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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Ams make statement that things have changed It's not really surprising to see Bob Tory pulling off a major trade for the Tri-City Americans. He didn't get the nickname "Trader Bob" for nothing. What is surprising is who he traded away and how quickly the moves have come. Up until the season began, the general manager/part-owner said that he believed the Americans would be good this season and ready to make a run for a Memorial Cup title next year. Here we are only five games into the season, and Tory has traded a 19-year-old (Tyler Dyck) for a 20 (Colin McRae) who won't be able to play next year. The deal also meant that the Americans had to unload one of their three 20-year-olds, Pat Ianonne, meaning they basically traded two players, both assistant captains and members of the core leadership of the team, along with a draft pick, to get McRae. Tory lamented having to make a move so early and was genuinely upset to see some of the players go, but he felt he had no choice. "We had to send a message to everyone," Tory said. "We gave up some good, quality players and it tells everyone that we're prepared to do whatever it takes to make the team better." Tri-City coach Shaun Clouston believes the team has hit rock bottom with its 1-4-0-1 record. "The first step in building anything of any significance - a hockey team or an organization - is that you have to accept where you are at," Clouston said. "Those games against Kootenay, it was like we were totally exposed. We had to look at ourselves and admit that, at this point at least, we're not a very good hockey team." Clouston said that everyone in the organization should now understand that mediocrity, or worse, won't be accepted. "The whole atmosphere, the whole look, the whole demeanor of the team is going to be different," Clouston said. "I'm not taking away from anything that anybody before me did here, but things are changing. To me, it's all about respect, about professionalism, about positive attitude, about being a team. It doesn't happen overnight." In the cyclical Western Hockey League, it takes patience to build strong teams, a virtue that has been in short supply in the history of the franchise here under five different owners in 15 years. This approach, at least here, seems to be a bit novel. This time the team seems to have identified and is sticking to core values, even in times of adversity. "I think every team goes through tough times," Clouston said. "I know it sounds like a cliché, but I'd rather have it happen now, at the beginning of the season, and learn from it. We can all, every one of us in this organization, get stronger by fighting through this." Clouston and assistant coach Jim Hiller are resolute that the way to rebuild this troubled organization is by making everyone accountable every day. "There are things that have happened here that just aren't going to be accepted anymore," Clouston said. "I think we've now gotten to the point where the players are finally clear on that. We're not going to back off." So when the players don't follow the rules, when the effort is less than complete, when there is a tendency to put individual goals over team ones, a price will be paid. "We aren't going to change our stance on being late, on missing curfew or not finishing checks or taking stupid penalties," Clouston said. "I'm not going to compromise my philosophy on what we're going to do to build a successful organization. We're at the point now where we've torn everything down. Now it's time to slowly rebuild." | ||||||||||
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