Signing an NHLer a no brainer???

R

rolf

Active Member
#21
#21
If we could afford it, who would have to go to make way or could we just put G on the bench? Could we afford not to do so given that we are closer to the bottom than the top in all of our competitions right now, do we need that gap to widen or was it always going to be like this with the conference system we are in.

For my money, I think it would benefit us in a number of ways:

1 Coach sees properly what we are like on match night and can maybe better address that.
2 Improvement in team both in results, confidence and attitude/training. I'll bet that NHL mindset and training drils would differ from ours.
3 Winning becomes a habit, and even if the guy goes home in time for the winter classic, he may well leave a winning legacy behind.


My worry is that if ticket sales go ballisitic on the back of any potential signing, would the back office and PI be able to cope and meet that challenge?
 
Tyke Devil

Tyke Devil

Active Member
#22
#22
rolf said:
My worry is that if ticket sales go ballisitic on the back of any potential signing, would the back office and PI be able to cope and meet that challenge?
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I think that would be a worry that all teams in the EIHL would like to have to tackle to be honest!
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
#24
#24
If nhl players are so cheap how come hull dundee etc are not signing them?
Personally i think they are not cheap and dont know what makes people think they are.

If proven wrong then i honestly dont know what g and ragan are waiting for?
Bu then i also dont see the point in signing a player for a few months?
 
voth26

voth26

Well-Known Member
#25
#25
I said this it at the start of the season when deeds was signed (not having a pop at deeds by the way) a devils team for as long as i can remember has always always had a big tough 6ft plus bruiser in the team, such as the likes of ware,macwilliam, and more recently vother as well as these type of players we also had TEAM toughness such as wes jarvis, prips, who would weigh in if needed but not nessecary on a regular basis. in my opinion we dont have that now yes we have G, but to be fair to deeds he may hold his own against the likes of olsen, lepine etc but he is not going to beat them and that can sometimes make a massive difference to a team. nobody seems to want to take a game by the scruff and ruffle a few feathers by throwing a big hit or check. but for sure something needs to change asap otherwise we will be left behind
 
Paul Sullivan

Paul Sullivan

Well-Known Member
#28
#28
rolf said:
My worry is that if ticket sales go ballisitic on the back of any potential signing, would the back office and PI be able to cope and meet that challenge?
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There's a very good point. With the location of the rink being difficult for some, it would be a challenge to shift all those tickets (what a great thing that would be though) over the phone or in person.

More I think about it, kudos to the Skydome box office staff for moving nearly 3,000 tickets in not much time with no online services either.
 
M

Martynwo

Active Member
#29
#29
No offence taken, the marketing strategy was not in question, just the ammount sold so far. I bet that is more than half of our roster shirts sales combined ?
Intrested to know how many Weller and Davidson shirts were sold by us
 
A

A#45

New Member
#30
#30
The Blaze marketing staff help to shift lots of tickets on a match night and work alongside the Planet Ice staff.

It is clear that after a couple of years in the wilderness they have re-focussed on what they have always done well - put a good product on the ice and run a slick off-ice operation.

It seems to me that Devils have to get the numbers up pretty quickly and the only way to do that is provide hard, gritty, full on, entertaining hockey
 
J

J.B

Member
#32
#32
James said:
I'd rather us sign a good solid AHL'er displaced by the lockout who would play the year and not be back in the NHL by christmas. There are a lot of great players who would be top drawer signings in the off season now looking about.
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I'd disagree with that. I'd take an NHLer for 3 months over a solid AHL/ECHL player all season. The Blaze or Devils aren't going to win anything this season but having a genuine NHL player is a rare thing that gets people talking and gets a buzz back in the rink. As I've said before, if you aren't going to win the league, you want moments in your season that you will remember. I can guarantee in a few years time, people will still be talking about Beleskey's debut, dropping the gloves and then joining in the Hirsch wave. Nobody will be talking about Mr borderline AHLer's solid performance throughout the whole season.
 
Finny

Finny

Well-Known Member
#33
#33
J.B. - would you class Weller as an NHLer or an AHLer?

He is someone that people still talk about now - but played far more games in the AHL than NHL, including the season before us.
 
D

davel

Member
#35
#35
Available players are one thing, attracting them is another![/quote]
listened to Jim Hugheson(top Nhl commentator)So on Hockey night radio who said more and more players are looking at playing in Europe, however there options seem to be limited. Hence Drew Miller ending up in Braehead. So i would expect there are options and good ones at that for us to attract
 
A

A#45

New Member
#36
#36
Weller was a good player. To get an AHLr to make the impact he did is rare. We have Brad Leeb - an NHLr and AHLr of some quality, but Beleskey on last nights showing is a massive step up.

The opportunity to take someone from the NHL under the present circumstances are rare. Whether it is a good AHL guy or not the air fare is the same, the accommodation is the same. In most cases the NHLr doesnt need paying. As I said on another forum today Beleskey has earned $1.8M over the last 3 seasons. He doesnt neeed 1K a week from the Blaze. He is here to keep fit and play. It is rumoured tha Drew Miller paid his own insurance...
 
Chris

Chris

Administrator
#37
#37
Jeff Mason has been released by Lillehammer
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I have no idea how that fits in with anything from this thread?

He's never played a game in the NHL or AHL. No one has mentioned bringing in an echl or ex-belfast player?
 
J

J.B

Member
#38
#38
Finny said:
J.B. - would you class Weller as an NHLer or an AHLer?

He is someone that people still talk about now - but played far more games in the AHL than NHL, including the season before us.
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Weller is a bit of a special case and obviously you have to judge every case on his own merits. But generally, I'd rather have someone great for a couple of months over someone decent for a whole season. Maybe just me but I'd rather see a few great matches over season than grind it out all year.
 
KaneDevils

KaneDevils

Well-Known Member
#39
#39
Davel

Im confident we could attract a big name player, as we did Weller, I ment teams like Dundee and Edinburgh being to attract them. They might struggle. In reference to Zack Kassians question,

Totally agree with J.B's last 2 or 3 comments. Spot on.
 
S

Soundwave1

New Member
#40
#40
J.B said:
Finny said:
J.B. - would you class Weller as an NHLer or an AHLer?

He is someone that people still talk about now - but played far more games in the AHL than NHL, including the season before us.
Click to expand...
Weller is a bit of a special case and obviously you have to judge every case on his own merits. But generally, I'd rather have someone great for a couple of months over someone decent for a whole season. Maybe just me but I'd rather see a few great matches over season than grind it out all year.
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Weller was indeed a special case. However, he was marketed as an NHLer (albeit ex) which was the big initial draw. He then had an impact no one could have expected.

Sestito has played many more games in the AHL than NHL, but is being marketed as an NHLer. While the regular fans (most of which will go to games anyway) know this, the casual fan will see 'NHLer at Sheffield' and probably be more likely to attend.

I think we'd benefit more by singing an NHLer so would tend to side with our Blaze friends on this (I watched the webcast of the Panthers game and it was the most entertaining spectacle I've seen in a long while in this league) But I can see the merits of singing a high class AHLer with the uncertainty over the lockout.

What we definitely need is someone to give this team a spark, some grit, and leadership when we're struggling. As long as we get that whichever league they're from it'll be a positive step. :)
 
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