The Aviators Hockey Club finally breaks the silence after no communications were made for over 9 months. The last known communication from the Seattle Aviators front office was made back in February 2011, at the midpoint of the 2nd season in the BFHL.
Why the silence?
Back in Feb 2011, the Aviators were a .500 hockey club, they wanted to remove all distraction and focus their efforts on winning hockey games and make the playoff for a second straight season. That meant from the players to the front office and coaching staff, no communication were made to the media.
Did that tactic work?
For the most part, that approach worked as the hockey club made it into the post season and had a long playoff flight. The Aviators found themselves in a dogfight in the BFHL Cup Finals for 2 consecutive seasons. Unfortunately, their mission ended in Game 7 of the Cup Finals losing to the Supastas (presently known as DreamTeam).
New Season, New Flight Crew
For the most part, the core of the team stayed intact since the Aviators management
believe they are only missing a few missing piece. “It was important to keep the majority of the team together since it was these players here that took the team to the finals 2 years in a row. We like the makeup of the team and the chemistry they have in the dressing room”, said the Aviators GM.
In the off season, the Aviators addressed what they thought were the weaknesses they saw in last season’s playoffs – the hard working blue collar players with grit and toughness that can grind the opposite and wear them down. During free agency, Aviators went after to Max Lapierre signing him to an offer sheet that was not matched by the DreamTeam, signed free agents enforcers George Parros and John Scott and stay at home defenseman Andrew Alberts.
Aviators believe their top 6 forwards are among the tops players in the league with the likes of Captain Jonathan Toews, Alternate Captain Mikko Koivu, Phil Kessel, Kris Versteeg and supporting cast of Evander Kane, David Backes, Mason Raymond and David Perron.
There were 2 additions made on defense that saw the aforementioned Alberts and Kurtis Foster via trade.
Back with the crew: Mikko Koivu, David Backes, Matt Niskanen, Marc Methot, Luke Schenn, , Carl Gunnarsson, Jeff Woywitka, Cam Barker
Arrivals: Kurtis Foster, George Parrons, John Scott, Max Lapierre, Tim Kennedy, Dustin Boyd, Joe Callahan, Corey Locke, Tim Sestito, Andrew Albers, Matt Lashoff, Curtis McElhinney
Departures: Radek Dvorak, Matt Bradley, Craig Admans, Jordan Hendry
New Mission
The off season was especially hard for the Aviators this year as they saw themselves losing in the Cup Finals two years in a row. “It was devastating, to go to the finals twice in consecutive seasons and lose twice. It was hard on the players, the coaching staff, management and the fans. But on the bright side, that means we are close so only minor adjustments are needed for next year”, said Aviators GM.
Aviator fans are anxious and excited for this season to see if the subtle moves will be enough to finally bring home the BFHL Cup to the Pacific North West. Early struggles to takeoff have the hockey club hovering around .500 hockey and sitting in the middle of the Wales Conference. The reason for the early season woes is the defensive play which has allowed 73 goals with 20 games played, second worst in the conference. Offensively, the hockey club has also struggled to put pucks in the nets with only 67 goals.
Aviators started the season 3-5-2 in their first 10 games but have picked up the play in the last 2 weeks going 5-1. “We are not happy with our play of late, I don’t know if it’s due to going deep into the finals twice and playing a lot of hockey in last spring. We just can’t seem to find our legs yet”, said Captain Toews. “Management gave us extra days off during the pre-season to rest us, but I don’t like to use the ‘cup hangover’ as an excuse. We need to play better and we need start playing like the team we are.”
Aviator fans not hitting the panic button yet. They know that it is a long season and that there is plenty of hockey yet to be played. They understand that the measurement of success this season for the Aviators will not be where the team places in the standings the end of the regular season but more so where they end up at the end of the post season.