Vikings Sitting Pretty at Deadline
Oslo - At deadline day last season, the Vikings made SICHL history, trading prospect Alexander Vasyunov and a 3rd rounder as security in exchange for the services of scoring winger Jason Pominville for the remainder of the playoffs and the regular season, after which his rights were returned to Nova Scotia. Exploiting a quickly closed loophole, the deal was controversial but ultimately came to nought, as the Vikings were bounced in the second round by a finals-bound Las Vegas Aces squad.
This year, GM Kasim Husain's usually itchy trigger finger appears to be kept a secure distance from the proverbial holster. "Let's just say it's all quiet on the Western Front, and we don't usually trade with folks who are east of us either," quipped Husain in a brief gaggle after a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Slammers, just Oslo's sixth through 62 games.
"We have to look at the big picture in this front office. Neither [coach] Bruce [Boudreau] nor I is thrilled to be losing games 9-3 to Hamburg, but then you consider we just sealed the season series with Philly and shut out the Supersonics. We're going through a rough patch right now, but I honestly believe we have the personnel internally to iron out the kinks before the postseason starts. But any deals I'll be making will probably be with a view to the entry and expansion drafts, and probably the roster come the year after next even."
Despite the apparently Soviet scale of management timelines he employs, Husain admits to also being interested in the team's more immediate fortunes: "the next few games we need to capitalise, for sure." The Vikings' next three contests are against non-playoff teams, so they will look to take advantage of a quirky schedule that has seen them play the fewest games of any SICHL team, while still posting the best record in terms of winning percentage. "Winning our games in hand is crucial. I'd call it a pleasant surprise for us to be challenging for the Commissioner's Trophy again. We had significant turnover, especially with a new goalie and coach, but Martin Biron has really done a good job for us thus far. I think right now is the time you'll see the coaching come into play - no game in this league is a gimme, and to my mind it seems like the motivation's lacking right now - I've spoken with Bruce, and he's got some tricks up his sleeve that you can maybe look forward to." added Husain.
Find out what said tricks might be in the next issue of Aftenposten, where your Vikings' beat writer J. Bjorgaard has the scoop every week on the ins and outs of the Oslo Vikings!
Nailers' Notes: there are reports that former Viking defenceman Dan Girardi, forced down the depth chart to Lillehammer in training camp by the play of Jeff Finger, has played well enough in recent games to make a case for a spot on the pro roster. No word yet on who would sit out if Girardi is called up.
This year, GM Kasim Husain's usually itchy trigger finger appears to be kept a secure distance from the proverbial holster. "Let's just say it's all quiet on the Western Front, and we don't usually trade with folks who are east of us either," quipped Husain in a brief gaggle after a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Slammers, just Oslo's sixth through 62 games.
"We have to look at the big picture in this front office. Neither [coach] Bruce [Boudreau] nor I is thrilled to be losing games 9-3 to Hamburg, but then you consider we just sealed the season series with Philly and shut out the Supersonics. We're going through a rough patch right now, but I honestly believe we have the personnel internally to iron out the kinks before the postseason starts. But any deals I'll be making will probably be with a view to the entry and expansion drafts, and probably the roster come the year after next even."
Despite the apparently Soviet scale of management timelines he employs, Husain admits to also being interested in the team's more immediate fortunes: "the next few games we need to capitalise, for sure." The Vikings' next three contests are against non-playoff teams, so they will look to take advantage of a quirky schedule that has seen them play the fewest games of any SICHL team, while still posting the best record in terms of winning percentage. "Winning our games in hand is crucial. I'd call it a pleasant surprise for us to be challenging for the Commissioner's Trophy again. We had significant turnover, especially with a new goalie and coach, but Martin Biron has really done a good job for us thus far. I think right now is the time you'll see the coaching come into play - no game in this league is a gimme, and to my mind it seems like the motivation's lacking right now - I've spoken with Bruce, and he's got some tricks up his sleeve that you can maybe look forward to." added Husain.
Find out what said tricks might be in the next issue of Aftenposten, where your Vikings' beat writer J. Bjorgaard has the scoop every week on the ins and outs of the Oslo Vikings!
Nailers' Notes: there are reports that former Viking defenceman Dan Girardi, forced down the depth chart to Lillehammer in training camp by the play of Jeff Finger, has played well enough in recent games to make a case for a spot on the pro roster. No word yet on who would sit out if Girardi is called up.
Oslo Vikings