Rick Wamsley is getting his chance to be a head coach at the Blues' top farm team in Peoria, Ill.
Monday, February 1, 2010
George Csolak
PEORIA, Ill. - Rick Wamsley sat on a bench in the lobby of a local community center and began unlacing his skates. An athletic bag sat nearby while the pupils of his new life endeavor sat doing the same, athletic bags strewn across the room.
The Peoria Rivermen had just completed an hour-long practice session. Instead of serving as an assistant, Wamsley was running the show, something he has dreamed of for several years. On Jan. 2, he was caught in quite a whirlwind when the Blues dismissed head coach Andy Murray, summoned Davis Payne from Peoria to take over and sent Wamsley north on Interstate 55 to take Payne’s place.
“It was a shock on the day it happened, to tell you the truth,” said Wamsley, who became the 16th coach in Rivermen history.
But unlike many similar scenarios where negative waves dominate such a life-altering event, this one was different because of the reaction of loved ones surrounding him. His wife Lori, daughters Kelly, Colleen and Megan and granddaughter Emma were totally supportive of his sudden relocation.
“They were so positive…a major reason why this transition has been so good,” he said. “They were behind it 110 percent.
“I’ve talked about being a head coach for awhile now and they realized that the opportunity was there and they were supportive right off the bat.”
The family was so excited, Lori Wamsley packed the car and the family drove five hours to Chicago where the Rivermen were to play the Chicago Wolves in an American Hockey League game. They gathered with him prior to the game at the Marriott Hotel and enjoyed a nice meal after the game. The Rivermen lost the game, but it didn’t matter. This baptism-by-fire was special.
“It ended up being one of those family memories that everyone will cherish,” said Wamsley, who politely passed on getting together for lunch after our meeting. He’d given the Rivermen the next day off and he was eager to jump in the car and make the three-hour drive back to St.Louis to spend precious time with the family.
It’s been a little less than a month since he took over, but Wamsley admits to feeling more comfortable. Instead of conferring with Blues goalies Chris Mason and Ty Conklin about the technical aspects of their game or huddling with assistant coach Ray Bennett to map out strategy for the Blues power play, he is spending his time drawing up game plans for the Rivermen.
“The learning curve the first two weeks for me was large, rounded, whatever term you’d like to use,” he said. “I was thrown into the fire a little bit, which I enjoy. It reminded me of sitting on the bench for 17 days and all of a sudden getting thrown into a game.
“So there were long days at the rink just trying to figure things out, trying to implement what I’m wanting to do, how to get that message across and how I want the team to play. It’s been a lot of ‘who do I have, what can I do against the opposition’…trying to learn as much as possible about the league and who we’re playing.
“It feels a lot more comfortable now. I feel like I’ve been around the block at least once with the team against who we’re playing.”
There’s been a void in St. Louis since Wamsley left. He spent nearly four seasons as assistant coach/goaltending coach. Most of the Blues players were stunned initially by the coaching shake-up, but they quickly realized this is the real world and it’s a business.
Wamsley’s exit was a bit tougher to digest for Mason, especially, because the two had built a special relationship. Under Wamsley’s guidance, Mason was able to correct some of the flaws that had made him vulnerable prior to when he joined the Blues. After working one-on-one with Wamsley, who won 204 games during his playing days, Mason became one of the game’s top-tier goalies. That elevation took place in the second half of last season, when Mason was brilliant night after night, playing 33 consecutive games to anchor one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of professional sports in St. Louis.
Similar stories of success can be found throughout Wamsley’s career as an assistant coach and goaltending mentor. He did stellar work relating the experience he gained in 12 NHL seasons as a goaltender with the Blues, Montreal, Calgary and Toronto. In Toronto and Columbus, where he was an assistant and goaltending coach, Wamsley helped turn struggling young men into confident, technically sound backstoppers.
Rick Wamsley
Now Peoria goaltenders Ben Bishop, a native of St. Louis, and Hannu Toivonen will get direct, hands-on attention from Wamsley. Each benefited from his expertise in recent years and Bishop spent the second half of last season backing up Mason. But Bishop didn’t see much playing time as the Blues were desperate to make the playoffs. Last summer the Blues hired legendary NHL goaltender Ed Belfour as a goaltending consultant, but his visits and tutor sessions were infrequent and recently Belfour stepped down, citing his lack of desire to travel and be away from his family.
Bishop is excited about working with Wamsley and further refining his game in his quest to someday become the Blues No. 1 goalie.
