look at the AA level this year.
(F) Bryce Williamson, COL
(F) Shawn Bates, COL
Another great rookie thriving in Columbus. Shawn’s hardwork
and north/south game really came along in the 2nd half. He has great
speed and isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas for his goals. Brought
extremely good depth to the COL forward lineup.
(F) Trever Hertz, FAY
A big strong kid who was heavy on his stick and got some
prime minutes in Fayetteville to spend his rookie season. I liked Trever’s game
immediately when I saw him play for the Surge in the 2014 playoffs and he
continued that strong play into this year. Always a threat to shoot the puck
and very strong on his stick around the net.
Coach Craigen’s
‘Unofficial’ SPHL Awards
Best Arena Overall – Von Braun Center, HSV
Always a pleasure to
go to the VBC. Great staff, great ice, top notch security and an overall
fantastic game night atmosphere.
Best Visiting Locker Room – Carver Arena, PEO
A very simple but
perfect set-up. Individual stalls, separate changing area, plenty of hot water,
lots of supplies with regard to toiletries and amenities and the most private
locker room area in the league.
Best Visiting Bench – Von Braun Center, HSV
Spacious, clean, great
sightlines and minimal opportunity for fans to make bad decisions. Again,
always a pleasure going to Huntsville.
Best Visiting Coach’s Office – Landers Center, MSR
Carpeted, chairs and
couches, personal bathroom including shower, highspeed internet and cable tv.
Hands down the best in the league.
Best Post-Game Meal – Huntsville Booster Club, HSV
You really never know
what you’re going to get in this category from night to night in the SPHL, but
the Huntsville Booster club is amazing with the selection and quality of
post-game meals. Honorable mention to the Columbus Booster club and hoping to
add the Macon Mayhem Boosters to this list next season if they’re anything like
that Macon Trax crew.
I hope everyone has enjoyed another season and heres to
hoping the playoffs continue to crank up the intensity and entertainment level
of the SPHL.
Have a great weekend everyone.
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