Wow, I really love how this organization shoots straight from the hip. (lol maybe thats why this is the Hip Shot Blog… ok … I think I’m funny occasionally anyway) so you know the drill… paraphrasing will run rampant because I take crappy notes and still have no recorder.

So we show up for the chalk talk and get right down to business. Panger’s patter was entertaining and informative as usual. GMDM did talk in his opening about the dismal home record, things they’ve tried to fix it and other odds and ends (very candid and honest about it… damn… I really, really need that recorder)

Fan question: What is the status of Blake Wheeler?

GMDM: right now we are not making much headway towards getting Blake signed but we are talking to his agent. Wheeler is very much a prospect, not someone we see as coming to the big club straight off and making an impact. He’s a very good prospect and we will continue to try to get him signed. If the contract doesn’t get done we have a *5th round* pick coming our way and that is good for the team too. *gotta confirm the exact pick… * probably like 2nd round (31st , or so pick)

a nice profile on Wheelie

Fan question: What is the status of Turris? Will we be seeing him soon?

GMDM: KT wants to be here really bad, its tough to keep him out. Definitely going to try to get him here, possibly for the last few games. It will still depend on his advisor and parents, but we feel he is ready to take some games with the club and is almost definitely a lock to be here in 08.

Turris profile

Fan question: What are our drafting plans/needs?

GMDM: Defensive depth. We have only Summers ready to go. We’re not sure if he will be coming out of school or not but we certainly think he should because he is ready. We have no one in San Antonio who is absolutely ready. The guys who are already up are doing a great job for us and will pretty much stay as they are, but in the next waves we are pretty thin. So we will be looking to draft some defensive depth. We do have Ross (very young and a work in progress) in the pipeline but we need more.

Chris Summers

Fan question: What about Vrbata? Are we working on a deal?

GMDM: Yes we are working with Vrbata’s agent but we have not gotten a deal done. Radim has been wonderful for us most of the season, we need him to continue to be that guy. It all really depends on Radim. If he performs well offensively thru the end of the season and we make the playoffs, he’ll get a contract that is closer to his agent’s wishes. If he performs subpar and we don’t make playoffs, the contract will be closer to our offer. We won’t over pay for anyone.

Fan question: What was up with the trade?

GMDM: Frankly Sjostrom was a fan favorite and a good young man but he was not achieving consistantly. It’s probably not fair but he was drafted very high and there were expectations that were not being met. Freddie needed a change of scenery to be quite honest. Hossa was in a very similiar situation, due to injury and NYR’s needs he was basically not getting much time there either. If he can get back into playing shape and find a bit of offensive touch, he will probably be back in 08. If not then he probably won’t be returning. And we will not be going after Marian Hossa at this time.

Montoya gives us flexibility. He gives us the extra depth we will need going into the future. He and Tordjman have very good potential and give the Rampage a chance to build a winning culture and the Coyotes two very good young goalies for the future. Gistedt will most likely be signed but most likely will continue to play in Sweden due to IIF rules.

some Monty stuff

Me: What about our other unsigned players? Kapi/Wellie & TQ in particular.

GMDM: No contract dealings have been started. We will get them going after the season and have everyone in place in the offseason.

Fan question: What about the Russian we got in the trade for Comrie?

GMDM: Kaigodorov has been looked at. He doesn’t really fit what we’re building anymore. He is rather small and is not setting his league on fire in Russia so it is doubtful that we do anything with him.

And that was it. Some chit chat in between but those are the basics. Teal took some pics.. which we will see after she gets back from her latest trip. The links are from thenhlarena.com Thanks to PopePogoII for the awesome effort at giving us a lil peak.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well everything you ever wanted to know about Tre was answered yesterday… and then some. We got the guy’s history and his stats from birth to now.

He gave props to GMDM for giving him a chance despite other guys having more experience in certain areas of the business but said that what he brings to the table will certainly help us get the secondary pieces (SA Rampage and Prescott Sundogs affiliates) in line with the parent company (Coyotes) agendas and goals going forward. So onto the talk…. of course it’s is paraphrased… I never have my recorder on me (hmmm I don’t even HAVE a recorder).

Guest: Can you explain Hitchcock’s statement that TGO is teaching an 80’s- 90’s old style of hockey to the kids? What is that style?

