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Welcome to the 2nd
Edition of the BTHL Insider. We got a good
response from the 1st edition, so therefore, the
Insider will be published. Now I was asked to do
this right off the BTHL web site, but I feel it's
better for it to be separate
from the site. And on top if that, now both
Insider's from 2 different leagues will be
implemented so you can have more then just one
e-news to read up. So let's begin...
The Jackals didn't
have a good start in the pre-season, but there 1-1
right now, I'm sure the GM of the Jackals realized
it won't be that easy to defend the championship
this time around...
The Moncton Wildcats
traded away a lot of stars away when the new GM
took over, which might have suprised a few,
wondering why he'd give away talent. Moncton
wanted to go towards a youth movement, but in the
same time, keep key players and so far it's
working. They finished 3rd in the pre-season and
there 1-0 in the regular season...
Here is a few related
news that we received a while back...
Rebelato unimpressed with sloppy
finish
05/13/2004
This
exhibition season started off well for the
Marauders…a 4-1 record, the unexpected goal
scoring of Jochen Hecht, great goaltending by
Miika Kiprusoff, and a brilliant penalty kill. But
the reality of a poor defensive core caught up
with the team as they finished the preseason going
0-5 and allowing 23 goals against in those 5
games.
Chicago
has since dropped from the top in penalty kill to
13th, at 84%,which isn’t surprising considering
the average of 19.8 penalty minutes per game. The
team has repeated last year’s physical play, but
it’s cost them losses…losses which won’t be looked
at lightly by management in the regular season.
The obvious solution to the problem is to bring in
better defence to compliment the gritty trio of
Jaroslav Spacek, Sean Hill, and Jon Klemm. A
piece of that puzzle was put in place earlier
today bringing in veteran defenseman Eric
Desjardins from the Mercenarie for the Marauders
first round pick, and young prospect Shaone
Morrisonn.
“We felt
that Eric brought some leadership and great
defensive skills to the team, which is something
we were sorely lacking last year, and into
exhibition play this year”, Rebelato said
regarding the deal.
Though
some may criticize dealing away prospects to make
this team older then it’s already average age of
32, obviously something had to be done. Now
the question remains, is Rebelato done his
preseason dealing?
“We’re not
desperate to dump anyone we have right now”, he
said when asked about the possibility of some
Chicago players being dealt, “but if the right
deal comes along that will benefit this team, I
will not hesitate to pull the
trigger”.
It’s easy
to see the possibilities of trades with the depth
the Marauders have in goal and on the wing. With 3
good goalies vying for only 2 positions, one of
these goalies could be on the move, but which
goalie(s) has impressed Rebelato most in the first
10 games is something he’s not ready to
divulge.
“I don’t
believe our struggles in the last 5 games were due
to poor goaltending, so none of these guys is in
danger of losing the starting position because of
the performance in preseason”, Rebelato
said.
On the
surface it seems hard to believe that Johan
Hedburg will be in line for anything more then a
back up position on the team, which is exactly
what he was brought to the city to do. That leaves
the choice of starters between the young
Kiprusoff, who played some great hockey in his
starts, and Chicago’s MVP of last year, Sean
Burke.
“It’s not
really something I worry myself over”, Burke said
regarding keeping his starting position, “that’s a
management decision…I’m going to go out there and
play the best hockey I can play, and that’s all I
can do”. Assuming the starting position is
between Kiprusoff and Burke, one of these guys
will not be happy, and could be used in a
potential trade to bring in more
defence.
So, while
the goaltending saga continues here in Chicago,
there is still a decision to be made. Perhaps it’s
a problem that other GM’s would be envious
of…picking two of three great goaltenders, but
it’s a decision that could make or break the
season, and ownership’s opinion of Jason
Rebelato.
So, let
the games begin, or in this case, the
trades.
Marauders look towards veteran
leadership
05/03/2004
In this year’s off season, the Chicago
Marauders made some key moves solidifying a
well-rounded offence, which on paper seems to have
the ability to roll effectively on 3 lines.
Though many other BTHL teams have made moves to
change the very appearance of their rosters, GM
Jason Rebelato felt it necessary to keep together
the core talent, and attempt to build around
it.
“I was proud of the way our guys played
last year”, he told reporters, “but I felt certain
changes needed to be made to improve on our
progress.”
One of those “changes” included Radek Bonk
going to the Mercenaries in exchange for two
young, talented forwards, Jan Hrdina, and Scott
Gomez.
“It was more then I was planning on
spending, but I knew that having those guys in our
lineup would spread the offensive skill more to
our second and third lines”, Rebelato went on to
say.
In an eight man deal made shortly
thereafter with the Mustangs, the other one third
of Chicago sniper, Glen Murray’s line was sent
packing. Geoff Sanderson was traded, along
with Marik Malik, Justin Papeneau, and Claude
Lemieux in exchange for Todd Simpson, Scott Young,
Rob Neidermeyer, and the return after a one year
absence from the windy city of Tony
Amonte.
“There was never a question of Tony’s
skill,” Rebelato said regarding trading the
veteran right winger just one year ago, “I came
into a team that was over budget, and needed to
cut some corners. Tony understood that at
the time, and I know he’s happy to be back in
Chicago.”
Amonte’s 61 points of last season will help
the Marauders as they try for a more offensive
minded strategy. But his skills did not come
cheap, as Rebelato was forced to make Amonte the
highest paid player on the team, even topping Glen
Murray’s 900, 000 dollar
salary.
With the inevitable ice time that will be
given to young forwards Jochen Hecht and Alexandre
Daigle, as well as the off-season acquisition of
veteran Theoren Fleury, this team will have much
more depth then they did last year, which will
make for an interesting challenge to some veterans
like Scott Young, Randy McKay, and Rob Neidermeyer
to prove their continued worth to the
team.
In a move to perhaps take the pressure off
star goalie, Sean Burke, Rebelato quickly made the
deal to pull in a third goalie, Johan Hedburg,
shortly after the team’s first round
exit.
“I felt there was too much pressure on Sean
to be the star of the team day in and day out”,
Rebelato responded, “The hope is that Johan can
relieve some of that pressure, and maybe push
Miika [Kiprusoff] to be the kind of player we know
he can be.”
Perhaps for some teams in this off season,
three trades should be just the beginning, but
until Jason Rebelato is proven wrong, he seems to
be content to sit on the team he’s re-built.
The Marauders look to continue as the gritty, hard
hitting team they were last year, and with the
additions on offence and between the pipes, this
should be a step in the right
direction.
We heard that in Hamilton, Keith Primeau is
the latest veteran to ask for out of Steeltown. On
the heels of dealing Peter Forsberg, Dominik
Hasek, and Sergei Gonchar, the veteran has also
asked to be moved to a team that is more 'short
term orientated'
"We'll try to accommodate
Keith as well as we can," spoke GM Stephen J.
Holodinsky, "but if we do move him it will be in a
deal that nets us at least two solid building
blocks for our future. If not we'll be just as
content to keep him. Keith is a team player and
I'm sure he won't let his dissatisfaction with the
direction the team is going in leak into the
dressing room."
Now this is it for the 2nd edition for now,
as you can see, we added new logos to your team,
so feel free to take a copy. There is 5 teams that
I couldn't get, I'm sure you can guess who you
are. When you do, please email me your logo, so I
can complete all 24 teams...
Don't forget to send me all your news to
theonlyvin@hotmail.com
so we can published them on the Insider... till
next time... | 
