DAY 52: POR 7, DAY 1
DAY 54: WIS 5, DAY 1
DAY 56: DAY 2, HAL 7
IN the last six days, Dayton has played and lost three games against clearly superior opponents. Outscored 19-4, outshot 136 to 83, a differential of 53 shots. Put another way, the Musicmen permit an average of 17.67 more shots by the opposing team than they take.
Nobody's surprised.
We sat down with Dayton GM for a Q & A after the loss to Halifax earlier tonight. Here are the highlights of our discussion.
HN: Tell me where your team is right now.
BC: Uh, we're currently in Halifax Nova Scotia. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning for a game in Calgary next Monday night.
HN: They said you could be funny.
BC: Funny how? Like I amuse you?
HN: Seriously, how do you assess your team right now, after game 27 on the season?
BC: Not counting our rookies, of which only Dickinson may have a serious shot at an NHL career, I think of the other 17 guys on our roster I think about four of them may have a job here in 3 or 4 years. The other guys are placeholders until our next batch of kids arrives.
HN: Care to name the four?
BC: Larkin, McCann, Ryan and Severson. Vanek would too, but he's a UFA as incoming netminder Mike Smith will be and we don't think either of those guys will return next year either.
HN: Anyone who you didn't name who could surprise you?
BC: Yeah, I'll give you a name. Matt Nieto
HN: Why him?
BC: Despite his having zero points in his 11 games played so far, I think he has something we like a lot. He's played just 4 games in the NHL this season for the Avs, but has 3 goals. If he can maintain anything remotely close to that production, we'll make a space for him.
HN: Let's talk about the rest of the CCHL for a bit. Can anyone catch the Chinook in the Corfield Conference?
BC: I don't think so. I know that team uh, very well, lol. They are the class of the conference and maybe the class of the league right now.
HN: Who will they play in the Corfield Finals?
BC: Well, on paper, it should be the Falcons. Whether it will be the Falcons, remains to be seen.
HN: And in the Canosa Conference?
BC: I think Hamilton and Reykjavik should meet in the Finals, but they've got a couple teams like the the Isotopes and the Icecats - and the Islanders too that could end their seasons. Don't forget about the reigning Canosa Champs, either. Kash has a plan and came within a whisker of winning it all last year. It's an amazingly competitive conference.
HN: Any thoughts on the eventual Finals?
BC: Yes, we won't be in them, lol... Springfield has a goal differential of +25, Hamilton has one of +41. Rek has +34. They're the top three teams in that conference in goal differential. Look at Calgary and Fort Erie. The Chinook are +60, the Falcons are +42.
HN: That tells you what exactly?
BC: CGY and FOR are, on paper, very, very good teams. The Corfield Conference is a LOT weaker than the Canosa Conference is. Right now, only the Chinook would be certain of a playoff berth if they played in the other Conference. So, CGY and FOR may look a little better than they are. Conversely, the teams over there may actually be better than their record shows.
HN: Doesn't Intra-conference play begin soon?
BC: Yes, six days or so.
HN: Can't wait to see CGY and SPR or HAM play.
BC: It should be fun.
HN: Who is the league MVP so far?
BC: I like the Rackell kid for Wisborg a lot.
HN: Why?
BC: He scores goals, has a great shooting percentage, has some sandpaper to his game.
HN: Looking into the future, let's say 3 years. What will your starting five and goalie look like?
BC: Hmmm. Well in nets, we see Subban as our goalie of the future. Up front, we see a top three forwards of Larkin, Janmark and either McLeod or Studnicka. On defense, we've got so many exciting kids on the way. Let's go with Chabot and Sanheim.
HN: After acquiring all these draft picks for the next two drafts, what are you up to now?
BC: Seventy five picks currently in the next two CCHL Entry Drafts.
HN: Seventy five?
BC: Seventy five, yup.
HN: It's been said that most of them are 7th round picks or worse, the chances of a player drafted in the last few rounds of the draft are very small, no?
BC: You're correct. However, keep in mind, the NHL has 31 teams. The CCHL has just 22. Once you get into the actual CCHL draft, we think those picks we have will carry with them some hidden value. We've beefed up our scouting department for this coming draft and our goal is to find some hidden gems, some kids who may in time, crack a CCHL disk someday.
HN: Who are the best three kids in the next draft?
BC: Hmmm, I'd say right now Dahlin has to be there - he's so good and so smart. Joey Veleno out of Saint John in the Q should be taken very early. I also like the Tkachuk kid playing at BU right now. Who knows?
HN: Thank you very much for your time, Bill.
BC: My pleasure, let's do this again.
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