Kaminski seeking consistency, balance in 2010-11

SOUTHAVEN , Ms. – For Mississippi RiverKings head coach Kevin Kaminski, finishing fourth in the Northern Conference with a 33-24-7 record was far less than what he had planned for when the team opened their 18^th season last fall.
 
Granted, the level of competition in the North was exceptional, but what do you do when you have a roster full of professionals and can’t achieve a consistent level of play?
 

“It’s frustrating as a coach; it was like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde scenario,” Kaminski said. “I just don’t know how guys can play an unbelievable game on Friday and then come out (the next night) like they’d never put on skates before.”
 
Kaminski called it a “yo-yo year”, describing the ups and downs his team experienced, failing to put together any substantial consecutive winning efforts.
 
“We played some unbelievable hockey at times,” Kaminski said. “We beat Odessa, we beat Colorado, Rapid City, Allen…all good teams, but it seemed like we could never put a big streak together.”
 
In fact, the RiverKings’ best streak came in January when they won three to begin the month and then five of six to end the month. But their struggles continued and although they won seven of their last 10 regular season contests, they found themselves battling the expansion Missouri Mavericks to take the fourth seed and home ice advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
 
The three-game series opened in Missouri, where the Mavericks shut down the RiverKings’ power play and earned a 4-2 win. Back home at the DeSoto Civic Center, Mississippi tied the series with a 2-1 win but fell the following evening; the victims of three consecutive strikes by the Mavericks. Unable to battle back from a three-goal deficit against a team that was hungrier than they were, the RiverKings’ season came to an early close with a 3-1 loss.  
 
Taking note of the experience of last season, Kaminski has been working hard to re-think his roster and find the missing pieces needed by the team to make the 2010-11 campaign more successful.
 
Some of those pieces were announced last Thursday, when the RiverKings acquired three players to complete trades made during the past season for future considerations.
 
The players include defensemen Tyler Sheldrake from the Corpus Christi IceRays, Evan Shaw from the Arizona Sundogs and forward Paul Kelly from the Wichita Thunder.
 
Kelly comes to Mississippi to complete a trade that sent Ryan Campbell to Wichita. Kaminski expects he will be a good fit to fill a need at center.
 
“We didn’t really have three centermen all year long,” Kaminski said. “Centermen are very pivotal. (They) can make the wingers – when you get guys who know what they’re doing, that can make the little plays, that are good passers and just do all the little things right – you can better your line. I’ve had some wingers playing center and that’s why I took Paul Kelly. He’s good on face-offs…he’s got good vision, he can score goals and I think with being on the right team, I think he can have a really good year.”
 
Sheldrake’s acquisition comes as the completion of a trade made between the RiverKings and IceRays which sent goaltender Kevin Beech from Mississippi to Corpus Christi.
 
“Tyler‘s a great young kid who will go to war for his teammates,” Kaminski said. “He has a great passion for the game. I heard he is supposed to be tough and loves to go and I guess is willing to learn to get better…with him as a role player like that, I think he should thrive off what he’s going to bring to the table here.”
 
Shaw comes to the RiverKings to complete a deal made with the Sundogs that sent Adam Smyth and Kevin Jarman to Arizona.
 
“Evan’s another young prospect who’s a solid stay-at-home defenseman. He plays with an edge and competes every shift, blocking shots and taking care of the front of his net.”
 
Kaminski said he’s spoken to each player and believes he will have them signed and ready to earn a spot on the roster.
 
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest issues for the RiverKings last season was the lack of effectiveness and stability in net. Throughout the course of the season, the team saw ten players defend the crease (three as emergency backups).
 
“I think everything that could go wrong went wrong with the goaltending situation,” Kaminski said, offering perhaps the understatement of the RiverKings’ year.
 
Ray Jean emerged as the team leader for wins (8), and appearances (17) but was placed on waivers after posting an 8-8 record. Of the two goalies on the roster at the end of the season, Tim Boron saw the most action with 15 appearances but only mustered six victories. Kyle McNulty won five games in his six appearances for the RiverKings and fashioned the team’s best goals-against-average at 2.22 and save percentage at .922. 
 
“No one really took the bull by the horns all year long,” Kaminski said. “ I’ve definitely got to go out and get, whoever it is, the best goalie that I think is going to come in here and play 55 games and give him some breaks and make sure he has a back up goalie who’s maybe more mentally ready than physically ready. But you also want your back up guy pushing your number one guy to be the number one guy…you’ve got to have that competition. You just can’t get complacent…you have to push each other.”
 
With other positions to fill, Kaminski is also looking to recruit some first-year players to add some balance to the roster.
 
“We’ve got to go out and get some new blood,” Kaminski said. “We’ve got to find a couple of really good rookies that’ll give us some depth, that’ll contribute day in and day out.”
 
Reflecting on the continuing improvement in the level of play and the quality of players that the league is attracting, Kaminski recognizes the challenge of finding the right players to build a championship-caliber team.
 
“I think the parity in the league is absolutely unbelievable and I think it’s going to be better this year. You want to build your team to overcome any obstacles throughout the year and have that team that goes through the wall for each other and that’s what wins championships.”
 
Contact the author/photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com