Results tagged “Chad Starling” from Sporting an opinion

Jon Francisco is no longer the Reign captain.

This isn't breaking news. It's been that way since the end of last season and it's a tradition in each year Karl Taylor has coached in the ECHL.

What is news is that, even with a returning captain and three alternates (Shawn Germain, David Walker and Chad Starling), the Reign are waiting to select their next "C."

"The turnover is so high, we wait and see what happens. We see how it shakes out," Taylor said. "Obviously we've got some guys back from last year who we trusted, but we've brought in some new guys that have experience and maybe they'll be part of the leadership group."

To choose the captain, the Reign players collectively get one vote, while Taylor gets another.

"It's a big decision, and we definitely don't want to rush it," Taylor said. "I'm never in a rush to pick the captaincy."

Neither is Francisco.

"Last year, I was very much honored to be a part of that close group of guys," he said. "But that's over. This is a new year."

Chad Starling scored the only goal in the shootout, and Mike Howe, Greg Hogeboom, Jon Rheault and Dwight King scored in regulation for the Reign at Center Ice Arena.

The game was back-and-forth, and the Reign showed more aggression (and discipline) than they did a night before in a 5-2 loss in Las Vegas.

Mike Zacharias made 28 saves in regulation and was perfect in overtime and the shootout.

For the second straight year, the Reign finished the preseason 1-1, winning their home game and losing on the road. More details in tomorrow's editions.

As with any sport, the value of an ECHL preseason game lies less in getting a win as much as assessing the team's talent, deciding who to keep and who to cut.

"We'll try to get everybody in and if not, oh well. That's life," Reign coach Karl Taylor said.

In a way, this is an even more delicate exercise in the ECHL, with so much turnover from year to year (although the Reign have a particularly high retention rate -- 12 of the 30 players who appeared in a game last season are back). But for more than half of his 27 players, Karl Taylor has no frame of reference for how they'll execute for him in a game. On the other hand, there can be as much turnover during the ECHL season as the off-season because of AHL recalls, injuries, trades, and the occasional roster cut. Maybe none of the players on tonight's roster will make it through to the end of the season in Ontario.

That said, here they are:

Karl Taylor has never brought back as many as five players on one defense from one year to the next as an ECHL coach. "Hopefully they're the five good ones," he joked.

Back are Shawn Germain, Dan Knapp, David Walker, Chad Starling and Andrew Martens. Gone are Darren McMillan (IHL), P.J. Atherton (Europe) and Colten Teubert (WHL). In their place are newcomers Cameron Cepek, Brian Kilburg and Mike Egener. Their average height: 6-foot-3. Though it's possible that one or two would get cut before the regular-season opener, Taylor said he's open to keeping all eight on the roster.

He explains why, and describes what he sees in the group as a whole ...

Plenty of tidbits didn't make it in to today's story about the Reign defense. I'll try to empty out the ol' notebook here, starting with Chad Starling ...

Here are some quick hits from this morning's practice at Center Ice Arena. Look for more in tomorrow's editions ...

-- The returning players we spotted on the ice: Jon Francisco, Jon Rheault, Todd Jackson, Mike Howe, Tim Kraus, Doug Spooner, Chris Curran, Shawn Germain, Chad Starling, Andrew Martens and David Walker.

-- Twenty-three players were on the ice in total, including Curran, who doesn't look like he's been cleared for contact. Tony Voce, who spent the past two seasons in Europe following a promising start in the AHL, is also under contract but in an AHL camp. Geoff Walker is still in Manchester. Another three players were held out due to various injuries.

-- Generally speaking, the team is bigger and in better shape than it was a year ago. All the returning players seem physically trim; combine that with a few haircuts (notably Chad Starling, Shawn Germain and Doug Spooner), and this is a team that should be flying up and down the ice.

-- Huntington Beach native Cameron Cepek, a defenseman who was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NHL draft by Montreal, was a late roster addition.

-- The team has a full day of off-ice events planned for Saturday, including some time at the beach and at the Kings' game against the Phoenix Coyotes.