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Carl · 09-22-2012, 12:59 PM

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It’s been another long offseason for the Edmonton Blizzard.

However, it’s been an even longer offseason for Rookie SHL Defender Braden Carlzner.

The long offseason started for Carlzner with an expected, low finish for the then Edmonton Comets. However, work was far from over, and Carlzner’s new job as one of the Comets’ head scouts really kicked into gear. A job that was a big part of his performance in the World Junior Championships. Carlzner was chosen as Team Captain for the United States World Junior squad for the 2nd year in a row.

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Braden Carlzner skating in Team USA’s first Practice

“I really believe we have a solid team this year. Not only a solid returning squad from last year, but also the strongest group of American juniors I’ve seen in a long time. I look at our defense, and I see it as the best in the whole tournament. As an SHL scout for my team the Comets… there’s definitely a lot to like about this squad! I honestly believe that if we work together as a team, and the chemistry is there… we can bring home the gold. I won’t accept failure like last the last World Juniors.”

Carlzner seemed extremely confident of his team, as most captains should. After coming home with last place in the last world juniors, Carlzner’s was hoping him and the other 2nd year players anger would turn into motivation. At the beginning of the tournament, the United States was on fire, beating teams like Sweden and Canada with big scores. However as the team dragged on, the Americans fatigue was extremely noticeable, possibly from the heavy amount of juniors on the team. Much of the media blamed Team USA General Manager Charlie Serpe for the team’s struggles, not only for doing a bad job at line matching, but also for not taking himself out of the starting goaltending position when he was losing games single-handedly for the team.

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Disappointing times for Team USA.

As the team continued to struggle, they failed to qualify for the gold medal away, and for the second straight year Carlzner was one loss away from a last place finish in the tournament. And just like the first time, they couldn’t get the job done. In both of his years as Captain for the United States world junior team, Braden Carlzner had led the team to a last place finish. Something that he will never be able to fix, as it was his last year of eligibility.

“It was such a tough loss. We really tried our best, and we had so much depth and talent. A lot of people blame our General Manager for what happened this year, but in the end… as a team we just didn’t get it done, and that’s unacceptable. Although not all was bad. I was able to get a really close look at Langy, (John Langabeer) and this tournament was when I first really noticed as someone I thought would be a top candidate for our first round draft pick.”

Another big part of this years World Junior Championship was the calm before the storm for the upcoming, first ever, SHL Olympics. Team USA was stacked with Veterans, and General Manager Jed Mosley made it clear to Carlzner, and fellow 2nd year defenseman John Grossmann, that there was only one final spot available on the team, and that they would be competing on the ice in the World Juniors for that spot. It put a lot of pressure on the two players, as they not only competed for a gold medal, but also for a big spot on Team USA. Now that the Olympics have started, it is common knowledge that John Grossmann beat out Braden Carlzner for the spot.

“I think the ‘competition’ was a lot less intense than people made it out to be. Of course I wanted to be on the Olympic team, but I was behind whatever Mosley did for the better of the team. Some people may forget the amount of pride I hold, so I’m rooting for Team USA no matter what. That also includes the whole dual citizenship thing. I never even considered applying for Dual Citizenship. I was born in the United States, and I would only ever play for them. I wish them and John (Grossmann) the best in the Olympics and I will be cheering them on from a local bar here in the Nation’s Capital!”

“Looking back at that sequence of events, I definitely don’t regret not playing in the Olympics. I don’t lose my pride, and it gave me some much needed time to work out and improve my game, something that I believe I did a lot of this offseason. I’m hoping I come back to have a big year this year, and I think the time off I had in this offseason could be a key factor to that. I’m glad I’m still a United States player, as I have heard Mosley is ex-communicating those who applied for Dual Citizenship. I just want to represent my country at the highest level, and I can’t wait to try to do that for the United States during the next Olympics!”

After not making the Olympic team, Carlzner set out to finish unfinished business… helping the Blizzard front office get ready for the Season 10 SHL Entry Draft.

