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Posted Sept. 20, 2002
By Annie Fowler
Herald staff writer
The Tri-City Americans will open their 15th season in the Western Hockey League on Saturday night when they play host to the Spokane Chiefs.
"I think that we have a good group of guys that if they are willing to commit themselves to playing hard every night that we will have a good product," said first-year Americans coach Shaun Clouston. "We are a good team, but we need to work toward improving every day to be a great team."
Game time is 7:35 p.m. at the Tri-Cities Coliseum.
The Americans sport a new group of owners and two new coaches but have 17 players on their roster with WHL experience.
The Tri-City club was purchased last month by Darryl Porter, Brian Burke, Glen Sather and Bob Tory from Mark Wagstaff, who had owned the team for 18 months.
Clouston, an assistant with the Portland Winter Hawks last season, brought in Jim Hiller as his assistant coach and the two have a good mix of WHL veterans, led by last year's captain, Ben Kilgour.
"It's very important to have the leadership on board with what the organization is trying to accomplish," Clouston said. "Ben is a guy who is going to need to lead the way this year. This is the time for Ben and the team to taste success if they want it. This team has the potential to take it a step further than last year."
Kilgour, the team's third-leading scorer last season with 82 points, was a camp invitee in 1998 but was sent back to his junior team. The overager is now in his fourth year with the team.
"I'm an old guy on a young team," Kilgour said. "I have seen everything the WHL has to throw at me - four owners, five coaches, four general managers and four trainers.
"It's very exciting out on the ice. We have a lot of skill and play with heart and emotion. That's what it takes."
Joining Kilgour as forwards will be Dylan Stanley (51 points), Ryan Kinasewich (46), Tyler Dyck (35), Jiri Jakes (34) - who was acquired over the summer from the Brandon Wheat Kings - and Josef Vavra, the Americans' top import draft pick from the Czech Republic.
Tri-Cities has five new forwards who are going to be expected to contribute.
"When you are 16, it's never easy to step up and play a big part," Stanley said. "But in the second half of the season you are expected to do a lot more. This year will be a good year, but the next two or three years, this team will be a division leader."
The Tri-City defense has five returning blueliners, led by last year's Ams rookie of the year Shawn Belle, who is expected to be an early pick in the 2003 NHL draft.
Belle, 17, is one of the top three players in the WHL, according to The Hockey News.
"We are fairly young on the blue line compared to a lot of other teams," Clouston said. "We have Belle, (Brad) Zanon and (Josh) Morrow, who saw a lot of action last year, but Portland and Red Deer have all their defensemen coming back."
Also returning on defense is Justin Togiai, a Kennewick resident who was acquired in December 2001 from Portland. But Togiai will miss the season opener because of illness.
"When Justin returns he will make an impact for us with his physical presence on the ice," Clouston said.
Newcomers to the defense include Brett Festerling, Logan Stephenson and Clayton Stoner.
"Stoner is a player that is not very noticeable," Stanley said. "But he's a stay-at-home defenseman who will affect other teams. He will have a big impact on the team."
The Americans played their exhibition games with rookie goaltenders while Tyler Weiman, a fifth-round NHL draft pick by Colorado, was at the Avalanche training camp.
Weiman shared time with Joel Martin last season, appearing in 47 games with a 3.59 goals against average.
"Having Tyler back is comforting," Clouston said. "I got a chance to see him play last year and he did an exceptional job. He brings experience and a desire to win. He's a fierce competitor."
Shannon Szabados, 16 - the first female to be invited to a WHL camp, the first to play in an exhibition game, and now the first female to be named on a regular-season roster - played three exhibition games in goal and posted a win against the Chiefs.
Szabados took a puck to her left shoulder in a game in Portland and, with her status unknown for Saturday's opener, the Americans acquired Ryan Senft, 18, from the Saskatoon Blades on Monday.
With all the players in place, the Americans now will focus on bettering last year's 31-31-10-0 record and a first-round playoff loss to Spokane (4-1).
In the Tri-Cities' first 14 seasons, the Americans had seven losing seasons and never won a division title.
But things are looking up.
The Hockey News has picked Tri-Cities to finished second in the U.S. Division behind Spokane.
The WHL writers' poll has the Americans ranked ninth out of 19 teams.
"With the new owners we don't have to worry about moving," Belle said. "They are putting fans in the building and a good product on the ice. We have a lot of veteran leadership and there is more excitement to win. We want to finish strong and on a positive note."
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