AT FIRST GLANCE

Have you ever wondered what the definition of “Old School” is. Websters Dictionary defines the term “Old School” as adhering to traditional policies and practices. In Hockey someone who is called “Old School” is someone who plays the game like they did in the past. Harding working, no nonsense, punch you in the mouth types of people. When Flyers Head Coach John Marks played in the NHL it was in a much different era then today. You didn’t play for the money, you didn’t play for a chance to be on prime time TV. You played for the crest on your jersey, your teammates and for pride.

The attitude that has come with the new man in charge in Flyerland is “No Excuses and No Regrets”. Never once has he said that the team will be more skilled then anyone else or that things will be easy. He has said that the team will work harder, hit harder, and the players that are lucky enough to earn their spot on the team will only receive what they earn. Right from the start of camp everyone has been on a level playing field. Whether you are a 20 year old veteran or a 18 year old rookie you will have to earn your stripes. I still remember one of the first conversations that I had with Coach Marks when he said that “Players must come here and ask me what can I earn, not what are you going to give me”.

Obviously with nearly 30 years of coaching experience and numerous championships along the way Coach Marks has learned a thing or two about deciding what kinds of players you need on a team to be successful.

At first glance the 2010/2011 edition of the Winkler Flyers seems to be pretty good. There is a lot of depth at forward with a good mix of speed, skill, size, and toughness. Goal scoring shouldn't be a problem.

With Peter Alexander and Reed Peters between the pipes I think that the tandem in Winkler will prove to be one of the best in the league. Alexander is a reigning All-Star and enjoyed a bit of comfort in goal last year with no one really pushing him.

Throughout most of last season it was almost a certainty that Alexander would get the start most nights. And that isn’t always a good thing. I think this year will be a lot different. Reed Peters is coming off a great year with the Pembina Valley Hawks. Leading them to the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League Championship and a finals appearance in the Western Regionals losing to the power house Notre Dame Hounds in that game.

According to many, Peters is one of the best goaltenders coming out of AAA Hockey. Coach Marks has assured him that he will get his minutes which will force Alexander to be at the top of his game. The blessing of having two great goaltenders is that the starter will have to be great to keep his job and the young guy will want to prove that he is capable of stealing it and both players will be better in the end. So that situation should be an exciting one to watch as the season moves along.

The defence on the other hand is the weak spot to start the season. Not necessarily because of a lack of talent but because of a lack of experience and a lack of birthdays. For the most part they are a very young bunch. It will take some time to get used to the speed of junior hockey and to the rigors of the schedule. Some of them are coming from High School hockey where their seasons are no more the 25-30 games long. Troy Kliever is entering his fourth and final year of junior hockey and will be the leader back there. Blair Osiowy and Devon Speiss are the only other vets on the blue line. So there are quite a few spots to fill back there and you can be guaranteed that just because the season has started that the search for that all important defensive talent is in high gear. Looking back at Sundays game though there were a few new guys that I thought did really well. A couple of Minnesota boys did really well in their Flyer debuts. Steve Sorensen and Nate Jose especially seemed to pick it up really well. It will be interesting to see how they develop as we move along.

There are a lot of things that make a team successful. The players on the ice is a big one. The coaching is also another big one. But the overall attitude of the team is also just as important as the people. The players are being held accountable for their actions. If you do something that you shouldn’t....you pay. If you are doing a drill in practice and one person isn’t giving it 100%, everyone does it again. They are being held accountable to not only themselves but their teammates as well. If everyone is working for the same common goal and its a goal that benefits the whole bunch then everyone will be more willing to do all they can to achieve it. Accountability and Honesty are two words that I have heard a lot in the first month and it is music to my ears.

Please let me know what you think and have your say by posting a comment. I know that Flyer fans are a passionate bunch and I want this to be a forum for all of us to share our opinions.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to your feedback.

Thoughts After Camp

(Head Coach John Marks)

The hockey season was dropped upon us over the weekend whether we wanted it to be or not. With temperatures hovering around 30 degrees on Friday 65 or so brave souls stood in line at the registration table and signed up for training camp. And when the two and a half exhausting days filled with 10 mini-games was over, I for one was pretty impressed.

(Mini-game coach Harry Mahesh smiling for the camera)

Trying to get a handle on how this season might go is a little hard to determine. In the past (especially last season) there was a boat load of optimism that didn’t really seem to pan out. And even though a great crop of 20 year olds are gone there is a new group at the core of this team the positive vibes surrounding camp this weekend are there, but in a little different way.

(a very tired referee....nice job Beattie)

The camp started off on Friday with a meeting with all the players, parents, and the coaching staff. And first year Flyers Head Coach John Marks took control of the situation right away. Although this was Coach Marks’ first Flyers training camp this is by no means the first time he has done this. When he began to speak you could get a sense right away that this is a man who knows what he is going to say, knows what he is talking about, and demands respect and attention when he is saying it.

