Published: Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Silvertips' Beach playing smarter
EVERETT -- Kyle Beach refused to react.
During the second period of the Everett Silvertips' 5-2 victory over Kamloops on Saturday, Blazers defenseman Kurt Torbohm grabbed Beach behind the play and began shaking him like a rag doll.
In years past that would have been more than enough to goad Everett's star winger into a fight, along with a subsequent lengthy stretch in the penalty box. But this time as he was thrown to the ice, Beach just held his arms out in a pleading gesture towards the officials.
The result? A roughing penalty and 10-minute misconduct for Torbohm, an opportunity on the power play for Beach and the Tips. It was an unusual outcome for such an event involving Beach.
Does this mean we're seeing a kinder, gentler Kyle Beach?
"He's still the same guy, just a little smartened up," Everett captain Zack Dailey responded with a laugh.
Beach returned from his first training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that drafted him 11th overall in this year's NHL draft, vowing to shelve some of the antics that led to the accumulation of 418 penalty minutes the past two seasons.
Last weekend, when he remained out of the box for two full games, indicated Beach might just be good on his word. And although Beach wasn't available to comment on it Tuesday -- he left practice early for treatment after taking a stick to the face -- others have noticed the transformation.
"You hope he's changed," Everett coach John Becanic said. "But this is a 72-game season and he's only been here five games. It's work in progress. It's work on his end, it's work on our end as a coaching staff, and it's work from the Chicago Blackhawks' standpoint. When you have three groups all interested in a common goal it's a lot easier."
This is a new look for Beach, who historically has been smack in the center when scrums broke out on the ice. Beach has the type of reputation where he'll be flagged for a penalty even when he's innocent of any wrongdoing. That happened in his first game back against Seattle, when he was given a roughing penalty apparently for receiving punches to the face.
But the Torbohm incident shows that if Beach maintains this new demeanor, the referees will eventually adjust, too.
"That was the first time in a long time a player was punching him and Kyle didn't get a penalty," Becanic said. "That's refreshing, seeing him rewarded for his discipline."
And his teammates are happy to see Beach on the ice, where he's racked up nine points in five games, rather than rotting away in the penalty box.
"I'm really impressed," Dailey said. "He said he was going to change, but I don't know if anyone really believed it. But he's been unbelievable for us, staying out of the box and scoring big goals. It seems like he learned a lot from Chicago and he's definitely a better player."
Last break: The country club portion of Everett's schedule is in its final throes.
For the fifth time in the season's first six weeks, the Tips play just twice, with games Friday at Tri-City and Saturday at Seattle. But this will be Everett's final slow week until December.
"This part is the easy part," Dailey said. "There' a lot of time off, a lot of time to prepare, and we're just trying to let the guys know this is the easy stage. If they're tired playing two in two, they've got to work hard during the week to get in shape so that when we're playing three in three we're ready."
The slow schedule has allowed the Tips, with a young team containing 11 rookies, to ease into the season. However, it's also made for some long weeks of practice, with the team getting anxious for the weekend games. All the Tips can do is try and make the best use of the down time.
"The more we're playing, the more we're in a rhythm," said Becanic, who prefers a heavier schedule. "But by the same token, with this being a younger team it's really allowed us to get a lot of workouts in. The workouts we've had the last two months have been critical for our guys getting stronger. We certainly feel our guys are a lot stronger physically than they were when they came in August."
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
During the second period of the Everett Silvertips' 5-2 victory over Kamloops on Saturday, Blazers defenseman Kurt Torbohm grabbed Beach behind the play and began shaking him like a rag doll.
In years past that would have been more than enough to goad Everett's star winger into a fight, along with a subsequent lengthy stretch in the penalty box. But this time as he was thrown to the ice, Beach just held his arms out in a pleading gesture towards the officials.
The result? A roughing penalty and 10-minute misconduct for Torbohm, an opportunity on the power play for Beach and the Tips. It was an unusual outcome for such an event involving Beach.
Does this mean we're seeing a kinder, gentler Kyle Beach?
"He's still the same guy, just a little smartened up," Everett captain Zack Dailey responded with a laugh.
Beach returned from his first training camp with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that drafted him 11th overall in this year's NHL draft, vowing to shelve some of the antics that led to the accumulation of 418 penalty minutes the past two seasons.
Last weekend, when he remained out of the box for two full games, indicated Beach might just be good on his word. And although Beach wasn't available to comment on it Tuesday -- he left practice early for treatment after taking a stick to the face -- others have noticed the transformation.
"You hope he's changed," Everett coach John Becanic said. "But this is a 72-game season and he's only been here five games. It's work in progress. It's work on his end, it's work on our end as a coaching staff, and it's work from the Chicago Blackhawks' standpoint. When you have three groups all interested in a common goal it's a lot easier."
This is a new look for Beach, who historically has been smack in the center when scrums broke out on the ice. Beach has the type of reputation where he'll be flagged for a penalty even when he's innocent of any wrongdoing. That happened in his first game back against Seattle, when he was given a roughing penalty apparently for receiving punches to the face.
But the Torbohm incident shows that if Beach maintains this new demeanor, the referees will eventually adjust, too.
"That was the first time in a long time a player was punching him and Kyle didn't get a penalty," Becanic said. "That's refreshing, seeing him rewarded for his discipline."
And his teammates are happy to see Beach on the ice, where he's racked up nine points in five games, rather than rotting away in the penalty box.
"I'm really impressed," Dailey said. "He said he was going to change, but I don't know if anyone really believed it. But he's been unbelievable for us, staying out of the box and scoring big goals. It seems like he learned a lot from Chicago and he's definitely a better player."
Last break: The country club portion of Everett's schedule is in its final throes.
For the fifth time in the season's first six weeks, the Tips play just twice, with games Friday at Tri-City and Saturday at Seattle. But this will be Everett's final slow week until December.
"This part is the easy part," Dailey said. "There' a lot of time off, a lot of time to prepare, and we're just trying to let the guys know this is the easy stage. If they're tired playing two in two, they've got to work hard during the week to get in shape so that when we're playing three in three we're ready."
The slow schedule has allowed the Tips, with a young team containing 11 rookies, to ease into the season. However, it's also made for some long weeks of practice, with the team getting anxious for the weekend games. All the Tips can do is try and make the best use of the down time.
"The more we're playing, the more we're in a rhythm," said Becanic, who prefers a heavier schedule. "But by the same token, with this being a younger team it's really allowed us to get a lot of workouts in. The workouts we've had the last two months have been critical for our guys getting stronger. We certainly feel our guys are a lot stronger physically than they were when they came in August."
Nick Patterson's Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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