Lamb on Trade

On acquiring Stepan Novotny....

We've been watching him for awhile, we've done a lot of research on him. He's a dynamic player that scores goals. He must be out of favor in the coaches eyes over there for different reasons. He can skate and he can shoot. He could be a really good player for us.


On Geordie Wudrick.....

He played a lot of good hockey for the Swift Current Broncos at times. I talked to Wuddy earlier and he was looking for a change and I was looking for the right team and opportunity to help him out there. Things weren't really bad here but (his play) wasn't the direction I wanted to go and he understood that. He's going to a good spot, and I wish him the best. It's about getting better and hopefully he can get better there.


On the high expectations put on Wudrick because of his draft spot and some inconsistent play:

That's what happens to those (high picks). The expectations are so high and any little thing they do or don't do the people in Swift Current see it, we see it as a coaching staff. It's easy for us to sit back and say you should be tougher, you should get the puck out along the boards more. I never saw him not trying. When you're a player like that you're under the microscope. Wuddy was struggling here, he's a streaky player. It's been going on for awhile now. We thought the move was necessary.


On trading him to Kelowna...

There was no way I was going to trade Woody unless I got good value back and there's other teams that phoned and had interest. I think it's going to be a good deal for both teams.


On his parting words.....

Some players think it's the situation that will make them a good player. It's not the situation, it's them. That's the advice I gave him. He has to turn himself into a really good player.


On his first chat with Stepan Novotny.....

When I talked to him on the phone he was really excited. He speaks great English and he was really happy. Once players get here they love it. I always compare Swift Current to Edmonton in the NHL. From the outside sometimes players don't want to go there... but when they get there they never want to leave.