Underdogs and favourites....the Kingston Voyageurs have had experienced both in this year's playoff run. I have mentioned before that winning championships is always a process. It is how you progress through the process that will determine whether you are a champion or not.

So far, the Vees have improved the deeper into the playoffs they have gone. But some might say that the Ruddock final against the Peterborough Stars might have been their toughest test so far.

Others will argue that the Vees simply have gotten better as the playoffs have gone on.

This By The Fans For The Fans poll has them underdogs. The Vees relish that role.

They were favoured over the Peterborough Stars and had a difficult time putting the Stars away. They were favoured over Pickering and Ajax and did the job.

I think there were a lot of people who thought the Huntsville Otters would be too much for the Vees. As valiant as the Otters' fight was, the Vees, as underdogs, put the Otters away in five games.

And now Oakville. Most who believe the Vees have a very good chance of winning are here in Kingston. Others are hopeful but really do not believe they will win against a powerful Oakville squad which has so much experience and balance.

The pollsters would seem to agree, so far.

So the Vees will go into this series as big underdogs, like it or not. And they can go in just being happy to be there or they can go in thinking they are going to win.

I think the Vees, to the man, really believe they can. That can only be good and much will depend on the first game feeling out process whether that feeling will persist beyond game one.

I know the Vees felt pretty good about themselves after game one of the Ruddock/Phillips conference final even though, they lost 5-2. They played with the Otters and actually had the better of the play for two of three periods but the Otters' beat them.

So, IMO, the Oakville Blades, really need to win convincingly in game one to send a big time message to the Vees that this series belongs to them. And they need to do it a lot more convincingly than Huntsville did in game one of their series.

But living up to expectations can sometimes lead to added pressure. But Oakville knows all about pressure. They beat speedier teams in Georgetown and Wellington than they and their run last year should put them in good standing knowing what to expect to win.

In a way, all the pressure really is on the Blades.

This is what I love about the finals. A nice break and time to theorize about a series between two teams that is really about the players and their execution of a game plan.

So when the puck is dropped at Joshua Creek Oakville Saturday night, many will be watching to see how it all plays out.

It should be a good series but one thing is for sure. None of us, fans, volunteers, paid help, coaches, GM's, billets, parents are not nearly as important as we all would like to believe we are.

This is the players' show and they are about to take centre stage in the Buckland Cup OJHL final.

As the former great boxing referee officiating championship fights used to say:
"Ok, gentlemen. Are there any questions? Now let's have a good clean fight, protect yourseelves at all times. Let's git it on!"

Stay tuned.




Wayjoy

Wayne,

This is a series I have been anticipating and predicating for much of the year and I am very excited to watch unfold. This could be a classic battle of styles and strengths.

Ill try to handicap this series from my perspective.

As a rival executive and an Oakville resident myself, Ive seen the Blades play a number of a times. Ill preface my comments that I have only watched Kingston a couple of times this year but I am familiar with their key guys.

First, with Oakville, the thing that sticks out immediately is their size. Not only are they big but also they can play. Historically teams built on size in the OJHL tend to fail because its hard to get enough big, skilled guys who can move. Those types of players tend to play Major Junior. Oakville has done a masterful job of finding guys with the three Ss (size, speed and skill). The Blades are not the most physical or rough team; they just use their size and strength to control the puck, especially deep in zone. They have 13 guys back from their RBC team last year so the experience is there. It seemed like for a lot of the regular season Oakville didnt shift it into top gear because they knew it was a long haul and had the experience to understand that. Once the playoffs got rolling, so did the Blades. Up front they have incredible depth. There are fourth line guys on this team who would play on most teams second line. This is also a team that plays a tight defensive system and they are tough to create quality-scoring chances against. If you do penetrate, Matt Hache, a goalie you are quite familiar with, is there to make the tough stops. When they acquired Hache during the year, I turned to my fiancée and told her the season was now over. Well see.

In regards to Kingston, I love the way they were built during the year. The team started as a fast, young group of talent players. Kingston management and coaching did an incredible job of bringing in the right veterans who provide experience and size. Players like Chabot, Levac and Christmas were strong mid to late season acquisitions. Farrell and Power are treats to watch. McAllister and Latchford are veteran guys who have been around for a while and work hard. Walsh was a great pick up. Brock Higgs has surprised me with his early success. When I was scouting him for the OHL draft in minor midget last year, I thought he would be putting up these numbers as an 18 year old, not a 16 year old. In net, youve one of the best in the league in Shawn Sirman. I told an OHL GM last summer to try to acquire this kids rights. Definitely a goalie who can steal an important game.

To handicap this series, this will be a battle of contrasting styles. Ive always said that to beat Oakville, youve got to beat them to loose pucks and use speed to penetrate their neutral zone system. You need big defenseman who can handle the forecheck and move the puck quickly via the outlet. Theyve got a lot of firepower so you need a goalie who can get hot and control rebounds. Kingston has a lot of these qualities so this is going to be interesting in my opinion. In addition, Oakville has just been through back to back seven game series so well see how that impacts them.

To answer your original question, I think Kingston has to considered the underdog simply because Oakville are the defending champs and much of their roster has been here and beyond before.

However, Ill state this. Whichever team can dictate their style consistently, will win this series.


BTW Ill be at the game today if you want to chat.

the blades MUST stay disciplined and stay outof the box. if they implade and lose their focus the vees power play will kill them! i say a very hard fought series and pick the blades in six with two games going to o.t. !!!

A great read, thanks KEV .

It hit me right away, that the team that can best dictate their style, will win.

Often when a team gets in trouble they find themselves playing the other guy's game with them. The Vees have, like most teams, got caught up and not played their game. But when they do, they are tough to beat.

I would have to agree with you that the Vees are underdogs in this series.

It should be a good one or it could turn out a bust. We will know more today.

Make sure you stop by and say hello before the game. I will try to get there earlier.


Wayjoy