Chippawa blog

 This will be my first entry in a new series. Like most other sports fanatics I am the armchair

quarterback, the coach on the couch, the pundit from the pantry, the…well you get the picture.

Reporting on the home town team has become something of an effort lately. The Crackerjacks went

from continually challenging for the last playoff spot to realizing over this past off season that while the

team was somewhat competitive and was continuously improving, it wasn’t going to be able to

compete at a high level by just plugging the holes every year. They needed a dramatic shift in

approach and although it is not the sexy thing to do, realizing that you just aren’t going to get there

with a hodgepodge mix of vagabonds and journeymen and committing to a proper rebuild was the

right thing to do. Now, that type of commitment doesn’t sit well with some types. Rumour is there are

GMs who have no interest in working with the Jacks GM on moving players in and out of the

organization. There seems to be plenty of activity in the league but not with regard to Jacks players

and prospects. A few earlier moves in the off season saw the Jacks acquire one of the better young

players in Mackie Samoskevich who will most likely be the top line RW as early as next season, but

for now he is spending his time growing his game on the Thundercats and waiting to see who his

future line mates might be.

Another acquisition that is more of a guess is Maxim Tsyplakov. Projecting originally as a 2nd line

winger he has stumbled out the gate this season and looks to be out of place. Potentially a bit of a

sophomore blip, but at 27 already he doesn’t really have time to take a slow approach. He needs to

break out and show he wasn’t a flash in the pan last season or lose his future position to someone

else. Speaking of that someone else….Bobby Brink has had a great start to his season. With his

engine pushing him to be as competitive as anyone could be at 5’8” he is showing that the old saying

“it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog” is something he takes to

heart. And heart is something he has a lot of. Originally slated as a long term 3rd line winger he may

be pushing himself into 2nd line minutes if he keeps up his production and all around play. The final

young gun to watch at this time is Mr. Minten. Yes, with the way this young man is playing right now

he deserves to be called Mr. Solid at both ends of the ice and making contributions where it counts,

even scoring the overtime winner, he has been everything hoped for and some. Most puckheads had

him at more of a 3rd line centre with potential 2nd line upside. This is a very real possibility for him

with being on a rebuilding team. He will get the opportunity without other younger studs forcing the

issue this season.

Finally, there are still some high value vets that the GM needs to make decisions on. Trouba had a

few down seasons in an organization that is continuing to seem in trouble from top down. A fresh start

looked like it reinvigorated Trouba and he looks to be slotted nicely now in the top four with a strong

partner. Up front and the current top line winger Rakell is still scoring at a high rate to start the current

season. Rated in the top 100 forwards he remains a solid option with high scoring and strong passing

skills he is a great fit for a scoring line and PP option. No doubt he will find his way onto a more

competitive team soon to help them in the playoffs. If that does not develop, the Jacks GM has said

he is comfortable re-signing Rakell at his reasonable cost for such strong productivity. Last but not

least we see one of the league's best PP quarterbacks still available for trade. Another player that the

Jacks would potentially resign in the right situation. The “Ghost” is working for a new contract this

season and as expected, the offensively talented defenceman with smooth skating and superior puck

handling is leading the leagues defencemen in points, assists, and +/- and looks to be on track for a

career best season.

We will have to wait and see what happens this first quarter of the season when teams will do an early

evaluation of their performance and take stock of what holes they need to fill.