Finally they win
David Skokan finished his interview with us for the next issue of the Blueshirt Bulletin . OK so we do not deserve the credit for their win but we did like talking to David and getting to know this very soft spoken young man from Slovakia.
In the game, Skokan did not score but he went 13-12 on his face offs, was even for the game while taking 5 shots. It was a much needed win for the Oceanic and we are hoping to see more wins from them.
On the other hand for the second week in a row the prospect who earned our Prospect Park Player of the Week saw his team lose. Ryan Hillier was held scoreless as his Halifax Mooseheads lost to the St John's Fog Devils 6-1 one night after beating the Fog Devils 8-2.
It was a very quiet evening for Hillier who hardly showed up on the stat sheet at all but I am sure the Mooseheads are tired after back to back road games.
Complaints NO Concerns YES
With just 3 games into the season it is not about complaining after losing 2 straight but rather some concerns about the direction the Rangers appear to be taking.
I know the Rangers are a work in progress and I did not expect them to jump out and win 20 in a row. I know there will be some rough patches as this team gets to know each other but a couple of things are becoming clear fast.
1-Blair Betts is a good dependable DEFENSIVE forward but using him with Prucha and Cally is a bad move. Betts has almost no offense to his game and the 2 smaller forwards could use a creator for this goal scoring skills.
2-Brandon Dubinsky is not going to score a lot of points (heck score any) if he has Hollweg and Orr as his linemates. I did not understand why right after Dubinsky centering Prucha and Cally in the Florida game had a really good shift that Betts was moved into that spot. I could understand when the team is trying to protect a one goal lead to have Betts but not during the first couple of periods.
3-Mara and Strudwick: Let me get this right, the Rangers are paying Mara a couple of million to sit in the press box so Strudwick who is at best a filling gets regular duty? Either play Mara or dump him because that makes no sense at all to keep him to scratch him which leads to
4-Pock who is not figuring in the Ranger plans yet takes up a roster spot that could be used elsewhere. If you are not going to use Pock then move him. Why worry about a player who clearly is not in your plans today or tomorrow being lost for nothing? Pock was a undrafted UFA so if he is lost on waivers nothing really is lost.
