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Eggy216 · 08-22-2015, 01:16 PM

Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, this is reporter Michael Biron coming to you live from the Jet Blue Airways Arena this morning, where the Falcons are practicing in preparation for their final four preseason games against the Kelowna Knights, Colorado Mammoths, and Montreal Impact. The team has been hard at work trying to improve after poor showings in this preseason, having so far put up only one win in six games, that being a 4-2 defeat of the Kelowna Knights in their second game of preseason. The Falcons other games this season were all regulation losses, those being a 6-4 loss to the Colorado Mammoths, 3-2 and 5-3 losses to the Vancouver Whalers, and a pair of 9-2 and 2-1 losses to the Prince George Firebirds. The team isn't happy about their performances thus far, and they're searching for answers.

We've got the chance now to talk to Detroit Falcons Co-GM Vesevolod Nikitin. Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Nikitin.

I'm happy to be here

Obviously you were hoping that the Falcons would be doing better this year. What do you think has been the reason for your on-ice struggles?

Well we've been trying some new stuff out there on the ice this year. Giving a few newer players a chance to get some big minutes, such as our two rookie goaltenders Crysta L. Chandelier and BJ Cobbledick. They're both really young and early on in their development, so once we get Austin Lemieux back in net we should start to see some better results.

We also had a major change in the front office, with head GM Tommy Creller leaving the team for a position with the SHL's Manhattan Rage and being replaced by West Kendall Platoon's Colin Schmidt. The players just have to get used to playing a new coach's style, and learn to gel better with him calling the shots. Once the guys get a better grasp of Schmidt's playstyle, we should see the Falcons putting up big wins.

You lost a ton of key players this past offseason, most notably Alex Mack, Ray Pejonis, Kappo Kekkonen, and Brandon Girard. How do you plan to overcome this?

Obviously it hurts whenever you lose players who were once key to your operations, but it happens every year - especially down here in the SMJHL. You've just got to deal with it and move on. We're going to be able to replace Brandon Girard with Jasper Clayton, both on and off the ice. The two are strong locker room presences, and offense-first defenseman. The primary difference between the two is going to be seen in that Clayton does not like to hit, whereas Girard was the kind of guy who's physicality sometimes got him in trouble.

On offense, we're lucky to have had some great players waiting in the wings to take the places of those we lost. While nobody can ever take the place of the wonder twins Kappo Kekkonen and Ray Pejonis, we do have players like Ross Burke, McLaren Nasher and Naeem Chamas to fill those holes on the team. Plus we've got Michael Burch, who was playing on the top line last year and should have no problem filling the whole left by Alex Mack finally getting his shot in the SHL.

What do you think of the Detroit Falcons' draft?

I think we filled the holes that we needed to fill. We've been criticized a bit for the moves we've made, and for not filling out our defense this season. But we've got enough mid-range defenders to fill in the gap between Jasper Clayton and Maverick Mitchell until Mitchell is able to play as a top pairing defender. He's got a great future ahead of him, that kid, and I can't wait to see what he does this season.

We also were able to pick up some great forwards in the draft. Aleksander Stromberg was a huge steal at number sixteen, and is probably going to be similar to Randy Randleman once he starts to grow into his game. Tim Buckner is also going to be huge for us, filling the same power forward role Detroit Falcons fans grew to love watching Ray Pejonis and Kappo Kekkonen filling last season. Then we've got Janis Mazmiesis to round out our young, growing forwards this year.

In goal we're a very strong team already thanks to Austin Lemieux, and the additions of Crysta L. Chandelier from the draft and BJ Cobbledick from free agency are just going to make our team stronger, with one of the latter two moving up to be our starter next season. All in all, I'm pretty excited about what we managed to pull out of the draft.

Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to me today, and best of luck this season.

The pleasure's all mine.

Next up we're going to speak with goaltender Austin Lemieux, who's just finished up some shootout drills with a few of the Falcon's vets. Welcome, Austin.

Glad you could stop by, it's been a while

Yeah, I've been busy covering British hockey rather than SHL hockey. Austin, you were voted as one of the alternate captains this year by your teammates. How did it feel to know you were thought of so highly by your teammates?

I mean it's a huge honor. I try to do what I can to help out my teammates, so being recognized by them was amazing. I've done my best to be a major part of the Detroit Falcons organization, and getting this recognition means a lot to me. I always thought it would be pretty cool to have a goaltender captain, which is why I led a team in the Beer League competition. Being an alternate with my SMJHL team, though, is huge.

You haven't seen much action so far in the preseason, has that affected your game at all?

Not really. A lot of hockey is mental preparation rather than physical preparation, and in that regard it's been a little strange. Normally I'd like to get some ice time in game situations, but since my only ice time has been in a few relief appearance I haven't really gotten my head where I want it to be. Physically, though, I'm ready to get back between the pipes for my team. I know that coach just wants to give the rookies some ice time so they can be better prepared for their first season, and when my chance comes I can promise both my teammates and my fans that I'll be more than ready for the opportunity.

Many considered you the top rookie goaltender in the league last season, do you feel like there's a lot of pressure on you this season?

It's not too bad. Well, not as bad as last season, at least. Last season the spotlight was literally burning a hole in my crease. Between starting so many games for the Falcons and trying to prepare for the SHL draft, I had my hands full trying to juggle all of my responsibilities. Now I know I'm going to have to start a majority of the games, and I no longer have Bowdy here to help guide me along the way. I'm going to have to be the one guiding the other goaltenders this season, and I'm going to have to forage ahead on my own. I know I can do it, now I just have to prove to everyone else that I can do it.

Thank you Austin. Best of luck throughout the remainder of this preseason.

Thanks. Just remember to Fear The Tendy!

Let's take a moment now to speak with one of the members of the Detroit Falcons' rookie class, Tim Buckner. How are you doing today, Tim?

I'm doing pretty well, thanks for inviting me onto the show.

This is your first season playing professional hockey in the SMJHL. How have you been preparing for your first game?

Well it's been pretty nerve-wracking, but I've been doing my best to get to practice a little early and stay a little late so that I can be in the best shape of my life when the puck drops on the regular season. It's been a difficult preseason trying to get acclimated to the Falcons' style of play and the speed at which the game moves here in the SMJHL, but I'm starting to get adjusted to it. I've been hitting the weights a lot trying to build up some more muscle mass so I can shove people out of the way as I go hard to the net. It's going to be my goal out there on the ice to try and make everyone else's lives a living hell. There's no free passes when I'm out there on the ice.

For those who may be unfamiliar with your game, is there another player you could give them a parallel to compare you to?

It would definitely be Steve Ott of the National Hockey League. He's the same kind of player - physical, gritty, and doesn't take shit from anyone. That's the kind of guy I'm going to be out there on the ice, whether in a game or in a practice. I'm never going to hold back for any reason. I also might lick a few visors on the way, never know when someone needs to be put in their place in a more subtle way.

How are you enjoying Detroit so far?

It's been great, honestly. Everyone's made me feel really welcome. Nikitin took us out for drinks the other night. I never knew a man could drink as much as he did - those Russians are insane. Going into the draft I thought the Falcons looked like a pretty cool team, and I'm really proud to be a member of the organization moving forward. I can't wait to put on that sweater for the first time in a regular season game.

Thanks, Tim. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with me.

It's been my pleasure.

That's all for today folks. Stay tuned for Monday's edition of The Falcon's Wing, where we'll break down the Falcon's preseason performance, featuring the return of the Falcon's High Flyer of the week.