Dan Bylsma falls short of the Calder Cup. What will the New Era of Seattle Kraken Hockey look like?

1 Comment

1. @SherryG-ki2kr 5 months ago

   Bears fan & STH of +40yrs here and I just found your podcast online and watched this episode and the one after game 5. I found it to be quite insightful and worthwhile. I haven't watched a lot of Kraken games– pretty much only to watch Grubauer play, since he's an ex-Bear. Yes, Hershey and Todd Nelson specifically, have definitely come out on top with respect to Calder Cups wins over Bylsma both as a coach and player. Of course Disco Dan is back now as a head coach in the NHL, so we'll see what he can do. 2 years of good teams in the A should certainly reap some benefits for Seattle if they can manage it better than the Capitals did with previous Cup winners from the Bears. Back to back cups for the Bears in '09 & '10 finally helped get the Stanley Cup for the Capitals in '18. (I.e. John Carlson, Jay Beagle, Braden Holtby, etc.) but it took 8-9 years +TJ Oshie trade and others + Barry Trotz as a coach to implement a more defensive system over the wide open offense the Caps were previously known for.As you mentioned, Wright is probably ready for Seattle. I thought Winterton, Fleury, and Evans were also very good. Kole Lind talked about giving everything for a must win in gm6. I guess that included his less than Oscar-worthy performance of being hurt at the end of the 2nd period I believe. He might be a leader on the team, but the blantant diving isnt a good look. But it was nothing new, as it was sorta reminiscent of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins team (one of Hersheys biggest in-state rivals-we play them a lot!) when Bylsma coached there. So there's that. Your assessment of Dreidger seems spot on, too. Good but beatable. Some softies left in. Not as elite as Shep. Hunter will be tested more next yr as it seems he'll probably be the backup to Charlie Lindgren in D.C. We'll lose other guys to the Caps too – Miroschnechenko, Lapierre, Haman-Aktell, possibly Iorio and Johansen just like we lost McMichael & Malenstyn after last year. You were also correct that Hershey tries/tends not to give up much material for the whiteboard where as CV has "poked the Bear" quite well the last 2 years. Gives inspo for the team and enthusiasm to the fans. Loss of Poturalski seemed big for CV as you said, but the Bears had lost half of our starting D corps in Ness, Johansen, and Iorio. We also had Dube playing with pain/broken jaw. So we utilized a lot of our depth players. You mentioned the Bears are sort of like the NY Yankees of the AHL.i saw that same comment earlier in the series. From a Hershey perspective, yes the Bears have a winning tradition. We've had losing seasons where we didn't make the playoffs or lose in the early rounds. It doesn't sit well with Hershey fans.We have an expectation of a winning team. The team was established in 1938 and has 13 championships.Since 1980 when I went to my first game as a kid, I've seen 8 of the 13. I feel really lucky in that regard.They won at home in 1980. I had to wait 30 more years to see another cup win at home. There were 4 other Cup wins within that time though. This time, I had to wait another 13 years for any win and 14 yrs for a win at home. Like I said, I know Ive been lucky to be able to be an avid fan or this really successful team. I don't take it for granted, although some of us are already joking around talking about a 3peat. To me and other Bears fans, It sounds so selfish and frankly a little arrogant when we hear/see the CV fans gripe on social media that they've had to wait 2 long years (granted, with very good teams) and still no Cup win. Are they nuts? There are teams in the AHL with loyal fans that have been in operation for decades and have never won a Calder Cup– like the baby Penguins. I think they were or will be 25 yrs old and no Cup yet. I'm glad for CV that they have a great arena and a loyal fan base. Not every team is that lucky. The Bears are, but it hasn't always been so. Anyway, I'm glad I found your podcast. I won't listen to every episode, but I'll tune in when I can, or maybe when CV and Hershey meet again in the finals since that seems to be the only way the East and West teams get to play each other in the AHL. Thanks!