New Wolves coach pulling the right "Lever"

     Anytime there’s a coaching change, it is an indictment on the team as a whole. It causes all who remain in the organization to re-think how they’re going about they’re duties because they may be next to go. That coupled with a simple message from new coach Don Lever seems to have stemmed the difficult tide from the beginning of the season. He has tapped into the focus his players must have after the early season change behind the bench and told them to concentrate on being clean, simple, and smart in their own end of the rink. He feels if they do that, then offensive chances will necessarily come and the team’s individual talent will take advantage of those enough to rack up points in the standings.
     As of this writing things worked pretty well in the first three outings for the Wolves as they’ve gotten five points in those three games. They’ve managed to allow just three goals in those games that included 10 minutes of overtime. The offense still isn’t clicking as well as they’d like overall, but it showed a sign of what is possible in a 7-1 thrashing of Abbotsford on Oct. 24.
     The offense may still be difficult to come by as captain Jason Krog is up in Atlanta for probably at least the next four weeks due to the foot injury of Thrashers’ captain Ilya Kovalchuk. Krog finally scored his first goal in the Abbotsford game along with putting up three assists. Now is the time for players like Rylan Kaip, Brett Sterling, Riley Holzapfel, Matt Anderson and Tim Stapleton to make their mark.
     Not having the veteran presence of Krog makes the defense that much more important. Goals don’t just happen despite the personnel on the ice, but many times goals can be prevented. A team can always try to score another goal, but any goal allowed, good or bad, lingers on that scoreboard. If Lever gets his defensemen to play sound and smart and his forwards to be honest in tracking back to help out, things will be fine.
     Aiding in that effort is the influence of three-time Norris Trophy winner Chris Chelios. Nothing should be more calming to a team of 20-year olds than having a player who has been through the battles in the NHL longer than many of them have been alive playing alongside them on the blue line. That coupled with the experience of goaltender Manny Legace will help Lever achieve his defensive goals. The two grizzled veterans have already shown their worth in the couple weeks they’ve been with the Wolves both in how they play and how their new and impressionable teammates mesh with them.