This was in my RBC Cup Newsletter e-mail: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.
# 19 – A Beast Emerges
When he was 16, a lanky Dexter Dancs notched 67 points in 42 games for the Jr. B Osoyoos Coyotes. That season, Penticton snapped him up but Dexter had just 4 points in 39 games for the Vees, who traded him to the Vipers for Jedd Soleway last December. Dexter added 16 points in 24 Viper games, but at times was not as physical as a 6'2" 185-pound player might be. Then, like a superhero, Dexter added 20 pounds of muscle last off season and a power forward emerged! "Last year," says Dexter, "I wasn't always keen to go into the corners, but now I like that part of the game and I think I can be useful by holding off a D-man and waiting until a line mate gets open." Indeed, Viper fans haven't seen that kind of strength and ability to protect the puck since the days of Rob Short and Bryce Kakoske. He agrees that the ability to control the puck is useful for his line; he has an especially good understanding with Michael McNicholas. Looking forward to next year at the University of Michigan, Dexter is working "on all the little things because everything will be under the microscope and I'll need to tend to every detail to stay in that lineup!"
# 22 – Mr. GQ Gets Nicked Up
Handsome and debonair, Colton Sparrow is sometimes referred to as "Mr. GQ." Certainly, he has excellent taste in clothing. Recently, though, his image has taken a little beating. As Colton puts it, "I've had injuries to various parts of my body, but lately my face seems to be a magnet." He has taken sticks to the face, has been hit with pucks, and on Friday, December 13 he lost a couple of front teeth when struck by a Trail clearance. "The good side of it is that it gives me some hockey cred; there are stories to tell." Resilient as ever, Colton has been very useful this year alternating between centre and wing on various line combinations. Some of his best work has been as a crash and bang winger to provide space and opportunities for Mason Blacklock. Colton hits very hard for a wiry 175-pounder: "When I hit a guy I try to go through him to a point three feet on the other side." After a highlight reel winner against Coquitlam recently, Colton has been reminded that he should shoot more often. He grudgingly admits that he should shoot, but he sees himself "as a playmaker, too." He sees his role a little differently when he's on a forechecking line as compared to playing with snipers like Mason Blacklock and Brett Mulcahy. "It's a different game, but Coach (Williamson) tells me I should basically play the same way all the time.'
# 24 – Dylan Comes Home
Growing up in Armstrong, Dylan Chanter was a Viper fan. "I can see the seats where my buddy and I would watch the games," he said before practice the other day. So was he happy to land in the Snake Pit? "Oh yes," he says, "It's an honour to play here." Unable to crack the Viper lineup as a 16-year-old, he was signed by Merritt, where he played the last two years. "I learned a lot there. Luke Pierce is intense and he demands that you work hard in practice and in games. And Joe Martin's also a fine coach; he taught me a number of skills and techniques to polish my game." He says that he felt chills when standing on the ice for the national anthem in his first game back in Merritt on January 14. "That's where I got my start in Jr. hockey and there are lots of memories." This past fall, he joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, where he says he also learned from that team's coaches. Unfortunately, he broke his collar bone in the first league game. He was out 8 weeks and in his second game back he suffered a seizure and a concussion during a fight. He says that he's "lucky to be fully recovered," and he was back on the ice only one and half weeks later. However, he was no longer fully in the team's plans, so he returned to the Okanagan. "My family is very happy that I'm back here and healthy again," he says. "I look forward to helping the team go on a roll down the stretch. The key is that we have to be accountable to ourselves and to each other. We've been in a little lull, but we'll get back in the right mindset."
No comments:
Post a Comment