The Hockey News Interview with Dayton General Manager Bill Corfield...

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.

###

Dayton's most recent trades...

A look at Dayton's most recent transactions in the CCHL...

OCTOBER 24th, 2017-

 FOR trades D. Stafford, Jonathan Ang-p, Kole Sherwood-p & SUD 4th-18 to DAY for J. Bailey...

Can Jonathon Ang Make the NHL?

Dayton takes Bailey, obtained in the Drouin trade with NIA and sends him promptly to his pal Matt in Fort Erie. (Ang & Sherwood are two interesting B level prospects. DAY also gets an early 4th rounder and veteran forward Drew Stafford, whom the Musicmen can really use up and down the lineup depending on injuries, matchups, etc. His experience is appealing to the very young players on Dayton.)




DAY waives T. Rattie & J. Jokipakka...

 (Waiver expiration date 10/30/17)...Jokipakka was signed for a 1 yr. deal but has been hurt more often than not. The recent additions of Girardi, Miller, Del Zotto, Sbisa and Chad Ruhwedel, combined with the fact that Joki won't even be on the disk next year makes him an easy waiver. Ty Rattie never lived up to his production he enjoyed in juniors or in the AHL. He too has been waived...

OCTOBER 25th, 2017-

Marc Methot moved to Halifax

DAY trades M. Methot & $1.71M to HAL for HAL 5th-19 & HAL 10TH-19...

Similar to Jokipakka in a way, Methot, a 32-year-old Dman was pushed out of a job by both the other younger dmen on Dayton and his salary of $4.9M in this his last contract year. Covering roughly half of his remaining salary due, DAY receives a 5th and a 10th in the 2019 CCHL Entry Draft. Better than nothing and saved some cash. Methot will be much more useful on a playoff-bound Hammerheads team, where he can play on the 2 PK unit and 3rd pairing.

DAY awarded D. Girardi via waiver claim...

Dan Girardi comes to Dayton

The claiming of Girardi was a stipulation of the Drouin trade with Niagara Falls. It saved the Thunder just under $13M big ones. He is under contract through next season, so look for him to be part of the 2018-19 Musicmen blueline corps. 

OCTOBER 25th, 2017-

Wing prospect Vili Saarijarvi

DAY trades $5M to HAL for Vili Saarijarvi-p, Emile Poirier-p, HAL 6th-19, HAL 7th, HAL 8th-19, HAL 9th-19, HAL 11th-19, HAL 12th-19 & HAL 10TH-18...

A straight cash for prospects/picks deal. DAY thinks Saarijarvi, a defenseman in Detroit's system currently in the AHL has sufficient upside to be acquired. Poirier is a bit of a sad case. After seeking help for an alcohol abuse problem, the former 22nd overall pick for Calgary in 2013 is reportedly past his roughest moments and embracing new habits. The hope here is that the young man reclaims some of the offensive sizzle that made him a late first rounder four years ago. In addition, DAY adds, even more, picks with six mid and late rounders in 2019, plus HAL's 10th in 2018. Dayton now has over 70 draft picks. Dayton currently owns over 28% of all the picks in the next two drafts. 

The Niagara Falls Trade...

Fireworks above Niagara Falls!!!

In Dayton, people talk about this trade on the street, by the office coffee maker, in chat rooms and as they wait in lines to pay for things at Speedway.

You can't seem to get away from it, its everywhere in hockey-mad, Dayton.

See what I did there? "Hockey mad Dayton."

Most of the opinion seems to be that General Manager Bill Corfield is being overly aggressive as he morphs the reigning CCHL champs into a cellar dweller for the next few years. A minority opinion views Corfield, a four-time Cup winner in the CCHL, as a forward-thinking executive who has consistently delivered a highly competitive team that holds most of the all-time CCHL Playoff records.

At the heart of the current debate is the latest huge trade between Dayton and Niagara Falls. Why in the world, if you're trying to rebuild for the future, why dump players like Barkov, MacKinnon and perhaps the most talented of that trio, Jonathon Drouin?

The "Niagara Falls" trade looked like this on the CCHL website's homepage two days ago...

