Hello again, hockey fans, and welcome to another installment of “The View From The Booth.” After our three game, six day trip to Texas, the Monsters are back in Cleveland and set to begin a big stretch of games that will be played at “The Q.” In fact, 11 of the next 14 games will be played in Cleveland. The home stand is set to begin Friday night at 7:30 p.m. when the Peoria Rivermen are in town, a game that can be heard on the AHL's website, theahl.com, or live on ESPN 850 WKNR. Saturday’s game is a televised match beginning at 1:00 p.m. on MY43 WUAB. I’ll be joined on the call of that game by Sean Ritchlin in the booth and Jason Hillman handling the rink side/intermission reports. Sunday’s game will begin at 4:00pm as the Monsters will, for the first time, face the Abbottsford Heat, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.

Monday night was the second stop in the “Tour With the Monsters,” and was held at Kent State’s rink. It was great to see so many Monsters fans on hand for the event. I just want to say that everyone in our hockey office does a tremendous job in preparing and delivering a great time for all at these events. I’ve been to two of them and it is truly a great experience for the kids, the parents, and the fans that come out. I talked with several of our players yesterday and they all told me they truly enjoy meeting the fans and signing autographs. For a lot of the players, it’s a humbling and very gratifying experience to have a little boy or girl skate up and ask for their autograph. During Saturday's TV Broadcast we’ll have a feature on Monday’s event. I will have interviews with some of our players, kids and parents from the Tour. The next stop on the Tour is scheduled for Monday, November 16th at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills.

I was out at practice this afternoon taping some interviews that will air on our TV games in the future. I sat down with Wes O’Neill and Phil Dupuis, and both interviews will air at a later date, likely in November. The interviews went very well as both Wes and Phil are very well spoken guys. As you will find out, Wes wants to come up with some sort of O’Neill vs. O’Neal, as in Shaquille O’Neal challenge. I really liked the idea Wes pitched, and you can be the judge when you hear the interview down the road. As for Dupuis, I learned that one of his teammates was Maxime Talbot of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. I have great respect for Talbot; he plays the game hard and has a knack for scoring big goals. Dupuis told me Talbot had an incredible impact on his career in juniors.
 
As for the hockey club, I think this week will be great for the players and coaches to do some work in practice. I know the coaching staff is looking forward to a few days of working on some things.

David Marshall rejoined the team yesterday after a few days down in the ECHL with the Charlotte Checkers. I told him it was good to have him back, and of course he said, “it’s good to be back”. I look for David to play with his usual high energy type of game this weekend.

Marc Cavosie is also back skating with the team this week. Marc missed our trip to Texas last week as he was recovering from an upper body injury. I think he’s played well in the early portion of the season. He’s a good penalty killer and faceoff guy and is a dedicated athlete. I will always appreciate and respect people who do that and Marc is definitely one of those types of players.

As of Monday afternoon, Ryan Wilson, Tyler Weiman, Brian Willsie, and Chris Durno were all still “up” with the Colorado Avalanche. I watched the Avs play the Red Wings this past Saturday and I must say I was very impressed by the way Joe Sacco’s team played. It’s great to see so many players that started their careers right here with the Monsters playing in the NHL. As for Chris Stewart, who was with the Monsters last week for the first two games on our Texas trip, he responded in a big way since he was recalled from the Monsters, scoring in his first two games back, recording four points and netting the game winner Saturday vs. the Red Wings. Good for Chris!

I also want to let you know that coming soon to the Monsters website we will be unveiling a new feature for you - “No Holden Back.” This will be your chance to email me your questions. The questions can be on our team, players, hockey in general, trivia, or anything else you would like to ask me. What I will do is go through the emails and select a few questions before each radio broadcast and then, during one of the intermissions, most likely the 1st intermission, I’ll do my best to answer your questions! I think it will be a great way for you the fan to get further involved in the radio broadcast and have a lot of fun. Don’t hold back, bring some tough questions for me. I’m really looking forward to debuting this segment; I will keep you posted on the start date!

I’m looking forward to being back home and getting this stretch of home games underway, as I’m sure you are. I’m really hoping this will greatly benefit our team!

That’s it for this installment of “The View From The Booth.” I hope to see you at the arena this weekend!

Sincerely,

Ben Holden

The View from the Booth Archive:
Volume 1 (10/21)
Volume 2 (10/23)