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Well what an end to a fantastic season that was. For as great as last year was, there was a hollow feeling amongst all of us when we didn't win that last game. That was not going to happen again this year.
Looking back, the CHL was a new but tremendous experience for our club. Before it was even half way done, Lordo wanted to do it all over with the wisdom that he gained through those games. I can't wait for next year's CHL games with our club being much wiser to the way that we need to play to succeed. That doesn't mean we'll necessarily win more games because these are all amazing teams with budgets 10x ours but we'll certainly make them work for it.
The CHL and having new players in new roles had an impact on our early season performance but with Mr. Lord at the helm, you know that he'll find the right solutions or die trying. Without a doubt, the addition of Tyson Strachan was a huge part of that winning formula. Not only did he quickly become the best shut down defenceman in the league, he had a double impact by allowing the rest of our defencemen to play the roles that they should be playing and improving their games. Next time I see Doug Wilson in San Jose, drinks are on me for delivering that guy to us.
Looking forward, there is always sadness at potentially saying goodbye to great players but in this case, even better people. This group is truly unique in what good people they all were to a man. Once again, that alchemy is all due to Lordo's tireless work on not only finding the right player but the right person. We hope that the personnel losses will be minimal as they have been in our other years but we don't know quite yet. We want everybody to focus on properly celebrating their massive achievements before we really start figuring out our roster for next year.
What I can tell you is that our players absolutely adore playing in Cardiff. As usual, departures will be people looking to move on to the next phase of their lives. I can't imagine losing a player that we want to keep to another team - in our league especially. I can also tell you that we never stop recruiting. There are players that we're not going to see for another two to three years that we have established relationships with and are prepping to be Devils when their days in North America are done. I even send them Sully's videos during the season to give them a glimpse of our winning ways and of course our world's best fans.
So thank you all for your support of this fantastic club. What a truly thrilling thing to be a part of. So many other things in life give me stress and concern. The Devils give me nothing but joy. Keep those off season rumours coming - I love seeing them - and I'll maybe give out the odd hint or two. Although the fact that someone got Drew Paris from my hint last year really freaked me out!
Have a great off season Red Army and savour this time as champions!
Looking back, the CHL was a new but tremendous experience for our club. Before it was even half way done, Lordo wanted to do it all over with the wisdom that he gained through those games. I can't wait for next year's CHL games with our club being much wiser to the way that we need to play to succeed. That doesn't mean we'll necessarily win more games because these are all amazing teams with budgets 10x ours but we'll certainly make them work for it.
The CHL and having new players in new roles had an impact on our early season performance but with Mr. Lord at the helm, you know that he'll find the right solutions or die trying. Without a doubt, the addition of Tyson Strachan was a huge part of that winning formula. Not only did he quickly become the best shut down defenceman in the league, he had a double impact by allowing the rest of our defencemen to play the roles that they should be playing and improving their games. Next time I see Doug Wilson in San Jose, drinks are on me for delivering that guy to us.
Looking forward, there is always sadness at potentially saying goodbye to great players but in this case, even better people. This group is truly unique in what good people they all were to a man. Once again, that alchemy is all due to Lordo's tireless work on not only finding the right player but the right person. We hope that the personnel losses will be minimal as they have been in our other years but we don't know quite yet. We want everybody to focus on properly celebrating their massive achievements before we really start figuring out our roster for next year.
What I can tell you is that our players absolutely adore playing in Cardiff. As usual, departures will be people looking to move on to the next phase of their lives. I can't imagine losing a player that we want to keep to another team - in our league especially. I can also tell you that we never stop recruiting. There are players that we're not going to see for another two to three years that we have established relationships with and are prepping to be Devils when their days in North America are done. I even send them Sully's videos during the season to give them a glimpse of our winning ways and of course our world's best fans.
So thank you all for your support of this fantastic club. What a truly thrilling thing to be a part of. So many other things in life give me stress and concern. The Devils give me nothing but joy. Keep those off season rumours coming - I love seeing them - and I'll maybe give out the odd hint or two. Although the fact that someone got Drew Paris from my hint last year really freaked me out!
Have a great off season Red Army and savour this time as champions!