DAY trades J. Drouin, $2M & Future Considerations to NIA for J. Bailey, J. Dickinson, T. Rattie, Jonah Gadjovich-p, Jack Studnicka-p, Andrew Mangiapane-p, CGY 3rd-18, NIA 4th-18, NIA 10th-18, NIA 11th-18, NIA 12th-18, NIA 2nd-19, NIA 3rd-19, NIA 9th-19, NIA 10th-19, NIA 11th-19 & NIA 12th-19... (Future Considerations = DAY would put waiver claim in for D. Girardi upon acceptance of this offer AND agree to take S. Doan at the 41 game mark)

Jason Dickinson, a former 1st rounder for Dallas, is currently in his 3rd season in the AHL playing for the Texas Stars. Dickenson, 22, leads the Stars in goals and is second on the team in overall scoring. He appears to be the first to be called up in the case of an injury or trade on the NHL Stars.

Jonah Gadjovich, a 2nd rounder of Vancouver in 2017, is back for his 4th season on the OHL's Owen Sound Attack. His offensive production almost tripled last season and he's off to a fast start again this season with 9 points in the season's first 8 games. The 19-year-old is likely 2-3 years away from the NHL.

Jack Studnicka,  just 18 years old, the Captain of the OHL's Oshawa Generals, is progressing nicely so far. Doubling his offensive output last season from the prior year, he's off to a strong start with 15 pts. in the first 12 games of the season. The Bruins drafted him 53rd overall in the 2017 draft and look for him to make a serious case for an NHL job next training camp in Beantown.

Andrew Mangiapane,  21, drafted by the Flames in the 6th round in the 2015 draft, Mangiapone had two brilliant seasons in Barrie of the OHL, and has transitioned well at Stockton in the AHL. If he can continue his solid play and above average offensive production, the Flames will have to give the diminutive forward a shot at some point. Though early in the AHL, he's tied for the AHL lead in scoring with 11 points in 7 games.

Five picks in the 2018 draft...
Six picks in the 2019 draft...

An anonymous Corfield Conference GM had this to say...

"I imagine the fans are just shocked at what's happened to their championship team. But if you browse through Dayton's prospect list, compared to what it was just 90 days ago, the impact and return of moving everybody out seem to be very, very promising. The Musicmen have over 60 draft picks in the next two drafts. They appear to be a possible lottery team."

"Give these kids a couple more years, Dayton's going to be just fine and they won't be down for long..."

Portland Pounds Musicmen, 7-1

In the past few days, the Musicmen have traded Brian Elliott, Nate MacKinnon, Jake Guentzel, Brian Doumolin to four different teams in the CCHL for eleven quality prospects and sixteen draft picks over the next two entry drafts.

As the game tonight between the Musicmen and visiting Owls drew near, reports on Twitter suggested that Jonathon Drouin was on the verge of being the next one out the door.

An anonymous source reports, "You could hear Drouin in the coaches office screaming at him about being scratched from tonight's game against the Owls. Jon wasn't happy about it and basically told the coach that he could screw off. He WAS playing against Portland. Sure enough, he got in the lineup..."

While it remains to be seen how the Drouin situation plays out, the situation tonight against the Owls didn't take very long to resolve itself.

By the end of the second period...at home at the Soundstage in Dayton...Portland led 7-0 and skated to a 7-1 defeat of the home team.

Dayton netminder Jeremy Smith took the blame for tonight's debacle.

"I just didn't have it tonight. Yes, it was a matter of focus and right now, most of us are having a lot of trouble bearing down. We've all seen friends get traded away, a bunch of them, that the team is filling holes with guys who aren't frankly that good. Guys playing way more minutes than they are used to doesn't usually bring very good results."

"I'll be better next game, I promise you..."said Smith.

A BIG DAY OF TRADES FOR THE MUSICMEN...

AP SPORTS - Dayton, OH

DATE: 10/21/2017

HEADLINE: DAY MAKES TWO TRADES FOR PROSPECTS/PICKS...

Two trades to report...

