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...
blow certainly game positive start tournament
We're going to try to take the positive that we were in every game. We're out of the tournament but certainly it's not like it's something we have to blow up and start over, because every game we were right in there.
bubble certainly goal guys himself played selecting themselves
Certainly he was on the bubble as we started, but played himself on the team. That's what our goal was when we were selecting this team. Let guys play themselves on or off the team.
brings capable certainly challenge experience felt handle himself key next peter proven ranks ready type
Peter has proven himself through the ranks as a coach. This is the next challenge for him. I think he's very capable and ready to handle these duties. I always felt that international experience is a key for this type of position, and Peter certainly brings that to the table.
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Certainly there are guys who would have to play their way off the team and others who have to play their way on to the team.
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His fast start has been very important with Dany out. We needed guys to step forward, and Ilya certainly has done that. He's taken this team on his back. He wants to be the go-go guy and he's proven that he's capable of being that. He's got nine goals in seven games and it's been an unbelievable start.
bad brian deserved fit guys looking performed player rating system year
We did a rating system all year and these guys deserved to be here. It wasn't that Brian was a bad player or anything than that it was just that these guys performed better and these guys were a better fit for what we were looking for.
blow start
We're out of the tournament, but it's not like we have to blow it up and start over.
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We're very excited, you know, and Ilya is the final piece we had to get done. I've said all along, 'We're going to score some goals.' Watching some of what's happened with the guys we've brought in here and not knowing exactly how they would do, I think we're going to win a lot of hockey games this season.
chris terrific tremendous
We feel that Chris is not only a tremendous player, but also a terrific leader. For us to have success, Chris is going to have to be a big part of it.
bring excitement exciting guys players
We have 12 players that have never competed in the Olympics. That's exciting because these guys have never been through this before and they'll bring a lot of excitement to the game.
chance franchise gives next pieces position step
We've put a lot pieces in place this summer. The franchise is in position to take the next big step. Ilya gives us a better chance to take that step to go even further.
coming good guys players positives talk transition
We all talk about how we've been in a transition period. ... We have a lot of good young players and a lot of guys coming in, and we can take the positives out of that.
assess camp candidates continue evaluation however makeup olympic opportunity potential process staff step team terrific together
The orientation camp will be a terrific opportunity for our staff to come together with the candidates for our Olympic team to assess the potential makeup of our squad. It will not be a tryout camp as the evaluation process will continue through the first part of the NHL season, however it will be an important first step in the process.
against continue
If we continue to play as well as we did against Slovakia, we are going to be fine.