Lemanowicz Knows Which Chiefs Are Quick On The Draw
David Lemanowicz doesn’t have a lot to do, not with Spokane Chiefs’ starting goaltender, Jarrod Daniel, on top of his game night after night.
So what does Lemanowicz do to keep his mind in the game?
He charts faceoffs.
The chart lets the coaches know who’s beating whom in the faceoff circle, a small-but-effective edge down the stretch.
His information wasn’t the determining factor in the Chiefs’ 4-2 win over Tri-City Saturday night, of course, but Spokane coach Mike Babcock said it helped.
Winning faceoffs increases puck possession and opportunities.
Spokane has no one to match Daymond Langkow of Tri-City in the circle, but plenty of Chiefs are improving on the draw, among them Trent Whitfield, Darren Sinclair, Jason Podollan, Dmitri Leonov and John Cirjak.
The idea is to set up the best possible match. That may mean sending two centermen out on the same line, or subbing someone who’s winning possession for another who’s consistently getting beat when the puck drops.
“David made sure we had the right guys down the stretch,” Babcock said. “He was a part of the team effort.”
Hey 19, we can draft together
Portland Winter Hawks coach Brent Peterson is among the majority who favor the move to draft juniors at 19, rather than 17.
The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement sets forth a change in the draft. Although details are to be worked out with the Canadian Hockey League, the overseer of junior hockey, the NHL’s CBA sets the minimum age at 19, although players at 18 will be able to opt-in without penalty.
Players previously were drafted after their 17-year-old season.
For now, the scouting focus remains on 17-year-olds leading up to the July 8 NHL draft in Winnipeg, in part because the class of the 19s has been picked over.
“There’s not a 19-year-old in North America right now who would take the place of the top 17-year-olds,” said Barry Trapp of the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau. “The top prospects - Wade Redden, Bryan Berard, Brad Church and Steve Kelly - will go high, no matter what.”
Church and Kelly are forwards with the Prince Albert Raiders, Redden a defenseman with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Berard an American defenseman with the Detroit Junior Red Wings.
The move is expected to stabilize junior teams while giving the NHL another year to size up a kid’s chances.
“The elite player is ready at 17, but at 19 it’s a lot better draft,” Peterson said. “The players will be more mature. It won’t be such a guessing game.”
Besides upping the draft age, the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement caps a rookie’s salary at $850,000.
If a player signs and is returned to his junior team, his maximum salary will be $7,500. If he’s sent to the minors, his minimum is $62,500.
Chiefs check
When Podollan scored his 26th goal in Tri-City Friday night, he moved into eighth place on the club’s all-time career goal-scoring ladder, ahead of Brent Gilchrist, now of the NHL Dallas Stars. Next in sight is Maxim Bets, who scored 95 goals in Spokane. Podollan has 91 heading into tonight’s game at Swift Current… . Injured defenseman Joel Boschman spent a couple of minutes on the practice ice Monday in Medicine Hat. The rookie’s rehab (knee) is coming along nicely… . Spokane’s trip through the prairies isn’t as brutal this time as it could be. For one thing, for some it’s a homecoming. “We have a lot of kids from Alberta,” Babcock said. “That’s a positive. They look forward to wanting to play well in front of their families.” Another plus is the scheduling. “Essentially, it’s play a day and take the next day off,” Babcock said.
Ex-check
Former Spokane goaltender Troy Gamble stopped 34 shots Saturday night to give the Houston Aeros, an International Hockey League expansion franchise, their first shutout, a 4-0 win at Atlanta. Gamble is 7-3-2 in his last 12 games. … Valeri Bure scored a pair of goals for the Frederickton Canadiens in their 4-2 American Hockey League win over St. John’s. Bure’s second goal Saturday night was an empty-netter with 4 seconds left, but his first strike beat one of AHL’s all-star netminders, Marcel Cousineau. … Paxton Schulte assisted on the game-tying goal for the Cornwall Aces in their 2-2 AHL draw on the road with the Binghampton (N.Y.) Rangers on Friday night.
From our vast research dept.
Paul Delaney, with his overworked home computer, points out the Chiefs in their first 40 games scored fewer goals (121) than any of the previous 11 Spokane clubs in the WHL, dating back to the Spokane Flyers.
The better news is that this year’s club allowed 162 goals in its first 40 outings, third fewest behind the ‘90-91 Memorial Cup-champion Chiefs and the ‘91-92 club.