 |
| Blake Wheeler has been named Captain!!! |
September 1, 2017 -- Fort Erie, ON
Hours prior to the Fort Erie Falcons first home date of the 2017-18 season, the team has announced that Blake Wheeler will wear the C on his jersey for the upcoming year.
Brent Burns, Max Pacioretty and Jaccob Slavin were named alternate captains; with the three alternating letters each night.
It's been a crazy offseason for the Falcons' franchise as GM Matt Young has once again been a madman in his player movement.
In the months leading up to the draft, Young stockpiled picks in order to build for the future however has since dealt several of those he has drafted for more established, veteran players.
"It's no secret we had a ton of picks for this draft and we made good selections. We took good kids but the fact of the matter remains that we can't dress 40 guys a night in a few years. We needed help today and this is why I went out and acquired the Blake Wheeler's and Brent Burns' of the world" said Young on his latest offseason.
"We're a bit ahead of schedule for this season but we're built for now and the long-term now. We're financially viable with respect to payroll and we'll turn a profit this season which is impressive in the landscape of today's CCHL."
Despite the changes, Young was rather intriguing when asked if he was done wheeling and dealing at this point. Is he finally satisfied where the team is at? Can he take a long awaited vacation to Disney? You'd likely be surprised by the answers to those questions.
"We're always looking to improve but for the most part we're done. We may have a move to make still as Mr. Nyquist is looking for a new address. He doesn't believe that he's got a long term future in Fort Erie. Can you believe that? Well actually you should believe it because we just don't have the playing time for a player of his caliber available now or in the coming years so we have decided to honour his request."
"Although my family and I like to visit Disney, we don't run a Mickey Mouse organization. If you don't want to be here, we'll happily move you along" quipped Young.
With this news and the puck drop tonight at 7:00PM against the defending Champion Dayton Musicmen, another season of the CCHL begins.
It should be a great season with more league parity than in the last several years. Enjoy night one of the CCHL season!
Let's review the work Young has done on with his Falcons' roster for the upcoming season.
IN: Wheeler, Burns, Seguin, Kane, Eberle, Burns, Seabrook, Werenski, Gibson, Pacioretty, and Beauvillier. This goes along with prospects Nick Suzuki, Jake Oettinger, and 30 year old Russian star Vadim Shipachyov who should arrive in the CCHL next season.
OUT: Malkin, Drouin, Talbot, Budaj, Vatanen, Sekara, Toffoli, Goligoski, Hartnell, Vesalainen, MacKinnon
No comments:
Post a Comment