Page 11 of Second Round

“Yeah. That’dbegood.”

There was another silence, so I decided to jump right in. “I’ve been looking at the stat sheet, and you seem to be having some challengeslately.”

He looked up at me. “I am? You’ve alreadynoticedthis?”

I wasn’t going to mention that he’d missed a chance to get called up. “Everyone’s season is going to have some ups and downs. Have you made any changes to your game lately? Equipment?Routine?”

Lepper flinched and then resumed his close examination of his hands. “Uh, nope. I haven’t changed anything….” His voice trailed off. “Well, there is one thing. I’m trying to play a more whole game, you know, like be better in myownend.”

That certainly wasn’t something I’d noticed last night. He was struggling at both ends of the ice. He was slow and hesitant, which made himineffective.

“I haven’t been able to see enough of your game to pinpoint the issues, if there are any, but I recommend going back to old habits. Try to play the style that got you here and not make any sudden changes. Of course you want to be a complete player, but you’ve got soft hands and you want to use those. This team needs goals badly. We’re going to be playing a team game, which means everyone plays to hisstrengths.”

Lepper nodded. “It’s a little confusing to switch coaches in mid-season.”

Maybe he had been one of Panner’s favourites and now he was struggling. A coaching change was like that: a way for some guys to get out of the doghouse and play better. But the opposite if you played well under the oldsystem.

“After a few games, I’m sure I’ll have more to tell you.” He looked worried, so I added, “Relax, Lepper. Every player goes through ups and downs during the season. It’sinevitable.”

Lucky walked in. “Goats, do you—oh, am I interrupting something? The door wasopen,so….”

Lepper shook his head. “No, I’m good. We’re done here.” And hetookoff.

“How did practice go?” Lucky asked. It was clear that he still missed the game and was eager to get in on the ice level activities. That was fine with me, since I could bounce ideasoffhim.

“Slow. I’ve seen faster Peeweepractices.”

“Yeah, I know. They used to do a lot of standing around. Bob was big into thewhiteboard.”

I shook my head. I liked the whiteboard too, but for team meetings. Practices should be fast-paced and intense. You couldn’t simulate game conditions but the closer you got, the more useful theskills.

Lucky reached over and closed the door. The office was so small, he didn’t even need to get up from hischair.

“It would be good to set some seeds for next year. You know, decide who you want to keep. Maybe sometime over the next fewweeks?”

“I know already.” I began studying the available stats and video as soon as he hired me. Last night’s game and this morning’s practice had confirmed all my ideas. “Ignoring contract considerations, I’d keep Fairburn, Ramsey, and Dominick.Period.”

“Shit.” Lucky fell back against his chair. “That’s it? And you know thisalready?”

I shrugged. “You want to make a quiche here, you’ll have to break some eggs. And now is the best time, while I’m still completelyobjective.”

I tried hard not to get sentimental about players, but it was tough. There were always guys you liked because of their work ethic or personality. And some guys were going to be assholes but good players. The closer you got to the team, the tougher these things were todetermine.

Lucky shook his head. “Well, that’s a starting point. In that case, I’ve got some bad news: just between us, we’re going to be trading Dan Ramsey over thesummer.”

“Okay, it’s not the end of the world.” He wasn’t that good, only one of the better ones. Besides, in the AHL, one thing was certain—your best players were going to get called up. That’s why we needed a deepergroup.

“So, you might not want to waste a ton of your time on him,” Luckyconcluded.

“Can I make a suggestion? Why don’t we showcase him? Make him look good and get his stats up. When we trade him, we want everyone to think he’s carrying the team and we can hardly bear to partwithhim.”

It took a moment for that to sink in, but Lucky saw the possibilities right away. “So, increase hisvalue.How?”

“I’ll give him good linemates, offensive zone starts, and favourable match-ups. We don’t have much time, but you can point out how he thrived under a newcoach.”

“Jesus Christ. You are one sneaky bastard. I would never have thought of something like that. I knew I got the right guy when I got you,Goats.”

Lucky was too much of a straight shooter to consider all the angles. But the best part was that he bought in. Sure it was a little devious, but Rams would play better on a better team, so it wasn’t like we were rippinganyoneoff.

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