December 4, 1997

So, what do you suppose you get when you toss the Orlando Solar Bears team roster into the blender and punch a button? Maybe frappe is a little too fine. How about a nice strong shake?

Not content with the .500 hockey his new team was playing, Solar Bears General Manager John Weisbrod made some vigorous player moves over the past week, and the dividends have been rolling in. Four players left the hockey club, while five have come in, and the positive numbers have been leaping into the stat column.

The first move was trading wing Clayton Norris to St. John's (AHL, Maple Leafs) for center Kelly Fairchild. Bears' fans will doubtless remember Kelly from last year, gained by the team in trade for Shawn Carter, and the highest point-scorer for the Orlando squad during our playoff run. Fairchild's numbers have not yet begun, but the effort is clearly there in the corners.

The biggest surprise move came in a three-player deal with the IHL San Antonio Dragons. What the heck is San Antonio GM/Coach Jeff Brubaker thinking? The Solar Bears traded centerman Dave Smith, winger Dave Chyzowski and defenseman Chris LiPuma, and received in return wings Scott Hollis and Grigori Panteleyev, and defenseman Dave MacIntyre. Okay, that's three for three, sounds fair, right? Well...Orlando gave up 25 total points and a ton of penalty minutes for 50 points, incredible skating and a deft touch around the net. Thanks Mr. Weisbrod! I'm going to call you the next time I need to negotiate for a new car.

Orlando has been cleaning up with the new three from San Antonio. Hollis and MacIntyre were reportedly glad to leave the Texas team, while Panteleyev was not, but all three have been in the plus column since they joined the team. At this writing, each player has averaged at least a point a game in the three or four games they've played, and added a ton of offense to a Solar Bears squad that previously counted on one line to pull the team into the victory column. In the most recent home game against the Quebec Rafales (11/27/97), each of the new players got onto the scoreboard, Panteleyev with a goal, Hollis with 2 assists, and defenseman Dave MacIntyre with 4 assists. The Bears took the win, 6-2.

If anyone was counting, that's only 4 new players for the Solar Bears, and I promised you 5. Concerned that perhaps our grit had gotten a little too fine with the loss of the 3 players to the Dragons, Orlando has brought in Mel Angelstad, better known as "Mel from Hell," of the United Hockey League. An impressive nine and a half feet tall (well, he looked that big to me), and six gazillion pounds, this guy will serve as the Bears' biological weapon - "We have him...don't force us to use him."

General Manager John Weisbrod has made a big, loud statement with his player movements, and it looks like everyone has heard it. I can tell you from the vantage point of section 113, all we see is positives for the Solar Bears. I think they're finished with the kitchen appliances for a while, so come and check out hockey at the Orena.

Contributed by Erika Heumann, the Hockeynut

Erika Heumann Hockeynut; Solar Bears' author; and currently unemployed Mechanical Engineer - eminently employable. Other Articles I've Written