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[Image: 2012_NHL_Prospects_AG_SK_SK_SL_TC2713.jpg]

Willems, Haan, Andrezjeck, Drake, and Partlow, the TSN Top 5, in order, for the Draft

Carlzner, along with fellow Blizzard scout Lucas Smith, and NWJHL Commissioners Cole Reinhart and Seth Plaut, also Blizzard players, set out to do some hardcore scouting during the Olympics, and NWJHL Playoffs. From the get go, they knew the players they wanted. Defenseman Michael Haan, the consensus #2 pick, had been on their radars all season. Haan, a big mobile two-way defenseman, carried his team the Chicago Hitmen for much of the year, and looked like an SHL stud in the making. The Blizzard staff had talked to him many times, and had been salivating over taking him with their first round pick. However, everything changed when they got the worst possible result in the lottery, dropping all the way to the 5th overall pick. However, General Manager Seth Plaut had some tricks up his sleeve. The GM and Scouts agreed that they really liked the top 5 in the draft, and vowed to try and get another pick, hopefully a top 2 pick so that they could nab Michael Haan. After some negotiations, General Manager Plaut was able to just that. Although they lost top 4 defenders Teemu Nurmi and Patrick Pelletier, who were great players, and also great people in the locker room, they gained the 2nd overall pick from the North Stars, and promising young forward Christopher Raymond. And then, on draft day, the Blizzard traded two of their three second round picks to the Manhattan Rage for the 4th overall pick, setting them up to draft 3 of the top 5 prospects in the SHL Entry Draft.

Now, it was time for draft day. The Blizzard knew who they wanted with their 3 first round picks, however a few days before, Carlzner was tasked with scouting for their 2nd round pick. He had composed a short list of players that he liked at the 15th overall position. After their first 3 picks, the biggest need for the Blizzard was a goalie, since their starter Jonas Gustavo was planning on testing Free Agency, and even if he did come back, was growing older. The biggest name for goalies around the draft was Edwin Ask, who had a huge World Juniors, and had played well in juniors. However, Carlzner had made sure to do his scouting. Watching the NWJHL, he believed he had found a hidden gem that was being quite often overlooked… German goaltender, and Prince George Firebird, Michael McKorsy Jr. McKorsy, who was the nephew of a former SHL player that only lasted a few seasons, was often overlooked due to this fact.

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It was time for the draft, and the Blizzard head office was ready for their big day. After a few complications, the Blizzard moved up to the first overall pick to secure their guy… Michael Haan was officially an Edmonton Blizzard. Willems and Drake went 2nd and 3rd, as expected, and then the Blizzard had the 4th and 5th overall pick to work with… and they, predictably, decided to go with the two cousins, the Commack connection! Alexander Andrezjeck and John Langabeer were selected 4th and 5th, respectively, and were also officially Edmonton Blizzard! It was a great day, and all 3 of these players were extremely happy to be a part of a team that would have a strong competing core in only a few years. The players immediately were a part of the team, hanging out in the Blizzard room during the rest of the draft. And then when the 15th overall pick rolled around, their input was also used, as they had been playing with the players still on the board almost all year. After some lengthy talks, the Edmonton Blizzard staff had lowered the choices down to two players… the top two goaltenders of the draft, Michael McKorsy Jr, and Edwin Ask. After some more lengthy discussion, with help from the new draftees, the Edmonton Blizzard made their decision, and the two GMs, along with the head scouts Braden Carlzner and Lucas Smith, headed up to the podium to make their selection…

… And the choice was Prince George Firebirds goaltender, Michael McKorsy Jr! The draft would conclude with the Blizzard taking two centers in the 4th and 5th round, Tomas Novak and Adam Banks!

It had been a long year of Scouting, and a long draft day, but it was finally over and the Edmonton Blizzard had the players they wanted! General Manager Seth Plaut had made some ballsy moves, but they got the players in the top 5 they really wanted, and were ready to move forward with this new young core. Many people criticized them becoming a younger team… however, there was a reason for this new rebuild…

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The Texas Renegades, one of the two new expansion teams joining the SHL in Season 10

The Season 10 Offseason was a big one… there were two new teams joining the Simulation Hockey League! The first, originally named the Texas Crew, were the Texas Renegades, lead by former Comet Elias Armia. The second, were the Buffalo Thunder, lead by former Calgary starting goaltender, the legend Ryan Jesster! The Renegades would be joining the Western Conference, while the Thunder would be joining the Eastern conference. This had a huge impact on the Blizzard, since Armia was their Co-GM and their star player. They would be losing both a leader, and their best player… and their only compensation would be a 2nd round pick in the draft.

