Character Development

If you're anything like us, you probably uttered (or yelled, depending on where you were) something not repeatable in polite company when you found out last week that the Grizzlies had traded their leading scorer, Brad Snetsinger, away to Bakersfield. Our rant went from "Wha- why?" to "That makes no sense," to "They'd better get someone amazing back," to "Why do they do this to us?" in just under five minutes. Yeah, we get that this is the ECHL and players move around a lot, but the leading scorer? Not to mention how well he was doing in the Grizzlies' line up as of late. It almost seems like a conspiracy to make us pull our hair out before the playoffs even start. (It's probably Coach Colley's revenge on us for commenting on his highlights last season.)

During the game on the 21st, Adrian Denny interviewed Simon Ferguson, and he mentioned this trade. He pointed out that Coach Colley felt pretty secure in making this move, even though Brad Snetsinger had been great for the team. Ferguson's response was this:

"I think we've got a lot of really good character guys in there, that everyone wants to work for each other, everyone wants to play for each other. So it's a good mix, and hopefully we can continue the way things are going right now."

We've been saying for most of the season that this team isn't really a team of all-stars, nor do they have any one player who is the big scoring threat, but we don't even really listen to ourselves half the time. But Simon Ferguson IS a character guy, and they say it takes one to know one.

Ferguson has 287 games of AHL experience (including 19 playoff games) with 4 different teams, including last season's Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears. He's been around a while and has seen it takes to make a successful team. This is a guy who isn't afraid to put in the effort to improve himself and his game. He even trained with boxer Jesse James Leija, and it's telling what Leija had to say about him after the workout - "You know why he's good - because he wants to work hard all the time." (Watch here - interview about the 6:39 mark.)

So when Simon Ferguson says the team is full of character guys who want to work for each other, we can trust he knows what he's talking about. As much as we fans like to whine and complain, the team is still going in the right direction.

Not that we still won't miss Snetsinger... especially when we play Bakersfield.

Speaking of Simon Ferguson, he had two goals in last night's 5-3 win over Las Vegas. Tim Crowder also had a goal, just like we guessed he would. Apparently Timmy likes playing in Vegas. Next up, the Bakersfield Condors on Wednesday. Uh... welcome home, Brad?

We would be remiss if we didn't mention just a couple of items outside the Grizzlies realm.

First of all, the World Junior Championships started last weekend in Buffalo, New York. USA and Canada both won their first games. Anyone hoping for a gold medal rematch from last year? For more information, you can check out USA Hockey's website.

Secondly, the NHL Winter Classic is on Saturday, January 1st in Pittsburgh. The hosting Pittsburgh Penguins will match up with the Washington Capitals on an outdoor rink. Check out the Winter Classic website - you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about this event, including a live webcam where you can watch the ice being built at Heinz Field. If you're not a little bit excited for this, turn in your "hockey fan" badge now.

And if you're planning on going to the game on Wednesday night, watch out for the weather. We're hoping our mom will let us spray down her back yard before the cold front settles in. Hey, it's Winter Classic time.