The fog made it impossible to see clearly to the other end of the rink, but you still had the familiarity of your surroundings. Compare that to the beginning of a hockey season where you know when the season ends, and you pretty much now what you'll get when you get to the end. But you can't see the end, not right now. There are too many things clouding your vision and the only way to clear away the fog and haze is to start moving forward. And just like someone about to journey through a fog is confronted with questions, so are we confronted with questions about the Greenville Road Warriors. Bit by bit they'll begin to be answered beginning with the open of exhibition play on Oct. 7 against South Carolina. As we get set to embark on the journey that is the 2011-12 season, these are the 10 questions that are preeminent in my mind.
10) Who's in Net?
- When Greenville broke camp last year, it was a comfort to have the veteran presence and championship experience of Dov Grumet-Morris in goal. Without him, it's likely the Road Warriors don't get off to such a hot start. This year that luxury, like Dov who went to play in Norway, is long gone. Two rookies and a journeyman third-year pro are competing for the two spots. Here's how they stack up.Jason Missiaen is a 6-8 tower who plays angles well and takes up a lot of net. He didn't have good numbers in juniors because he played on not so great teams, but he had enough skill for Montreal to draft him in the fourth round three years ago. The Canadiens never signed him, but the Rangers were there to scoop him up. Jerry Kuhn, another rookie, was never a full time starter at Western Michigan until weeks went by in his senior season in 2010-11. Once he took over, Kuhn led the Broncos on a 14-game unbeaten streak from mid-December to mid-February. He went on to play well for Idaho down the final stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs before the Steelheads bowed out to eventual champion Alaska. Finally there's Billy Sauer who has already played for six ECHL teams in his first two years as a pro. He was a star at Michigan (fifth all-time at the school with 71 wins) and was a seventh round draft pick of Colorado in 2006. He has never played more than 29 games in a season, but has shown he can steal a game. Anyone remember the Teddy Bear Toss game last December? If Sauer isn't in goal for Gwinnett Greenville probably wins that game 6-0. Coach Stork has said each will get equal playing time in two preseason games so it's totally up in the air who will take control of the crease.
- Of all the opening-night match-ups, the most intriguing one is right here in Greenville. Last spring the Road Warriors and Wheeling Nailers played a nasty, controversial, and drama-filled series that culminated in a seventh game at the BI-LO Center. Brendan Connolly improbably tied the game at three with 23 seconds left to play and sent the game to overtime. Ultimately, the Nailers forced a turnover that led to a 2-on-1 and the series-clinching goal. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Road Warriors who went 6-0-0 against Wheeling in the regular season. With nine players on the current roster who skated in that game, you have to believe they are eager to get another shot at Wheeling on opening night. But is there a danger in being too revved up for the first game of the season? It can sometimes be difficult to find that proper balance of playing with emotion/aggression and playing controlled.
- The ECHL isn't just about developing players for the next level of pro hockey. Their coaches are also trying to climb the ranks towards the NHL and many have succeeded including former Las Vegas coach Glen Gulutzan who was hired by the Dallas Stars this summer. As a rookie head coach, Dean Stork made a distinct first impression by leading his team to the best record in the Eastern Conference, getting named as an All-Star coach, and finishing runner-up for Coach of the Year honors. Stork is fiercely competitive, though, and losing in the second round of the playoffs did not sit well with him. He has shown that he can assemble a team and succeed at a high level during the regular season, but what can he do differently this time around to earn more success in the playoffs?
- Returnee Connor Shields and newcomer Brett Robinson are each looking to return after injuries cut short very promising campaigns a season ago. Shields was in the midst of a lengthy call up to Milwaukee of the American Hockey League when he went down in late March. He was a strong point producer (47 in 55 games) with Greenville and would have been a strong addition to the playoff roster had he been available. Robinson was on pace for a 50 point season which would have nearly doubled his point production from his rookie season. But an injury derailed him in early December and he didn't play again for the Cyclones. They will each be counted on for production, and leadership, in the Greenville lineup so keeping them healthy will be important. You also have to wonder if there are any lingering issues from their injuries?
