Login

Vaxlare · 09-11-2021, 12:10 PM

Today we caught up with Colorado Raptors Co-GM Ruggsy to get his thoughts on the season so far and the rivalry with Anaheim that has been the topic in this weeks SMJHL rivalry PT thread. For reference COL has started hot this season being ranked anywhere from 1st to 4th in the standings. At the time of writing this they are 17-4-2 and tied for first in the SMJHL.

Colorado has gotten off to a hot start. 17-4-2 in the first third of the season. You are tied for 1st in the SMJHL with no sign of slowing down. What's been the secret?
Ruggsy: "This is probably not going to be as exciting of an answer as yall would hope. Here in Colorado we pride ourselves on maintaining competitiveness at all times. While we won’t get obvious cup runs all the time, there's always a chance which I think is the more positive experience overall. Eventually, inevitably, quality drafting pays off and you end up with an amazing young group to support your older capped players and here we are.
Really the thing that pays off most is the culture. Having players that want to have good stats is great. Having players that want the team to have good stats is amazing."

Earlier today it was announced COL traded a 1st Round pick to Great Falls for Janne Virtanen (Deng). What does he bring to the team?
Ruggsy: I am so excited to add Virtanen to the team, I think he will push us to the next level and really have us performing consistently well. The opportunity came up and the more we looked into it the more we knew it was a great deal for everyone involved. Virtanen is coming to us from the Great Falls Grizzlies as the top scoring defenseman on the (struggling) team. I’m extremely confident adding Janne to our already solid D core will allow us to bring Janne to the peak of his abilities.

This seems to signal you like your chances at making a deep playoff run and the potential of winning the 4 Star Cup. How do you avoid a 1st round exit like last season?
Ruggsy: We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Hold the line and it will pay off. Obviously the other thing that will help with this is bringing in people like Virtanen to round out our roster.

Angus Mcfife XVIII has been attracting a lot of attention from media and opposing coaches. How do you manage that as a GM?
I love it. Angus is one of my favorite people in the league overall, extremely positive and kind while also managing to be extremely funny. A massive part of the team and amazing captain I would expect nothing less. If you have someone like Angus on your team you have to expect that people will talk about him, It’s just part of having a stud player. McFife’s values align extremely well with Colorado Management’s and I think that level of understanding will overtake any level of media scrutiny. After all, we’re gonna win the cup.

Is there anyone on the team who has surprised you up to this point in the season? On the ice or in the locker room.
Ruggsy: I am constantly surprised by so many of the rookies on our team season after season, including yourself. The current surge of first gens on our team who just decided to start/restart doing graphics is like a dream to me. As for on the ice, anyone can see the stats but the scoreboard isnt everything to me. I’m more proud of the work being done in between the games training and working to make our organization a great place to be.

The rivalry with Anaheim has been a topic around the league the last two weeks. For the uninformed can you explain the origin of the rivalry?
Ruggsy: Well it’s kind of stupid really. Someone said in a PT that COL wasn’t good enough to use for the pt prompt (maybe not as nicely) or something along those lines so it kind of became a point to try and beat them. Obviously we were previously in the same division as well before the changes so it couldn’t have made more sense from a geographical standpoint. Also Red Vs Blue is such a classic matchup. Really for me it kicked off more recently when our prodigy\former coach Talls got the job as their new GM. The fact that I knew him just made it feel so much more real to me. It was no longer some random rivalry based on “oh I saw some guy make some post” where barely anyone knows why we are even rivals. Now I look at a team led by someone raised in the raptor dens of Colorado. Someone who I know has the determination and confidence to push the limits and put together a team that makes the league proud. This is exactly the reason I love this rivalry now. Two teams with similar mindsets, located close to each other (reference aleris’ dank map), trying to make a fun, successful place in this league.

What are you thoughts on the rebuild in Anaheim and their long-term outlook? How will that effect the rivalry if at all?
Ruggsy: Like I previously mentioned, I have complete confidence in Talls as a GM. I think with the cards he was dealt were played well and can’t wait to see this team reform itself in the league. In terms of the rivalry it's kind of weird right now. It’s not very satisfying to be beating a team that is (reasonably) at the bottom of the standings. Give it a couple seasons and this matchup will be one for the record books, I’m sure of that.