Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 19:46:16 -0800 Subject: WHL Weekly WELCOME TO WHL WEEKLY VOL. 3, uh I think In this issue: 1. Jim Hauer's Weekly Interview 2. A Little Birdie Told Me... 3. This Year's Schedule 4. Dave Shumka's Editorial 5. Player 'O the Week 6. Team 'O the Week 7. Top 'O the Mornin' to ya. (Oops,scratch that) 1. ************************************** ****** THE WHL WEEKLY INTERVIEW ****** ************************************** Hi again! I'm Jim Hauer, for the WHL Weekly, and I'm here with another GM from the best league on the Net - THE WEB HOCKEY LEAGUE. The trading deadline is getting closer every day, and many teams have made their final deals of the season. Today's interview "victim" is one of them that has made many trades lately, and is fighting for the last playoff spot in the Patrick Division. So today's guest is LORNE CLARKE, GM and Owner of the HAMILTON HITMEN. JIM: Hi there Lorne, how are you doing? LORNE: Pretty good thanks, how are you? JIM: I'm fine. I have travelled around and seen great WHL hockey for a week now. But over to the interview, Lorne. You have made many deals lately. Both Gretzky and Selanne are in your team now. Why did you make the trades, and is there anything you can tell us about them? LORNE: The reason I did these trades was because my team was falling apart(they stunk). I felt that if I didn't make some changes quick, that I would soon fall out of a playoff spot. I am hoping that they can carry me to the next level. I gave up a lot of players to get them, but I feel it was worth it and in the right system they can flourish. I have recently made another deal sending Hasek/Rucinsky/Sillinger/3rd rnder for Muller/Brodeur. JIM: Yes, but let's talk more about Gretzky and Selanne. Both have been a little disappointment in their previous teams. Have they performed well in the Hitmen jersey so far? LORNE: Well, so far I am 2-0 with Selanne and hopefully with the addition of Muller to center him he can put the puck in the net. I believe I am 2-1-1 with Gretzky and now that he is centering two of the leagues best snipers in Bondra and Tkachuk, I feel that he will take this team to another level in the playoffs. I now have two really solid forward lines in Tkachuk-Gretzky-Bondra, and Leblanc-Muller-Selanne. John Leblanc improved a considerable amount in the minors(7 shot) and has recently been called up to the big club. JIM: You made some other deals. Anything intresting you can tell us about them? LORNE: Earlier in the season I acquired Dominic Hasek. He has held my team together to this point. However, I had a great offer come up for him that I couldn't refuse and I bring in another established goaltender in Martin Brodeur, I also like Marty's age factor. JIM: So, you now have Gretzky, Brodeur and some other stars in your team, but which of them are most important to the team? LORNE: I really have a lot of big names on the team now. The most important will probably be the newly acquired Martin Brodeur. He will need to play great to win in the playoffs. I will have some tough competition. My MVP to this point has been Sandis Ozolinsh. My blueline has been weak (reason for trading Chelios), and Sandis has held it together, excelling on a rather dismal team. I will need a solid contribution from my two snipers Thachuk and Bondra (acquired for Chelios), and it should be easy for them playing with the great one. JIM: So, you have many big names, but you're just 1 point ahead of 5th placed Raptors. It's gonna be hard battle for the last playoff-position in Patrick division. Tell us what you think; Will the Hitmen make the playoffs or will Raptors steal the position from you? LORNE: Well, actually I just passed the Raptors today. With the trades I have just made, I feel my team is 100% better then before. I think that if I don't get that playoff spot then my players have to be the biggest underachievers of all time. I ain't looking at 4th spot, I am looking at moving higher than that. JIM: You have put almost every player on the trading-block. So we can expect a lot of trading before the deadline, right? LORNE: Yes, I would really like to maybe acquire another offensive defenseman, or another scoring winger. However, I now have a lot of players who are untouchable so the trades may not be as drastic. JIM: OK, Lorne. I'll give you a chance here to tell us wich players that you want to deal? LORNE: The players that I would really like to deal would be anyone of my defenseman. I would like to acquire a high scoring dman in return. My defencemen on the block include, Manson, Krupp, Ozolinsh, Samuelsson, Jonsson, and others. JIM: So, many players are on the block. But let's talk about something else. You have one of the best penalty kills in the league, anything you can tell us about that? LORNE: I gave my penalty killing to a few on my third line gritty players like Steve Rucchin, Keith Jones, etc... They have excelled and have been some of my best players averaging around +15. I also have to give a lot of credit to my tough stay at home defensiveman in Krupp, Manson, Samuelsson, Ozolinsh. JIM: Another