Don Waddell
Don Waddell
Donald Douglas Waddellis the former, and last President of the Atlanta Thrashers and a former professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently President of Gale Force Sports & Entertainment, parent company of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League...
best meeting player purpose
We're not having one meeting about who has been the best player here or anything like that. That's not the purpose of it.
accident cap car caught doctor exactly knee normally parts rut says shattered
I don't know exactly how it happened. From what I've been told, he caught a rut or something and parts of his knee cap shattered off. His doctor says it's the kind of accident you normally see in a car accident.
capable hard minutes plays ultimate
He's the ultimate competitor. He's capable of being a part of this team. He plays all the hard minutes in Detroit.
brings capable certainly challenge experience felt handle himself key next peter proven ranks ready type
Peter has proven himself through the ranks as a coach. This is the next challenge for him. I think he's very capable and ready to handle these duties. I always felt that international experience is a key for this type of position, and Peter certainly brings that to the table.
capable certainly fast games goals guys needed nine proven seven start step taken team wants
His fast start has been very important with Dany out. We needed guys to step forward, and Ilya certainly has done that. He's taken this team on his back. He wants to be the go-go guy and he's proven that he's capable of being that. He's got nine goals in seven games and it's been an unbelievable start.
legal patterns
Some of his patterns come in legal and some come in illegal.
begging reason
He was begging us to let him on the ice, but there's no reason to put him in any kind of jeopardy.
everybody experience favor jump talking
I think sometimes experience can play in your favor also. Unfortunately, not everybody had the jump that he had. If they did, we'd probably be talking about something different now.
depth nice team
The nice thing about our team is that our depth is so much better. And our goaltending will be strong.
step
This is an important first step to the process.
bubble certainly goal guys himself played selecting themselves
Certainly he was on the bubble as we started, but played himself on the team. That's what our goal was when we were selecting this team. Let guys play themselves on or off the team.
starting three
All three of them are starting goaltenders in the NHL right now.
penalty pick players role skilled team
I always say the players pick this team, not us. You can't have a team of 12 first-line NHL players. You need role players, checkers, penalty killers. You can't just take the 12 most skilled forwards.
elite excitement fans franchise pivotal players role seasons share
Ilya is an important part of our franchise and we share in our fans excitement that he is back with us for many seasons to come. He is one of the league's elite players and will play a pivotal role in our success.