Speltz does admirable job

Where are the letters now?

Now that the Chiefs have ascended to the top of the WHL rankings, I find it interesting that the letters asking for GM Tim Speltz’s job are absent. Where are you now, fans of dissent?

The bottom line is that Spokane fans have no clue about the difficulty in managing in this league. No. 1 ranking or not, choosing talent at 14 years of age is just short of a crapshoot. Mark Few picks at what, 17 or 18? That’s at least three years more growth and maturity. With few exceptions, Few still has no idea what he has until at least midseason in their freshman year.

In Spokane’s case, Speltz has more than rolled the dice – he has a long-term plan that is just now taking hold. For one, he’s taken on more American talent than any team in the league in addition to giving local kids more than a token chance to make a difference. More recently, in the quieter of his two deadline trades, he has picked up perhaps the most seasoned defenseman in the league in Trevor Glass.

Yes, playoffs are a second season and all could be lost in a bad game, but that’s what good coaches are for and I can only write one letter per month.

Mark Gustafson

Spokane