2008-09 Calgary Hitmen/WHL thread

[604flames]

^^ any billets this year?

[West Karma]

nm

[moon]

Originally Posted by West Karma

Yeah, I have Jesse Craige - came over in the trade with Lethbridge for Cody Smuk. Great boy! Very well respected - so much so they gave him a letter!! Fellow Albertan but likes the Oil. I'll try to convert him to the Flames!!

I was surprised/disappointed to see Craige leave the Hurricanes but we have a ton of young guys that they wanted to get into the line-up this year so I guess he was the guy that ended up losing out.

He was very good prior to his knee injury. Hopefully, now that he has had more time to heal/recover he can return to that form and be effective for the Bruins.

Good to hear that he is a good guy as well.

[West Karma]

nm

[Resolute 14]

Hitmen recover from Saturday's disaster and beat Edmonton 4-1. This team gets a little too passive when protecting the lead though. Lowry needs to get that fixed or the Hitmen are going to get stomped when we start facing contenders.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by West Karma

An article written about Jesse recently in the paper out here....


A bad situation turned good

By Eric Welsh - Chilliwack Progress
.....

they’ve always been. A different, but happy family.

Great article! Thanks for posting that.

[604flames]

Got to see the Giants for the first time this year, looked good dismantling PG 7-3. Bouma had lots of energy, didn't score but played really physically and his line (with Craig Cunningham and Mikhail Fisenko) scored a couple times at least (can't remember who was out for the 3 goals Vancouver got from their D tonight).

Nice to have the 'Dub back, though the Hitmen don't come here until March and the Ice and Hurricanes don't come at all.

EDIT: West Karma nice story about Craige, hope he has a great year for you guys (he isn't drafted is he, maybe a Nick Holden kind of story?). I'm sure I'll see your Santo jersey kicking around the Coliseum in November...

[dionfan]

I was a fan of Craige when he was a Hurricane too, really the unheralded member of the d-core.

This Smuk guy they got back in the deal hasn't looked anything special IMO, I heard from somewhere he's supposed to be kinda like a Wuchterl in playing style, but I guess the season's young still

[West Karma]

nm

[The Ditch]

Hitmen got a lucky one last night, clearly a goal on the shootout against them, ref called it no goal, they ended up winning.

[Resolute 14]

Nope, that was not a goal. Spence stopped it right on the line. The puck was stopped dead, Herman took about 10 seconds to look and make sure, then waived the play off. The puck only crossed the line after that point when Spence got up.

It was an odd game, as you could argue both teams got lucky. Kootenay (SUCKS!) outplayed Calgary for most of the game, but entered the third down 2-0. Calgary probably should not have led that game at any point. At the same time, the Ice can thank a rather weak call against Postma that helped them get the tying goal. But then, it's Herman, so you knew those calls were coming. 3 on 3 hockey for the last 90 seconds of the game. Good job, Pee Wee.

[The Ditch]

Kootenay is so soft on offence a light wind would take them down. I don't remember them being this light on offence in a while but I didn't get out to see many games last year.

[604flames]

^^ how did Negrin look?

EDIT: yeah I agree on the soft on offence part as well The Ditch. They've lost a lot of guys the last couple years, and pretty much are going to rely on Bailey and Sylvester this year. May or may not work, but this might be the year that the playoff streak ends.

[Resolute 14]

Negrin looked like he was trying to adjust back down to WHL speed. Not bad, but not outstanding either.

Hitmen looked very, very good tonight in a 4-0 win over Medicine Hat. Spence with the bagel, and Kozun scored just a sick goal in the 2nd. Put the puck between the defenceman's legs as he skated around him, then roofed it short side. His 5th of the year already.

Big test coming up Thursday against Lethbridge.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Big test coming up Thursday against Lethbridge.

The Canes are still missing too many guys so it shouldn't be too tough for Calgary to win this one at home.

The Canes are still playing at least one defenseman up front, if not two and are missing their top guys. They have done a good job so far filling in and making it work but I think that with the Med Hat game on Sat you started to see the effects of too many guys playing roles they just aren't suited for at this point in their careers.

[Resolute 14]

Well, you called it Moon. It sure didn't help the Hurricanes that Calgary put together one of the most complete games I've seen from a hockey team in years. Dominated virtually every facet of the game, especially physically. Calgary finished every check, and completely destroyed their opponent in four of the five fights.

And nice game for Jones in his first game back after making a big impression on the Kings as a tryout. Jones impressed LA so much that they signed him to a three-year deal.

[LockedOut]

Any word on what the Hitmen are going to do with Spence. He wasn't even the backup the last two games. I know his status as an overager is a negative for him.

[604flames]

^^ Kamloops and Chilliwack both have overage spots open off the top of my head..


Good weekend for the Giants against a couple patsys.. 10-2 vs. Seattle and 7-1 vs. Portland.

[Flickered Flame]

Spence is almost guaranteed to be traded or released in the near future. The Bruins do have an overage spot open and apparently their goaltending hasn't been that great so far this season.

[Resolute 14]

Yeah, Spence is caught in a numbers game, which sucks because he played very well the first few games. But, with Jones' return, its pretty much guaranteed his last game as a Hitmen was that shutout.

6-0 on home ice already for the Hitmen. Now to try and win some games on the road.