Kitchener trying to keep history from repeating
Posted Apr 22, 2010 10:51:36 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s in the Kitchener Rangers best interests to finish off the Windsor Spitfires as quickly as possible. That’s the message from Dave Prpich, who coached the Spitfires back from a 3-0 deficit against the Sault Sainte Marie Greyhounds in the 2005 playoffs. Prpich is now a scout with the Rangers and says the longer the series drags on, the more pressure the Rangers will start to feel.
Prpich admits it sounds like a cliche but he tells 570 News he preached a “one game at a time” mentality to his Windsor team in 2005. He says focusing on anything bigger than that made it appear as though the mountain was too high to climb. Prpich says the Spits played Game 4 at home in 2005 and wanted to play a good game in front of the home fans and try to build something from there. But by Game 7, Prpich says even Windsor was beginning to feel some pressure and was not as loose as they had been in climbing back to 3-3.
Prpich says some great players, including first round NHL pick Steve Downie and current Spitfires coach TJ Smith, were part of that Windsor team. He says Downie elevated his draft status from a potential third round selection to a first round pick based on his play in that series alone because Downie really “put the team on his shoulders.” To that end, Prpich expects the same to happen to Jeff Skinner, currently ranked 34th (high second round) by Central Scouting. Prpich says Skinner is “the talk of the scouting community” right now.
