The popular Thunderbolts feature, “Sitdown with Steve,” returns after a lengthy off-season layoff. I don’t do this for personal glory, of course, but the “Wichita Eagle’s” PR machine wanted me to mention that the “Sitdown” was voted one of Wichita’s Top 20 Minor League Hockey Blog segments in 2008.
For newcomers, I’m the unquestioned star of this deal, providing thought-provoking questions for Steve Schuster, the voice of the Thunder. I expertly tee up the questions, and Schuster does his best to simply make contact. The “Eagle’s” marketing experts recommended the name “Sitdown with Steve.” But, in the interest of full disclosure, I must divulge that Steve is rather small of stature, so for all I know he was standing up behind his desk during the bit. Here we go.
KL: Hey, Steve. It’s been awhile. You still short?
Schuster: Short on reasons to keep typing…
KL: You just finished up as the Voice of the Wingnuts. From a broadcasting perspective, how do hockey and baseball compare?
Schuster: People ask me this a lot and believe it or not, I find hockey to be a lot easier. The pace of hockey is much more difficult, but once you nail down the speed, the game pretty much takes care of itself. It’s a lot like facing a pitcher who throws 100 mph, but only throws fastballs. Once you’ve got the timing down, you know what you’re up against. Baseball is much easier in terms of pace, but in order to provide a quality broadcast, you have to be able to fill in all of the in-between time with worthwhile information which takes a lot of research and preparation. Both sports are great though, and are equally fun to watch.
KL: It seems that coach Brent Bilodeau’s second recruiting season is far superior to his first. Agreed?
Schuster: No question. Having a year of experience in the league as well as a full summer to recruit has produced dramatic results. At the end of last season, one of Brent’s biggest goals was to bring in “a little more toughness and a little more experience”. Looking at the current roster (and I know Brent isn’t finished recruiting), there seems to be plenty of both. There are four defensemen 6’4’’ or bigger, plus Arthur Fritch who just earned a callup to AHL camp. The scoring has improved dramatically as well with the additions of Glenn Detulleo and Damian Surma. You know what you’re getting with Jason Duda, and the general consensus is that Marc Belanger, Troy Ofukany and Joel Hanson have the ability to take their game to the next level after very promising rookie seasons. You have your grinders in Brad Thompson and Mike Batovanja and a couple of rookies in Chris Trafford and Mike Kneeland that are highly regarded. It really looks like a well rounded team that has the chance to win games in multiple ways.
KL: Give me two newcomers you are excited to see on the ice. We’ll say McAllister is a given, so don’t include him.
Schuster: I’m excited to see Damian Surma, who also reached the NHL, and has been a clutch performer throughout his career. On three separate occasions he has scored an overtime goal that not only won a playoff game, but clinched an entire playoff series. That’s the type of guy you want on the ice in overtime, in a shootout, or when you’re down by a goal in the third period. Chris Trafford is another guy I’m looking forward to seeing play. His college numbers were terrific and I know the coaching staff thinks he has the chance to be a nice rookie surprise this season.
KL: Has Kanye West ever interrupted one of your broadcasts?
Schuster: You would be shocked as to how many baseball players sang along to “You Belong With Me” during batting practice this season. I’ve never had the privilege of meeting Kanye, but the people who run the sound room for the Wingnuts like to have fun with the opposing team. The Lincoln Saltdogs had a player named Josh Burruss, and when he came to the plate they put a picture of Plaxico Burress on the video board. During one of his at-bats at the end of the season, they then played a “gunshot” sound effect in the background which caused me to burst out laughing on the air. That’s probably as close as I have ever been to being “interrupted.”
KL: Goaltender Tim Boron, by all accounts, is recovering well from off-season hip surgery. Still, I think there has to be a concern there. Your thoughts?
Schuster: I think it will be in the back of everyone’s mind at first, but I know that he feels 100 percent and is ready for camp to begin. Having talked to him in the office, he says his hips feel better than they have in the past three years. Think of it this way, he played on two bad hips last season and still put up great numbers. Imagine what he could do now that he’s healthy and with a ton of protection in front of the net.
KL: What are a couple off-season personnel moves around the league that really caught your eye?
Schuster: I think Thunder fans are somewhat amused by the amount of former Blazers who are now on the Missouri Mavericks. They have 12 players officially signed on their roster right now, and five of them were in Oklahoma City last season, not to mention Jeff Christian who played in Tulsa for two years. There is a poll on the Thunder website asking who the team’s new rival will be. Last I checked, Missouri was in the lead, and that will only be magnified by the number of ex-Blazers playing there this winter.
Take us behind the curtain of the Wichita Thunder. Who is the Dwight Schrute of the Thunder office? I don’t think we have any beet farmers working here, but I did put someone’s stapler in jello over the summer. See below:
