Hope for hockey -- Ditch the dump and chase

"Nobody seems to have an idea if (the pending NHL lockout) will have a trickle-down effect. I get a different opinion from every person I talk to. I've talked to a lot of players and GMs; everybody is somewhat bewildered. A lot of people think the AHL (American Hockey League) will be running full-steam, though."

Ralph Backstrom, President and General Manager of the Colorado Eagles.

Backstrom, whose Eagles finished first in the Central Hockey League's (CHL) Northern Conference last season, isn't letting the questions and rumors circling the NHL's future stop him from addressing his biggest challenge.

Backstrom says that's "putting a good product on the ice. You literally have several hundred thousand hockey players in the world" competing for jobs in the AHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), United Hockey League (UHL), World Hockey League, and European leagues, not to mention the CHL, which considers itself a developmental league, feeding players to the AHL and ultimately the NHL.

Even though CHL rules stipulate that each team must have a minimum of five players (all of whom have played in 128 or fewer professional regular season games), some CHL players have flown high but just under NHL scouts' radar systems.

Some were not even drafted by the NHL but, according to Backstrom, show potential to reach that level-when NHL arenas are unlocked.

"People are surprised by the level of play," says the former Montreal Canadien, who not only knows what it takes to win hockey games (his resume includes earning the 1959 Calder Memorial Trophy, six Stanley Cups, and the NCAA Division I Coach of the Year award), but also how to provide fans with entertaining hockey at reasonable prices.

While other CHL general managers also strive to keep ticket prices low yet field winning teams, Backstrom puts extra emphasis on making the play exciting for fans.

"Too many coaches play not to lose," Backstrom says, "I don't like the dump and chase. It's ruining hockey. There are some teams that play possession, some that as soon as they hit the red line they dump it in. Now would Wayne Gretzky do that?"

The Eagles, who earned 91 points -- 16 more than the closest competitor in the division -- sold out every home game at the Budweiser Event Center on the Larimer County Fairgrounds, which is about an hour north of the Colorado Avalanche's home ice.

In the Eagles' inaugural season, the team played the puck possession game under Coach Chris Stewart's tutelage.

Like Backstrom, Stewart is no stranger to winning. He led the 1998-99 CHL Huntsville (Alabama) Channel Cats to a 47-19-4 record, winning the league championship.

In Colorado, Stewart's players, whether they were unlikely to return to the NHL or hoped to reach the Show, had to ditch the north-south dump and chase style they may have employed on other teams and had to commit to playing the Eagles' brand of hockey.

Stewart is sticking to his plan, even if the 2004-2005 roster has some changes.

The Eagles will miss Scott Swanson's 42 points and Phil Crowe's leadership (both players retired this summer, with Crowe staying with the team as Director of Player Development), but don't expect a letdown from the remaining Eagles.

The team's two returning goaltenders are top-notch.

First, there's Ryan Bach, who led CHL goalies in minutes played last season (3,200), leading the Eagles to 33 wins (tops in the league, tied with Wichita's Nathan Grobins).

Then, there's Gian Baldrica, who yielded only 23 goals in 11 games, leading the league in Goals Against Average (2.05).

Two players with NHL experience remain on the Eagles' roster.

Forward Greg Pankewicz, who enjoyed brief stints with the Ottawa Senators (3 games in 1993-94) and the Calgary Flames (18 games in 1998-99), led the Eagles in points (96, good for second place in the CHL, behind Laredo's Jeff Bes) and plus/minus (plus 38).

Defenseman Brent Thompson enjoyed ice time with the Los Angeles Kings (81 games in 1991-94), Winnipeg Jets (39 games in 1994-96), and Phoenix Coyotes (1 game in 1996-97), before joining the Eagles. He led the team in penalty minutes (172) and served as an assistant coach.

While Stewart will depend on several seasoned veterans to propel the Eagles further into the play-offs, he'll also count on the eight developmental players who have signed contracts with the team during the off-season.

One of these players, Bryan Vines, will join Thompson on the blue line.

The Oakville, Ontario, native played for the University of Denver from 1997 to 2002, then graduated to the ECHL before winning a championship last season with the ECHL's San Diego Gulls.

The stay-at-home defenseman is eager to return to Colorado and join the effort to win a CHL championship while entertaining the expected sell-out crowds at the Budweiser Events Center.

Psst... the cat's out of the bag.

Come October, you can still enjoy the game you love if you're willing to dump your hopes of watching NHL action any time soon and can chase down a CHL ticket.

Note: Writing assist goes to Shelly Wiles. Shelly is an editor, writer, and avid hockey fan living in Eastern Massachusetts. She can be reached at wilesediting@wilesediting.com