We have this story about rookie contributions running today and head coach Kevin Constantine had some interesting things to say about Devon Skoleski that didn’t make it into the print story.
Skoleski signed as a non-drafted listed player. He’s not very big (5-9, 150), but the Silvertips organization hopes he can replicate the production he had the past two seasons at major midget in Manitoba.
“I’m kind of a believer that if you had a lot of points at a different level it’s almost ‘Moneyball.’ It’s hockey ‘Moneyball,’” Constantine said, referring to the Michael Lewis book about the Oakland Athletics that became a movie starring Brad Pitt. “What did they get done at a lower level? Not, ‘What did their swing look like?’ or ‘Are they a good athlete?’ It’s more ‘What did they get done at a different level?’”
Skoleski certainly did get it done with 37 goals and 45 assists in 76 games over the past two seasons with the Eastman Selects Midget AAA team. That, coupled with his play this preseason was enough to earn him a spot on this year’s roster.
“I like evidence – I’m an evidence guy,” Constantine said. “I’ve tried to always verify what my brain thought I was seeing on the ice. I’ve always tried to put numbers behind it and put science behind it just to be thorough.”
In other news:
Today marks the anniversary of the Silvertips’ first-ever WHL victory, a 2-1 win over Seattle.
There are currently 146 former WHL players on NHL rosters as the regular season opens, including former Silvertips Ryan Murray (Columbus), Landon Ferraro (Detroit) and Radko Gudas (Philadelphia).
The WHL announced on Monday that it is partnering with the Calgary Police Service and the Calgary Flames to introduce the WHL Player Impact Program which:
“…will cover topics such as responsible social media use, relationships and consent, drugs and alcohol, gambling, diversity issues and their role as positive role models. The curriculum was developed with input from all three of the partner organizations to make sure it is relevant to the challenges that WHL players face as they prepare for professional hockey or post-secondary studies.”
That all sounds great. However this VICE article “suggest(s) the organization is more concerned with keeping its players out of trouble than enlightening them about misogyny and being decent people.” I think it’s definitely worth a read.
Follow Silvertips writer Jesse Geleynse on Twitter @jessegeleynse.
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