Thursday, May 19, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
TEAM SWEATER UPDATES RELEASED
Thunder Bay, Ont.- With the CCHL celebrating the 2011-12 season as their 10th season, the Thunder Bay Timberwolves will also be making note of it also being their 5th season in the CCHL.
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With that, the Timberwolves are formally releasing such details on their sweaters for this upcoming season.
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As with every club in the CCHL, Thunder Bay will stitch on a 'CCHL X' patch to the right breast on their home and away attire and on the right shoulder of their Sunday away sweater. Along with that, all three will feature a subtle 'V' at bottom of the collar to commemorate their half of a decade in the league.
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One more change includes the font of player names on the back of the sweater. Dropping the block lettering since their existence, the Timberwolves will now feature the 'Kirsty' font that matches 'THUNDER BAY' text on the front of the alternate sweater and on all official hockey club documents.
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"It's an exciting time to be where we are in this, our fifth season in the CCHL," said Timberwolves GM Blake Wendt. "We've come a long way since moving here. From the look of our sweater, to the build of this franchise and the identity of being an elite hockey club in this league. This is a celebration of all of the hard work and what we have become."
Monday, May 9, 2011
STOLL/HORCOFF PICKED UP FOR FISHER/OSHIE
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Already several trades and player releases down, Blake Wendt and his club again dropped a hammer on Sunday when they dealt centre Mike Fisher and winger TJ Oshie to their Boundary Waters neighbour, the Winnipeg Ferrets in exchange for centres Jarret Stoll [pictured] and Shawn Horcoff.
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Rumours had been swirling around that Oshie's conduct after the Timberwolves season ended and during the season being late more than once for team meetings was putting him out of favour with his coaches and management. Oshie was ticketed in the morning hours after the Timberwolves season ended for being drunk in public in downtown Thunder Bay.
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"We were quite aware of the off ice activities of TJ Oshie," remarked Wendt. "He's a young man with alot of money and he's within his right to do whatever he feels is right. His conduct after our loss was not that of a professional and a role model to so many. He's a heck of a hockey player that we feel would be better served elsewhere."
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Wendt was a little more heartbroken to see Mike Fisher dealt.
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"Mike is a heart and soul guy that is everything you want in a hockey player and a humanitarian. With all due respect to everything I love about him, we needed an upgrade at our third line centre. We feel that Stoll is better in the face-off circle and is a step above Fish. In Shawn Horcoff, we're getting a true leader and excellent source of maturation for our young players here and coming up the pipeline. He's a good two-way vet that we feel 100% comfortable in centering our fourth line. Top to bottom, I really like our corp group down the middle for next season."
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As the CCHL Entry Draft nears, look for Thunder Bay to continue to make moves to acquire higher picks. As currently they hold only five. The first of which isn't until the 4th round [67th overall].
Friday, May 6, 2011
GOODBYE CAPTAIN
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Keith Ballard was dealt to the Springfield Homers along with prospect goaltender Marco Cousineau in exchange for Springfield's 5th round pick in this summers Entry Draft.
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The Baudette, Minnesota-native has worn the 'C' for the Timberwolves since being named captain in the summer of 2008. He took over for Joe Thornton who served as the club's inaugural leader in 2007 until his trade in early 2008. Thunder Bay finished out the 2007-08 without a captain and went with three alternates instead.
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"It was not an easy trek to get to this day," said Timberwolves GM Blake Wendt who has been rather active on the trade front for the past couple of days. "Keith was our leader, and longest serving captain in our short history. He was very well respected and a vocal leader in the dressing room and on the bench. In the Thunder Bay community he was of course very active and the face of the Timberwolves. It saddens me that we have mutually agreed to move on. We wanted to find the ice-time and right fit that wasn't going to happen here to be honest. Keith was appreciative of this and we wish all the best in Springfield."
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Ballard played 80 games last season and racked up 7 goals and 26 assists for 33 points. He was a +30 while being paired most of the season on the number one unit with Anton Volchenkov. He along with Nick Schultz and Volchenkov were top-10 in the playoffs in blocked shots.
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The Timberwolves have not yet named a new captain and likely will wait until training camp in August to make any announcement. Players like Patrick Sharp and Mike Fisher are believed to be the front runners as they served as Ballard's alternates all of last season. Also considered could be Rick Nash, Ales Hemsky, possibly Marian Gaborik or even dark horses like John Tavares or Matt Duchene.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
TIMBERWOLVES ACQUIRE MARC STAAL
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But on Thursday, Wendt pulled the trigger with the newly moved, Keflavik Whalers and acquired Marc Staal in exchange for the newly picked-up Nathan Horton.