(Ernie Sutherland, Ed Belfour, and John Marks)

The message was simple. You will work for what you get. Marks’ message right from the beginning of his career here in Winkler has been the same. You will have to earn everything that you get. There will be no freebies or undeserved ice time or any people just along for the ride. He relayed that message to the guys before they even hit the ice and almost immediately, it began to sink in.

Even though 13 of the 60 plus players had been here before, they were all brand new in the eyes of the Flyers new coach. There were some instances where some of the veterans seemed to take a few shifts off or didn’t chase down a puck the way they should but overall it was probably the best camp that I have seen. The vets played well, and some of the new recruits were very surprising.

I know its only been three days but for what its worth I think things are looking pretty darn good.

We should get a better look on Tuesday night during the inter-squad game and even more during the first few pre-season games this week as they cut some of the younger and weaker players on Sunday and we should get a better idea of what we have here when they start playing against players that are all on the same playing field.

Well that is a little of what I saw this weekend. Why don’t you let me know what you saw.

Post a comment and let me know what you think.

New Season Is Here

Training camp for the Winkler Flyers begins tonight at the Winkler Recreation Complex.

I hope you enjoyed the four part Flyer training camp preivew on http://www.winklerflyers.com/ that has taken place over the past number of weeks. If you haven't had a chance to read it I encourage you to check it out.

The first blog of the season will be posted on Monday with a bit of a training camp re-cap and I will (time permitting) trying to have a weekly update throughout the season.

I will be writing about my thoughts and I encourage you to do the same.

Let me know what you think about the first three days of camp by posting a comment here.

Thanks and Go Flyers!

Welcome Back!

Hello my friends and welcome back to the blog after a bit of a off-season hiatus. I had started to think about what to write after the season came to an end many times but always become distracted with stuff. Even at this moment I am sitting in my basement watching a movie with my wife (Valentines Day if you really want to know. It’s really good you should watch it).

Anyway!!! Before I get to the goings on since the season came to an end I just wanteed to talk about the playoffs for a brief moment if I could. The last time I wrote a blog the Flyers were in the midst of not doing so well in their Addison Division Final series against the Winnipeg Saints. Quickly without getting into too much detail I think the quick end that was that Saints series comes down to a few things. It is the same that I talked about a good number of posts ago. The culture of winning! The way that the Flyers beat the Steelers in the first round left the team and all their fans on such a high that it almost appeared good enough.

Now don’t get me wrong. Nobody wanted to lose in the division final. But changing the culture when things haven’t gone well in recent memory is a tough job. Now lets hope that with the changes that have been made in the last couple of months can turn things around. Not just for the next few seasons but for years to come. And honestly I think they can.

When Mark Thiessen decided to step away from the role of Head Coach and G.M. it allowed the organization to try and turn things in a bit of a different direction.

Hiring Henry Siemens as the new General Manager was the first move that was made. And I know there was a lot of people who came up to me and said “What does Henry know about hockey players?”. Well his job isn’t to know anything about hockey players. His first job was to find someone who does. And I think he did.

The next move that was made was the hiring of John Marks as the new Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations. If you haven’t seen Marks’ resume you can check it out on the Flyers website. And I know that we can’t really judge the man until he actually coaches a game but here are a couple of things I have picked up on in the few times I have talked to him.

He is a straight shooter. He says it like it is and likes it his way and if you are not on board with that philosophy then you better get out of the way. He is a players coach and has their best interests at heart. If they want to get better and eventually go to a school of there choice he we get them there, but only if they earn it. An interesting quote that he said to me the other day was that so many kids now a days come to an organization and say “what can you give me?” And He said the words that should be coming out of their mouths should be “What can I earn?”.

When the hiring process began I think there was a lot of pressure to hit this one out of the park. Many people felt that the talent was there but there was just something missing in terms of trying to get this storied franchise back to the glory that it once had. And any time you are able to land a coach that has a resume longer then most of ours put together there is absolutely no way you can pass up on that opportunity.

John Marks according to the people I have talked to (not just Flyer people but hockey people around the country), Marks has a lot of contacts. He is able to recruit well based on his history and name and on the other side of the coin, he will be able to get the kids (who deserve it) a scholarship at the end.

He will get the most out of his players and will not put up with those who don’t work hard and expect things they don’t deserve...bottom line.

I know he has only been here a few weeks and the first impression always seem to look good but I am really excited about this upcoming season. The players I have talked to are excited and so are the fans.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and check back every once in a while to see if anything is new....ALSO please click on the Facebook link either on this site or the Flyers homepage to become a Facebook fan of the Winkler Flyers and be instantly updated on whatever is happening.

Thanks and have a good one!

It's Coming!

I know it has been a long time since I updated this thing. Apparently after a busy, busy hockey season my kids want to spend time with me and my wife has a "to-do" list longer then my arm. I am working on a post that will include some post season reaction, thoughts on the new coach, and general off-season stuff. If you have any suggestions please feel free to comment and let me know what you want to talk about.

Thanks for your patience.

-Matt-

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF PLAYOFF HOCKEY

As all of you have seen through the first eight games of playoff hockey this season there are many ups and downs. And unfortunately right now things seem to be on the down slope of that scale. After the amazing ending to the Selkirk Steelers series where the Flyers won three straight games, all in overtime, with Lazorko scoring the winning goal each and every game, things appeared to be going in the right direction and the absolute right time.

But then came the division final. The Flyers effort in game one was far less then any game of the first series. It was shocking to see a team that had played so great against the Steelers come out absolutely flat to start a hugely important game. It almost seemed as though they were experiencing a bit of a first round hangover. And even though they had five days to get ready for the Saints the weekend with three straight overtime games seemed to drain them.

One night later, along came game two. And what a start it was. After scoring a minute in and making it 2-0 halfway through the first it made a lot of people (including myself) breathe a sigh of relief. But then the train seemed to fall off the tracks. The Saints adjusted to get better and the Flyers weren’t able to keep up.

Being down 2-0 in the series is not where the Flyers wanted to be but its where they are. And as they say in baseball they are just a bloop and a blast away from tying things up. I know that may be way easier said then done but its true. The first period in game two proved then it can be done. However, as good as that period was there is no way that the Flyers are good enough to think that they can play a 20 minute hockey game and still win. Especially in the division final!!!

They know they can still win and we need to have confidence in them too. If they are able to squeak out a win at the Dakota tomorrow night then tying up the series at home is a real possibility.

Some things need to happen. The Flyers need to start playing better as a team. They have as much, if not more talent then the Saints but at the moment the Saints are playing way more as a team then Winkler. They use each other and trust each other to be where they are supposed to be. They know that their goaltender will make the big save and that the defense will get the puck out of their zone. All things that the Flyers are sadly finding out rather late.

I hate being critical but thems the facts. If this thing comes to an end this weekend there will be a whole long list of things we can talk about as to why, after such an exciting start to the playoffs, did it go south in such a hurry.

But for now lets not think about that. There is still for sure two more games to go and lets give them all the support that we can and hope that the boys are able to give it all they have and are able to go home after the season with no regrets.

I know things are looking a bad right now but it only takes a couple more wins and it’s a different ball game.

BIG WEEKEND

A playoff series is always full of a few key moments that when you look back on them after its all over you can pin point where the series was won or lost. This particular series between the Flyers and Steelers already has a number of these moments.

Missed penalty shots in overtime, blown 3-1 leads, short handed goals, injuries, suspensions, double OT winners, you name it and this series has it….and its not nearly done!!!

Game four of there series last night was, in my opinion, the make or break game of the series for the Flyers. Lets just say for a moment that the Flyers had lost that game. They would be down 3-1 in the series going back to Selkirk for game five. They would have to three straight games in the next four days in order to win the series and do it with their back firmly pressed against the wall.

We can all be happy that that isn’t the case. The Flyers double overtime win last night has given them the momentum heading into game five tonight in Selkirk. The Flyers knew all along that if they wanted to win the series the needed to take care of business at home and would need just one win in the House of Steel. And let me tell you, they would rather do it tonight then wait for game seven on Tuesday.

If you are one of those people that likes to watch sports you have seen the highs and lows of sport. Sidney Crosby’s OT winner in the Olympic gold medal game and Joe Carter’s home run to win the World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays would be some of the positives that you can think of. Then there are the lows. Bill Buckner anyone? A game like game four of this series can be one of those moments that you look at a couple days from now and think “That was the series right there”. For the Flyers it can propel them to a series win because all the momentum is with them coming into a tough weekend. IF the Flyers can come out with a strong start in game five there chances should be good this weekend. The Orange and Black would love to have the opportunity to win the series at home tomorrow night but they must take care of business this evening.

However, if the Steelers are able to rebound then Flyer Nation will have a lot of ammo to choose from when it comes to picking situations or moments that could have gone differently. Lets hope we don’t need to do that.

Remember the last time the Flyers won a playoff series on home ice? Neither do I. Lets hope we get to see it tomorrow. I absolutley love the emotion and the joy that comes with a big overtime goal or a game winner home run or any event that brings a sudden and perminant end to any sort of game. Don't forget you can tune into CKMW this weekend for all the action. Just click on the links to your right.

Thanks again and have a good one!