PR - Wheat Kings

WHEAT KINGS FACE REVOLUTION

The off-season for the Kings was nothing short of a revolution, with eleven new faces slated to join the team at the cost of only three regulars from last season.

"In the end we were able to use our cap space better than I expected," GM Tyler Young commented, "we also made some smaller moves, trading away some younger prospects that didn't really have much of a future in the organization in return for tried and tested veterans. We kept our core together, like I said we would, and we managed to add several quality players."

"Our objective going into the offseason was to make changes that would get us about 15 more goals and shave about 15 off our goals against, or at least get us back under 25 shots against per game. Hopefully with all these maneuvres we've done that. I can honestly say that this team is the best one we've iced since TFHL14, and factoring in pure potential it might just be a better group."

In other personnel moves, Head Coach Mike Keenan's contract was not renewed and will join the team in a scouting capacity. Keenan coached the Wheat Kings for five seasons and was a respectable 221-174-45 in that time. But while he managed to lead the team into the playoffs four of five years, the Kings have managed only one playoff round victory. Keenan won the Jack Adams trophy for coach of the year in TFHL14. Tyler Young named himself to the top coaching post and hired Brent Sutter and Don Hay as associate coaches.

"I think as coach-GM my position as GM will be improved - I'll know the players, know the pieces I need, who's really good for this team and who's a problem - and as coach I can shape this group in the image I want. I also wanted some help so I brought in two excellent coaches to head up this team, Brent and Don are great motivators and tacticians, good, smart hockey people, plus they're both good ol' farm boys from Western Canada. For too many years this team hasn't played with a strong enough work ethic and grit, so I wanted to get a strong Western element to make this team a champion."

Besides the coaching staff, several of the new player additions are from the Heartland: Kwiatowski is from Kindersley, near to the boss' hometown of Kerrobert - "yeah, he's from Kindersley," Tyler Young joked, "but we won't hold that too much against him" - Lance Ward is from Lloydminster, Cam Barker is from Winnipeg, Dafoe grew-up on Vancouver Island, plus long time King Eric Fehr is from Winkler and prospect Byron Bitz will play in his hometown of Saskatoon. Bitz and the Young boys grew up on the same street and played street hockey against each other - "I always though Byron's younger brother Joey was the best of the Bitzs, but I guess Byron's the one who made it," Mr. Young commented with a smile.

Overall the Kings are much deeper, younger, and improved. Goaltending remains something of a question mark, but the defensive corp is now (and probably for the first time) a serious strength for the Wheaties.


OUT: Duncan Keith (trade), Craig Conroy (free agency), Mike Rathje (farm)

IN: Peter Mueller (draft), Michael Frolik (draft), Joel Kwiatowski (trade), Jason Smith (free agency), Sergei Zubov (trade), Byron Bitz (farm), Niklas Bergfors (farm), Cam Barker (farm), Karol Rachunek (trade), Lance Ward (trade), Byron Dafoe (trade)