skateshattrick Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Sicatoka, Handyman and Dagies- all very good and objective posts. Sic, I agree with you about the lower lines. However, the defense played a role in why Parise, Bochenski and others had trouble scoring at the end of last season. In my opinion, the Sioux need to improve on 3 areas: 1. Goaltending. Although this improved at the end of last year, it is still a concern and affects everyone's play because the team needs to have confidence that the goalies will make a stop every now and again if there is a mistake. 2. Transition game, which I believe is the ability of defensemen to carry the puck or break it out of the zone like Ballard and Martin. 3. Depth at forward. The 3rd and 4th lines were not very productive, and also took dumb penalties and gave up some weak goals. The short list is Palmiscino, Connelly and Canady, but Ryan Hale also struggled. I truly believe that the Sioux addressed this concern with some of the new recruits, and Prpich and Fylling will be a year older and better. Time will tell if the other 2 areas of concern have been addressed. I think that they have, and I am cautiously optimistic about this year. I would feel better if the new D man from western Canada was coming this year rather than next year. I think that this could be the Sioux's year if 1 and 3 above are improved even if the Sioux don't have the offensive defenseman. Minnesota, Michigan and BC will be strong, but I believe the Sioux will be right there will all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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