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February 18, 2010

Flint Finding Positives On, Off The Ice

Even though the Flint Jr. Generals have had a rough season when it comes to wins and losses, the team has had success off the ice with advancing players to higher levels.

And recently, the Jr. Generals' home rink, Iceland Arena, has been taken over by a new management firm and improvements have been happening on a daily basis.

"Our owners, Gale and Kelly Cronk, surely can hold their heads high with the results so far with the 2009-2010 season," said Flint head coach George Dritsas. "The tradition has continued this year with moving players on. Along with the new attitude around the rink and the work from the coaching staff, including Ben Guzak and Jon Houle, with both putting in hours of their time with no recognition, Flint is definitely calling 2009-10 a successful year."

Veteran forward Matt Cinader was traded to the NAHL's Kenai River Brown Bears early in the season, while forward Shane Halaas joined Cinader there later on. Forward Nate Scurfield signed a tender with the Traverse City North Stars and teammates Brent Duwe, Trevor Troupe and team captain Drew Meyers also have tender offers from other NAHL teams.

Needless to say, the alumni list for the Jr. Generals will be growing this offseason.

At the rink, Firland Management is working day and night to refurbish Iceland and leading the firm is a former CSHL player in Jon Jepson, a member of the 1998 national champion Toledo Cherokee squad.

Originally from Toledo, Jepson, now 29, played Division 1 college hockey at the University of Connecticut and graduated with a Master's Degree in sports management. He also played in the NAHL with the Chicago Freeze and Grand Rapids BearCats and was an All-Star in the league as well. Jepson played 24 games pro hockey this season with the Louisiana IceGators of the Southern Professional Hockey League. He has coached hockey at all levels of youth hockey, from beginners to high school, for several years and has served as hockey director and general manager at arenas in Fort Worth, Tex., and Lafayette, La.

With just a handful of games remaining, preparations are already taking shape to make next season more successful in Flint.

Dritsas attributes much of the team's prep work to head scout Doug Bailey. 

"Doug is the most underrated person on the Flint staff," said Dritsas. "Doug does not always get the credit he deserves and Doug's job never ends as he's in and out of rinks 24/7, 12 months a year. With his hard work and dedication good things will surely be the end result and Flint will continue to bring in young hockey players, get them ready, and move them on to the next level.

Alumni Robert Tadazak NAHL Goalie of the week

February 1, 2010

Flint Jr. General Alumni goaltender Robert Tadazak of the Alexandria Blizzard in the NAHL backstopped the Blizzard to a two-game sweep over Owatonna, turning aside 42 of 44 shots. On Friday, the Lapeer, MI., native made 10 saves in an 8-1 victory. The next night, the 19-year-old stopped 32 shots as the Blizzard downed the Express, 4-1.

"Robert was exceptional last weekend," said Blizzard head coach Doc DelCastillo. "He came up with the all the saves he needed to make, as well as a few big ones, and played a key role in our success."