Login

Huck24 · 06-15-2020, 12:36 PM

With the New Orleans Specters have a bit of a lull in their SHL schedule, we were are to meet up with one of the Specters’ alternate captains, defender Lyle Odelein III. We meet with Lyle at his family’s hockey training facilities right in the heart of the Big Easy. Here is that interview:

Q: Hello Lyle, thanks for making time for this on one of your rare days off.

A: Not a problem, I was starting to get bored with all this spare time.

Q: Right before this short break the schedule has given the Specters, you guys were on quite a tear. Only one loss, which came in overtime, in your last ten games. The Specters have shot to the top of the standings in the western conference, and now hold a one-point lead, with games in hand.

A: Ya, we’ve been playing some great hockey as of late. Everyone is putting in the work and it’s paying off. We knew all along that we should have been seeing better results than we were, I guess some bad luck and going up against some hot teams contributed to our slower start. But we have found our rhythm, we should be good going forward.

Q: What do you think changed on your end in the last little while?

A: Honestly, I don’t think all that much changed. Our coaches are always tweaking things here and there, but overall, I think we just started clicking. We have some amazing players on this team, and we all want to win, so the only thing that has changed is that we have put together a solid string of wins.

Q: Fair enough. One thing no one can deny about this season is that you are personally on track to have your best statistical season of your career. With already scoring 7 goals and adding 16 helpers, your 23 points is only three off your best season, last season when you ended up with 26 points.

A: I’ve been given all of the opportunities to succeed here in New Orleans. I’ve been able to grow as a player each and every season, I get the chance to play with one of the best defenders in the league, the first overall SHL draft pick in my draft year, Kaspars Claude. I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I do on the ice without him.

Q: Totally agree there, the pairing of Odelein and Claude have really been playing well together. But back to your numbers, you’ve already tied your goal production from last season, 3 assists shy of last years mark. On the physical side of things, you’ve already surpassed your hit totals from S53 with 107 hits, and you are one blocked shot away from matching last seasons mark. Your give away / take away numbers are also looking much better. And all of this with playing roughly the same number of minutes.

A: Well, I guess I have been having a good season then. None of this matters all that much to me though, as you know, the only thing I’m hoping to achieve is raising the Challenge Cup at the end of this season. Don’t get me wrong, I will always strive to do better than I previously had, but all of that means nothing to me if we aren’t winning.

Q: Comparing this Specters squad to last seasons, there were a few changes, how have they been fitting in with the team and city.

A: They are all fitting in great! Adding Olivier Cloutier and Jøln DuBølk has been pretty much seamless. They both joined us ready to play and wear the Specters jersey with pride. They are both great teammates and we are all lucky to have landed them. And then we’ve got our rookies, Mitchell van Heijden and Olli Saarinen Jr. Mitchell came to New Orleans fresh off a MVP caliber season in the juniors. He has been playing some solid hockey here in the SHL, I think he broke double digits in points the other day. He is going to be a star in this league. Going to be fun watching him grow into one to the leagues best forwards. And for Olli, I mean no one will every be able to replace Alesiter Cain, he’s the best goalie I’ve every had the chance to play with or against. Saarinen is going to be an amazing protégé. In 6 starts this season, Olli has won 5 of them, and GAA of 1.67 and a save percentage of 0.907. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the future is bright in New Orleans!

A: Couldn’t agree more. And that’s not even touching on any of your players in the New Orleans prospect pool. The management team have really been working hard to ensure New Orleans has the tools to build a winning team now and a few seasons from now.

Q: Just another reason why I’m glad to have landed here, and signed a long term contract to be here!.

A: I think that’s all of the questions I had for you today Lyle, and parting words for our readers?

Q: Just that the best is yet to come for the Specters. We are playing the best hockey this group has played together and we are learning from each other more and more everyday. We all feel that we have a very competitive group, and a very hungry group. From the front office down to our zamboni driver, Julien, we want to bring the Challenge Cup to New Orleans. And we are going to do everything we can to make that happen. Thanks for supporting the team since we started, we’ll be paying you back for doing that very soon.

Thanks for reading.

Word count - 996

*Bruins10* · 06-15-2020, 02:06 PM

Serpe x 13 · 06-15-2020, 02:07 PM

***Blastmeaway*** · 06-15-2020, 02:07 PM

06-15-2020, 02:06 PMBruins10 Wrote:

Shout out to ml002, schultzy, slashacm, tedward!
[Image: blastmeaway.gif]

I

I

I

I

09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.

12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.

[Image: Capture21.PNG?width=400&height=90]

SlashACM · 06-15-2020, 02:20 PM

06-15-2020, 02:07 PMSerpe x 13 Wrote:

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us