Blades Preview

Hey you, you're looking good today!!!

• With firepower aplenty, the blades look to fill the nets and fill the win column in 2005/2006

2 years

730 days

17,520 hours

1,051,200 minutes

63,072,000 seconds

1 transformed, resurrected ,rebuilt,and rejuvenated hockey team

That's all folks. That's all it's taken, 1 GM, a handful of hockey players, 2 coaches, a 5000 fan fluctuation and rise again,

Now allow me if you will to scope, analyze,evaluate,inspect,investigate,scrutinize,judge,discuss and determine the fates of the following players on the Blades who will make a lasting impact on the blue and gold in 2005/2006, the players that will one day be given the same drawn out speech on their retirement jersey day about how much they've given to the game and how much $$ its given back and how many knees and noses and heads and morales they've broken while busting there butt on the ice, and the passion they've put into this long lasting junior franchise....still awake........sorry..........i digress.

First off it's none other than

DEVIN SETOGUCHI-Make sure you don't have an ice cream cone tilted on the edge of your seat when this guy has has the puck because chances are you'll knock it and everything else onto the floor when jubilantly jumping out of your seat at the sight of yet another dipsy doodle goal by 'Seto'. 50 goals isn't out of the question if the defencemen can consistently get him the puck.

Gadies and Lentlemen, the king of great names in the WHL. The most talked about name in junior hockey, with no relevance to his great hockey skills...put your hands togethor for....

WACEY RABBIT- If you mix up the first letters in each name, it goes like so....Racey Wabbit, meaning a race oriented Rabbit. This player will be going so fast on the ice, you'll get the reciprocal form of a fast rabbit mixed up and instead say 'i think i saw a Wacey Rabbit'. Too slow to figure this analogy out? You're not alone. Not many opponents in the WHL can figure out Wacey Rabbit either.

Now this leads us to the third and definately not the weakest link of probably the most envied group of forwards in the WHL. If good names were an indication of good teams, the blades would be a perrenial powerhouse....and they very well could be with the help of.............

JOE BARNES- Despite a neck injury that nearly ended his career 3 eyars ago, Barnes is the backbone of an explosive groupof small forwards. However, small he is not at 6'3 215 and will be a vital part of the blades physical presence.

Also take note of ........

Russian Goalie ANTON KHUDOBIN- A russian all-star wisely selcted by molleken in the Euro draft, appears to have it all, as many witness in his preseason 59 save performance against the tigers. Expect him to be the showstopper and to steal a few game behind a vulnerable blades defence.

Justin McRae- The future captain of the team, at 17 years old will be counted on to carry a big load....................................and the list goes on

Hey you, did i just hear you whisper something about someone being a homer.

Hmph.

Lets face it folks. We haven't seen a team thi spotent in recent memory (recent memory could mean as far back as 1 year if your over 50, 1 day if your a senior, 1 minute if you have alzheimers, but yeah you get the point)

All this can be thanked to Lorne Molleken who has taken the team (if you could call it that then) in 2004 to favourite in 2005-2006....all in the time of.........

2 years

730 days

17520 hours

1,051,200 minutes

63,072,000 seconds

1 matured, straightened out, changed,good hockey team

Prediction: 41-24-4-3

As a sidenote.......

One unflattering fact about the blades defence: Nic Knudsen last year, of all the returning d-men, led the goal scoring parade (if you can call it that, more like a 1 minute walk to the park) with a whopping 3 goals...such a statistic should be accounted for as Molleken promptly did...going after Craig Lineker of the Pats who also had a whopping 3 goals last year----good job Lorne.

BleacherBuff