Focusing on team
If the only goal for the Spokane Chiefs was exceeding expectations this Western Hockey League season, things would be a cinch.
The Chiefs, a member of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference, are coming off a season in which they finished in fourth place in their division and were swept out in the first round of the playoffs by eventual conference champion Everett.
The season, which included an 11-game losing streak, put coach Al Conroy’s future with the team in doubt before he was ultimately retained.
This year, the team has been picked to finish last in both the division and the conference in the WHL’s pre-season poll.
But all the foregoing aside, it’s a new season and the Chiefs have a fresh lease on hockey life.
Conroy is optimistic about this season, despite having to replace leaders from last year’s team such as over-age captain Joff Kehler and leading scorer Brad Schell (off to the pros). The biggest reasons for hope begin where good hockey teams are built, from the back end forward.
The defensive corps should be the strength of this year’s team. Returning on the blue line are six veterans and one rookie who joined the team for the playoffs. Meanwhile in the net, Jim Watt is eager to show he deserves the designation of No. 1 goalie he earned going into the playoffs last season.
“There’s seven (defensive) guys that are familiar with the Chiefs; that’s obviously a real strength,” said Conroy. “Our number one goaltender from last year is coming back. We are losing Brad Schell and Joff Kehler which, no matter when you lose those guys, it’s going to hurt.
“So I don’t think we can necessarily ask a guy to go out and score the (92) points that Brad did and do the things that Joff did, both on and off the ice. But if we can ask the whole team to do those things, everybody chips in a few more points and everybody chips in off the ice to be a leader, we’re going be a better team than we were last year.”
The concepts of “accountability” and “character” will be repeated often by the coaches and veterans this year. All of them feel this year’s squad is much more cohesive than last year’s. More than once this preseason, they have pointed out there are no problem players in the locker rom and this is more of a true “team.”
“We’ve used that word all summer,” said Conroy. “Because we look at our roster and that’s what we see. We see a real character group of kids, who I think are real comfortable with each other. And they’ve got the same goal in mind – team success – that is going to come first and foremost.”
The Chiefs have a solid group of returnees, including defensemen Scott Lynch, Gary Gladue, Liam Couture, Gustav Engman and Jason Lynch. Up front, the returnees include second-leading scorer Chad Klassen, who had 91 points; Ned Lukacevic; Jeff Lynch; Jevon Desautels; Steven Gillen and Myles Stoesz.
However, the Chiefs’ fortunes will likely rise and fall with the play of a core group of younger players who are talented but have yet to make their marks in the WHL. They include Sean Zimmerman, Adam Hobson, Spokane product Derek Ryan, and a group of rookies who have impressed during the exhibition season. In addition, newcomer Michael Grabner of Austria should add firepower when he returns from a preseason injury. But he’ll be out five to six weeks with a broken collarbone.
The Chiefs will carry a fewer number of players, and Conroy has a commitment to playing all of them, even the rookies who have made their marks in camp.
“These kids are making a commitment to be here, too, and they need to be paid that respect of ice time,” said Conroy. “So they need to be given an opportunity to succeed … or to fail. Ninety-nine percent of our guys are going to succeed.”
Still, there is no replacement for game-situation experience. So, though this year’s group has a lot of potential and works hard, it presents other kinds of challenges to Conroy and his two new assistants, Kevin Sawyer and Rikard Gronborg.
The U.S. Division remains tough from top to bottom. It’s conceivable the Chiefs could improve on the ice but not in the standings. Conroy is all too aware of that possibility.
“It’s the toughest division in the league,” said Conroy. “Last year, Seattle was real young. Those guys are going to be a year older and should be very good.
“Everett’s going to be Everett. Portland was a young team last year and they did well. Tri-Cities is probably the best in the division right now, if not the conference.”
So, all Conroy can do is focus his team on playing its game consistently.
“If we have a great year and don’t make the playoffs, we’ve done all we can,” said Conroy. “Sometimes, you get beat playing your best game. We can live with that – not every night. But then we have to go out and find different players if that’s the case.
“I’m confident that if we go out there for 72 games and play our game as good as we can, we’re going to be in pretty good shape at the end of the season.”
Spokane, which concluded the exhibition season at 0-3-2, opens its season Saturday night against Kootenay at Cranbrook, British Columbia. Its home opener is Oct. 2.