Minneapolis, MN – Barry Melrose here live in downtown Minneapolis at the Rats Nest, the home of the Minnesota Rink Rats. The Rink Rats will introduce shortly new acquisitions Brad Richards and defenseman Kyle Quincey to the Minnesota faithful. There is an overwhelming amount of people attending this press conference and it’s surely an exciting day for Rink Rat fans. Last night Minnesota sent highly-touted and prized prospect Kyle Turris and defenseman Yannick Weber along with a 2nd round pick to Nashville last night in exchange for Richards and Quincey. Both Richards and Quincey are expected to make an immediate impact and will be in the lineup when they travel to Edmonton. It looks like things are about to start here so let’s listen in.GM: “Greetings everyone and thank you all for coming today. As you know, things have been pretty exciting for us here in Minnesota since we moved the Gorillas of Greenwich here a couple years ago. From a last placed team to a couple of playoff berths with young and talented clubs, and a Cyber Cup final last season as a Cinderella team. We had a rough start this season, but we’re still in the hunt and have a solid club. I’m here today to introduce you to two very talented players who will help bring us back to the playoffs and put us in contention once again. Please help me welcome our newest Minnesota Rink Rats - #91 Brad Richards and #27 Kyle Quincey.”
Michael Russo (Star Tribune): “Coach, this is for you – I’m wondering how Kyle Quincey will fit in on an already deep defense.”
Bylsma: “We plan to use Kyle right away and he’ll play on our top two lines as well as power play unit. Kyle moves the puck extremely well but hasn’t played too much this season because of the depth of the Nashville defense.”
Russo: “Is there anything that you’re planning on working with Kyle to improve on?”
Bylsma: “Absolutely … Kyle is a young defenseman still coming into his own. He moves the puck very well but we’d like to see him use his body more and shoot the puck more as well. I think over the next few seasons we’ll see him do that.”
Scott Burnside (ESPN): “GM, after shipping out your top prospect and with no draft picks in the first two rounds the next two seasons how does the future of this club look? How can you expect to compete with teams like the Icedogs, Bulls and others who have talented clubs and have been able to retain picks over the next few years?”
GM: “It’s going to be tough but we have guys in our system that will be ready next season and we have faith that the others will be able to make an impact sometime soon as well. I think we have a good farm system and a lot of young talent and speed in Duluth. Our WHL club is still young with a core group that is under 30 and just coming into their prime. Our talent will continue to grow and we have the best goaltender in the world backing us up. We’ll be just fine.”
Ray Ferraro (TSN): “Brad, things haven’t been too great for you the past couple of seasons and you’re set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season; what are your plans and how do you think you’ll fit in playing in Minnesota?”
Richards: “Yeah things have been tough with this club the past few years but I’m here now and I believe in this team. Coach has me slotted in to play on a line with David Krejci and Mike Cammalleri and both guys are extremely talented. I haven’t met too many of the guys yet, but hopefully we’ll connect and play well together. We’ll have a good test right away in Edmonton so that should show us where we need to improve. As far as the contract goes, I know we’re planning on sitting down in the next few weeks with Minnesota management but I have nothing but faith that we’ll be able to get a long-term deal signed.”
No comments:
Post a Comment