Thursday, January 3, 2008

Letters! We've Got Letters!

"Hey, Jaro! Wanna be captain this month?"


Looks like a yes to me!

Someone (hi, brian!) asked me in the comment section what I thought of Jaroslav Spacek's January captaincy. While I join RJ in his desire to see Paul Gaustad with a letter, I have no problem whatsoever with Jaro wearing the C. He totally deserves it. While there was a lot of talk at the beginning of the season about how much better Jaro was playing and how good he looked, I do think he's been overlooked a lot. Brian Campbell seems to be getting the bulk of credit for that pairing's success and while I will come out of my recent anti-Soupy funk enough to admit that he is having a good season, Soupy's success does require a strong partner. Jaro's busting his ass every night which is something that can't be said about very many guys on the team this season. He's playing like he wants to win and he understands that means working hard. That makes him a great leader for this team as it is right now.

No complaints about the A's either. Jason Pominville doesn't really strike me as the leader type - he's so sweet and earnest - but like Jaro, he's playing hard and he has a boatload of assists in the last handful of games. Jochen Hecht is turning into quite the letter hog, but like I've said before about him, he's noticeably stepped it up this season. He knew he was going to have to play a bigger role and he's played it. He's also on his way to a career season. Thirteen goals and not quite halfway through the season... He has to get twenty this season. Right? Man, I wish the Sabres would get off their lazy butts and re-sign him already. Oh, right... They already did.

Yesterday's Sabres Edge suggests that the sweet vintage jackets the Sabres coaching staff wore at the Ice Bowl are going to be for sale soon. I am all over that.

5 comments:

The C.C. said...

Not to mention that Jaro's wife/gf/significant other- i don't know her actual status- just had a baby boy yesterday... Double congrats to Jaro Spacek!!

Ryan said...

Those jackets are the coolest thing since sliced bread. I'll be in line right behind you.

And I really can't complain with how the letters have been distributed. I have a feeling Hecht will end up with the C longterm with the way it has shaked out already (letter every month), but I really do think Goose has shown he can take a leadership role.

But hey, in Lindy we Trust, right?

Anonymous said...

Word. I figured you would be down with Jaro getting the C for January. From the few games I've been able to catch recently, he has definitely earned it. I will say, however, that I've been disappointed that neither Mair nor Goose have received a letter yet this season, as they're both two high energy players who could most definitely hold the rest of the team accountable.

One thing that popped into my head today was that while I do believe Jochen will get the C permanently, maybe Lindy was planning on giving it to Teppo before he was declared ineligible to play due to his heart condition. Or was the rotating captaincy the plan the entire time?

Heather B. said...

brian, I've heard that Lindy was reluctant to give the C to Teppo over all the youngsters since it would most likely be his last season, but that was one of those friend of a friend of a friend things so I have no idea how true that was. Personally, it would've made sense to me. Let him wear the C while all the kids get used to new roles etc.

I do definitely think part of the reason Teppo was re-signed though was for his veteran leadership.

RJ and Brian, I think you're both right that it looks like Jochen is going to end up with the permanent C. Which is fine with me.

Anonymous said...

Hey Heather - new blog reader here! Man, I'm so glad I started looking for Sabres blogs written by women! Power to women hockey fans!

Anyhoo, Pommer is not only sweet and earnest, he's a cheerleader in the locker room and on the bench. He's one of those "We can do it, boys!" types. I think the team can use a little bit of that as much as they can use a good Jaro butt-kicking.