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Post by jrp0629 on Sept 22, 2007 21:54:27 GMT -5
Does anybody know for sure what the deal is with Berard? Why he is no longer with the team?  |
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Post by Sparky on Sept 22, 2007 22:33:43 GMT -5
cutting down the overagers maybe? I would have thought Perron first. Lepera backed up tonight so I would think MA Perron is gone.
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Sept 23, 2007 22:18:07 GMT -5
The roster on the Spirit website now has Berard down at the bottom with a P next to his name. Is it possible he has somehow fallen out of favor with the new head coach?? Many of us, myself included, figured he not only would stick as an OA but would also be wearing a letter on his jersey.
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Post by bpfox on Sept 23, 2007 22:32:57 GMT -5
I am somewhat surprised by this move as well. Especially when you consider that Ryan had accepted the leadership role of captain during the pre-season. While no letters were worn, Ryan took on the roll of captain in the two pre season games I saw. By this I mean he was the on ice guy to the penalty box to get the refs explaination on penalties and in Woodstock he was the Spirit rep in the ceremonial puck drop.
Prior to the home opener, Coach Watson said they had one on one meetings with all of the overagers and they were told exactly where they stand. Perhaps Ryan didn't like what he heard and asked to be traded. Just guessing here, but he hasn't played in the first two regular season games. That might indicate a behind the scenes attempt to work a deal and the team does not want him getting hurt.
The players listed at the bottom of the page with a P by their name are all 20 year olds who still have OHL eligibility and are the property of the Spirit. If for any reason any of them do not make it in the pro's this season, they could return to the Spirit thus further complicating an already overloaded overager situation.
For now it looks like Asselin, Zaborsky and Sinfield are in and Berard, Mannino and Perron are out. Stay tuned.
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Sept 23, 2007 23:18:57 GMT -5
The players listed at the bottom of the page with a P by their name are all 20 year olds who still have OHL eligibility and are the property of the Spirit. If for any reason any of them do not make it in the pro's this season, they could return to the Spirit thus further complicating an already overloaded overager situation. The only player who I could see even remotely being sent back to Saginaw would be O'marra if the Edmonton brass feels he needs more time to re-hab that knee he wrecked in game 3 of the playoffs against the Soo. Even then, you would think he would have been back by now if that were the case. |
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Post by aj0512 on Sept 23, 2007 23:19:11 GMT -5
I never expected Mannino and Perron to stay with the team, but the Berard situation is interesting. There was a post on this board a few days ago saying that Berard had an off-ice issue, but I have not read anything on it from a reliable source so I will consider it a false rumor. My guess is that he probably had a falling out or some sort of disagreement with Coach Watson and is currently awaiting a trade.
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Post by sagdude on Sept 24, 2007 7:43:32 GMT -5
Berard has been sent home becuase of an off ice issue that he took part in during the opening night game. J. McDonough and A. Comrie were also involved and have been suspended by the team.
He was expected to be a leader on the team, but instead made a poor decission and involved 2 younger players.
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Sept 24, 2007 8:51:44 GMT -5
Saginaw News M-Live News Blog posting confirms that there was an off ice incident that took place last week and several players were disciplined. The number of players involved, the names of the players involved, nor the nature of the incident were disclosed in the blog posting. blog.mlive.com/saginawnews/2007/09/hockey_team_disciplines_player.html |
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Post by midlandpucks on Sept 24, 2007 8:52:31 GMT -5
Constantine is clearly "not allowed" by management to write about Berard yet. No surprise. He's not exactly Mike Wallace.
Take these as rumors if you want, or do your own research and follow up.
1. Berard did make a poor decision and it's a shame he did.
2. He's been sent home and has obviously hurt his trade value, which hurts the team.
3. Berard asked/pleaded for a trade all summer long. Edwards wouldn't grant the request, and promised Berard it would/will happen as soon as the right deal comes along.
4. Asselin asked/pleased for a trade all summer long. Edwards wouldn't grant the request and has promised Asselin it would/will happen as soon as the right deal comes along. If you don't believe this, then someone with some, ahem, pucks could ask either Don Edwards or Todd Watson this. If they tell you it's not true, ask them why they can't be honest about it.
5. It made ZERO sense to keep Perron to flame out in one game, and Mannino. Why have 6 overagers in camp when camp and the preseason who actually have some semblance of an iota of a thread of a chance of making the team??
6. To say Edwards has rubbed some parents, staff, and otherwise the wrong way is putting it mildly. Maybe that doesn't matter at the end of the day and wins and losses is what we will judge him on, but given the team's managing partner's propensity for hyperbole, "spin", lack of accountability and honesty at times, to see the GM following in those characteristics isn't impressing me. Just a prediction this marriage isn't going to last very long and if this team doesn't have a new GM by, at the latest, April 2009, I'll be shocked and admit my idiocy.
7. Season tickets are down. Way down. Attendance was way down for Saturday's game, especially. People can blame good weather and college football all they want, but talking to a Spirit staffer Saturday night, it's of great concern.