“It was really tough losing Armia like that… especially for me after he brought me in with the trade with the Dragons. He told me he specifically wanted Smith and me as part of the package in return, and he was a great locker room leader and teammate to have. Looking back, that trade was heavily criticized, but I really think at that time he already knew he was getting the job as Expansion GM, and made this move to help out his former team as a last big move before he left. It’s kind of sad thinking back, but honestly a great parting gift to help his former team out. We now have a great young core thanks to him… if that trade wasn’t made, I think the Blizzard would have been crushed by him leaving. Anyways, Armia is a great guy and I believe him and Jesster really were the most deserving candidates. I’ve had the great opportunity to be teammates with both of them… yeah, very deserving. It sucks to lose Armia, but honestly this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, I’m not bitter at all… still great friends with the guy. I can’t wait to play these new teams! It will be a rough road for them to start out, but over time they will grow into contender in the league! I wish the best of luck to Armia and Jesster with their new teams!”

Only a little while after that interview right after the teams were announced, some changes were made to the expansion teams. A major 3-way trade went down, sending Jesster to his former team, the defending cup champion Calgary Dragons. The new GM would change the Buffalo Thunder, before they even played a game, to the Tampa Bay Hydras, and then again just a week later, to the Hartford Hydras. Braden Carlzner was not a fan of these moves… far from it.

“Well to start off I really loved the Buffalo Thunder logo… I thought it was a top 3 in the league, for sure. No question. Another thing that I really hate about this team, is the betrayal of the fans, not only once, but twice, who were given an SHL team, and then having it taken away from them before they even play a game. It’s really scummy in my mind. I’m also not really a fan of the new logo… I know that my opinion doesn’t matter at all to their GM, but I’m just saying. I’m not going to judge Jesster for leaving like that, since he’s a great person and still gets to GM the team he’s played his career on, but I still don’t think the team should have left the city of Buffalo. It’s a tough situation to swallow for me, but it is what it is. Nothing I can do about it, so I’m just going to accept the situation for what it is, and move on. I wish luck to Armia and Fernando in their new GM positions for this upcoming season.”

Another huge change for this offseason was the revamping of the SHL team in Edmonton. The wide consensus around the league was that the Comets had one of the worst, if not the worst logo in the league. The GMs of the Comets finally decided to do something about it, and a long discussion between the players and staff of the team went on throughout the offseason, brainstorming ideas for a new team and logo. The possibility of moving cities was brought up many times, however in the end General Manager Seth Plaut wanted to stay in Edmonton, a great hockey city, but was 100% intent on changing the logo and team name. He had a few options on his table, and was finally ready to reveal the revamped Edmonton team… he hadn’t even told any of the players about this new revamping, so it would come as a complete surprise for everyone.

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The new logo was unveiled, and the Edmonton Blizzard was born! A new logo and a new team was born, both having new directions. Not only was the logo and team name new, but the team was set on competing with the core they would have after the big draft that was coming soon! The new jerseys would be revealed at the draft, and it was an exciting time in Edmonton! Even though the beginning of the offseason was not great for the team, this second half was great, with the new logo, and 3 top 5 picks in the upcoming draft! While the GM was criticized for constantly rebuilding, he was set on building a cup winning team around the current core.

“Oh man, I loved the new logo. There were some nice options for the finalists, but this one is definitely a great logo and team name. I really believe that this team will be able to go forward with this new identity… man I am really excited to be a part of this team. I can’t wait to start my sophomore season!”

With the new draftees signed and the season coming soon, training camp went underway for the Edmonton Blizzard. But first, there were some negotiations to be done… Carlzner approached Seth Plaut asking for a long term extension. Not only did he want to settle down in Edmonton, he wanted to become a permanent part of the young core that could compete for cups for years to come. After quick and painless negotiations, the two agreed on a 5 year extension, worth $20 million dollars total. The extension would start after Season 10, and the exact numbers would be:

S11 - 3.5
S12 - 4.0
S13 - 4.5
S14 - 4.0
S15 - 4.0 (MO)

with the final year being a mutual option between the team. It was a big day to the team, with Captain Petr Klimek also signing a 2 year extension, and Co-GM Cole Reinhart signing a 5 year extension.

