Doug Wilson Team Quotations

Obviously you'd like to coach a team like that, ... Everybody has their plates full right now with their own team, so I have no idea what anybody is doing. That is the farthest thing from my mind. But I sometimes think that winning the last World Cup didn't count for anything. I've coached a lot more games than most of the guys whose names I've read are being considered.

He has been successful with his experiences at several levels of play, including playing for the Czech National Team and representing the Czech Republic in the World Junior and World Championship tournaments. We feel he is ready to make the transition to professional hockey in North America.

We have more things to accomplish and more challenges ahead of us. We're building this to be a championship team and nothing less. You don't get ahead of yourself in any of that. I just know that I believe in these players. I believe in them strongly and that's why we gave them the opportunities.

Ville is an energy player who is gritty and hard to play against. He has provided a spark on every team he's played on and plays big in important games...he's a player you hate to play against but love to have on your team.

I like our team, and I believe in our team a lot. I think we're all frustrated that we haven't performed up to our capabilities. I also know that sometimes you need some type of spark to get you going. Ville is that type of spark type of player.

He's an important part of this team in the present and the future, not only with his skating and physical presence, but he's taken on a leadership role,

The bottom line is we're here to win hockey games. I'll put our goaltending up against any team in the league. This gives us a lot of strength moving towards the end of the season where we have a lot of games to play.

They had a team meeting which was at the right time by the right people. And what was said in that room stays in that room amongst the players. But at the end of the day what came out is: 'We're playing for each other.' I think that had a dramatic impact in that the players took over the team as they should. And they have not let each other down.