Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Question What did you learn playing with legends like Wayne Gretzky & Mark Messier? Buchberger When you are playing with those guys, you realize how hard they worked and what they brought to the organization and what they sacrificed. You learn so much so early. I was very fortunate at a young age in my career and I really credit how long I played to having a great teacher at a young age. [In my first years] I kept my mouth shut and my ears open and I learned a lot. Question What is your impression of Springfield? Buchberger It's fine. I'm from a small town in Saskatchewan, so we are a tight knit group in our community. I've only been here for a couple days, but I found an apartment and everything is working out so far. Question Is it easier for you to coach this team because of your familiarity with the Edmonton organization? Buchberger From what I've learned in the past couple of years, coaching is never easy. Knowing the character of the players and their skill level, it will give me a little of a head start to know where to put them and what positions they should be in. Question What can we expect as far as players this year? Buchberger I don't want to pinpoint any names, because I don't want to exclude anyone from making the Oilers. We've had some veterans in Wilkes-Barre last year, who were the cornerstone of that team. We had some young players from Stockton who came up later on and played outstanding for Wilkes-Barre. For the most past, the players that we are going to get are players that have played two or three years in the league, and maybe a few guys that are going to be first year players. But 95 percent of the guys are great character and hard working players. We have four or five first round [draft picks] who will be playing here. But besides the first rounders, we have character players that are willing to work and sacrifice themselves to be better players and eventually play in the NHL. Question How do you deal with players coming and going to the NHL level? Buchberger As a player playing in the minors, you want to get up and play in the NHL as soon as possible. But if you come here with a good attitude and you want to put 100 percent in every day at practice and work hard every day you come here, you are going to have that chance to move up. It goes the same for coaching. This is a stepping stone for a lot of great coaches who end up coaching in the NHL for a long time. So you need to work hard and be dedicated to your job. |