“He’s great,” said Bishop. “He’s worked with the goalies and he’s one of the best at what he does. He took Manny (former Blues goalie Legace) when he was in St. Louis and he made the All-Star team. You look at Mason and he was unbelievable last year and got off to a great start this year.
“He knows what he’s doing and now that I’m getting a chance to work with him every day, hopefully I can attain success.”
The Rivermen enjoyed playing for Payne, who guided the team to a strong regular season and the AHL playoffs in 2008-09. His style is different than that of the 50-year-old Wamsley, who is more old school and has a bit of an edge.
“I think Davis was a good coach,” Peoria center and top Blues prospect Lars Eller said. “I really liked him. He was great working with us younger guys. I think Wamsley is a great coach, too. He’s made a smooth transition. You feel like you have a different voice in the locker room.”
Eller compared Wamsley to former NHL star Ulf Dahlen, who coached his Swedish Elite team the past few seasons.
“Ulf’s style was the North American style, too, so I got a great education from him,” said Eller.
The Rivermen were in the thick of a wild AHL playoff race and at the time of my visit. They have gone 4-7 under Wamsley, but the former Blues goalie likes what he sees.
“I think the team is good,” he said. “I was really happy that they played so well the first game back after the All-Star break. We had five or six guys who didn’t play well and then the next night against a real tough team, the Chicago Wolves, was a huge bounce-back effort. For the most part we controlled the game and hung on to win at the end. So I was happy with the guys.”
The team was readying for a trip to Rockford, Ill., and a game against the IceHogs, but life in the the AHL is a far cry from the amenities and luxuries of the NHL. The Rivermen travel by bus, stay in decent hotels and pack and carry their own equipment everywhere.
“Longer runways in this league,” said Wamsley with a laugh of the difference between the NHL and AHL. “Team bonding is not an issue because you’ve been together so much and for so long. It leads to good chemistry and people caring about where people sit and all that type of stuff, so it’s all been really good.”
Trade-mania
While the NHL trade deadline isn’t until March 3, the Toronto Maple Leafs and General Manager Brian Burke officially kicked off the wheeling and dealing Sunday with a pair of blockbuster deals.
The Leafs sent four players – including popular and longtime Blues winger Jamal Mayers to the Calgary Flames for cornerstone defenseman Dion Phaneuf in a seven-player swap. Then Burke dealt starting goalie Vesa Toskala and winger Jason Blake to the Ducks for veteran goalie J.S. Giguere.
The Phaneuf deal ended weeks of speculation that the 24-year-old defenseman could be dealt. The Flames have been reeling lately and needed a jolt to reset their team’s focus. Toronto, tied for last place with Carolina in the Eastern Conference, is in line for a major makeover. And it’s not over.
“We’re still open for business,” Burke told TSN Sunday. “We’re not done.”
Phaneuf was a major force for the Flames in 2005-06 when he scored 20 goals as a rookie and followed it up with two consecutive 17-goal seasons. Last year, the hard-hitting Phaneuf slipped to 11 goals and this year he had 10 goals and was minus-3 in 55 games with Calgary.
Phaneuf, whom Burke called a “warrior”, could be a force in the future for the Leafs if he can get back to playing his physical style and re-discover his big shot from the point.
“He’s got a cannon for a shot. He plays the game hard and I want players who play the game hard because they’re hard to play against,” said Burke. He carries a hefty $6.5 million cap hit.
In addition to Mayers, the Flames get defenseman Ian White and forwards Matt Stajan and Nick Hagman. Besides Phaneuf, the Leafs got Keith Aulie, a 6-foot-6 defenseman, and winger Fredrik Sjostrom.
Anaheim felt it could part with Giguere after signing starting goalie Jonas Hiller to a reported four-year, $18 million contract extension Saturday. A former Conn Smythe winner, Giguere was 4-8-5 with a 3.14 goals-against average in 20 games as a backup with the Ducks this season. He was a favorite of Burke when the latter was GM of the Ducks. Giguere will also join his longtime goaltending coach Francois Allaire in Toronto.
“What I loved about him is I’ve never had a goalie that works this hard,” Burke told TSN.
Giguere, under contract through 2011, has a no-trade clause and made it clear that he didn’t want to be a backup goaltender. He’ll get his wish with the Maple Leafs, where he’ll take over as the main man.
Souray sidelined
Recently in this space I suggested that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray would look good in a Blues uniform. He’s a veteran who hits hard and has a great shot from the point. He’s also 33 and carries a $5.4 million cap hit the next two seasons, but one wonders if he’ll be dealt before the trade deadline after Saturday night. Souray fractured his hand during a fight with Calgary winger Jarome Iginla.
