Don Waddell
Don Waddell
Donald Douglas Waddellis the former, and last President of the Atlanta Thrashers and a former professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently President of Gale Force Sports & Entertainment, parent company of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League...
call contribute enjoyed expect extremely jeff overall players proud quality season sit steve success
When we call up players, we don't call them up just to sit on the bench. We expect them to contribute to our team's success right away. This season has been no exception. I'm extremely proud of the overall success the Gladiators have enjoyed and the quality players that Jeff and Steve have produced.
board brought calls chris early himself months name played talk
We probably didn't talk about Chris for the first two months and then on one of our (team evaluation) calls in early December, the name was brought up and everyone jumped on board with it. He played himself on this team.
call mind sign
In the back of my mind I said why call a bluff. Let's do everything we can to sign him and we did.
charts depth guys team teams
We're going to do depth charts by team. Every team is going to have guys we're going to watch, some teams are going to have more guys.
aaron bad caliber extremely fortunate replace time unable
We feel bad for Aaron that he's unable to be part of the team. At the same time we're extremely fortunate to be able to replace Aaron with someone the caliber of Bret Hedican.
behind coach forward franchise future guide leading pleased success team track winning
We feel that with Bob's leadership, professionalism and winning track record, he is the coach that will guide this team to success for many years. We are pleased to have him leading our team and look forward to the future of the franchise with him behind the bench.
compete gold player type win
We feel that Keith will be ready. He's the type of player we need to compete and win the gold medal.
add caliber career cup enjoyed excited extremely includes player role stanley valuable veteran
We're extremely excited to add a player of Bobby's caliber to our lineup. He's a hard-nosed player who has enjoyed a distinguished career that includes valuable Stanley Cup championship experience. He is a veteran who will play an important role in our success.
available both coach fence game guys hoping maybe players trying ultimately
We're hoping that there are some guys that maybe we on the fence who didn't go to the World Championships will go now. We're trying to get their A game for the World Cup. And particularly if we end up with the same coach for both tournaments then I think it would be ultimately important for all of the players who are available to go.
hard hockey lose players systems ultimately win within
Ultimately it won't be systems that win or lose the hockey games, it will be how hard those players play within the system.
capable games playing
We still need someone else who is capable of playing 20 to 25 games a year.
best meeting player purpose
We're not having one meeting about who has been the best player here or anything like that. That's not the purpose of it.
begin camp process season
The process will begin when the season begins. This is an orientation camp, it's not a tryout camp that we're having.
problem
We'll be in the playoffs. If you want to write: 'Guarantee,' I have no problem with that.