CHL Mississippi RiverKings

RiverKings do well in CHL \'Best of the Best\' Poll

Published on March 9, 2004 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Mississippi RiverKings News Release


SOUTHAVEN, MS – The two-time defending CHL champion Memphis RiverKings fared well in this year's CHL ‘Best of the Best' Poll, with two all-stars winning three total categories and the organization finishing high in the voting in two other categories.

RiverKings defenseman and assistant captain Derek Landmesser won two categories, as he was named ‘Best Defensive Defenseman' and ‘Best Body-Checker'. RiverKings captain Don Parsons was voted ‘Best Stickhandler', while finishing second in the "Best Playmaker' and ‘Smartest Player' categories.

Landmesser, who has anchored the RiverKings' blue line for three of the past four seasons, was appreciative of the respect given to him by both players and opposing teams' personnel. His reputation as a good bodychecker is a result of practice and technique, he says.

"(Bodychecking) is something I've done for a long time," said Landmesser. "It's something that I work hard at, and has been part of my game. It's a little bit of timing and a little bit of luck."

Parsons, who was recently chosen as Man of the Year by the Central Hockey League, says that he's tried to put an emphasis on the puck control aspects of his game.

"Puck control is important, because it allows your team to have so many more opportunities, both on offense and defense," said Parsons.

The RiverKings game operations staff finished second in ‘Best On-Ice Promotions', while public address announcers Ken Kincade, Whitley Porter and Tim Van Horn combined to finish second in the ‘Best PA Announcer' category.

Gene Szucs, the Director of Game Operations for the RiverKings, has been impressed with this year's game operations staff and what they've been able to accomplish.

"Our operations staff is completely different from last season," said Szucs, "and I think it's a real compliment to them that we were able to put on as good of a show as we have this year. Summer Holbrook has been helping to coordinate the on-ice promotions from downstairs, and she's just done an exemplary job."

Szucs also credited good on-the-microphone chemistry between the public address announcers for the RiverKings' success in that area.

"With Ken and Tim in the scorer's booth and Whitley on the crowd microphone, we've got a group of announcers that really complement each other well," Szucs said.

The Best of the Best Poll winners were determined through a process where all 17 CHL teams were asked to select their top three choices in each of 34 different categories. Players, coaches, and media relations directors for each team were asked to give their input into the voting process.

RiverKings fans will have one final weekend of regular season home games to see Memphis's "Best of the Best", as the RiverKings host Bossier-Shreveport, Indianapolis and Tulsa this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday and Saturday's games will be held at 7:05 PM, while Sunday's contest will feature a special 3:05 PM opening face-off.

All 64 RiverKings games can be heard on Easy 680 AM, as well as worldwide via SportsJuice.com. RiverKings games can also be heard inside the DeSoto Civic Center on FM frequency 107.9 FM. Select RiverKings games will also be available through CHL TV, a league-wide video streaming enterprise. CHL TV is available at www.CHLTV.com. Information on the RiverKings, including the latest roster moves, press releases, and pictures, is available at www.riverkings.com.

Group and individual game tickets for all remaining RiverKings games are available. For more information, telephone (662) 342-1755.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 9, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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