- In the present it is very hard to gauge the Matt Schekpe for Ryan Hayes trade the Road Warriors swung this summer. The best barometer I can find is comparing their rookie season stats and they're nearly identical. Hayes had 50 points (23G, 27A) and he was an even +/- on a poor Trenton Devils team. Schepke had 46 (26G, 20A) with Charlotte and was a +17 on a first place team. After injuries limited Schepke to 15 games in Greenville last season, Stork swung the trade that brought Hayes to town. Hayes is a little shorter and lighter than Schepke, but possesses the speed, shot, and playmaking ability to put up points in bunches. Can he avoid a letdown in his second season? The Road Warriors are banking on that.
- In 2010-11, rookies were all over the Road Warriors' highlight reel. Shane Harper was scoring at nearly a point per game. Marc-Olivier Vallerand was an All Star and led the team, and all ECHL Rookies, in goals with 28. Blake Parlett was also an All Star and was leading all league defensemen in scoring when he was called up to Connecticut in February. Brandon Wong scored the first hat trick in Road Warriors history. Nic Riopel was a steady goaltender and won 24 games in the regular season. With position battles still going on in camp, it's hard to speculate which first year players will have prominent roles, let alone make a similar impact. I have a feeling, though, there will be a couple of first-year Road Warriors that make you sit up and take notice.
- Nate Kiser, formerly of the South Carolina Stingrays, seemed to be the only combatant who was a willing combatant to drop the gloves with the Road Warriors' captain. For my money they were the top two heavyweights in the league. But Kiser has now retired. Reynolds used Danick Paquette as his personal punching bag a time or two when Paquette was in Gwinnett last season. But by the end of the year he wanted no part in the pugilism with No. 44. Now a prospect in the Washington Capitals' system, and a member of the Stingrays, will Paquette's courage return? My money is that a rookie looking to prove himself will take a chance and end up regretting the decision.
- One of the things that made the 2010-11 season so much fun was the flare for dramatics that the Road Warriors constantly showcased. They lost the first two overtime games they played in, but after that it was almost always a positive result in extra hockey. In games that went past regulation (overtime or shootout) last season the Road Warriors were 11-3. Highlighting those 11 wins were three games: the 1-0 OT win thanks to Mark Voakes' penalty shot on Teddy Bear Toss Night, Connor Shields' breakaway goal with 7 seconds left in OT to beat South Carolina, and the 12-round shootout win in Florida in which the Road Warriors twice had to score to survive. Who knows how or why that team was so good at coming through in the clutch, but here's to hoping the 2011-12 Road Warriors have that same ingredient.
- There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding last season's Road Warriors. How would the team perform under a rookie head coach? Could a team, basically built from scratch, find the right chemistry and come together? The uncertainty quickly faded and was replaced by wonder of how far could this team go? Was it a championship-caliber team? The Road Warriors emerged atop a very difficult South Division and now carries the burden of the bull's-eye on its back. Instead of uncertainty, now, there are expectations of success. Can this squad handle the pressure of those expectations?
- I believe that with returning First-Team All-ECHL defenseman Wes Cunningham, captain T.J. Reynolds, second-year pro Sam Klassen all back on defense it is a solid core to anchor the blue line. What seems, to me, to be the biggest question on this team is who is going to step up to fill the skates left behind by Jimmy Kilpatirck and Mark Voakes. Kilpatrick, the team's leading scorer, has gone to play in Europe, and Voakes, second on the club in points, has earned a spot on the AHL's Rochester Americans. Bowers, Connolly, Wong, Vallerand, and Shields are all back up front and will definitely put up big points. The overall balance and depth of last year's team was such a weapon, though, and others are going to have to step up. I'm excited to see Jeff Prough, a perennial threat to score 30 goals, get a chance to play on a team that has more offensive depth than he was used to playing with in Trenton. I also think we could be poised to see a breakout season for Chris Chappell. In his second full year as a pro, I believe he's learning to use his size to his advantage more often and he could develop into a very good power forward.
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