THE DRAKKAR REPORT: Norsemen look to take giant step in 2015-16 season

Herb Brooks Olympia [SAINT PAUL | MINNESOTA]

The celebration of the start of the 2015-16 CCHL season begins this afternoon at 7th St W and down W Kellogg Blvd in anticipation of the Minnesota Norsemen hosting the Siberia Ice Cats tonight as the CCHL’s Opening Game. A celebration that the city of Saint Paul and the State of Hockey hope to repeat at the end of a long playoff run.

“Without sounding too cliché,” says GM Blake Wendt. “We’re in it to win it. We are confident in the group that we’ve put together over the years of rebuilding, and accelerated this offseason is capable of doing some damage this year. Obviously there are many teams in the CCHL that feel the exact same way, and the competition will be immense. But we’re here to compete with the best of them, and the people of this hockey-mad state and region deserve the best this game can give.”

The Norsemen are in for some very stiff competition throughout the league. But also very much within their own conference. Home of the back-to-back Kehler Cup champion Copenhagen Crusaders, the Canosa Conference also has the very formidable Victoria Ronin and Georgetown Millers, Ovechkin-led Sanibel Islanders and budding super team, Reykjavik Puffin.

“It’s going to be a fight all year,” says Norsemen captain, Johnny Boychuk. “We play in a very stout conference, and it seems as though everyone wants it. It’s easy when you have the champ in your conference to want to knock their teeth out. Easier said than done. But we’re not backing down to anyone.”

Minnesota played twelve games this pre-season and went 4-5-3. Not anything to send quivers down the spines of the competition. But there is still not much concern from the coaching staff.

“We did want we wanted to do in the pre-season,” says head coach Craig Hartsburg. “Our record is what it is. Could we improve on some things? Absolutely. Some teams go out there with their lineups set and just roll over everyone. We had players we wanted to tryout and had some competition for spots to be earned. We tried out scenarios where there’s an injury to a key player and moved guys around to keep the motor running as a team. In the end, we did what we wanted to do, and are eager to get things going for real. We know expectations are high and if we just do what we know we are all very capable of doing with the talent here, we can be very successful. It’s a matter of us as coaches to implement the plan and the players to execute the plan to success.”

Fans can arrive outside and around the Olympia at 4:30 PM for the Norsemen ‘Sails Up’ rally. Washington St from W Kellogg Blvd to W 5th St will be closed for the event from 2 PM until midnight.

New Season Arrives in Siberia with New Hope; Cup Contenders to Battle it Out!

Another season of CCHL hockey is upon us, and hope is blooming in Siberia. The Icecats
are entering into their second full season after relocating from Murfreesboro, under the leadership of GM Silvio Saouaf. The Icecats had the luck of the lottery go their way this past summer as they drafted generational talent, Connor McDavid. The Icecats future is not dependent only on young Connor, as they have been building a significant pool of young talent, including Sam Bennett, Nikolaj Ehlers, Madison Bowey and Jake McCabe, among others. GM Saouaf has stayed the course of building through the draft and acquiring young talent since he was hired to lead the Icecats.  Here is what GM Saouaf had to say during an interview on the future of Siberia. "I'm thankful to be part ofa bright future for the Icecats. The Siberia fans have been faithful through this rebuild and see daylight at the end of the tunnel. My goal is to build a perennial contender for the Kehler Cup,  not a flash in the pan. That all starts with building through the draft. This year will probably beanother rebuilding year, but I expect this team to contend for a playoff spot as early as next
year!"

When asked about how he saw the league unfolding this year, GM Saouaf had this to say. "You know, you have the upper echelon teams who will compete every year. Copenhagen is the team to beat again, assembling a formidable lineup yet again, anchored by an outstanding blue line and goaltender.  Beyond Copenhagen, you have a number of teams who have really beefed up this year, trying to make a run for the cup. Dayton has leveraged their extensive prospect pool to acquire top end talent   like Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, Patrick Hornqvist, and steady blue-line talent like Dan Hamhuis. They have done this while still maintaining a strong prospect pool. Another team with aspirations
of raising the cup is Minnesota. They have taken a full plunge to win it all this year, acquiring great players such as former Icecat, Daniel Sedin, as well as Phil Kessel and Zach Parise. The    Norsemen gave up prized prospect, Anthony Mantha to get Parise, but still have several top        prospects, including Minnesota natives, Hudson Fasching and Mike Reilly.

Three other perennial contenders are also hoping to raise the cup. Victoria acquired potential #1C, Eric Staal along with power forward Wayne Simmonds. GM Canosa is hoping that this recipe leads  to a first Kehler Cup for the Ronin. Another perennial contender, Reykjavik, did not make any     significant changes to their lineup, but did swap several players, including acquiring Tuuka Rask to be their #1 goalie. GM Chris Wolter is relying on the experience and chemistry of his team to  contend yet again. The Sanibel Islanders, formerly the Karlstad Killers, are hoping to enjoy      success in their first full year in Sanibel. GM Ron Maskal takes over a veteran team that is builtto win now.  GM Maskal is hoping that newly acquired #1 goalie, Cam Ward, will provide the        stability in goal that his team needs.

Two other teams that could challenge for the cup are the Winnipeg Ferrets and the Montreal Aces.  The Ferrets and Aces finished last regular season 6th and 4th respectively. Both still have their core team in tact from last year, with a few key additions. They could make life interesting for  the cup favorites."

This season could be one of the best ever in the CCHL with so many cup challengers with realistic shots at a championship.  

Who will win? 

Stay tuned to find out!

Submitted by Silvio Saouaf

General Manager, Siberia Icecats