Tre: It is an attack style of hockey. It is much like a full court press in basketball. The system relies on putting so much pressure on the opponent that they make mistakes that we can capitalize on, while not making very mistakes ourselves. Heavily relying on the forwards for consistent pressure. It is a planned system and the players are getting better at it everyday.

Me: With Carci out 4 - 8 weeks (depending on his healing patterns and who is reporting his status) and Weller with a concussion, are we bringing anyone up from SA and who might that be?

Tre/Louie: Right now Craig Weller is DTD. He is still feeling a little bit of the symptoms but is progressing rapidly and should be back in action very soon. As for calling someone up, we are considering that but with the Xmas break coming up rapidly we are going to take our time to evaluate carefully before making that call. Probably won’t until after the break. We will most likely run with 7 Dmen and rotate forwards (meaning Wellie and Ziggy) for the rest of the games before the break.

 SIDE NOTE: Me and BTinAZ sat near Wellie during the game and he looks good so hope we will see him soon. Carcillo was spotted also, gingerly walking on his own power (sans crutches but with brace). *thanx Cindy for the Carci sighting*

Guest: How are players picked? What is the criteria?

Tre: We pick players by evaluating where they are on a certain skill set. How they skate, what kind of speed are they capable of, what kind of hockey sense they have and what kind of character they present.

Since most of these players are 17 -19 years of age we of course have to ‘project’ what kind of development they will have in each of those areas over the coming 2 -4 years (which is the usual development time before they would hit the show).

If we feel the kid has the tools and shows the right character and mindset, especially the character part, then thats who we want to groom and prep in our system to be a Coyote.  It’s a crap shoot in which we get it wrong a lot more than we get it right but those right ones make all the difference in the world to a team, the Hanzals and Muellers, McCleans and Porters.

Guest: Where does Rick Tocchet fit into the coaching plan? What differences will he make to the team?

Tre: He will ease the burden that only having TGO and Ulfie behind the bench has been. They, along with Grant have done a tremendous job but having one of the game’s most tenacious and determined grit players behind the bench will help with motivating and physically conditioning the young players. When Rick wants something done all it usually takes is that patented Tocchet look and the guys will get motivated in a hurry. If you think these guys are in shape now? just wait until February.

Guest: What is this team’s committment to success in the future? If someone targets our young core with an offer sheet like Penner, is the management willing to step up and keep them? How can we fans be sure that you guys aren’t just gonna get us all excited and then not keep these guys in place? What are you doing about Bryz for instance?

Tre: (a whole lot of talking about committment and circumstances… a small blurb about already talking to Bryz!’s agent… a lot of shuffling) then … Look, I’m not gonna stand here today and ‘promise’ you something. All of these things will depend on circumstances at the time. If we determine that a player’s best value lies in keeping him then we will make that effort to do so but if the good of the whole means losing that guy, we will get the utmost value for him and move forward. GMDM has a plan, a good plan, and we are in this for the long haul. We are building a team to win and be contenders far into the future and our young core is essential to that goal.

Guest: We got hosed in SJ, the officiating this season has been ridiculously inconsistent. What can be done about that? It seems like they have specifically targetted Carcillo.

Tre: *laughing and telling us about watching the game and obscenities and items being thrown around his living room* (I know I threw a few choice words and items myself)

The refs get it right 95% of the time folks. We see the game through a different lens. Our passion makes us biased. The refs are mostly neutral parties (it is hard sometimes for them as well when the captains are arguing with them about calls) but ultimately they call ‘em like they see ‘em.

Young players like Carcillo have to give the refs some respect. They deserve that respect. They are less likely to give a youngster a break when that ‘kid’ gets in their faces but look at what happened to Blake… even respected vets feel the wrath if they push the refs too far. I don’t feel like they are targeting Danny on purpose. His passion sometimes gets the better of him but the refs aren’t going to take crap from anyone when it comes to their jobs.

I didn’t get to ask what, if anything is being reviewed by the NHL and what the coaches can do to initiate a review of the ‘incident’ by the NHL. I think Bernier needs a vacation and a refresher course in not wading into a fight with his stick. I guess I can email Mossie with that one later.

Anyway… thats all I got… pics will be added later, when BTinAZ gets them up.