2007 Season Preview
by Coach John Smith
 

Going into the 2nd season of the the Novi Varsity Inline Hockey program Coach John Smith and Coach Brad Zarem know they have big shoes to fill after last season's successful debut. Coach Smith doubled last season as an assistant with the ice hockey team during the winter and as head coach of the inline team in the spring.

"I knew we already had some talented inline players that would be trying out in '06 and I was confident I could convince some of the ice players to try hockey on wheels," Smith explains.

During the inaugural tryout the coaching staff was stunned at the number of kids that came, 38 in all. The 'Cat staff molded a solid team that developed rapidly and finished 11-4-1 and saw Novi in the semi-final games of their league and state tournaments.

Going into '07 the numbers again were impressive. 48 Novi students attended March 12th & 13th the first days of spring sports, gunning for spots on the Varsity and JV teams.

"Since I departed the varsity ice program to coach at the junior level this past year I didn't know what to expect - only that I had 3 returning lettermen that would be at tryouts," said Coach Smith.

"The caliber of talented student athletes was two fold this year and it made it very tough on the coaching staff. We hate cut-day more than anything, but at the Varsity level it's part of the deal," said Coach Brad Zarem

The '07 Wildcats are as talented if not more than last year. The team was built from goaltending out with Senior Kyle Jones between the pipes. "Unfortunately we are in the same situation as last season with only one goaltender. We are hoping find another netminder to compliment Kyle, but if not we will cross our fingers and hope Kyle stays healthy," explains Smith.

The four most important positions outside of the net on the team are the defensemen. Unlike ice hockey the defensemen create the scoring opportunities and at the same time have to keep the goals against to a minimum. It's kind of like having four starting quarterbacks, but they all play.

This season the D core will be built around returner Jeff Donohue, and talented newcomers Shawn Baxter, Scott Eberline and Ryan Timar.

"These four have an awful lot of skill and playmaking abilities that we hope will propel us into a state championship," said Zarem.

Up front, look for returners Nick Carroll and Shamus Finnerty to lead the scoring frenzy. To compliment them are crafty play makers Robert Lewis and Ryan Richardson. No hockey team is capable without grit, and that's exactly what Tom Dirks and Kyle Potocky bring to the table.

The coaching staff knows there are big expectations after last season's success, but so far this group of Novi's best has proven in preseason they can hang with the all the top dog's.