Special Features - FaceOff February 2013

Abbotsford News Thursday, February 7, 2013

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FACEOFF FEB 2013

Clint Trahan photo

DANNY TAYLOR FINDS A HOME Journeyman goalie loving life in Abbotsford

A31 FACEOFF MAGAZINE is the official fan guide for the Abbotsford Heat

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Abbotsford News Thursday, February 7, 2013

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Abbotsford News Thursday, February 7, 2013

www.raymondjames.ca\rickbarkwell rick.barkwell@raymondjames.ca Toll Free: 1-877-850-8680 T: 604-851-4292 F: 604-850-8656 Abbotsford BC V2S 2E2 201 - 2190 West Railway Street Raymond James Ltd.

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DanKINVIG ABBOTSFORD NEWS

In analyzing the laser-like focus of Abbotsford Heat goalie Danny Taylor, there are hows and there are whys.

The hows, at least some of them, are plain to see.

During stoppages in play, Taylor skates out to the hashmarks, drops to one knee, and stares at the puck – located on one of the faceoff dots in preparation for the next draw.

It’s a classic goalie quirk on the surface, but it’s got a purpose.

“Why I started doing it, I don’t know,” Taylor said of the habit, which he’s developed since joining the Heat in December of 2011. “I see a lot of goalies go to their water bottles, or go to the bench to chat. I’ve done that in the past, and I think it’s a distraction for me. I like to just be out there and do my thing, and try to be in the moment as best as possible.

“The periods are pretty long, so it’s nice to give your legs a break. And the puck just happens to be there, so what better thing to look at than the puck?”

Taylor’s perpetual staring contest with the puck is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mental prep. He also does a minimum of 20 minutes of pre-game visualization, and he’s a vo-

racious consumer of video – Heat goalie Jordan Sigalet focuses a camera on the Heat goalie throughout the game, then produces clips of each time the netminder interacts with the puck.

Another of Taylor’s tricks is putting himself in the skates of the goalie at the other end of the ice, reading the play from his perspective.

“We’re so good defensively, sometimes I won’t see a shot for 10 minutes,” he noted with a chuckle. “So I’ll pretend to be the goalie in the other net.

“Sometimes I get so bored back there, it’s the only way to stay in it.”

The driving force behind Taylor’s focus – the aforementioned whys – are named Danielle and Hudson.

The first six seasons of Taylor’s pro hockey career were defined by instability – he played for multiple teams each season, crisscrossing the continent from California (the ECHL’s Bakersfield Condors) to Texas (ECHL’s Texas Wildcatters) to Massachussetts (AHL’s Machester Monarchs) to Georgia (ECHL’s Gwinnett Gladiators), with a pit stop in Germany (Hamburg

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Freezers) in 2010-11.

He got engaged to Danielle in the summer of 2011 and married in the summer of 2012, and he points to the engagement as a “tipping point” in his career.

“I’ve traveled the world and seen a lot of places,” said Taylor, whose tenure with the Heat represents the first time in his pro career where he’s spent a calendar year with the same team.

“Once you start to have a family, that’s when you really strive and work that much harder to have stability in your life.

“It’s just that much more incentive to get a home and play that much better. That was the extra motivation I needed.”

On New Year’s Day 2013, Danny and Danielle welcomed their first child, son Hudson, into the world. While having a newborn in the house might prove a distraction for some players, it’s had the opposite effect on Taylor – he’s won seven of 10 decisions since the calendar flipped and has seized the No. 1 goalie job.

“It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he said of fatherhood. “I just to come home and be home, rather than taking my work home with me, which I’ve been guilty of in the past.”

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Raymond James Ltd. Member IIROC/CIPF (Co Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC

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Abbotsford News Thursday, February 5, 2013

Abbotsford News Thursday, February 5, 2013

THOSE KIDS WERE

REALLY LOUD The Heat’s second annual school day game on Tuesday was a field trip to remember for over 4,000 students

In the aftermath of his team’s 3-2 win over the Rochester Americans on Tuesday, Abbotsford Heat head coach Troy Ward said his team got a huge assist from the crowd of school kids in the stands.

The students – comprising more than two-thirds of the 6,172 fans in attendance – had been bused to the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre as part of the

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AHL hockey team’s second annual school day game.

The Heat’s average crowd is just over 3,900 fans per game, and Ward felt that the youngsters gave his team an important boost after they fell behind 1-0 early.

“In a normal home game for our team, we wouldn’t have felt much after we scored (the tying goal),” Ward said. “That’s

just the reality we live in here. We have great fans that are here, but they’re not always in big numbers, and they’re not always super-loud. So to have all the kids here today really helped us.”

The school day game is a partnership between the Heat, School District 34 and Fraser Valley Distance Education. The team provided students with a workbook

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91 times last season as an organization – one of our goals was to find ways to give back.”

The students’ presence was a treat for the players.

“It’s fun playing in front of a lot of people, and those kids were really loud,” Heat defenceman Brett Carson marvelled. “It got us going early.”

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to reinforce school board curriculum and engage students with hockey-related learning activities.

Heat president Ryan Walter said the team has received “great feedback” from the school district on the initiative.

“The driving force for us is, every AHL team does it, and I love the energy behind this game,” he said. “We visited schools

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Abbotsford News Thursday, February 7, 2013

a few

New fans for the New Year

words

from the

prez Ryan WALTER

Over halfway through our fourth AHL season, your Abbotsford Heat are gathering some solid momentum on and off the ice.

After some tough games around the Christmas break, the team has returned to its earlier winning ways, and the stretch run should prove to be very exciting. Off the ice, our ticket sales have increased. On that note, I would like to share an exciting email I received this week: From a NEW Abbotsford Heat FAN! I wanted to take the time to email you about my recent experience with you and your organization.

