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ChazyG
(The Next Level!)
USA
377 Posts |
 Posted - 10/12/2009 : 10:19:48 AM
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http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20091010/SPT/910110363/9
The defending ECHL North Division champion Cincinnati Cyclones will open the 2009-2010 regular season Friday night in Elmira. The team is still rounding out its roster, but coach Chuck Weber took time to answer some questions before his club took on Toledo in an exhibition game Saturday night in Toledo.
Question: Heading into Friday's season-opener at Elmira, what is it that sticks out about this team this year, perhaps compared to the past two years?
Answer: The amount of talent we have right out of training camp has been very impressive. I think this has been one of our most competitive camps. We're still making decisions even through (Saturday's) exhibition game. There's still guys battling for the last few spots on the team. And really, the character of this team has been fantastic. The work ethic day in and day out, I've really been happy with. So if these guys can continue this along with improvement, I like our chances throughout the season.
Q: Coming off a Kelly Cup championship in 2008 and a North Division title in 2009, does the pressure start to pile up to continue to have success even as the roster tends to roll over each year?
A: That's one of the reasons we tried to build this program the way it is. We wanted to be successful year in and year out, no matter who we dress and who we put in a Cyclones uniform. We want to have guys that want to move up to the next level. We want to have guys that want to compete night in and night out and when you have those types of guys, it's going to lead to success. So we have high expectations here.
Q: Speaking of that roster turnover each season, is it possible to have any kind of continuity with the program and how you operate as a coach each year?
A: It's tough. I know that from a fan's standpoint, you're cheering for the team. You're cheering for the chest and not so much the names on the back. We still have Barret Ehgoetz, who's been with us since Day 1. Scott Reynolds has been with us three out of the four years. At the same time, the fans grasp on to the Cyclones name. And the success that we've had in US Bank Arena and being one of the few professional sports teams in the Cincinnati area that goes to the playoffs year in and year out is something we've always taken pride in.
Q: The North Division has been realigned this season with some additions and subtractions in the ECHL. How is the schedule different this season in terms of division rivalries, especially with Dayton gone and Toledo rejoining?
A: Definitely losing Dayton is disappointing with it being 45 minutes up the road. It was a natural rival. Our fans traveled there very well and there fans traveled here very well. I think Toledo was a big rival for us our first year. We closed their previous building three years ago in the playoffs. I think Kalamazoo is going to become a new rival. It was definitely one from the old IHL days, so it's going to be fun going to that building a number of times throughout the year. Wheeling is always going to be a rival. Elmira has developed from a physical standpoint as a rival. So, it's going to be probably the best hockey in the ECHL.
Q: How is the roster shaping up with a week to go before the season starts?
A: There's still a lot guys battling for jobs right now. I think Barret Ehgoetz and Scott Reynolds are still two of the premier penalty killers in the ECHL. We definitely have some toughness in our lineup. We have experienced guys with a lot of years in the American League. We have a lot of potential offense with guys like a Matt Pierce who scored 24 goals in college last year. We think the tools are there. Now it's just getting everybody to play together on the ice and making sure all the pieces of the puzzle fit, as well as our goaltenders. We've got two young ones. Jeremy Smith was a second-round draft pick by the Nashville Predators. He's an exciting prospect who is going to grow in his game as well as Robert Mayer who is Czechoslovakian player and a Montreal Canadiens signing. These guys have world experience as well as successful junior careers.
Q: Your team is not playing with that Kelly Cup Champions patch on its sweaters anymore. Are there any advantages to not having that target sewn onto your chests?
A: I think last year it was kind of strange to have that patch even though most of our guys hadn't won that championship. You definitely have the target on your back. Every building we went in, if you happened to lose, it was like oh yea, we beat the defending Kelly Cup champions. I actually liked it. I embraced that last year. I mean, heck, we led the ECHL in road wins last year even having that patch. It's something that South Carolina is going to live with this year. We look forward to going down there and facing them again. But it's one of those things that this team wants to write its own story.
Q: It's a long season. But what kinds of things have to happen in the next several months for this team to regain that target by winning the Kelly Cup this season?
A: It's important for the group to come together, for everyone to kind of recognize their role and embrace it. It's going to be a huge key for our young players to understand what it takes to be a professional hockey player quickly. There's going to be highs and lows and the guys learning what it takes to be a pro. It's going to take having a lot of health, as well as call-ups and how we deal with that adversity when we lose a number of players to the American Hockey League and how we continue to win games. How the team deals with that will be a huge part of our success. We'll get the right group together next April to try to put another run together.
Q: The Cyclones following seems to have grown leaps and bounds in the last two or three years. How has this franchise changed since you've gotten here?
A: I think it's just become more stable. Within the sports community, I think it's become more recognized as a stable franchise. I think there was a misnomer when the team came back three complete seasons ago that it was going to be a flash in the pan, hockey couldn't work in this town. I think we've proven that hockey works in this town. I think we've put hockey back on the map in the Cincinnati sports community.
Q: As that following has grown, what kind of advantage does that provide your club on the home ice and has it become stronger as the years have gone by?
A: That home-ice advantage. They talk about it in sports, giving 110 percent. Well, your fan support at home allows you to give that extra 10 percent. The enthusiasm, you know, we have a passionate group of fans. We see them out on the street whether it's at a coaches' show, at an event or at the grocery store. They're definitely a loyal group that is with us though thick and thin. They travel well. It's really been refreshing to see the way the Cincinnati sports community has embraced us.
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