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Purge of veterans nabs Kulhanek |
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Written by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
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Monday, 24 November 2008 |
Twice, Colby Kulhanek said he didn’t want to play hockey anymore.
The second time, the Prince George Cougars showed him the door.
Kulhanek, a 19-year-old winger acquired in pre-season from the Red Deer Rebels, was granted his release Monday after telling the coaching staff his heart wasn’t in it anymore. Kulhanek had stated the same thing a few weeks back, but was convinced to give it more time before closing the door.
“He said he wanted to play a bit more, so we gave him a shot to play on the top two lines and on the power play,” said head coach Drew Schoneck.
“After that, he said he didn’t have the desire to play hockey right now. He was a guy who was on the radar (for being released), because we brought in our (19-year-olds) before the Vancouver Giants series and challenged them to be better. He was one of those guys, and he only had one goal in 27 games despite playing a regular shift. He had been on borrowed time.”
Kulhanek, a native of Port Coquitlam who had also suited up for the Rebels and Chilliwack Bruins, had 10 assists, 48 penalty minutes, and was minus-1. The Cats have 22 players in the dressing room, and all but one is healthy -- defenceman Dallas Jackson skated Monday, testing his charleyhorse problem, and could be ready to play this weekend when the Cougars play host to the Regina Pats (Saturday) and the Saskatoon Blades (Sunday).
Because of the factors surrounding this team, which has just four wins since opening with a 6-1 mark, the Kulhanek move could be deemed yet another ‘addition by subtraction.’ The Cougars cut 19-year-old Marcus Watson last week, and the focus should be at developing younger players -- which puts the target of production on older forwards such as Alex Poulter and Brian Matte.
“Poulter needs to get himself going,” said Schoneck, pointing to the 19-year-old’s numbers of five goals and nine points in 27 games.
“With Watson and Kulhanek departing, the spotlight shines on a couple other guys now. This will allow some other guys to get more icetime and at the end of the day (Kulhanek) was a 19-year-old who wasn’t getting the job done.
“You can’t rely on Dana Tyrell and a 16-year-old in Brett Connolly every night. Any of the guys who have played a number of years in the league, at all three positions, we have to get more out of those guys if we’re going to move forward.”
The beneficiaries of Monday’s development stand to be young forwards Greg Fraser, Nick Buonassisi, Justin Maylan and Ryan Kowalski, most of whom have rotated into the ‘healthy scratch’ notation.
--- Tyrell leaves today to play for Team WHL in the ADT Challenge, with games in Prince Albert and Swift Current. Tyrell has been named an assistant captain for a team that will place the ‘C’ on the chest of Seattle Thunderbirds defenceman Thomas Hickey, a member of last year’s world junior team.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 24 November 2008 )
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