Rhinos spend their money wisely

FILE PHOTO Realizing their offense needed a jump start, the Rhinos acquired midfielder Stoian Mladenov on June 11. He scored 7 goals, 8 assists in 17 games.

By Jeff DiVeronica
Democrat and Chronicle

(Thursday, October 11, 2001) -- The Rochester Rhinos are considered to be the New York Yankees of the A-League, but it's not just because of their winning tradition.

They have one of the league's top payrolls and while general manager Chris Economides and head coach Pat Ercoli admit that it's an advantage to have the financial resources to sign talented players to fill holes, they say money doesn't buy championships.

Need proof?

Let's start with the 1997 Rhinos, who went 14-14 and lost in the first round of the playoffs. Economides also cites the NHL's New York Rangers and baseball's Baltimore Orioles. Neither has been in the playoffs the past few years.

"It bothers me when people say we have 10 times the payroll of other teams or that we have the highest payroll in the league," said Economides, who thinks Rochester's payroll ranks in the top three in the league but isn't the highest. "Having the highest payroll doesn't always translate to having the best team."

This season Economides and Ercoli had their share of hits and misses with player signings, but they eventually found the right mix.

The Rhinos play for their third league title in four years on Saturday at Frontier Field when they face the Hershey (Pa.) Wildcats.

"You try to bring players in who are hard working and professional," said Ercoli, whose club is 79-25-6 in the regular season and 19-4-1 in the playoffs over the past four seasons. "Sometimes you take risks, sometimes you don't."

And when a player doesn't pan out?

That's when being the Rhinos pays off again. Their strong fan base provides enough money to go find someone else. Other teams don't have that luxury.

"It allows us some margin for error," Economides said.

The Rhinos lost four starters from last year: defender Craig Demmin, midfielder Yari Allnutt and forwards Onandi Lowe and Dan Stebbins. So Econo-mides and Ercoli embarked on their busiest off-season since 1997-98, when they found seven new starters that helped set the franchise's standard with a 30-4 record in '98.

The four newcomers who will start Saturday are Kirk Wilson and Neathan Gibson, both forwards, and midfielder Stoian Mladenov and defender Kalin Bankov, natives of Bulgaria who played on the 1999 Minnesota Thunder team that beat Rochester for the A-League title.

Each has played a critical role, but none more than Mladenov, 25, an all-league pick.

He arrived via a trade on June 11. Work-permit problems delayed his emergence for a month, but then he stirred a Rhinos attack that had scored just 10 goals in its first 10 games. He was almost automatic on free kicks.

Mladenov had 6 goals and 5 assists in his first seven starts and finished with 7 goals and 8 assists in 17 games. His playmaking presence also helped Lenin Steenkamp have a career year with 9 goals and 4 assists.

"Yari gave us a different look in the midfield," Ercoli said. "With Stoian, it's more finesse."

That complements Steenkamp's physical style and also the passing ability of Tommy Tanner, Martin Nash and Nate Daligcon. Nash (1 goal, 2 assists) and Daligcon (2-2) have sparkled in the playoffs.

Bankov, 36, has taken the central defense spot alongside Scott Schweitzer that Demmin occupied for three MVP seasons.

"Timing has to be right when you bring guys in and it was with Kalin," Ercoli said.

Fuseini Dauda played there most of the year, but with late-season injuries and suspensions to him and Schweitzer, Rochester traded a 2002 first-round draft pick for Bankov. He had been released by Tampa Bay (MLS) and then was benched in Minnesota.

"Kalin gives us that skill, but he's also aggressive," defender Bill Sedgewick said.

Along with experience, Bankov brought his green card, which means he doesn't count against the team's foreign-player limit.

Finding productive forwards was Rochester's toughest task. Nine different players auditioned before Ercoli settled on Wilson (4 goals, 4 assists) and Gibson (3-1) as his starting tandem and Jamel Mitchell (5-2) and Jimmy Tanner (2-0) -- two other first-year Rhinos -- coming off the bench.

A foot injury slowed Mitchell early and Ercoli decided Mitchell's best role was coming off the bench. He was acquired from Hershey in an off-season trade for Eddy Sebrango.

Steve Butcher was traded to Milwaukee, where he played well. Nasho Kirov was released. Mickey Trotman missed much of the season with the Trinidad & Tobago national team before being killed in a car accident last week. John Wolyniec, a former MLS player, signed in early June and started six games, but played only three times in August.

Second-year man Gabriel Gervais (2 goals, 3 assists) made nine starts but was derailed by an ankle injury.

Wilson, 24, started the season as a midfielder and was moved up front. An off-season pickup, he scored 15 goals for El Paso in 1998. Gibson, 31, signed July 10 after being released by Colorado (MLS).

He was billed as a hard worker and brilliant in the air, but in 12 regular-season games produced one assist. In the playoffs, though, he has scored in each of the past three games, getting two game-winners and the go-ahead goal in the quarterfinal series.

"I think we've kind of learned through the years that you bring these guys in and you can't expect a lot right away," Ercoli said. "It takes time."