Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Changes in store for season four

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

Published by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER DELIVERY

Wednesday, October 17, 2001
Changes in store for season four
The IceRays enter the season in a new league with new players and a new coach
By Richard Tijerina, and Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times File

While the IceRays have several returning players such as Kurt Wickenheiser (left) several players from last year, including Geoff Bumstead (center) are not currently on the roster. Along with new players, the team also has a new coach.

If the Corpus Christi IceRays ever wanted to pick a season to throw a new coach onto the ice, this one is as good as you'll ever find.
   On Thursday, when the puck drops at Memorial Coliseum for the start of the season, it will be a new coach, a new league, a new year and - in many ways - a new team.
   "Everyone starts off the same: tied," said defenseman Regan Harper. "All the teams are going to be taking little steps. Like everybody else, we're going to have our highs and our lows. As long as we don't get too high or too low, we'll be fine."
   Either way, the 2001-02 version of the IceRays figures to take a lot of getting used to:

Gone is the Western Professional Hockey League.

In is the new-look Central Hockey League.

Gone is coach Taylor Hall, who has moved on to become the team's general manager.

In is Dale Henry, a former player with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs who has revamped the team.

Gone are former IceRays Geoff Bumstead and Jody Praznik, both popular players with the home crowd. Bumstead, recently married and now a father, has not decided whether to play hockey this year. Praznik is still recovering from a serious injury sustained last season.

In are a bevy of new faces and names, many of which are former teammates of Henry's.

Four questions for season four

WHO’S BACK? Kurt Wickenheiser, the team’s top scorer last season, is joined by Byron Pool, Alex Kholomeyev, Jeff Paluseo, Cory Evans, Quinten Van Horlick, Brad Erbsland, Jamie Hearn, Jeff Cheeseman and Dustin McArthur as the only IceRays back from a year ago.
WHO’S NOT? Most notably, Geoff Bumstead and Jody Praznik. Both have yet to make a decision on whether they will play this season.
NEW LEADER? With the move of Taylor Hall from the ice to the office, the IceRays nabbed Dale Henry as their new head coach, hoping his success as a player carries over.
NEW LEAGUE?The IceRays are in a new league with several new teams a various new rules. The race to the title begins Thursday night.

   All of the storylines, plots, subplots, new teams, new faces and new coaches begin Thursday, when - in a scheduling twist that is part irony, part marketing - the San Antonio Iguanas (a carryover team from the old CHL) come to town to start the season.
   "I'm quite excited," Henry said. "San Antonio is just up the road. I'm sure we'll have a great rivalry. We'll just have to see how we stack up."
   Whether the IceRays - who were perennial playoff contenders in the WPHL - can emerge as another postseason factor in the CHL depends on several factors. There will be many things to follow this season:
   1.
   Q: How will things change in this new league?
   A: In many ways, quite a bit. And in other ways, not at all.
   The Central Hockey League will take some getting used to, with "new" teams to play such as the Iguanas, the Indianapolis Ice, the Oklahoma City Blazers, the Tulsa Oilers, the Wichita Thunder and the Memphis RiverKings.
   A natural rivalry will be formed between Corpus Christi and San Antonio, two Interstate 37 rivals who find themselves in the same Southeast Division along with San Angelo and Austin.
   "It will be a great rivalry because of the close proximity and that we play them so often," left wing Cory Evans said. "The more you play a team, the more they get on your nerves."
   The biggest change, however, may come from the new rules that the IceRays will have to adjust to. Most notably, the CHL's veteran rule - which states that no team may have more than five designated "veterans" - will have quite an impact on the team.
   There are seven veterans listed on the IceRays roster, which means that two of them - either Harper, Alex Kholomeyev, Kurt Wickenheiser, Mike DeGurse, Jamie Hearn, Jason Smith or Dustin McArthur - will not be on the ice Thursday.
   The WPHL had no such rule, though the CHL did. And even then, the CHL could keep four veterans, not five, which means those squads actually will add a veteran.
   "I think we're at a slight disadvantage," Harper said. "(As a former WPHL team) we'll have to get rid of some vets, while (the former CHL teams) will be adding a veteran."
   Still, when you get down to it, the game will still be played, and won or lost, on the ice, just as always.
   2.
   Q: How will the team respond to the new coach?
   A: Simply put, players will have to respond well to him. Or else.
   Henry has reshaped the IceRays in the image of his old Mudbugs: a tough, physical squad that will rely on defense.
   That was the kind of player he was. It'll be the kind of team he coaches.
   "If you never saw him play, all you have to do is take a look at his stats," said goalie Hugo Hamelin, who came to the IceRays from Bossier-Shreveport after winning two WPHL titles with Henry as a teammate.
   "He won five championships and spent some time in the NHL, so you have to respect a guy like that," Hamelin said. "I don't think it's going to be too hard for the guys to do that."
   Hall will remain a fixture on the team that he helped build; as general manager, the former coach will be integral in personnel decisions.
   3.
   Q: Will the IceRays be better or worse than last year?
   A: They should be better, at least on paper. Much of that will be because of personnel moves that were made in the offseason.
   Most notably, the addition of Hamelin - a tough goalie who is a former All-Star and playoff Most Valuable Player - will be key. While the IceRays certainly were good last season with Eddy Skazyk in the net, they figure to be much better with Hamelin.
   "The roster changed quite a bit last season. Come December, we had a heck of a team," forward Jeff Paluseo said. "You never know what's going to happen, but it looks like we're going to have a bunch of good players to start out with."
   In addition to Hamelin, Henry tapped into the Mudbugs' championship lineage with the signing of defenseman Derek McKinlay, who also won a title with the IceRays' coach.
   Both Hamelin and McKinlay were signed in August.
   The signings of Harper - an original IceRay who was a finalist for the WPHL's Defenseman of the Year last season - and McKinlay, Jason Carriere and Smith all are in the mold of Henry's new defensive philosophy. Expect lower scoring games with more contact.
   4.
   Q: What is the team's chance at a CHL title?
   A: As good as any other team's, technically. Still, if you had to choose one team as the preseason favorite, you probably would need to go with the Oklahoma City Blazers, who dominated the CHL in recent years.
   The IceRays should be solid enough to win the Southeast Division, though the Iguanas certainly should be considered good enough to contend.
   That would leave the Southwest Division - with WPHL carryovers El Paso, Lubbock, New Mexico and Odessa - to block the IceRays' path into the CHL championship round.
   "There's a bunch of good teams in the league," Paluseo said. "You can call it how you want, but what it comes down to is who works the hardest every night. It's all about who wins the games."
   5.
   Q: What can be expected from Hamelin as goalie?
   A: A lot, since he already was one of the best goalies in the WPHL.
   "Hugo can be an All-Star in this league," Henry said. "He's fun to watch. He made some great saves when we were in Bossier together. He's a real jokester and likes to have fun."
   Hamelin didn't play in the IceRays' first exhibition game - a 6-5 victory last Friday over El Paso - and played only a period and a half periods in Sunday's 2-0 loss to the visiting Buzzards. On Sunday, Hamelin did give up one goal, but also turned in several impressive saves.
   The goalie, obviously, is the highest-profile position on a hockey team, just like quarterback in football or pitcher in baseball. With Hamelin, the IceRays gain an experienced goaltender that is quick in the net and tenacious on defense.
   "I'm looking forward to it," Hamelin said. "I always had a good time playing against the IceRays since the franchise started up. The fans were always on you, so sometimes I didn't like playing here. Now I'm on their side."


Richard Tijerina can be contacted at 886-3745 or tijerinar@caller.com. Javier Becerra can be contacted at 886-3734 or becerraj@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND