Game Day: Quesnel at Trail

"It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner,
when you're number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you're
not a winner."

Vince Lombardi

Tonight starts a big weekend for this year's edition of the Trail Smoke Eaters. Obviously game 6 of the season isn't "do or die" but it's important. Win or lose tonight the Smoke Eaters have to show they have the right attitude to win. Now I say that, but a win this weekend is absolutely vital. Frankly they really could use two of them. As Vince Lombardi said, "confidence is contagious, so is lack of confidence."

The Smoke Eaters need to remind themselves that they are good hockey players and have what it takes to win. They've all done it at one time or another... at one level of hockey or another. There's a reason they're here. There's a reason the coaching staff got several calls this week telling them to keep their chins up and this talented group will come around. This is not a basement team. These guys have a lot of pride and a lot of skill. They just need to remind themselves of that and have some fun again.

Quesnel is not a "weaker sister" team this season. If you look over their schedule so far you won't find any blow outs. This is a team that fights, scratches claws and battles for everything. They won't give you an inch out there. They've also got a very dangerous top line and some solid young players. Don't expect two points because they're wearing the powder blue. They'll make Trail earn that first victory. Now these boys in the orange and black have to show that they can do just that. Hopefully we'll see a big crowd out tonight and tomorrow afternoon (against Williams Lake) to help them right the ship. It should be a good one.

Here's Coach Ingram on the roster changes yesterday and righting their attitude...

Smokies Coach and GM Jim Ingram

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Smiley to Trail, Murtagh and Malenstyn Released

(Kiefer Smiley)

Late breaking news tonight that the Trail Smoke Eaters have made a change in goal. Devon Murtagh and the Smoke Eaters parted ways today as the veteran 20 year old goaltender just could not get his career in Trail off the ground. Everyone I talk to about Murtagh stresses how classy and mature he is. I know Jim Ingram told me today that Devon will succeed at whatever goals he decides to pursue in life, and they're very disappointed that it didn't work out in Trail. That being said, the goaltending tandem will now change as the Smoke Eateres have acquired Kiefer Smiley from the Cowichan Valley Capitals for future considerations.

Smiley went into this season as the starter for the Capitals but seems to have been supplanted by the arrival of 16 year old Laurent Brossoit from the WHL. Kiefer is a goaltender Coach Ingram knows well as he coached him as a 16 year old in the VIJHL. Smiley had a very successful season under Ingram with the Kerry Park Islanders and I know Jim has been following his career ever since. For Kerry Park, Smiley had a 2.86 GAA and 89.31 save percentage in 32 games as a 16 year old. Smiley spent last season bouncing between Cowichan Valley and Quesnel as the Capitals loaned him to the Millionaires when that northern squad ran into some serious injury troubles between the pipes. Perhaps this move will give Kiefer a positive change of scenery and a chance to establish himself in one place.

Two seasons ago as a 17 year old Smiley had a save percentage over 90% in over 30 games. He can play at this level. Ingram expects him and Garrett Beckwith to form a very solid tandem for the Smokies that will give his skaters a chance to win every night. He also mentioned to me that he's very happy with the way Beckwith has played while under siege every night recently in the Trail net. The compete level is something Ingram stresses when discussing both of these goaltenders. He says Smiley is excited to come to Trail and may even get into one of this weekend's games.

There was also another move today as the Smoke Eaters sent Matt Malenstyn home. Malenstyn gamely converted to forward this season after playing his entire career on the blue line. He worked his butt off to try to make it work, but it appears the experiment in Trail at least is over. I hope that this hard working and classy young man gets another opportunity to take his career to the next level. There should be plenty of chances for a 6'7 monster who has the right attitude.

I know I personally hate to see anyone go and can't imagine how hard a GM's job is at this level. I wish both Malenstyn and Murtagh the absolute best of luck in whatever they end up doing next. As for the Smoke Eaters, they need to put a smile (Smiley?) on their faces and force themselves to enjoy the game again this weekend. Suck it up and get that losing vibe out of their system. We'll see if these guys have the character to fight out of this hole and play the hockey they are capable of this weekend at home.

