Winless Slayers Point Fingers

The Sunnydale Slayers 0-3 start has not surprisingly led to some early-season dissension on the League’s last-place team. The focus of much of the criticism has been first-year captain Ian Scott. Though the rookie leader was hailed for some of his bold moves on Draft Night, that optimism has quickly turned sour. Some have questioned the heavy emphasis Scott placed on picking high-scoring forwards, not to mention his trading of former FHL scoring champion Rob Tyrell. “Ian’s always been like that, doing things his own way, ever since he was a kid”, says a female member of the team, who asked not to be identified.

But now Scott is lashing back at some of his critics. He claims the signing of underachieving ex-Lite-Sabre forward David Watson came only after he was assured by Lite-Sabre captain and GM Chris McMaster that Watson was an “integral part” of 2002B’s Championship squad. “Turns out his car was the important part”, Scott says now, “That guy can’t spell back-check”. At least one other captain, Fire GM Harvey Snelgrove, confirms Scott has been shopping Watson around. “After I stopped laughing, I told Ian ‘No thanks’, Snelgrove says, “He actually thought I would give up a defenseman for that floater”.

And as for the other championship forward Scott acquired, former Sabre scoring leader Damien Ho, Scott is also less than impressed. He became even more agitated after learning that Ho had contacted League headquarters after each of the last two games to complain about ‘missing assists’. “Damien’s got to start thinking of the team first”, Scott declared, “Now I know how he led that team in points!”

Though he won’t confirm it, Scott was apparently also victimized by a case of mistaken identity when he recruited rookie goalie Graham Dodge. “He thought he was drafting Martin Brodeur”, says a league scout, referring to the game jersey worn by Dodge. Though Dodge has not played poorly and has often been left hanging by the Slayers’ suspect defense, he has not quite lived up to the pre-season hype surrounding his arrival. “Now I know why they were calling me ‘Marty’”, Dodge admitted.

Though Scott denies the pressure is wearing on him, his refusal to pose for a League website photograph was seen by some as an attempt to keep a low profile. Despite being only 3 games into his first year as captain, there is already growing speculation that Scott’s job may be in jeopardy. A man who has attended each of the Slayers games thus far has been identified as the team’s new owner. “That guy paid a fortune for this team in the off-season, and he won’t stand for this much longer”, says TSN hockey analyst Bob MacKenzie. Asked if there was any truth to the rumour that the owner is a close relative of Scott’s, MacKenzie answered “Of course. How do you think Ian got the job?”.