Word has it that Souray pummeled Iginla, but damaged his hand late in the scrap. He will be examined by doctors Monday in Edmonton, but if he’s out for an extended period, expect the Oilers to hold onto him until the summer and deal him then. The Oilers, dead-last in the NHL with 38 points, are going nowhere.
Kovalchuk soap opera update
Thrasher fans in Atlanta are singing that hit song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash in honor of talented winger Ilya Kovalchuk. Negotiations continue between Atlanta GM Don Waddell and Kovalchuk’s agent, Jay Grossman, and both sides have an offer on the table. Both are reportedly willing to sign a 10 to 12-year deal, but the difference is the dollar amount.
Waddell says the Thrasher’s offer is huge by NHL standards, reportedly in excess of $100 million. Kovalchuk is expected to be looking for an annual salary at or near the $11.36 million maximum allowed by the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (20 percent of the current $56.8 million cap).
Waddell is understandably concerned, however, about having enough pie available to sign the rest of his players and a few others he’d like to add over the summer. If he can’t make a deal by the trade deadline, word has it he would seek three players currently playing in the NHL. Typically, such deals involve players and high draft choices, but Atlanta wants immediate relief. If it comes to a trade, the three teams most often mentioned include Chicago, Vancouver and Los Angeles.
Red Wings healing
Decimated by injuries, the Detroit Red Wings are close to getting healthy again. And even though they’re in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, one figures that the Wings have enough firepower to make one last run before this summer’s expected rebuilding. This is bad news for the Blues, who are 3-0-1 against Detroit this season with two games to play.
Defenseman Niklas Kronwall, out since Nov. 21 with a knee injury, has returned and forwards Tomas Holmstrom (broken foot) and Jason Williams (broken leg) are close to returning. In a few weeks, the club will get talented center Johan Franzen back from knee surgery and defenseman Andreas Lilja has finally shaken the year-long effects of a concussion.
Legendary Detroit center Steve Yzerman believes the Wings will make the playoffs.
“They’ll get in the playoffs and they’ll be a dangerous team,” Yzerman, now a vice-president with Detroit, told the Detroit Free Press. “They’ve hung around through injuries, taking a step forward and a step back. But when they get their full squad together, they’ll be very good. I’m pleased with the team and what they’ve been through.”
The Wings lost to Pittsburgh in the seventh and deciding game of the Stanley Cup finals last season and have made the playoffs for the last 18 straight seasons. A long post-season journey this year will depend on goaltending, where Jimmy Howard has been solid. If he falters, the Wings have veteran and former Blue Chris Osgood, who has won a couple of Stanley Cups in Hockey Town.
Speaking of Osgood, he’s handling his demotion to backup status with great class. Osgood told the Detroit News that he still enjoys the game, despite the lack of action.
“Oh yeah, at this stage of my life, for sure,” said Osgood. “It’s tough for me to stand here and complain because I’ve been fortunate to get the chances I have. At time, it gets frustrating not playing. You still have that drive, that competitiveness, ad you want to finish your career on your terms. But if you press and try to write the script before it’s over, it never happens that way.”
Odds and ends
The Ottawa Senators are for real. They won their ninth straight game Saturday night against Montreal, a team record. During that span – which includes a 3-2 win over the Blues in Ottawa – the Senators have outscored opponents 30-10…Chicago’s Patrick Kane and teammates John Madden and Kris Versteeg were photographed shirtless with three women in a limousine recently in Vancouver. The photo made the local newspaper. You’d think the talented Kane would have learned his lesson last summer when he engaged in a highly-publicized scrap with a cab driver in Buffalo that went to court. “Obviously, it’s not the way we want to represent the team,” Kane told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s been discussed internally with the team…I’m 21 years old and it’s time to grow up a bit.”…The Columbus Blue Jackets will play San Jose twice in Sweden to open the 2010-11 season…Some say the projected Detroit Red Wings’ rebuilding this summer hinges on whether or not 40-year-old world class defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom decides to play another year. If Lidstrom comes back, the Wings may put it on hold…Boston financial guru Jeff Vinik is poised to buy the Tampa Bay Lightning for less than the reported $170 million asking price. Final details are being worked out. Vinik, 50, is part owner of the Boston Red Sox and is a friend of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Quotebook – Ottawa winger Daniel Alfredsson, 37, on the upcoming Vancouver Games being his last Olympics: “Last one as a player, anyway, unless I become an Italian citizen.”
Contact Globe-Democrat sports writer George Csolak at gcsolak@globe-democrat.com.
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