1) HAL trades M. DelZotto, L. Sbisa, T. Pulkkinen, Yakov Trenin-p, Christian Djoos-p, Sam Lafferty-p, Keaton Middleton-p, POR 3rd-18, HAL 6TH-18, HAL 7TH-18, HAL 8TH-18, HAL 9TH-18, HAL 10TH-18, 11TH-18 AND HAL 12TH-18 to DAY for $5M...

2) DAY trades J. Guentzel to MIN for B. Dumoulin, Luke Kunin-p, Robert Hagg-p, MIN 6th-19, MIN 10th-19, MIN 11th-19 & MIN 12th-19...

3) DAY trades B. Dumoulin to LAS for SIB 4th-18 & LAS 6th-18...

The first deal was a salary dump for the financially strapped Halifax Hammerheads. Between the salary relief Dayton provided by taking DelZotto, Sbisa and Pulkkinen (which amounts to about $12,000,000) plus the $5,000,000 Dayton sent the Hammerheads dramatically helps the finances in Halifax.

In return, the Musicmen obtained prospects center Yakov Trenin, a 2nd round pick in 2015 for Nashville. Defenseman Christian Djoos, a 7th round pick from the '12 draft is at age 23, getting regular shifts for Washington and 2nd among D in scoring so far on the young NHL season. Pittsburgh prospect Sam Lafferty, a Senior at Brown University, who was a Hobey Baker nominee in his Junior season and Keaton Middleton, a 4th rounder dman for Toronto.

Dayton also got eight mid and late round draft picks from Halifax's next two drafts.

The second deal of the day saw Dayton ship Jake Guentzel to the Norsemen for dman Brian Doumolin and prospects Luke Kunin, a center and former 15th overall pick in 2016 for Minnesota and Robert Hagg, a defenseman for the Flyers in the NHL at just 22 years old. Hagg was a 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft. Hagg has just been promoted to the Flyer's top D pairing with Ivan Provorov.

Dayton acquired four more draft picks from the Norsemen, a 6th, 10th, 11th & 12th from the 2019 CCHL draft.

The third and final trade saw Dayton move Doumolin to Siberia for two more picks, a 4th and a 6th rounder, both in the 2018 CCHL Draft.

To recap...

From the two deals swung today, Dayton acquired:

Three current NHL-ers (DelZotto, Sbisa & Dumoulin...)
One AHL-er (Pulkkinen- BTW, currently leading the AHL in scoring)
Six prospects (Trenin, Djoos, Lafferty, Middleton, Kunin and Hagg)
Ten picks in the 2018 CCHL Entry Draft
Four picks in the 2019 CCHL Entry Draft

Musicmen fall to Orrsmen, 3-1...

The Parry Sound Orrsmen knew they had a chance to leave Dayton, OH with two points.

They knew that  by watching the home team come out on the ice for the pre-game warmups.

"You could just tell, " said Matt Condon, the Orrsmen's starting netminder. "Usually when you come into Dayton, their guys are talking a lot, making jokes and being pretty social. Well, with all the trades they've made lately, nobody feels safe."

Former Musicman Cody Ceci agreed. "It's tough.I wasn't there very long, but it was one of the best dressing rooms I've ever been in as a pro. Guys were really friendly, the front office was amazing the way they helped me and my wife find a place to live, a good school for our kids. Dayton is known as one of the best run organizations in the CCHL. Management has obviously decided it's time for some big changes. The kids they're acquiring are good talents, but they're aren't going to be here for a couple years. Guys are on one year deals, and there's a lot of pressure to perform."

Tonight's game was a fairly quiet affair.

Parry Sound came out flying and before the end of the first period, had taken a 2-0 lead. The second period was a scoreless one and the two teams traded goals in the third, which gave the Orrsmen the victory and the two points they had hoped for.

"Well, no, we didn't play very well tonight." said Thomas Vanek." After Nate (McKinnon) was traded to the Isotopes, you could just feel the whole room kind of go into a daze of sorts. We are professionals. We understand what management is trying to do to secure the future of the franchise. Dayton is one of the smaller markets in the CCHL. Sometimes there are tough decisions to make."

Vanek continued.

"I've talked to some of the guys. I've told them we are professional hockey players. We get paid a crazy amount of money to play a game we've loved since we were kids. We need to do our best, keep our chins up and show up every night. It's not that hard."