thing that I have wondered about is why Hitmen are more powerful away, than on home-ice. Is the support too bad in the home-arena, or...? LORNE: I have a lot of good skating players who have been restricted in ice space playing here at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The support has been average but ever since getting the Great One, attendance has been sold out every game. Things should change with all the new faces. JIM: Lorne, is there anything you want to say to the league, good or bad, you got a chance to speak about whatever you want! LORNE: I think this is a very well run league and well organized. I just wish there was games every day. The only thing that gets me mad is the lack of involvement from some of the owners. Some are always willing to deal while others have seem to lost interest. JIM: Finally, which team wins the cup this first season? LORNE: The Hitmen, of course. JIM: Well, why wasn't I surprised about that answer. However, I think that the Hitmen will be a darkhorse in the playoffs, and with the team that they have now they can go far, so I wouldn't be surprised if you were right Lorne. I thank you for your time, if you don't want to say anything else before ending the interview? LORNE: Yah, watch out for the new and improved Hamilton Hitmen. Copps Coliseum is gonna be rocking! JIM: Heheh! Thank you Lorne. I, Jim Hauer, will be back with another interview in the next issue of the WHL WEEKLY. See you then..... -Jim Hauer, for the WHL Weekly in Hamilton 2. A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME... Matt Pitt, owner and GM of the Oakville Raptors, informed Commissioner Shaun Driver this Tuesday that he has too much going on to be involved in the WHL and he would like to be replaced as soon as possible. In related news, former Voodoo owner/GM Darren W. Kinnaird has contacted a member of the WHL Board of Directors about the league. As you'll recall, Kinnaird was moving during the "Commission Shuffle," and was unfortunately squeezed out of the league. He recently got himself a computer. Since this is a special case, Darren may have priority over the waiting list. THE PLOT THICKENS! 3. THIS YEAR'S SCHEDULE Well, how about this wacky schedule? Apparently, there's a glitch in HLS2 that creates terribly odd schedules. CASE IN POINT: The Gangstaz have played 14 games less than the rest of the division (13 less than the Monarchs). ADAMS Division GP BANGERS 60 MONARCHS 59 MALLRATS 60 GRUNTS 60 AGENTS 60 GANGSTAZ 46 LEAGUE GP 1. BANGERS 60 -. MALLRATS 60 -. GRUNTS 60 -. AGENTS 60 -. WARRIORS 60 -. HUSKIES 60 -. QUAKERS 60 -. VOODOO 60 9. MONARCHS 59 -. RAPIDS 59 -. HITMEN 59 -. RAPTORS 59 13. MUSTANGS 58 -. FURY 58 15. LUNATICS 57 16. ICETASY 55 -. DRIZZLE 55 -. BLIZZARD 55 19. SPARROWS 54 -. WOLFPACK 54 -. GOALPOST 54 22. VIKINGS 51 23. KODIAKS 49 24. GANGSTAZ 46 For the small majority it's perfect, fourteen teams within two games of one another. For a larger majority it's adequate, twenty-one within six games of one another. But for the Gangstaz the trading deadline comes very early, and they play their last few games within one day. Unfortunately, it's really hard - if not impossible - to produce a schedule manually. So, we must grin and bear it. 4. DAVE SHUMKA'S EDITORIAL I love e-mail. I use e-mail a lot. Many of you also e-mail a lot. You reply to trade offers as soon as you get them. But many of you seem to be afraid to use your e-mail. Some owners never reply to trade offers. This league is about participation, next season you will be able to earn up to ten million dollars based on your participation. Oh, and not replying to trade offers is a violation of league rules: ******************** A. CODE OF CONDUCT ******************** 1. Each Franchise GM is expected to respond to all trade inquiries as soon as possible. Also, I asked teams to nominate a player from their team for the player of the week - a system that I will continue to work with - I got four replies. Were there only four players that played well? I didn't want four replies, I wanted twenty-four. I wanted people replying even to say that they didn't have any players who excelled. So, if you don't want to participate in the league or you don't have time to reply to a trade offer with a simple no, maybe this is not the league for you. 5. PLAYER OF THE WEEK Well, this week belonged to Mario Lemieux of the Mallrats. He scored four goals and added five assists for nine points in five games. Doing that, he went from seventh leading scorer to third. 6. TEAM OF THE WEEK (Games 53-57) Well, the once almighty, all-powerful Icetasy have started to slip. But the once roadkill Sparrows seem to be coming to life. And the Lunatics are coming out of their shell. Both these teams have eight points in their last five games. That is why they share this week's TEAM OF THE WEEK. See you next week! * * *** *** ***** ***** ******* ******* ****************** *THANKS FOR READING* ****************** ******* ******* ***** ***** *** *** * * * * *** *** ***** ***** ******* ******* ****************** ***THE WHL DIGEST*** ****************** ******* ******* ***** ***** *** *** * *