The Admirals open the 2006-’07 American Hockey League season tonight at the Bradley Center with new uniforms, a new logo, a renovated locker room, a new assistant coach, a new assistant trainer and a slew of new players.
Amid this sea of change, there is one constant.
Claude Noel.
Entering his fourth season behind the Admirals bench, Noel combines energy, enthusiasm, experience and a much-needed dose of reality to the local sports landscape.
At the team’s media day earlier this week, Noel was asked how he plans to guide this team without standbys like Darren Haydar, Simon Gamache, Greg Zanon, Jordin Tootoo, Scottie Upshall and other core players who helped the Admirals win the Calder Cup in 2004 and lose to Hershey in the Finals back in June. Rather than reading from the "Coaches' Cliché Handbook," Noel delivered an answer that was thoughtful, insightful and all too rare in modern pro sports.
"The objective really is to get this team to be a tight group so that, come February, we are able to pass this team on to the players and get them to play hard for one another, which we've been able to do the last three years since I've been here," said Noel, who will be aided by Lane Lambert this year. "We plan to do that again.
"There is a real vision to where we're trying to go. There is plan on how we're going to get there, but it’s going to take some time. When people watch us for the first month, they might say "Wow, they really looked confused," or "They really looked this," or "They really looked that"...
"This is the beauty of the American Hockey League. You get a whole bunch of guys from different countries and everywhere (with) whole different systems and you're trying to bring these guys together. You can't do it in five games. You can't do it in a month. It takes time. As I see the plan, I've got the patience to make the plan. Are people going to have that same type of patience?"
How often have you heard any coach, even in high school, come forward at the dawn of a new season and predict that his team would struggle initially? Noel, who was rumored to be headed to an NHL assistant’s job this summer, even offered a twist on the old "we're going to give it the ol’ college try" quote.
"I guarantee the effort will be there," he said. "Will it be organized effort? We'll see. It will be a challenge for us."
"I think we're going to have to rely on everybody to take part. I see guys that have scored in the past. Does that mean they're going to score here? we're going to have to rely on special teams. Scoring doesn't necessarily bring you wins. You can score goals and lose games. A lot of people will ask that question, is it about scoring? To me, it’s about winning. There are different ways to win games. That’s what we're going to have to get done."
Many Admirals fans were blindsided at the news that the player who prevented other teams from scoring last year -- goalie Pekka Rinne -- suffered a separated shoulder in a fight outside a bar this summer in his native Finland. Rinne won't be back until January at the earliest, but Noel brushed past the injury during media day.
"Pekka will be gone (and0 he'll be a guy that is hard to replace," Noel said. "We don't have him. I'm not going to be dwelling on whether we're able to do without him or not. We've got Karl Goehring and Scott Reid. Let’s deal with what we have, not what we don't have."
What the Admirals have is a bunch of newcomers like Ramzi Abid, who played for the Chicago Wolves last season, Shane Endicott, who was with Scranton / Wilkes-Barre and Pat Leahy (Providence), as well as European imports like Kim Staal, Daniel Widing and Mikko Koistenen.
With just five games in October, the team won't have a lot of time to find its bearings early.
"All the veteran guys are going to have to try to bring the team together," Abid said. "I have a great feeling about our locker room this year."
Noel isn't sure how he feels about the team, but he’s excited about the season.
"The biggest thing for me as a coach is to answer the challenge that’s ahead," Noel said. "It’s a big challenge. I see where we are. I'm trying to formulate a plan. As I'm looking here. What we've got? What are your strengths and weaknesses? It’s pretty tough to tell that today. Are we going to be a high-offensive team? Are we going to be good defensively? In the nets? Can we recover from losing guys like Gamache, Haydar, Upshall, Tootoo, Zanon – all those guys? Not having Pekka Rinne until January?
"These are challenges. You can view them as obstacles or you can view them as challenges. I choose to view them as challenges. I'm embracing them. I'm looking forward to it. It’s going to be very interesting. It’s going to be a lot of fun."
The fun starts Saturday night tonight against Omaha. Face off is 7:30 p.m.
Amid this sea of change, there is one constant.
Claude Noel.
Entering his fourth season behind the Admirals bench, Noel combines energy, enthusiasm, experience and a much-needed dose of reality to the local sports landscape.