I am a 44-year-old male, born and raised in the Lower Mainland. I was born a Canucks fan and will die a Canucks fan.

So when I heard that Calgary was putting their farm team in Abbotsford, I thought, “Why on earth would they do that so close to Canuckville? It makes no sense, but I will attend the odd Moose/Wolves game.” To be honest, I didn’t go to one game. Then the NHL was locked out. A very good customer of mine, and Canucks season ticket holder, was talking about seeing the Heat play the Wolves (back in October) and asked if I wanted to go. The next day I showed up at the job site and he handed me two tickets.

It was a Saturday and I was tired and reluctant to drive all the way out there from North Delta. Still, I invited my brother-in-law and off we went. It was a 30 minute drive, not much longer than going to see the Canucks at Rogers Arena. The big surprise was the free parking which was just two blocks away, and parking across the street was only five bucks!!! Are you kidding me?

Score!

stick & skate

Now, I had no idea what the rink was like – new, old, no idea. I walked in and found the crowd to be friendly and the facility clean and not too overcrowded. I walked out of the tunnel to my seats and couldn’t believe my eyes: full screen, scoreboard, and the seats were great with lots of leg room (I’m 6’4”, 270lbs so that’s important to me). My first AHL game was unbelievable: Fast and hard-hitting. The music, scoreboard and crowd were perfect. My team won (sorry, 4-1 Wolves).

I left and was right on to the highway and home in half an hour. My brother-in-law and I talked about it on the way home, and the only thing I couldn’t get out of my mind was how stupid I had been up to that point. The AHL has been here for years and I didn’t make it out until that day. I have wasted thousands of dollars on an NHL team who could care less about me or any other fans and over-charge at every opportunity. Now I was hooked on the AHL and I was going to go to more games for sure. And I was going to send the Heat an email telling them how impressed I was with my whole experience.

As luck would have it I ended up back in Abbotsford that following Monday on business. So, I stopped at the local gas station for some cheap gas. I noticed the guy on the other side pumping gas was wearing a Heat jacket. I wondered to myself if he worked for the Heat and whether I should tell him about my experience. Then I noticed a Heat lapel pin on his jacket, so now I was sure he worked for the Heat and as soon as I finished pumping I was going to go say thanks. As it turned out, he finished first and jumped in his car.

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Even though I missed that opportunity I was still determined to send that email.

Then the door of his car opened and this head appeared around the pump. “Hi! I see you’re a hockey fan. Have you ever been to a Heat game?”

“Funny you should ask,” I replied.

“I’m Brian Neufeld and I have an autographed picture of Cliff Ronning and Geoff Courtnall for you.”

We then spent the next 20 minutes talking hockey. I knew after that conversation that I was going to buy the 21 gamepack he told me about. When I got back to my office I called and made my purchase.

The fact that I can call or email him with the games I want to see and he takes care of it is unbelievable. I’m so busy most of the time, so the way he goes out of his way really helps me out. The next game I went to see was against the Barons. I picked up eight tickets during the week from Brian and took my family and some friends of ours. We sat in the front row behind the net. The four kids and even my wife were impressed with the seats. My wife isn’t a hockey fan and it was cool to see her get into it. We went out for dinner before the game, parked and watched the game and it cost less than $250 for the eight of us. That is less than one ticket to one Canucks game for one of us.

Thank you from, A NEW HEAT FAN Our positive momentum is picking up speed! Call our sales team to book your GROUP discount and see you at our next games: Feb. 9-10 vs. the Lake Erie Monsters at 7 p.m.

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DanKINVIG ABBOTSFORD NEWS

In his second pro season, Abbotsford native Derek Grant has grown into the AHL’s most lethal penalty killer.

The Binghamton Senators centre is the runaway league leader in shorthanded goals with five – only two other players have as many as three.

He’s generated most of the highlights for an absurdly potent Binghamton PK – their 11 shorties are tops in the league, and they manage to produce that offence without sacrificing defence. They snuff opposing teams’ power plays at an 87.6 per cent clip, good for second overall, trailing only the Abbotsford Heat (89.6).

“I think it’s just the style that we use,” Grant analyzed.

“Obviously other teams, on the power play, are looking to score goals themselves, and they often have forwards back on the point. Every time we get a chance, we try to take advantage of that.”

After leading the NCAA’s Michigan State Spartans in scoring as a sophomore, Grant turned pro in the Ottawa Senators’ organization, which had picked him in the fourth round

line, with a primary focus on shutting down other teams’ top offensive forwards. The 22-year-old had been relied upon for scoring in his junior and college days, but he’s made a seamless switch to the more defensive-minded role, while managing to post 13 goals and six assists to go with a plus-five rating in 43 games.

“I was always that go-to offensive guy in juniors and college, but I actually enjoy this,” he said. “You’re out there against other teams’ top lines in all the important situations, and it’s something I take pride in.”

Grant spent his 16-year-old Unbeatable prices on top name brands like Michelin, BF Goodrich, Toyo and mo season with the Abbotsford Pilots, and he believes his time with the local junior B club helped form a solid foundation for his hockey future.

Just Sports Photography “It was a big deal to play against older guys, and I think it did push me to boost Derek Grant (left) is leading the AHL in shorthanded goals. my compete level,” he said.

“Playing against those older though – they’re currently of the 2008 NHL entry draft. guys helped me adjust to the second overall in the AHL at He helped Binghamton win next level of junior A, and from 27-12-4, and Grant has been a the Calder Cup in the spring there, you move on to college. big part of that. of 2011, but endured a playIt’s probably helped me all the In the preseason, Binghamoff-less campaign in 2011-12. way along, even in my adjustton coach Luke Richardson The Baby Senators are back ment to pro hockey.” asked Grant to centre the third on the upswing this season,

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