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Chat Reel: Don Waddell
Atlanta GM talks debut season
Posted: Friday April 14, 2000 05:04 PM
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Patrick Stefan was the first pick of the Atlanta Thrashers. Elsa Hasch/Allsport |
CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's NHL Playoffs chat with Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell. Hi Mr. Waddell, thanks for joining us.
Don Waddell: Thank you for having me.
From Matt in Atlanta: Which teams do you think have the best chances of winning the Stanley Cup?
Don Waddell: Certainly, as I sit here and watch the playoffs start, I think the Western Conference has four real dominant teams. So saying that, I believe whoever comes out of the Western Conference, be it St. Louis, Dallas, Colorado or Detroit, would be favored in the Stanley Cup Finals.
From Guest: Any underdogs we can look forward to in the playoffs?
Don Waddell: If you look at what happened last night, where Pittsburgh upset Washington, they're on a high note. Whenever you have a No. 7 seed win a game, they'd be considered an underdog, but they have the potential of winning the series.
From Ray in Ga.: Who looks good for the Thrashers in the coming draft and which players do you see making the jump from Orlando next season.
Don Waddell: As far as the amateur draft, the players that are being rated by our staff and central scouting staff would be Dan Heatley, Marian Gaborik, and Rostislav Klesla, a Czech Republic player. As far as Orlando goes, Bryan Adams is certainly one player we feel can make the jump. And there are a couple of other players that we think will compete for jobs in training camp.
From Guest: What has it been like to build a franchise from the ground up? Has it been even more difficult than you might have first thought?
Don Waddell: We knew the challenge would be tremendous, but we feel we were prepared for it. I don't think we got thrown any curveballs, but we also learned that it takes a lot of pieces to make a successful organization and win hockey games.
From Guest: What have you thought of the fan support in Atlanta? Have they been good despite the poor record? How have you liked the new arena?
Don Waddell: The fans, in one word: tremendous. They've been outstanding. When we were building the franchise, we made the people feel like they were a part of the organization instead of an outsider. They were very responsive and very supportive throughout the season. Philips Arena is, I think, the Taj Mahal of new arenas. What's exciting about it is that it's a very fan-friendly arena. And an arena that the fans have not only great sight-lines, but are also close enough to feel a part of the game.
From Ramon in Ga.: How do you feel Patrik Stefan progressed throughout the season? Will he be ready next year to be a full time starter?
Don Waddell: I think his progression was very good for a player that just turned 19 during the season. It's a very good league. And, I think what Patrik found is the he's got to get stronger. But we are also feel very happy with the year he had because we felt he progressed very nicely throughout the season.
From Matthew in Ga.: Excluding Patrick Stefan, which of the picks in last year's amateur draft do you see possibly making an impact on Thrashers in the next year or two?
Don Waddell: Definitely, Zdenek Blatny and Luke Sellars are two players that we feel, within the next couple of years, take the steps to make our hockey club. One player that we drafted last year that we drafted in the expansion draft that we just signed Tommi Kallio, we feel will make us a better team next year.
From Ron in the Arabian Gulf: Congrats on your first season! Sounds like you have really won the heart of Atlanta! When recruiting, do you have a preference where your players come from, such as US college hockey, Canadian system, etc?
Don Waddell: No, we take the best players regardless of what nationality they are and what program they came out of. If you look at our roster, we're represented by players from Sweden, Finland, Nigeria, Russia, Czech Republic, along with Canada and the United States.
From Ryan Bennett in Atlanta: Do you think that in the offseason you may go out and spend some quality money or trade a few prospects on getting a higher-tier player such as a Teemu Selanne or Keith Tkachuk to help stimulate the young and low-producing forwards currently in the line-up, similar to how Florida's acquisition of Pavel Bure stimulated their under-producing offense?
Don Waddell: As far as spending the money on free agency, we have said all along that we will spend the money when the right time comes and when the right players are out there. This year the free agent market is not an overly stocked market with free agents. Regarding, trading some of our young prospects, if we feel it's in the best interests of our team, we would look to make such deals, but I can honestly say nobody's giving away star players.
CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have for today. Thanks for joining us Mr. Waddell.
Don Waddell: Thank you for having me and have a great weekend.
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