Interview With Brian Kilrea

Brian Kilrea was interviewed on The TEAM 1200 (Dean and Gord) about the games this past w/e. Some thoughts:

On Brad Bonello:
Killer knew Bonello was feisty and talented, and felt that if he was surrounded by good players, he’d do well. Bonello had some scoring chances, and Bickell already has a goal in each game. Bonello dove to block shots, and did other stuff to win, and Killer’s happy he’s a 67. Bonello comes to the rink and does everything to win. He’s a friend of Galbraith, and plays a little bit like him.

On Jakub Petruzalek getting his hair cut:
Killer didn’t put pressure on either of them (Kaspar and Petruzalek) because he knows that everything is new for them here (language, school, friends, family, etc.). He said that after Petruzalek did it, he hardly recognized him. He added that maybe Kaspar will do it down the road for luck when he sees how well Petruzalek is doing.

On the Czech players – is one better than the other:
Both complement each other so much. They are so unselfish, he (and the coaching staff) almost wish they would take more shots themselves. Because the coaching staff are stressing that they need to shot themselves more – and let the other guy look for the rebound – they are starting to them both do this. They both play well, and they both play to win.

On the winning streak:
Some of fellows have picked up the pace. The return of both Lawrance and Reid have made the defence better. Killer says they just need a little bit more up front. He’s concerned that they have gone into some of these games holding only 1 or 2 goals in the first period. They need to be more explosive. They are still tinkering with right the combinations.

On the upcoming road trip – have you discussed with the Czech players:
He says it is a concern, because he doesn’t think that they have played back-back, let alone back-back-back-back. They may tire out because Killer uses them a lot. But he said they will use all four lines starting off with the first game, no matter what the opposition throws against them. Otherwise the top two lines will be overworked.

He also said that during practices, players never get to sit down – they are constantly working. During a game, on the other hand, a player could sit 40 out of 60 minutes, so they are less tired during a game. The hardest thing on a player, is not the games themselves, it’s the travel. So they try to condense it. For this upcoming road trip, it is 2000 miles. Why do it more than once, if you can get all the games scheduled into the w/e. (Less travel, not practicing, only games.) killer said that the team will arrive early, the day before the game, so players can relax for dinner and then wake up in the same town in which they will play. The second game is only a short trip away from the first, same with the third and fourth.

They will be bringing three extra players on the trip in case of injury or wear.

On the status of Beard and Aitcheson:
Killer said he’s not sure of their exact condition. Beard’s shoulder is still a touch sore and he wouldn’t want to rush it. He knows that Aitcheson skated a few days last week, and thinks that he might be ready. Aitcheson is coming on the trip.

On Joslin:
A couple of scouts have already approached Killer, and told him that they have already slotted Joslin as a first rounder and that they won’t need to come back to review. Killer said the kid never seems to tire. He is always on. The more he plays the better he is. He never makes those fundamental mistakes when he is pushed to play more.

On one aspect for Joslin to work on:
Nothing. Killer said it is just a matter of playing and learning the little tricks that you learn mostly through game play, like when to tie a man up in front of the net. Killer thinks they have outstanding rookies this year.

Any pros coming out to practices?
No, not allowed because of insurance purposes – OHL rule. (But we have heard that Hasek came out to work with the Guadagnolo and Battachio.)