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"We've been in contact with the Havana/Keflavik club for a very long time. Long before the management took over. We've been pursuing both Marc and Eric for what seems like the day I took over this club," said Wendt at an impromptu press conference at Canadian National Gardens. "For the obvious reason of this being their hometown and arguably why Thunder Bay is on the hockey map, these are some really really good hockey players. In Marc we're getting the only defenseman of the quartet. But also one of the more elite blueliners in the entire league. He's is everything we wanted and needed on our backend. He punishes the opposition, is a strong bodied, no nonsense brut back there. He's also a very cerebral player. Knows when to pinch and make a big hit, and knows when to not get out of position. He does it all. Blocks shots, clears lanes for his goalie, carries the puck well and has a hard, accurate shot. The bonus is he's born and raised here in Thunder Bay. We're thrilled to have Marc Staal back home and will being wearing the blue and white of the Thunder Bay Timberwolves for years to come."
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Staal is a restricted free agent who is due to be re-signed before May 21st. He is expected to get a raise from $765,000/per year to $1,555,000/per year. Terms the finanically tight Timberwolves are alot more comfortable with then the $4,070,000/per year that was due to Erik Johnson who was dealt to Victoria on Wednesday in exchange for Nathan Horton. Horton was never formally introduced by the Timberwolves before being dealt for Staal.
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"Finances are a big deal to this organization," said Wendt. "To ignore them short-term is going to cripple your club long term. We have some ugly contracts that we have to either swallow or cut loose. This deal here is huge for us in so many ways."
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As mentioned, Thunder Bay must submit to the league who they are re-signing by May 21st. Those due are Marian Gaborik, Taylor Pyatt, Rick Nash, Milan Lucic, Ales Hemsky, Anton Volchenkov, Henrik Lundqvist, Keith Ballard and Marc Staal.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
SOURAY RELEASED; WOLVES EAT $12M
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In Souray, the hockey club is forced to still pay the blueliner $12 million dollars for the remainder of his contract.
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"It's a hefty price for anyone to have to throw away," remarked Timberwolves general manager, Blake Wendt at a press conference at Canadian National Gardens. "It's hurts even more when you're in the financial situation were are here. But it was our only option. Sheldon was not going to be here next season. There is no sense in him holding a roster spot when we can fill it with someone that might actually play. Plus I really didn't want to be staring at that contract any longer. With everything guaranteed, there was no way around it. It sucks and we obviously extended the terms of this contract a year too long."
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In reference to Wendt's comments about Souray not playing. That all stemmed from a interview with Souray after the Timberwolves were eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual Cup-winner, Copenhagen Crusaders. In it, Souray spoke with CBC about how he felt his time with Thunder Bay had come to an end after he felt he was treated unfairly through training camp, where he lost his roster spot to rookie Carl Gunnarsson, and was sent to the minors. Souray said that the demotion was classless and without merit. Saying that he competed throughout training camp and that with his contract, it was financially the best option for the Timberwolves to keep him up. After those comments, it was clear that the next move was Wendt's.
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"Sheldon felt wronged and made those feelings known in a very public setting," said Wendt. "That's fine. It's within his right to say whatever he wants. He can now continue to say what he wants, however he wants as a former member of the Thunder Bay Timberwolves. Beyond that, we wish him luck in his hockey career, and will leave it at that."
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Somewhat lost in the Souray drama, Mark Streit was released not for his off the ice issues, but for his on ice performance. When he was acquired from the Long Island Express at the trade deadline, it was hoped that his scoring production would come over with him and help the Timberwolves in adding another weapon to their arsenal for the playoffs. Streit managed just two goals and was routinely scratched or limited to only power play minutes.
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"Regarding the release of Mark Streit," said Wendt. "It just wasn't a fit here. There wasn't much chemistry with Mark and anyone, really. He never seemed comfortable here, and his level of production we seen in Long Island was sorely missed here. We wish him the best of luck and wish things had worked out better for all of us."
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With the CCHL Cup heading across the Atlantic for the first time in league history, the offseason is anything but a down time for clubs looking to adjust their fortunes for next season. For the Timberwolves, after these releases it's onto signing or releasing their restricted free agents before June 1st.
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"We know who we're keeping and who we're not," said Wendt. "There's really not much more to say on that matter right now. You will know soon enough what our intentions are, and that will be when the league formally announces such things. I will say that some things might surprise some of you, and I'll leave it at that for you guys [the media] to analyze and dig and flame rumour mills about. Enjoy your summer, and I will see you at the draft in July."
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