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Posted April 7, 2002
Successful season still leaves work for Americans
1st-round playoff exit marks 1st step in turning team around
By René Ferrán
Herald staff writer
The first season of the Bob Tory-Troy Mick regime with the Tri-City Americans can be called a qualified success.
Yes, the Western Hockey League club won 10 more games than a season ago, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since 1999, and qualified for the playoffs after a one-year absence.
But the 4-1 first-round playoff loss to Spokane shows how much work lies ahead, and the promise the future holds.
"Going forward into next season, we have to build on this," said Tory, who built a perennial winner in Kootenay with the Ice before coming to Tri-Cities last off-season. "We can't be satisfied with just a .500 season and making the playoffs. That's going to require a commitment from the players that's even greater right from the beginning of training camp."
Only four players on the Ams playoff roster had postseason experience in a Tri-City sweater. Sixteen were making their playoff debuts.
That inexperience showed in the first two games as the Chiefs dominated for 4-1 and 7-3 victories. But Tri-Cities pushed Spokane to overtime in the next three, beating the Chiefs 3-2 in Game 4 to snap an 11-game postseason losing streak.
The franchise's future was front and center in that playoff victory. Goaltender Tyler Weiman, a 17-year-old, was spectacular in net. And 16-year-old wunderkind defenseman Shawn Belle scored the winning goal in Game 4 with an aggressive play, charging into the slot to collect an errant pass and fire the puck past Chiefs goalie Barry Brust.
Even 15-year-old defenseman Logan Stephenson acquitted himself well in his few shifts.
"They needed to experience the postseason before they can take the next step," Tory said.
Of course, Tory has argued from the start that building the franchise would not be a one-year deal.
In hindsight, it could be argued that rather than trading for veterans Josh Morrow, Rory McDade and Matt Sommerfeld in January, the Americans should have been a seller, sacrificing the short run for next season and beyond by dealing 19-year-olds such as forward Eric Johansson and goalie Joel Martin for younger talent.
After all, the Americans likely would have finished third in the U.S. Division without either veteran, and they surely could have matched their playoff run considering both McDade and Morrow suffered broken ankles late in the season and missed almost all of the playoffs - McDade skated one power-play shift in Game 5.
Tory adamantly disputes that notion.
"If we had gotten rid of guys like Johansson, you're only telling the players in the room that you've quit," he said. "Then try telling them not to quit when they're down 3-0 in the playoffs.
"There's no such thing as rebuilding like that. It's a term used by losers. That may be why Tri-Cities has never raised a banner before, because every time the going got tough, they decided to quit. You're only lying to the players in the room and to your fans when you do that.
"Look at Medicine Hat. They've been rebuilding for five years. Where are they now? Out of the playoffs again. You learn how to win by competing as hard as you can every game and keeping your best players, not by getting rid of them."
Having made wholesale changes during the past season, Tory doesn't anticipate a lot of moves during the off-season. But that doesn't mean the roster will look the same come August.
Tri-Cities carried seven 19-year-olds into the playoffs - Sommerfeld, Johansson, captain Ben Kilgour, Dustin Barker, Jordan Judge, Pat Iannone and Martin. Only three can return as overagers next season.
The Ams are high on both first-round bantam picks of a year ago, Stephenson and fellow blueliner Brett Festerling, both of whom were on the playoff roster. They also are fond of goaltender Chris Holt, acquired in a minor trade from Prince George in November. He is expected to battle for the role of Weiman's backup.
"I anticipate we'll have eight rookies on the club next year," Tory said. "We could have as many as four rookies on our back end if we keep eight defensemen, and I see four or five new forwards. I also think we'll have a new backup goalie, because I think it's time Tyler took the leadership role there, and Joel will want to be a starter somewhere else."
Another priority must be retaining the brain trust that engineered the turnaround. Neither Tory's work in the front office nor Mick's in the dressing room have gone unnoticed around the WHL.
One franchise that is looking for new leadership is Kamloops, which fired coach Dean Evason on Friday after being swept out of the playoffs in the first round for the third straight year.
The last thing that the Americans need is more upheaval off the ice. Tory and Mick were the fourth men to hold their respective posts in the past 12 months when they took over last summer.
"I didn't come here for just one year," Tory said. "Ultimately, it's up to the owner (Mark Wagstaff), but there's a lot of work here that's unfinished. I would like to see what we've started continue on."
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