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Opinion: Jim Riley | |||||||||||
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Tory seems content to watch this season's popular WHL game show The Tri-City Americans, general manager Bob Tory insisted, will not be moving any of their three 20-year-olds before the Western Hockey League trading deadline hits at 3 p.m. Thursday. "Unless," Tory added, leaving the door just slightly ajar, "the cow jumps over the moon." As everyone who has ever followed junior hockey knows, the cow can, and often does, defy gravity and leap and float over celestial bodies when the league's general managers get down to the final seconds of the WHL's version of Let's Make a Deal. Still, don't expect Trader Bob to ship captain Ben Kilgour, defenseman Trevor Johnson or forward Colin McRae anywhere in the next few hours. Anything can happen, though, as the contenders declare their intention to make a title run and the pretenders build for the future. The Americans fit neatly into the latter category, but Tory believes he has a team in place that can both make the playoffs and maybe even make a run for a title in the weak U.S. Division. Tory is working out of his office in Edmonton this week as the Americans get ready for an Eastern road swing that begins Friday in Brandon. He admits his phone never stops ringing with yet another offer to try to pry the team's veteran talent away. Two seasons ago, in January 2001, the Americans were in the familiar position of coming up to the deadline fighting for a spot in the playoffs. Then, the Americans decided to pull off a blockbuster, trading overage captain and leading scorer Blake Evans to Regina for Shawn Belle, then a top bantam pick who wouldn't even be eligible to play in the league for another season. Regina was forced to make a move because the Pats had a mediocre team and an automatic bid into the Memorial Cup tournament as that year's host. At the time of the trade, then owner Wayne Overland guaranteed that the Americans would make the playoffs and that the trade would pave the way for a bright future at the same time. It hasn't worked out that way. The Americans missed the playoffs that season, were ousted in the first round the following season and, after a 12-game losing streak early this season, aren't shoo-ins to make it this time around. "I'll always listen, but it would have to be something pretty special," Tory said. "We feel we have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs this year. It would have to be a pretty amazing deal." Tory fields calls about Kilgour almost daily and Johnson is also coveted because of the shortage of quality defensemen in the league. Both are considered character players, the kind who put in a solid effort every night. "We want to be the type of organization where a quality player can come in and spend his whole career, like Ben Kilgour has," Tory said. "And Trevor has done everything we've asked him to do. Those two guys give everything they have every game, and those are the kind of lessons we want our younger players to learn. They are two guys committed to winning." It's more likely the Americans might be willing to give up a 19-year-old. They have six - Ryan Kinasewich, Steven Makway, Jake Riddle, Kennewick native Justin Togiai, Peter Lorentzen and Richard Kelly. Only three can play in the league next season, a season when the WHL will be diluted again by the addition of an expansion franchise in Everett. "I think there will be more trades in the league than people expect," Tory said. "It usually starts slow and finishes strong." Thanks to a recent resurgence, Tory now has the luxury of standing pat rather than hoping he'll find a cow with wings. | ||||||||||
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