Another, long-overdue article come at you from SportsNOW Actiondesk! Max Power here with a wrap-up on the year for Montreal Patriotes stalwart and freshly-anointed Blueliner, Roderic Banes. We'll also look ahead to the IIHF tournament, where he'll be eating a ton of minutes on the top pairing for Team Latvia.

Season 68 has come and gone for the Montreal Patriotes, as they come crashing back down to earth. After a phenomenal season in S67, and a tremendous post-season push, Roddy made the move to the blue line to shore up the team defensively, and allow for younger talent to move up the Forward depth chart. There were growing pains, and adjustment periods were painful and cranky. The offensive output stuttered, and slowed dramatically, as was to be expected, but his advanced stats remained strong. Let's take a look as some numbers from the season.

Roddy B: 9G, 24A for 33pts in 66 games. 0.5ppg pace is respectable for a 2nd pair defender. It stings a little after putting up 75 pts in 66 games in S67, and 88 pts in S66, but not all battles are won on the scoresheet.
11 Giveaways to 39 Takeaways is a comfortable stat, and here is where we approach the comfortable numbers. Roddy led the Patriotes in blocked shots with 157, while also laying 76 hits,  and leading the team in Fights Won (1). 
Where Roddy showed his defensive strength however, is in the advanced stats. With a GA/60 of 2.5, only barely beaten out by his defensive partner, Zak Wilson (2.4), and a SA/60 of 27, tied for team best, Roddy showed his strengths as a puck possession force, able to severely limit the ability of the opposing team to generate offensive momentum. He also finished the season with a SF/60 of 35, tied for 4th on the team, showing he was able to drive offense and generate scoring opportunities. Overall, the team was better with him on the ice, even though his individual statistics were less than stellar. It's comforting, going in to to the holidays, though a cold comfort.

Interestingly, comparing Advanced Stats from his first season as a Defender (S68) to the previous season, we actually see his GF/60 INCREASE by 0.3, and his GA/60 DECREASE by 0.5. His SF/60 also increased by 2.7, and his SA/60 decreased by a whopping 4.8. Now, it was to be expected that his defensive game would improve given his new deployment but it is very interesting to see the Shots and Goals for increase. Is it due to a TPE increase? His performance generally did not change, with his PDO decreasing by 0.1 (a negligible figure). All in all, though the season had an unfortunate end for the Montreal Patriotes, Roderic Banes seems to have a bright future as a Defender, and showed his skills on the blue line this season. With any luck, and plenty of hard work, the New Year will bring further success to both Banes and the Patriotes.

Now with the hard and crunchy numbers out of the way, we had the chance to sit down with Rodd following Montreal elimination in Game Six of the first round, at the hands of the Buffalo Stampede

Power: "Roddy, can you take us through the decision to move to the blue line, after putting up such strong numbers as a top 6 winger?"

RB: "Well it was a team decision. Management and I sat down, and had some good long talks about my strengths, and the teams needs. I was already playing a solid defensive game, something I take pride in, and we know the blue line was an area that we struggled with last season. So we hashed it out, and I agreed to make the move. We have some really talented young guys coming up, and some new faces came in this year too, so I don't think the offense really suffered without me."

Power: "Can you take us through the adjustment period? Do you have to follow the play differently? What sort of mindset adjustment goes on?"

RB: "Oh, it's an adjustment for sure. Obviously I'm not going to be scoring as many goals, putting up as many points. But like I said, I already play a pretty defensive game, so I just tried to lean on my instincts in the defensive zone, focus on my positioning. It really just comes down to a lot of things I'm already doing, you know? You've gotta be the guy to win puck battle down low, and make that solid first pass. I'm not afraid to block shots, I've shown that as a PKer with the squad since day one, and I obviously wanted to bring that willingness to put my body on the line. As far as mindset, I had to remind myself not to jump up on the rush a couple times, and you kind of want to pinch down, or cheat in a bit. That's gonna pass though, and I think I still have a lot to offer, and I think next season I'll get the chance to really thrive in my new role."

Power: "It's still fresh, but can we get your thoughts on the series loss to Buffalo?"
RB: "Yeah, it's a tough one for sure, we were able to beat them throughout the year, and we've faced them in playoffs before so we thought we had a handle on things going in to it, to be honest. Wall struggled a bit, but we all did, really. It's not on anyone, we've kind of all got to wear it. Going to six games, you can't really call it bad luck, though I felt there was plenty of that to go around. We didn't bring our A-game, and they burned us for it. I don't want to say whether or not the better team one, I feel we could have turned it around at so many points, we had a lot of chances to come out ahead and just couldn't find that extra gear. Buffalos a good team though, it was a well-played series, and they fought hard for the win. Maybe we can take a look at that, and bring something more next season."

Power: "Any holiday plans?"
RB: "Just heading home to spend time with family, take some time to rest and recover. I like to do a little volunteer work around Christmas, it's a tough time for a lot of people."

Power: "Let's move on to the upcoming IIHF tournament. Latvia is not exactly a dynastic powerhouse when it comes to Hockey, can you take us through your decision to transfer from Team Canada when you first came to the league?"
RB: "Sure! It wasn't a tough choice, honestly. Canada is a stacked team, and with me coming in as a rookie, I would have had a hard time cracking the roster. Even when I played up front I didn't play a flashy game, and honestly I was pretty far down their depth chart. Darzins, my longtime teammate in Montreal, works closely with the Latvian Hockey Federation, and invited me to join their team. It was a chance at ice time and a good placement. I jumped on the chance, wanted to make an impact and get the experience as well as the opportunity to prove myself."

Power: "And you certainly contributed! 13 points in 12 games in Season 67 will be a tough mark to match. How do you hope you can contribute now that you're patrolling the blue?"
RB: "Like I said before, I don't play a flashy, high event game. My goal is to just keep things simple; good puck retrieval, be tough in the corners, and block shots. That's something I've always brought to the game, and I don't plan on slowing down."

Power: "Do you worry that the move to Defence has left a void in the Latvian forward core?"
RB: "Well to be honest that's above my pay grade. *chuckles* There's a lot of young guys coming up in the league, like me, who don't really fit in to their home nations rosters, and Darzins is always out there recruiting. We're a bit of a mixed bag, from all over the place, but it's a really good time. Feels like the UN in the locker room sometimes. But there's always young guys coming up, and giving them the chance to mix it up with the best in the world is great for their development. I'm happy to contribute how I can, but I'll leave roster construction to the guys upstairs."

Power: "Wrapping up here, you're no longer the up-and-comer you once were, how do you feel about adjusting to a new role in the locker room as well as on the ice?"
RB: "It's tough, you know? Nothing in this game is ever easy. But I know how things work, I know what it takes to win games, and I want to be able to pass that on to our young guys in Montreal and Latvia. I don't want to feel like the move to D is a step back, more of a step to the side. But I talked with my GM about it and at the end of the day it's all about what's best for the team. I have a lot more to give, and I'm already looking forward to next season."