I'll see you at the rink tomorrow night against Quesnel and Sunday afternoon when Williams Lake is in town. Tune in to Mountain FM just after 8pm tonight for an interview with Coach Ingram on tonight's changes. It'll be up on the blog later.

Malenstyn Interview

(Malenstyn at spring camp - Photo Randy Emery)

I told you last week about the addition of big defenceman turned forward Matt Malenstyn. The 6'7, 255lbs Surrey native was my guest on Mountain FM's Overtime recently. I also had a chance to talk to Smokies Coach and GM Jim Ingram on Malenstyn's addition.

Malenstyn on Mountain FM's Overtime

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Jim Ingram on Malenstyn

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NOTES

...Word from a couple of sources today that former Smokies Coach Tom Renney is not only the associate coach for the Edmonton Oilers, but he is lined up as the heir apparent for Pat Quinn's inevitable retirement. I read a couple of reports that indicate if Quinn steps down before or after the three years in his new contract are up, Renney will be given the head coaching job. Of course that's easy for them to say now. A lot of that will depend on how the team does with Quinn and Renney at the helm. I'm looking forward to watching. That's a lot of experience behind one bench. A lot of class too!

...A couple more coaches have been hired in the BCHL over the last week or two. Victoria hired Victor Gervais to take over for Geoff Courtnall. Gervais had been an assistant with the Grizz. I've read some comments from unhappy fans who wish the search had been extended outside of the organization. That being said, those in the know obviously got a pretty good look at how Gervais handled himself and they liked what they saw. He'll certainly get his chance with a whole new group of players after Victoria tried to load up for the RBC Cup this past season.

...The Williams Lake Timberwolves have hired their first or second head coach depending how you view it. Brad Fox was going to be in charge there before they parted ways at the start of the off season. Fox went back to Revelstoke in KIJHL and appears to be out of the job there too. Troy Mick's group bought the team and Mick is now going to be the Coach and GM there. The KIJHL is sure collected a talented group of coaches. As for the Timberwolves, they hired Okanagan Rockets Major Midget Coach Dave Dupas. It's taken Williams Lake a while to get their man in place, but he certainly sounds qualified and driven.

...As a result of Dupas leaving the Rockets for Williams Lake, Westside assistant coach Misko Antisin will be leaving the Warriors to take over the Major Midget job. Congrats to Misko who was always very easy to deal with and clearly knows the game. I know he'll be missed in Westside.

...It's interesting to note that in both Victoria and Williams Lake these new coaches won't be handling the GM duties. That makes it easier for them to concentrate on coaching, but they won't necessarily have the guys they want in the dressing room. I wonder sometimes which way is the best way to go at this level. It seems like most of the coaches want to control the roster as well.

...I believe all of this movement leaves Quesnel as the only team who has yet to name their Coach. The Mills seem to have new ownership in place and the hope of a new building. They have Trevor Hertz and Jeff Malcom coming back to form a great duo to build around. They also don't have a coach and it's nearly June! Get moving, guys! (Unless I missed the announcement in which case I'm the dolt... it happens)

...It looks like the playoff format is changing for the 2009-10 season. The first round should end up being a best of seven. There is also talk that the league will change how many teams qualify for the playoffs as well. Details should emerge when they ratify those changes at league meetings. I think it's a great move. In the two years I've called Smokies games they've ended up losing money from making the playoffs because they didn't get at least two home games. Of course you don't aim to get swept, but if teams can at least get two home games each they can more reasonably budget for that.

...A quick note about attendance. After the recent AGM, the Smokies have said they could likely guarantee a profit every year if only they could pack a 100 more fans into the Cominco Arena for each home game. It seems like the attendance every year has been within the mid 900s but never really above 1000 recently. Outside of simply winning games does anyone have some thoughts on ways to encourage more people to come check out the best junior hockey in the region? Shoot me an e-mail at shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com and I'll pass it along to the team. There are no bad ideas, right? OK maybe there are... but it's worth a shot.

