Don Waddell Players Quotations

We're excited about where this franchise is headed. I'm very confident in the group of players we've put together. We're taking it one step at a time. But this franchise is poised to take the next step, and we will take the next step.

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.

Marian is arguably one of the top players in the world and is always a scoring threat. He consistently places among the league leaders in all offensive categories and holds several of Ottawa's team records. He also competes hard on every shift and sets the tone for his teammates. We believe he is the type of exciting player you will want to come out to Philips Arena and watch.

Some guys show up when you tell them to, like two hours before a game or a practice, but Chelios will be there three or four hours earlier than that. I wish all players in the NHL had the passion and drive that Chris Chelios has for the game.

We have a lot of good, young players at USA Hockey and a lot of guys coming. We can take the positives out of this game and out of the whole tournament.

We had a lot of players playing very well. We said all along that we were going to base this team on not so much what was the history of players ... but how guys were actually playing.

When we call up players, we don't call them up just to sit on the bench. We expect them to contribute to our team's success right away. This season has been no exception. I'm extremely proud of the overall success the Gladiators have enjoyed and the quality players that Jeff and Steve have produced.

We're hoping that there are some guys that maybe we on the fence who didn't go to the World Championships will go now. We're trying to get their A game for the World Cup. And particularly if we end up with the same coach for both tournaments then I think it would be ultimately important for all of the players who are available to go.

Ultimately it won't be systems that win or lose the hockey games, it will be how hard those players play within the system.

We all talk about how we've been in a transition period. ... We have a lot of good young players and a lot of guys coming in, and we can take the positives out of that.

We have 12 players that have never competed in the Olympics. That's exciting because these guys have never been through this before and they'll bring a lot of excitement to the game.

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.

It's to everybody's advantage if we could just wait until the playoffs are over or mostly over. That way you don't want to affect any player's ability with their team right now either positively or negatively. If the players could finish the year out and then we could pick the team that would be ideal.

It's very disappointing. Sometimes players in the emotion of the game don't realize everything that goes on behind the scenes that need to happen to make these tournaments happen. As a player, I don't expect them to know that.