What Went Wrong?, Part 2 - 07-08 · Tuesday May 27, 2008

Part 2 looks at the 07-08 season.

Was it a perfect storm? Did the coaching change, injuries, bad past draft picks, and a tough US division all converge together to make the record breaking losing? Or was it all part of a 4 year plan by Hawk management to set in place a team that can compete for a Memorial Cup?

The season did not begin well. 07-08 started with indecision about what to do with coach Mike Williamson. His contract was up and negotiations were not going well. As reported by the Portland Tribune:

President Jack Donovan says. “We were so close to getting it done, and then it fell apart, within a blink of an eye. Donovan says, Williamson and his agent decided they wanted some modifications, and principal owner Jim Goldsmith, also the director of hockey operations, balked at them. Sources say the offers continued some performance-based stipulations that made Williamson uncomfortable.

Donovan, referring to the second removed agreement, says “some issues came up as far as team and direction and philosophy … it was a different set of opinions, and we reached a point that we felt we weren’t doing the right thing.” A source close to the situation says the owners “were kicking (Williamson) in the teeth,” and that he had become disenchanted with the new regime.

From the outside looking in Hawk management seemed to want their cake and eat it too. They wanted Williamson through the rebuilding season, but didn’t want to commit to him if it didn’t work out. Had he come back, he would have taken the most blame (undeserving) for the problems with the team.

What went wrong in this scheme was that Williamson didn’t fall in and Hawk management had to scrabbled to hire New coach Rich Kromm. The delay of hiring the new coach doomed the beginning of the season. The Hawks started the season 3-15 before deciding a complete overhaul of the roster was necessary. This included one of the largest multi-player trades in league history.

Game 19 was the debut for seven new players: Three defencemen, Travis Ehrhardt, Ryan Kerr, Travis Bobbe and four forwards Jacob Dietrich, Nick Dietrich, Jason Grecica and Keith Voytechek. The Hawks trade 20 year old tough guy Frazer Mclaren, their best potential play maker forward Colton Sceviour with two young unproven defencemen Lucas Alexiuk and Ty Ariss.

Travis Ehrhardt was the center piece of the trade. The Hawks were desperate to get a play making defenceman at the time. From the backline they were getting no scoring and had one of the worsted power plays in the league. Travis Bobbee also fit that role of play making defenceman, but was injured at the time and wouldn’t play until near the end of the season.

Looking at the stats before and after the trade both players provided some offense, and at least a better looking power play.

Travis Ehrhardt Stats:

Season   Team    Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
----------------------------------------------
2007-08  MJ      WHL    18    3    9   12   27
2007-08  WH      WHL    54    7   22   29   53
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Travis Bobbee’s numbers were similar.

Season   Team    Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  
----------------------------------------------
2007-08  Leth    WHL    18    2    3    5   12
2007-08  WH      WHL    47    5    4    9   22
----------------------------------------------

This was an improvement for the Hawks (long term) but any expectation that the team would improve on-ice in the next 30 games was wishful thinking.

For the immediate future, the Hawks gain some good promising young defencemen.

For 07-08, the real season killer was injuries. Injuries were at a all time high. Riley Boychuck (promising young number 1 draft pick) and Brock Cornish was injured before the season started. Cornish was out for the year and the brief time Boychuck played he was not effective. Not having Cornish forced the Hawks to pull the trigger on the multi-player trade for Travis Ehrhardt.

The Hawks single worst injury was to 20 year old Kevin Undershute who was acquired from Medicine Hat and would have provided needed scoring and leadership. Kevin showed scoring ability for the Hawks immediately and within a blink of the eye had a shoulder injury. He came back later in the season but was never the same.

Kevin Undershute Stats

                                           
Season   Team    Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  
----------------------------------------------
2007-08  Hawks   WHL    18    6    6   12   14
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The Hawks through it all had some skill, grit and game but were out matched most every nite by the four other horseman of the US Division. Against the US division the Hawks could only muster 5 wins in 36 games. Against the rest of the league the Hawks added 5 wins in 28 games.

Record breaking losing can seriously affect the psyche of the fans, the league, and players. Give the young Hawks credit, through out all of the losing and controversy, last year the Hawks did not give up. With a few break this season the Hawks will be ready to experience some success.

— S. Blanchard

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Mucha Doesn't Want to be Traded · Sunday January 27, 2008

In Jason Vondersmith article in the SportsTrib Mucha states:

“I didn’t ask for a trade,” says Mucha, 18, a three-year starter. “I told them I hoped they would try to bring some players in and help me.

“I’ve been here for three years. It’s home, I have great memories, I like playing here, I’ve got an awesome billet, the fans have been good to me,” he says. “I’ve got nothing to complain about, other than we’re not winning. I don’t want to go anywhere.”

Donovan listened to Mucha’s appeal, and agreed with him: The Hawks need to be better next season, or find Mucha a better situation and help out the Portland roster by trading him for other players.

Mucha it is bad times for the Hawks. I am sure Hawk management is trying to turn over every stone to find the prospect that can make this team competitive, but so is all the other teams in the WHL. History points to many turn arounds and it will happen to the Hawks.

At the lowest point it seems at times hopeless. In the movie Wallstreet just before Bud Fox is takin away for security fraud he is given this advice by a coworker:

Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss. -Wallstreet (1987)

Mucha you are not falling in the abyss, but if it seems like you are, remember the fans support you and you are a quality kid. Leadership comes from within. Don’t look for your team mates to supply it. Play the game to the highest level you can. Some nights it just is not going to work out, accept it and move on to the next game.

If it were easy it wouldn’t mean anything anyway. In the big picture, the higher you go in the hockey world the harder it is going to get and adversity is everywhere.

Hockey is the ultimate team game and not one person even the goalie can make a losing team a winning team.

You only fail if you give up.

— S. Blanchard

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Hawks Pay USA Hockey for Colin Reddin · Saturday January 26, 2008

According to the Salem Statesman Journal:

The Winter Hawks, the Western Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey were able to strike a deal that resulted in the Winter Hawks paying USA Hockey a significant release fee.

While the exact amount will not be released, team president, Jack Donovan, called it “unprecedented.”

“Unprecendented” sounds like a lot of money even by WHL standards.

It seems that USA Hockey wanted to make an example of Reddin to make sure that USA hockey players are not going to leave USA Hockey to the CHL without compensation (pain) even though Reddin was originally signed by the Hawks and released to USA Hockey without a fee. If precedence was set to allow Reddin’s release, USA Hockey might be looking at further defections.

Hawk management was probably not in a good position to negotiate for Reddin’s early release. They needed to act quickly and not let this go on too long. They are desperately in need of players that can show some improvement and compete in this league. The second half of the season has shown a team spiraling down hill and not what the Hawks envisioned at the beginning of the season.

— S. Blanchard

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US Divisional News · Friday January 18, 2008

— S. Blanchard

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