[sureLoss]

gone through a lot of adversity this year
thrilled to be one of teams in the playoffs
lots of talk about Franchise type players like Eichel and McDavid and tanking
when you allow or say it is okay to loose, you can never say it is okay to win

from day 1 Bob has been saying we want to be a playoff team
this was the goal from day 1
developing young players and adding assets was critical too
but whenever you put on the skates the expectation was to win

jokes he is not a hugger when hugging players after clinching
wanted to make sure it was tight knit locker room
character is really important and it is a room full of character
easy group to cheer for

how come he was so scared about scoring at the start of the season?
every season you pencil in line ups and goals and goal differentials
every year you need surprises
had a lot of career years (Monahan 30+ years, Gaudreau's year)
blue line chipped in goals
overshot his expectations

slate is wiped clean on Wednesday
need people to chip in for the playoffs

in for a really hard test against a good team
Van's D group is playoff tested

excited to see how group reacts in the playoffs
as difficult as the game was on Thrusday, the rpms rev up in Wednesday
young players need to step up along with the veterans

development through success is critical
the experiences they have gone through in the last few months have been crucial
need to experience the pressure and preparation of playoff games, can't vocally teach that
everyone looks good when there is nothing on the line
playing in the environment that they have been in the last few months and then taking it to the next level is critical

looked at all the scenarios for Sam when they sent back to Kingston
decision was made and Sam is part of the rest of the season
Bob's job is to ice the players that will give him the best chance to win. If Sam is one of those great, if not he will wait his turn.

little bit more leniency with rules on call ups where the can sub out call ups after regular season
but can't airlift 10 guys from Adirondack until their season is over
want to create a successful environment in the AHL
for most of the year was that, but call ups and injuries...

#1 concern with Gio is health
don't get ahead with thinking he will be back... still a long road ahead
Mark is the soul of the team
is his presence around the room is invaluable and was around the team since he was injured

all injured players are day to day and are doing fabulously

Hathaway is a RW, which they are not deep in
in a lot of ways he is everything they want the team to be about
wanted to sign him in Phoenix
month later when he got job in Calgary called Hathaway and ribbed him about thinking he could screw him in Phoenix
fearless player, work ethic, shares similarities with Lance Bouma
great feat to score close to 20 goals in the AHL
contract starts next year
2nd fittest player at training camp after Giordano
will be a Black Ace when Adirondack's season ends
expects him to come to next season's training camp and compete for a NHL spot

all our guys at frozen 4 played well
excited all of them got to experience a championship game

monitoring situation with Gillies
really important for Jon to enjoy the moment
want him to experience that... knows that team is really close
could have news to announce in a few days