Weller - B- Hard work and focus earned Wellie a place on the team and despite a few instances of identity loss (which got him benched) the guy was a horse out there, especially on the BigKidz line.

This is a character guy, quietly doing his job, no muss, no fuss. He doesn’t have the speed nor the best of hands, but he can develop chemistry and read his mates well.Personable off the ice, work ethic out the wazoo, this guy seems to be tailor made for the Coyotes. 

No one will forget his game against Columbus (taking out that many opponents in one go, stands as one of my favorite 2007 memories). The phrase Wellerized should be in the hockey dictionary. When he learns to apply that ferocious pugilism to protecting his teammates as well as himself, he’ll more than secure his spot on any team’s roster in the future. A nice 2 way contract should motivate him well.

The Locker Room Crew likes him as much as I do for the most part.

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Here we go again, Next up Joel Perrault
Perrault - C+ Joel showed flashes but could not find any consistency. There shoulda been more. If Joel can’t battle his way into and out of the corners, he better find a sweeter perimeter shot. His confidence on line w/ Doan and Mules allowed him to get to the net and finish some nice chances. Away from the first line he nearly disappeared. Where did the guy is this video go?

http://www.youtube.com/v/4WpqkqK1M7I

I once voted him 2nd most likely to get his brain bell rung (after Bill Thomas). The kid doesn’t keep his head up and doesn’t have a lot of strength for the puck battles. I’d look for Kapi to come away with the puck more than I would Perks. Once in a blue moon Perks actually hit someone and they felt it (a few more of these kinds of hits and you would have definitely seen a different grade).

http://www.youtube.com/v/QQi1ImAkPv8

and of course he really doesn’t throw down too well but he is game as hell about it.

http://www.youtube.com/v/fPjoHhBdaJc

The Locker Room Crew seems to think that performances like Joel’s were a major part of why the Yotes weren’t as successful as they could have been, but most would give the guy another chance at sticking with the team.

Locker Room crew Comments:

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KapanenB+/A- We all know the drill, he’s just so freakin small. But add another 3 inches to his 5 ‘ 8″ people, just in heart alone. Niko was the quintessential opportunist. Any loose puck around a scrum belonged to the Mighty Finn and there were very few that he failed to bury when opportunity knocked.

Being turned into waiver wire bait gave Niko that extra push to step up and we definitely benefited from it.

PK niche, chemistry glue for an errant line, desperation goal? Count on Niko. I really love the liil ninja but there may not be room in the inn for him w/ all the young talent needing ice time. I just have to hope we are looking to keep the vet to rookie ratios stable and Kapi will return for another year or two (more baby Yotes will be ready to rock after that and I suppose Niko’s time in the desert will be done after that). I will be sad then too.

Most of the Locker Room also had some things to say about the Mighty Finn:

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I was going to give Mattie an incomplete. But after talking to HTH and Pogo I guess he did play enough to show us what he had… and pretty much failed to deliver a lot.

Matt Jones - incomplete - no grade C-/C+ I just didn’t see enough of Matt on the ice to give him a fair grade . Jonesy struggled this season. Between his own lack of confidence and the desire of the brass to check out the kid (Yandle), Matty found himself in a pickle. He has no niche. He isn’t the most physical kid and he sure isn’t setting any opposing goalie’s heart aflame in fear w/ his scoring. No offense, no big hits, no big outlet passes and just mainly adequate defense.

But Jonesy has heart and the ability to learn. He isn’t afraid to take a hit and will actually lay one out if the opportunity jumps out at him. He’ll have to find some kind of aggression or at the very least a ‘jump in and punt’ mentality if he wants to survive in the NHL. I’d like to see him back again on a 2 way contract so he can spend some time down in San Antonio if needed.

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The Russian Pocket Rocket finally started to look like what he was supposed to be. Lisin draws the incomplete simply because we didn’t get to see enough of him. What we did see was seriously good. We’ve seen the lil Russian at his worst (2006, homesick, immature and defensively irresponsible) and I think next season we’ll see him on his way to his best. He managed to score 2 of his 4 goals against two of the hottest goalies in the NHL and went from his prior -18 to a more acceptable -5.

The lil speedster has potential in spades and has grown up tremendously. He can still draw a mean penalty w/ his speed and drive, but now he can find the back of a net and he can hold his own in corners and has become defensively sound (the biggest knock against the kid on his first go round, -18 is a big knock). Well, even though he draws an incomplete from me (with a heavy nod towards a B+ if I were to project his season off the handful of games we did see), I think we saw enough to expect the kid to be right in the thick of the roster race next season.

Comments from the Locker Room Crew were pretty much on target although some can’t get past… his past.

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This year I have finally gotten around to the final report cards for the team. I enlisted HTH and BTinAZ in formulating my initial grade but turned also to the denizens of the Locker Room for their thoughts and comments as well.

Mike York - C-/D+ from me. Despite playing on over 60 games and grabbing 14 points I have to give Yorkie a pass. he shouldn’t be picked up for the 08-09 season. There is too much young talent needing TOI next season for that to happen.

He was quite simply, too invisible in too many of those 63 games for me to do much else. I give him credit for effort and credit for his work down low, but beyond that I can’t help but think that he was a player past his A game on a team that required… no a team that DEMANDED, speed, stamina and bravado.

Yorkie was a good player in his prime, a leader and a go to guy. This season he looked rather lost among the host of youthful enthusiasts. He stood out a handful of times (the 12 player shootout and the GWG are my best memories of York) other than those times, I pretty much had to scan the bench area to see if he was on the roster any given night.

Opinions from the Locker Room Crew varied, but not by much…C+ was the highest and F w/ exclamation points was the lowest.

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We asked Coyotes executives Don Maloney (general manager) and Doug Moss (president) what they thought the NHL could do to appeal to even more fans.

Maloney: “I wish I had an answer. . . . The speed of the game is just phenomenal. How we can get more people watching - I think attendance around he league is pretty strong, and we hope to be better next year in Phoenix, but the television audience . . . the people at the NHL office are trying to get more people engaged in watching the sport.

“I heard some talk about bringing back the gold puck, technology to be able to follow the puck a little bit better on television. So much of the game is anticipating where the puck (is going) . . . When I watch a game, you’re not glued strictly on the puck.” . . . We get 12 (thousand), 15 (thousand), 18,000 people to come to your building, it’s not a problem. It’s that fan sitting at home and being able to turn it on and say, ‘Yeah, this is a great sport to watch for two hours on the couch.’ ”

Moss: “Television is one thing, and a lot of people have pointed to that. But TV is just a part of how fans get their information. What the NHL has done with nhl.com is a fabulous resource. For the future season-ticket holder, it’s about how they get their information and how they get their content.”

“Versus is on more TVs in hotels, restaurants and bars, I’ve noticed. It’s starting to really grow. . . . ESPN giving hockey more time, and adding (Canadian broadcasting legend) Don Cherry - maybe it’s an indication they’re willing to get back into the business.”

My thoughts?

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