RBC CUP 2014 The Excitement Returns!
A publication of the Vernon RBC Cup Host Committee
January 20th 2014 Volume 3, Issue 1
This Is Your RBC Cup Team
It's a veteran team, with six 20-year-olds, eight 19-year-olds, and five 18-year-olds. Twelve of the players have secured NCAA scholarships, with more on the way. Four of the players (Mulcahy, Hannoun, Renz, and Sparrow) have played in an RBC Cup and two others (McNicholas and Bryan) participated in last year's Western Canada Cup.
The team has size, speed, scoring talent, and solid goaltending. What's not to like?
And yet the Vipers have been inconsistent at times, within games and from game to game. The good news here is that the players and coaches are well aware of this tendency and are working hard to become a more consistent group that reflects their talent and experience.
The following series of short biographies brings out the players' views of their respective roles in coming together to form an exciting, winning team. Along the way, we'll learn a little more about their personalities.
# 1 – A "Normal" Goalie
Many hockey goaltenders are known for quirky behaviour, but Vernon's own Danny Todosychuk is sociable, and free of major eccentricities. The 19-year-old speaks up in the dressing room; he has no elaborate pre-game rituals; and he's very calm in net.
That approach is reflected in his attitude about being in a two-goalie system. He's played about 45 percent of the Viper minutes and Austin Smith has tended net for the remaining 55 percent. Danny says, "We've both proved that we can get the job done, so until one of us puts together a streak of absolutely standout performances, I expect we'll share the workload."
He continues, "You probably want a clear number one goalie in the playoffs, but if both goalies are playing well and used to alternating starts, then you stay really fresh and that can be a good thing, too. You just have to play your best while you're in there because Austin and I are here for the same reason – to help the team win."
Danny believes this version of the Vipers has as good a chance as any of the top BCHL teams of going to the Western Canada Cup. He suspects that the road to Dauphin will go through Penticton and/or Vernon.
# 3 – A Physical Presence
For an 18-year-old, Ken Citron has had a wide variety of hockey experience, at the elite Lawrenceville prep school, for the nationally ranked Comcast Midget program, and now in a strong Junior loop. Basically, he left his suburban New York City home at age 15 to play hockey and study.
His abilities were recognized early. A December 2011 New Jersey publication had this to say about the Lawrenceville defenceman: "Highly skilled team captain is still only a junior. Plays strong on both sides of the puck, can play physical hockey but also carry the play from the blueline."
That year, he played 75 hockey games for his school and for Comcast, which plays in the Atlantic Division of the Tier 1 Elite League, the top loop for U.S. Midget hockey. In his senior year of high school, he played full time for the Philadelphia-based Comcast squad and earned a scholarship to Colgate University.
Now with the Vipers, Ken has placed less emphasis on his offensive capabilities to focus on defence. "I need to be a physical player, which is fine with me because I love hitting and controlling opposing forwards."
# 4 – The Battle-Tested Veteran
Josh Bryan knows how to re-tool his game. With the Nanaimo Clippers, his role was to produce as much offence from the back end as possible, to compensate for a lack of scoring depth up front. This year, on a team that has several skilled forwards, he says that "Here we just have to move the puck up to the forwards and then support them."
Josh scored 18 regular season goals the last two years in Nanaimo, 7 on the power play. He doesn't man the point as often for the Vipers because as he puts it, "We have at least six guys who can quarterback the PP."
A leader since his minor hockey days, Josh had a leadership role with the Clippers and is happy to bring his experience to the Snake Pit. He was a leading light for the Clippers when they hosted the Western Canada Cup in April, and he's confident that he can apply that experience to the playoffs this year. "I think we'll do well against a team like Penticton," he says. "They could win a game or two with their skill but over a sevengame series our overall size and physical presence will take over, and their our skill will come into play."
Speaking of style of play, he's interested in the difference between the Interior Conference and the Island teams. "It's more of a dump and chase game on the Island, while in the Interior the better teams move the puck really well and control play. Teams like Penticton don't much like to bump and grind."
No comments:
Post a Comment