Look Up - WAAAAY UP (Malenstyn to Trail)

(Malenstyn on PIJHL.com)

The Trail Smoke Eaters just got a lot bigger. 6'7, 255lbs Matthew Malenstyn committed to the Smokies after attending their spring camp. Malenstyn impressed me with his play as an AP for Trail during the coastal trip this past season. For someone who hadn't played at the Junior A level, he stepped into the line-up and didn't look out of place. He made several good plays and I can only think of one specific time when someone was able to use their speed to beat him. One Trail player told me at the time that Malenstyn had outperformed several of the veterans on the club in those games.

Malenstyn moves well for a big man and one of the first things Jim Ingram told me about him when we discussed the commitment was how good of an athlete the Surrey native was. Ingram believes there is a lot of untapped potential in him. Malenstyn believes it as well. He's busting his butt in the gym and on the ice already this summer. He's also working hard with coaches and trainers on the coast to learn a new position as the Smokies plan on using Malenstyn primarily as a forward.

That's certainly a change for Matt after spending the past two seasons as a defenceman in the PIJHL. However, Malenstyn and Ingram are confident he'll be able to learn the new position and provide versatility in case of injuries or penalty trouble. A player is hurt or kicked out of the game? Malenstyn can drop back to the blue line. Injuries build up on defence? Malenstyn can play a few games on the back end to fill in.

As for why Ingram is moving him up front, part of it is the depth that Trail has on the back end (with returning players and strong recruits) and the other part seems to be the physical element that Malenstyn can bring. Ingram expects Malenstyn to win a lot of battles in the corners, toss out some big bruising hits and clog up the front of the net. Who is going to be able to move a man that big when he parks his butt in front of the goal? We saw how well that can work in the Chicago/Vancouver series.

A couple of people I've talked to about Malenstyn instantly said "oh this guy is just going to be a goon." That's not the case. Certainly he'll be willing to stand up for his team. His 177 penalty minutes should show that. However, he's not one dimensional. He put up 13 points and scored 6 times from the blue line last season. Malenstyn tells me he's working on a shot that clocked in the 90s. The raw skills he has were enough to get him some invites to WHL camps that he passed up to come to Trail. This is someone who only really started taking hockey seriously in the past few seasons and that dedication is moving him in the right direction.

I'll have an interview with Jim Ingram on Malenstyn tonight on Overtime. Matthew will join me on the show tomorrow or Thursday.

NOTES

...Congrats to former Smoke Eater Lucas Bloodoff and the Kelowna Rockets for earning a spot in the Memorial Cup finals. The big game is on Sunday and I'm sure everyone out here will be cheering for the Bloodoff Brothers and Kyle St. Denis in that one.

...Seems like the USHL is trying to raid the BCHL talent pool this off season. Their draft included a number of BCHL players. Can you really blame them? The BCHL is proving itself to be the top Junior A league in Canada with loads of talent that will move on to the NCAA and eventually pro hockey. That being said, it's a little frustrating that a team could conceivably come along and just pluck someone away that another team developed. We're not talking about Major Junior vs. Junior A here. If the USHL is a Junior A league and we're partnering with them in ventures like the World Junior A Challenge perhaps we should work out a more reasonable player transfer agreement that isn't just a little bit of cash. Might even be fun to set up a battle between the USHL champs and the RBC Cup winners. I just don't think it should be open season on CJHL players for them. Of course I say that from a slightly biased position.

...Look for the BCHL to go back to a schedule that includes a visit to each team in the league for this coming season. Thank goodness! It didn't seem right that we didn't get to visit Vancouver Island last year.

...Geoff Courtnall stepped down as coach of the Victoria Grizzlies. Now that it seems obvious he wasn't staying for the long term I wonder if it wouldn't have been better for the team to hire a career coach for their important RBC Cup season. Just another team now looking for a new coach. It's been much busier on that front this off season than it was last.

...Pittsburgh in 6 and Detroit in 5.