At the team’s media day earlier this week, Noel was asked how he plans to guide this team without standbys like Darren Haydar, Simon Gamache, Greg Zanon, Jordin Tootoo, Scottie Upshall and other core players who helped the Admirals win the Calder Cup in 2004 and lose to Hershey in the Finals back in June. Rather than reading from the "Coaches' Cliché Handbook," Noel delivered an answer that was thoughtful, insightful and all too rare in modern pro sports.
"The objective really is to get this team to be a tight group so that, come February, we are able to pass this team on to the players and get them to play hard for one another, which we've been able to do the last three years since I've been here," said Noel, who will be aided by Lane Lambert this year. "We plan to do that again.
"There is a real vision to where we're trying to go. There is plan on how we're going to get there, but it’s going to take some time. When people watch us for the first month, they might say "Wow, they really looked confused," or "They really looked this," or "They really looked that"...
"This is the beauty of the American Hockey League. You get a whole bunch of guys from different countries and everywhere (with) whole different systems and you're trying to bring these guys together. You can't do it in five games. You can't do it in a month. It takes time. As I see the plan, I've got the patience to make the plan. Are people going to have that same type of patience?"
How often have you heard any coach, even in high school, come forward at the dawn of a new season and predict that his team would struggle initially? Noel, who was rumored to be headed to an NHL assistant’s job this summer, even offered a twist on the old "we're going to give it the ol’ college try" quote.
"I guarantee the effort will be there," he said. "Will it be organized effort? We'll see. It will be a challenge for us."
"I think we're going to have to rely on everybody to take part. I see guys that have scored in the past. Does that mean they're going to score here? we're going to have to rely on special teams. Scoring doesn't necessarily bring you wins. You can score goals and lose games. A lot of people will ask that question, is it about scoring? To me, it’s about winning. There are different ways to win games. That’s what we're going to have to get done."
Many Admirals fans were blindsided at the news that the player who prevented other teams from scoring last year -- goalie Pekka Rinne -- suffered a separated shoulder in a fight outside a bar this summer in his native Finland. Rinne won't be back until January at the earliest, but Noel brushed past the injury during media day.
"Pekka will be gone (and0 he'll be a guy that is hard to replace," Noel said. "We don't have him. I'm not going to be dwelling on whether we're able to do without him or not. We've got Karl Goehring and Scott Reid. Let’s deal with what we have, not what we don't have."
What the Admirals have is a bunch of newcomers like Ramzi Abid, who played for the Chicago Wolves last season, Shane Endicott, who was with Scranton / Wilkes-Barre and Pat Leahy (Providence), as well as European imports like Kim Staal, Daniel Widing and Mikko Koistenen.
With just five games in October, the team won't have a lot of time to find its bearings early.
"All the veteran guys are going to have to try to bring the team together," Abid said. "I have a great feeling about our locker room this year."
Noel isn't sure how he feels about the team, but he’s excited about the season.
"The biggest thing for me as a coach is to answer the challenge that’s ahead," Noel said. "It’s a big challenge. I see where we are. I'm trying to formulate a plan. As I'm looking here. What we've got? What are your strengths and weaknesses? It’s pretty tough to tell that today. Are we going to be a high-offensive team? Are we going to be good defensively? In the nets? Can we recover from losing guys like Gamache, Haydar, Upshall, Tootoo, Zanon – all those guys? Not having Pekka Rinne until January?
"These are challenges. You can view them as obstacles or you can view them as challenges. I choose to view them as challenges. I'm embracing them. I'm looking forward to it. It’s going to be very interesting. It’s going to be a lot of fun."
The fun starts Saturday night tonight against Omaha. Face off is 7:30 p.m.
Host of “The Drew Olson Show,” which airs 1-3 p.m. weekdays on The Big 902. Sidekick on “The Mike Heller Show,” airing weekdays on The Big 920 and a statewide network including stations in Madison, Appleton and Wausau. Co-author of Bill Schroeder’s “If These Walls Could Talk: Milwaukee Brewers” on Triumph Books. Co-host of “Big 12 Sports Saturday,” which airs Saturdays during football season on WISN-12. Former senior editor at OnMilwaukee.com. Former reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