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Klimek, Carlzner, and Co-GM Reinhart, respectively, signing their contract extensions.

Then, it was time for Training camp. One of the best parts of Training Camp was playing with, and getting to know the new draftees. Haan, Andrezjeck, Langabeer, and McKorsy Jr were all extremely impressive at training camp, and made great first impressions. Training Camp was a great opportunity to make first impressions… and one of the most interesting of the Draftees was 1st overall pick Michael Haan… who had the strangest obsession with someone of a similar name to his… which quickly gained him the nickname…

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[Image: Hannah+Montana+244484plyta_hannah_montana.jpg]

Haanah Montana.
The other new members also had a few embarrassing things revalealed… like Andrezjeck’s pokemon obsession!

After all the new teammates got to know each other with off-ice aftivities, it was time for the real training camp to begin.

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The always popular Edmonton Training Camp
Seeing the new rookies was a great site. Haan was great as a shutdown defender in the scrimmages, shutting down Edmonton top forwards like Lucas Smith and Jay McDonald. Andrezjeck showed off his great passing abilities, and the Commack Connection was showcased for the first time, with Langabeer banging home Andrezjeck passes. McKorsy also surprisingly impressed, doing well in all the scrimmages he played… earning, not given, the starting role for the Blizzard. All 4 of them practiced even after everyone else had left the ice… it was clear that they were motivated to become better players and play for the Edmonton Blizzard team, even though their spots were already guaranteed. Training Camp was fun, and it was great to play with the new players… Braden Carlzner had this to say during training Camp:

“It’s been a really good training camp… a lot of the guys have improved from last year, especially Lucas Smith… man that guy is talented… watch out for him, he will definitely be a superstar in this league very very soon. Cole Reinhart has also improved into a very good shutdown defender… We also have some great veterans on offense, like Petr Klimek, Laraque Obama, and Jay McDonald… all who I see as very underrated players. I think these guys will surprise the league, especially with having the new young guys to compliment them on offense. Obama is a really good scorer, I think he’s vastly improved his game over the offseason. And Klimek, I really think, Is one of the most underrated players in the league… a great two-way forward who can play very well on our penalty kill… And of course all of the rookies playing well… it’s great to see them fit in, and I can’t wait to play along side them against other SHL teams once the season starts! As for me, I’ve been working on my Skating and Endurance this training camp. I really need to keep up in this fast league, so Skating is an essential attribute to any defender’s games. I really want to start contributing offensively and become a top two-way defender in this league. Over the offseason I worked a lot on my stick skills… specifically Puck Handling, Passing, and my Shot… I’m hoping these will help me become more of an offensive threat like I want to be. Training Camp, I get to work on the 2nd half of the needs to be that so… I can’t wait for the season to start. I honestly think that we will be a lot better than people think we will… we have some really talented players, and I can already tell we’re gaining some great chemistry… I love being on this team, and I think this core can really win some cups, a lot sooner than most people think.”

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The new Edmonton Blizzard starting squad.

And finally, possibly the biggest news of the offseason for Carlzner, was getting the job as Hitmen Co-GM! The GM, fellow Blizzard Petr Klimek, said that he chose Carlzner due to his impressive Scouting for the Edmonton Blizzard, among multiple other reasons. The Hitmen were a relatively new team, only having once season under their belt in the NWJHL.
“I’m happy and humbled to be given this opportunity as the Hitmen Co-GM by Klimek… I really won’t fail him or the Hitmen fans, as we hope to work our way towards a 4 star cup… I’m also really glad that he was the one that chose me… honestly, if I had gotten a Co-GM job and he hadn’t gotten the Head GM, or a Co-GM somewhere else, I would have been really disappointed… Klimek is one of the veterans in this league and has never gotten a chance to show off his GMing skills… he deserves it way more than me so… I think I’m just as glad that he got a GM spot as I am in myself! Definitely a great end to a long offseason!”

It’s been a long offseason for the Edmonton Blizzard, but things are looking up. Season 10 is about to start and Hockey is back in session. This offseason will probably be looked back at in the future as an iconic one for the Blizzard, whether it be good or bad… however one thing is for sure… Braden Carlzner wouldn’t change a thing. It’s time to look towards the future, and it’s a bright one for Edmonton.
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