A look ahead to the Millionaires' 08-09 season and their season opener Friday in Estevan with Head Coach and GM Jamie Fiesel.CS: Coach, you went 2-3-0-1 in the Pre Season, I know your record's not first and foremost in Pre Season, but how did you feel the guys played?
JF: Well, I didn't like our first game (3-0 loss in Yorkton), and I didn't really like our last game (6-4 loss in Wayway), but in between, I was satisfied, we have some potential. By the end we were a little thin, we had some typical injuries at this time of year that everyone has. We found out Logan Herauf will be suspended for the first 3 games for a suspension he had in Midget "AAA" last year. We're going to be a little thin to start, so we're going to need everyone contributing, and for the most part we saw that during the Pre Season.
CS: And Herauf didn't look out of place did he.
JF: No he didn't, and he was good on the powerplay on the point, he's very good with the puck. Then we had Lind get a little tweak last game and all of a sudden your two powerplay point guys aren't there and it changes the dynamics of your powerplay. So we're a little thin going in, we're waiting for some guys to come back. As everyone knows, a lot of teams in the league are waiting for some players back. With the NHL starting later it pushes everything back so we're just going to have to be patient, go with the guys we've got and try and win some hockey games.
CS: Someone who really opened my eyes in the Pre Season was Michael Jordan. He scored 4 goals last year and he scored four goals this year in the Pre Season (led the Mils with 9 pts in 5 games). Maybe you don't expect that pace in the regular season, but can you see him elevating his game offensively and getting some powerplay time?
JF: Yeah absolutely. He's earned his time, this is his third year with us. He's come in shape this year, better than he's ever been. He's never going to be the speedy guy out there, but we bug him this year, that he doesn't even look slow. You add a little speed to that brain, he's got very good hands for a big guy, he sees the ice well and he can put the puck in the net. We see him being more of an offensive threat this year for us.
CS: And his cousin Tayler's and even bigger guy who's probably a little more mobile too. I'm sure you've been pleased with his play on the point.
JF: We really have. With Jordan Reeve breaking his leg to start the season, we put him back there on 'D', and he's been a real pleasant surprise, he plays with an edge, he's a huge guy, and he looks comfortable. He plays simple, gets the puck out, plays the man, and putting him back there together with Curtis Beech, I'm sure there's NHL teams who'd like to have that kind of size on the point.
CS: Can you address the goaltending situation? Travis Bosch played the bulk of the Pre Season, he's your #1, but you've platooned a few guys as recently as your last few games to be your #2 guy.
JF: Yeah, that's still a process for us. We're trying to find the right guy to fit into our situation. We've got a new guy coming in tomorrow again. When we get comfortable with that we'll settle down, but at this point it's still kind of an open game.
CS: Well we'll be on the bus and in Estevan Friday, lookin' forward to it and I'm sure you guys are too.
JF: Yeah we are. Estevan, if you look at their roster, they've got a lot of vets up front. I would see them being as strong as anyone in the south to start the year. They've got the potential of getting a couple more guys too. It's going to be a great test on the first weekend, nobody wants to start 0-and-2. With our big team in their small rink, I don't think that's a bad thing. We gotta go in there, get the puck out, get it deep, work them down low, and hopefully we can have some success.
-------------------
Fri/Sep/12: Melville @ Estevan 7:20/7:30 on GX94
Sat/Sep/13: Estevan @ Melville
No comments:
Post a Comment