(Article reprinted, with permission, from October 20th, 2017...)

Trader Sam: Reviews recent trades in the CCHL!

Good day to all the fans of the CCHL.

It's your trusty sidekick and old buddy Trader Sam back to review another week of transaction mayhem around the CCHL.  It seems that many of you enjoy my reviews, so let's get at this fast today.  I'm am to the CCHL what Aussie Man Reviews are to the video world, baby! 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...NIA waives D. Girardi...(Waiver expiration date 10/25/17)...
Gosh Niagara Falls finally bites the bullet on Dan Girardi.  Yes he's good at blocking shots but that's because he skates so poorly now he can't get out of the way.  Of course the puck is going to hit him.  In any event, a little birdy told me that he is going to be picked up by another team as they just couldn't let his shot blocking rating go to waste. 

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...SUD trades B. Sutter & B. Hutton to LAS for LAS 2nd-19 & LAS 3rd-19...
Ladies and gentlemen, Sudbury GM Terry James is a fine used car salesman!  He managed to get a solid return for guys that aren't going to help the Miners win a CCHL Kehler Cup anytime soon and he polished Ben Hutton up real nice before GM Watson drove him off the lot.

Sutter and Hutton help out Las Vegas quite a bit and are under team control for a long time.  Some may argue that the price was too high but given how they help Las Vegas, it's hard to argue against the move.

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...LAS waives J. McGinn, P. DiGiuseppe & J. Garrison...(Waiver expiration date 10/28/17)...
Good riddance to Larry, Curly and Moe.  This trifecta of press box food eaters is now free to another CCHL home.  With the salaries that McGinn and Garrison have, there's no chance they are claimed on the waiver wire while DiGiuseppe may be seen as having some upside still.  This is a case of out with the bad air and in with the good air for Las Vegas.

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...DAY trades B. Dumoulin to LAS for SIB 4th-18 & LAS 6th-18...
At the price of a fourth and sixth round pick, the acquisition of Dumoulin is at a fairly good price.  I think both teams did what they set out to do in this deal and it is a pretty even transaction.

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...SUD signs Be. Smith to a 1 yr., $650K contract...
Sudbury signs resident defensive forward Ben Smith for the remainder of the year to help them stay competitive and maintain a strong penalty kill.  He's not going to score a lot of goals for the Miners but that's not his job.  I'm also going to stop writing about Ben Smith now because he's Ben Smith.  This may be the most somebody has ever written about him.

CCHL LEAGUE OFFICES...DAY trades J. Drouin, $2M & Future Considerations to NIA for J. Bailey, J. Dickinson, T. Rattie, Jonah Gadjovich-p, Jack Studnicka-p, Andrew Mangiapane-p, CGY 3rd-18, NIA 4th-18, NIA 10th-18, NIA 11th-18, NIA 12th-18, NIA 2nd-19, NIA 3rd-19, NIA 9th-19, NIA 10th-19, NIA 11th-19 & NIA 12th-19... 
(Future Considerations = DAY would put waiver claim in for D. Girardi upon acceptance of this offer AND agree to take S. Doan at the 41 game mark)

You know how good it feels to be right?  Earlier in this column Trader Sam predicted that Girardi would be picked up and would you look at that.......it's hard being right sometimes.  GM Bill Corfield could certainly use the veteran defencemen given how banged up his group seems to be these days.

Also going to Dayton were fine prospects Bailey, Dickinson, Studnicka and Gadjovich.  Niagara Falls GM Bobby Nicol also was also able to deal about a million draft picks to Dayton in this deal to convince him to take Girardi.  The good news for Niagara Falls is they can put that order for a draft pick cupboard on hold since the cupboard is pretty bare pick-wise for the next year or so!

However, it's a pretty good deal when you consider that Niagara Falls was struggling financially.  Not only do they get rid of some high priced veterans, they also managed to pick up the sublimely talented Drouin in this deal which should pay immediate dividends. The only thing that could have been better for Niagara Falls is if they managed to convince Dayton to take the boat anchor known as Rick Nash's contract.