It may be hockey’s off-season, but as with all of the other sports, there is no such thing as a true off-season. Coaches are fired and hired. Players are cut and traded and signed as free agents. There’s a draft. There are various player camps.
At this time last year, the Houston Aeros were coming off a trip to the AHL’s Western Conference Finals, and though they lost many key offensive players, the coaching staff was returning, as were many of the key defensive players.
But with a change in the staff at the Aeros parent club Minnesota Wild, and a change in philosophy with the Wild, the Aeros found themselves struggling through a season in which nothing coach Kevin Constantine tried actually worked.
Constantine and his staff were held responsible for the team’s
shortcomings and missing the playoffs, and the Wild have brought in a
new coach, Mike Yeo, and are continuing to reshape a roster that, last
year, just couldn’t get the job done.
“We inherited somewhat of a
situation last year,” Aeros GM/Wild assistant GM Jim Mill said last
week. “This year, it’ll be our situation — we’re certainly accountable
for what happened last year, and we’ll be even, quite frankly, more
accountable for this year.”
While Constantine did a fantastic job
to keep the club in playoff contention last year, the roster ultimately
lacked the depth and talent of the team’s competition, and with
injuries and disappointing play being the guiding factor with last
year’s Wild, the Aeros never stood a chance. But Mill thinks that, in
Yeo, the Aeros and Wild will be more in sync in terms of style of play
and talent.
“What we’re looking for is he’s [Yeo’s] got to be the
right fit for the organization, and the right fit for Mike [Yeo] to
believe in what [Wild GM] Chuck [Fletcher] and I and [Wild coach] Todd
Richards believe in, and obviously what Mike believes in,” Mill said.
“That’s an aggressive style of hockey…”
Returning to the club,
barring injuries with the Wild or fantastic training camp results, will
be youngsters Chad Rau, Cody Almond, and Carson McMillan. Rau was a
revelation in his first professional year, finishing as one of the
team’s top scorers, playing in nearly every game, and never appearing to
be out of his element. Almond suffered through some early injuries and
some stupid play, but showed the promise that made the Wild high on him
in the first place, and McMillan was a good energy guide.
Joining
those three will be Jean-Michel Daoust, the team’s leading scorer from
last season, and one of those guys who is in the mix of any action on
the ice, be it a goal, a fight, or any type of action. And last year’s
captain, Jon DiSalvatore will be returning, as well defenseman Jamie
Fraser.
“We’re real excited about those two guys because, again,
Jon, I’ve known a long time, and he still believes he can — and so do
we — that he has a chance,” Mill said. “He’s also a 600-plus game
veteran, and he scores 20-25 goals, 20-30 assists [a year], and he’s a
leader and a consummate professional. He’ll be great for the city of
Houston, and he’ll be great for our kids and the organization as well.”
Joining
the team will be free agent signings Warren Peters, who spent last
season with the AHL’s Texas Stars, and defenseman Drew Bagnall, who
played for the Manchester Monarchs.
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2010.