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Post by MidlandSpiritFan on Sept 24, 2007 9:11:06 GMT -5
I would have to agree with midlandpucks comment #7. Last year's season opener was on a Saturday night exactly 1 year ago and it was a sell out. I'm sure the weather was half way decent and there was college football to deal with that day as well. Maybe it's a good thing the Spirit only have 4 home games remaining between now and the end of October. I suppose that could backfire if the team has a tough time winning on the road.
Oh, and welcome to the Spirit Forum midlandpucks!!
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Post by eric8199 on Sept 24, 2007 10:19:42 GMT -5
I was at last year's season opener and it was about the same temperature last year as it was this year. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the 70s-80s. No different this season, yet we had a little over half the people.
I still think the poor attendance has to do with so many people saying for months that we were going to be terrible, which is not going to be the case. A lot of people are upset about the Mancini thing...I don't remember all the details, but it wouldn't have hurt to keep him on as GM. But I'll tell you what, morale might not be there, but this is a group of young kids that are playing HARD, and I think it will turn around. I think Watson is going to prove to be a good addition to this club. I like the work ethic these guys have on the ice. It's something I didn't see last season. And they are hitting...geez, last year we should have had one of the most physically feared teams in the league, but no one was afraid of us because we never hit. Not the case this year.
I like what we've got. I think the kids that are upset about all this need to be happy they're playing at all. These guys that were in the shadows last year have a chance to shine and they want to be traded to other teams where they'll be lost in the shadows again?
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Post by midlandpucks on Sept 24, 2007 12:12:56 GMT -5
eric8199...
no disrespect intended...but i take issue with you suggesting last year's team somehow lacked work ethic.
really?
who didn't work hard who is right now?
tom pyatt? patrick mcneill? cody bass? tyler haskins? mitch maunu? are you serious....you're basically calling these players out and acting like last year was a country club. they had NINETY-PLUS points!!!! i'm not trying to blast you, but this whole "work ethic" thing does such a disservice to last year's club.
give me examples, name names, and name games where you didn't see maximum effort. if anything, the "slugs" and "lazy" players are in some cases, still very much on this team. so overnight - now they're working class dogs? i'm not buying the "hard work" spin. at the end of the day, most teams are working as hard as each other...but talent more often than not wins games. i take issue with anyone who thinks the soo outworked saginaw. they had much better goaltending, our star centre broke his leg in game 3, and a few of their players stepped up, like godfrey and had exceptional series. i'm not saying you are, but people need to stop shaming last year's team for what it didn't accomplish as opposed to what it did.
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Post by SaginawGensFan on Sept 24, 2007 12:31:28 GMT -5
midlandpucks - did Edwards steal your girlfriend or something? You have bashed him or talked down about him in damn near every post you have made on here! It's getting old already. So you have all this inside info on who feels what way about whom - well, tell us then, how do you know this? Which player do you billet? What staff member are you? Otherwise, leave your speculation - even if it's fact to you - off of this board.
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Post by eric8199 on Sept 24, 2007 12:48:31 GMT -5
Midlandpucks:
Hold on just a second, I never meant to imply last season's team was not hard working. I appologize to last years players for implying that. First of all, I think they were playing how they were told to play. As a matter of fact, I'm sure of that. Because we had guys come in here like Cody Bass who were hard hitters, and we figured awesome, now we'll get some toughness on this team, and they got here and they played like the rest of the guys. Not saying it's wrong, because it avoids penalties etc, but it was like Mancini told these guys not to hit! Now, that doesn't necessarily effect the outcome of a game, hitting doesn't score goals, but it can help get the momentum back on your side when you're down two goals, or four as we were Wednesday night.
Secondly, what I meant to say is that when we ARE down, the guys we currently have, under current management, have not given up. We were pretty good about that last year too, coming back to win games when we were behind...God knows we started a lot of games behind...but it seems to be better this year. That's all I'm saying.
Finally, no matter how you look at it, Mancini is out. It's Edwards and Watson now, so be happy with it, and enjoy the game. Nothing you can do, Mancini isn't coming back.
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Post by spiritfan8 on Sept 24, 2007 12:54:21 GMT -5
I like the way this year's team is starting out, also.
But I agree w/ m.p.--the Spirit didn't get as far as we had hoped in the playoffs last year. But it's time to start celebrating them for what they were, not weren't. It will probably be a long time before we see a home-grown duo like Pyatt and McNeill do the things they did for this franchise. Tyler Haskins was a joy to watch every night, Cody Bass was much more than I expected, and Ryan O'Marra was such an "afterthought" that his absence might have cost us the first round of the playoffs--how I wish all 3 of them had been here for more than a season. I will always have fond memories of all of them.
And now it's time to put last year to bed. They have "set the bar" for future Spirit teams--at least for now--and I am looking forward to seeing how this season's team responds. Let's all do the same.
And if players have been suspended--that very much affects on-ice performance, and in my opinion is fair game. So shoot me.
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