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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Ams pay for pathetic No one should really be too surprised by what is happening to the Tri-City Americans as the team has stumbled to a 1-8-0-1 record in its first 10 games. Most "experts" thought that perhaps second-year general manager Bob Tory might be able to piece together a reasonable lineup that could be competitive, but so far it's become obvious that not even Merlin could weave that kind of magic. Western Hockey League teams are built through the bantam draft and the Americans are now experiencing the bitter fruit of two of the worst drafts in the history of junior hockey. Of the 20 picks made by the team in 1998 and 1999 - players who are now 18 and 19 and would be expected to form the core leadership of this year's team - only two are still on the Americans roster. Worse yet, only three are still in the league. The rest were all released and not picked up by any other organization. This year's troubles began in 1998 when the Americans selected defenseman Andrew DeSousa with their first pick, the second overall in the draft. DeSousa never became a top-line player with the Americans and was eventually taken in the expansion draft by Vancouver. He was released by the Giants this year and picked up by Spokane where he serves as a third-line defenseman. The rest of the Americans draft that year by general manager Bob Brown and chief scout Scott Bonner was more of a disaster. None of the other nine players selected by the Americans even made a WHL roster. As a comparison, six of Spokane's picks from that year either played for the Chiefs or were traded to other teams, while Seattle and Kootenay each has five of those picks still in the league. The Americans have only DeSousa. Is there any wonder the Americans are struggling? Things were compounded the next year under former coach and general manager Don Hay. When Hay arrived in the Tri-Cities, he inherited a team that was coming off a 17-49-6 record. In a scenario Seattle Seahawks fans can well understand with Mike Holmgren serving as both coach and GM, Hay's time was so consumed with coaching that he had little time for other duties - such as preparing for the draft. While Hay turned things around and went 43-23-6 and into the Western Conference finals in the playoffs, he relied on Bonner to select the players. That's how the Americans ended up drafting Chris Stubel with their top pick (No. 15 overall). Stubel was eventually traded to Vancouver, where Bonner now serves as the GM for the Giants, for future considerations. Those future considerations turned out to be nothing when Stubel was unable to make the Vancouver roster. Of the 10 players the Americans drafted that year, only Tyler Weiman (third round) and Dylan Stanley (ninth round) are still with the team. The 2000 draft, also done by Hay and Bonner, has produced only Ian McDonald and Marc Connors on the Americans roster with the next seven still unable to make a WHL roster. Al Tuer was the coach and general manager for the Americans for one year and he did much better in the 2001 draft. His top three picks - Brett Festerling, Logan Stephenson and Jason Beeman - are all on the Americans roster as 16-year-olds. Of course it's too early to tell how Tory will do with his first draft last summer, but his picks, led by first-rounder Carey Price, will set the tone for the franchise in the future. | ||||||||||
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