Grabovski eats, breathes and dreams hockey
By STEVE SIMMONS, QMI Agency, March 4 2011
TORONTO - The maturation of Mikhail Grabovski, hockey player savant, has been a stunning development of this Maple Leafs season gone right and wrong.
Grabovski wakes up and thinks hockey. He eats breakfast and thinks hockey. He goes home and thinks hockey. And in between, just about all he thinks about is hockey.
“To get to this level, all players are competitive,” said Keith Acton, the Leafs assistant coach. “But Mikhail is driven. He’s the kind of kid who is consumed by hockey. He’s the kind of young man when he leaves the rink he’s all about hockey and when he’s here he watches video of his last game or video or of good players like (Sidney) Crosby or (Henrik) Zetterberg to see what he can learn from them.
“I’ve seen a lot of players. I haven’t seen very many as totally consumed as he is,” Acton said.
The Grabovski that Acton and Ron Wilson and Brian Burke talk about is not the Grabovski the public seems to know. The contradiction between inside and outside is stark. In Montreal, Grabovski didn’t necessarily get along with those he played with on the Canadiens. That feud continued on to his time in Toronto. Off the ice, he’s had a moment of two he’d rather not talk about. Just not anymore.
“I can’t think of a more professional guy than Grabo,” said Wilson, who has coached the centreman for three seasons, one good, one poor, this one close to great. “He spends every waking moment studying his own shifts and his line’s shifts and trying to make himself better. He’s totally focussed on being the best player he can be.”
And for that, he’s on his way. This is the last week of the regular season and as the Leafs prepare to play the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night, Grabovski has scored just one goal fewer than Alexander Ovechkin and the same number as Ilya Kovalchuk. The 29 goals ranks him eighth among centres in the NHL. This from a team that was supposed to be lacking a front line centre.
Statistically, some of Grabovski’s numbers are startling: He ranks 12th among centres in plus-minus, playing on a team that has given up more goals than it has scored. He is 12th at his position in the NHL in scoring at even strength, 20th in scoring overall among centres. And consumed as he may be, the statistics take something of a backseat to his becoming a father, his girlfriend giving birth to baby Vera earlier this season.
“Right now, my life is hockey,” he said. “I try to think about something different, but always it’s hockey. Now, I have my baby, and now it’s hockey and my family. That’s more important than anything.
“My life is more serious now. More maturation. I don’t this just for myself, now for the baby and family. I want to make my baby’s life more happy in the future.”
From start to finish, Grabovski has been the Leafs best player. James Reimer may own the final months. Dion Phaneuf has come on. Nik Kulemin has been consistent and solid. Phil Kessel has been streaky good or streaky bad. Grabovski, the one-time enigma, has been almost a straight line. Strong offensively, almost the Leafs best player defensively, definitely the Leafs best penalty killer (statistics wise) even though he’s not used there very often.
All this from a player the Leafs would have basically given away last summer. Grabovski was thought to be overpriced and underproductive. Some around the league considered him to be a headache waiting to happen. In this case, the best deal Burke made was not dealing Grabovski.
“It’s been a bit of a maturing process, at times living through the adversity,” said Wilson. “He’s lived through the bumps and the failures.”
“I love talking to him,” Acton said. “He thinks the game continually. He’s the kind of player who brings strategy to coaches. You have to listen to him. He’s just a wonderful, wonderful young man who keeps getting better and better.”
His next goal will be his 30th, and for some that would mark a milestone. Grabovski doesn’t care much for 30, he wants 31.
“Thirty would mean nothing to me. It would mean more to my agent, my dad, maybe my coach or my linemates. For me, every goal is important. I want 31. I was born on 31 (January). I try to make it against Washington.”
So what’s next for Grabovski, other than his upcoming diaper change?
“I want to be in the playoffs,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how many goals I score, I want that. My future is all about my life in hockey. I can’t do anything else. I can’t think anything else.”
And as for his daughter, he said jokingly: “I hope she doesn’t look like me.”
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Uncommon passion and focus... sounds like he loves the game and wants to play and continually improve. These qualities allow him to become an "expert" at what he does. Did he only start becoming so focused recently? If he would have been more focused earlier, would we be seeing another Crosby or Gretzky? Now he needs to strive for consistency...
Oilers' first draft step is lottery
By TERRY JONES, QMI Agency, April 12, 2011
First? Or second?
One? Or the other?
It’s not Taylor vs. Tyler this time. But it’s time to find out who gets to decide between Adam Larsson and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
When Edmonton Oilers GM Steve Tambellini sits on the TSN set for the NHL Draft Lottery Tuesday to find out if he will have the first pick or the second pick June 24 in St. Paul, Minn., it will be very much the same for him as last year. But it will also be very different, regardless if he’s picking No. 1 or No. 2.
If Monday’s final rankings by Central Scouting matches the top of head scout Stu MacGregor’s list, it’ll again be one or the other other for the Oilers.
Except this time, the players won’t both be forwards and they won’t both be from North America.
They’ll be six-foot-three, 222-pound Swedish defenceman Larsson vs six-foot, 163-pound Red Deer Rebels centre Nugent-Hopkins.
Central Scouting ranked Nugent-Hopkins ahead of Kitchener Rangers Gabriel Landeskog, the mid-season No. 1 among North American skaters, while Larsson remained No. 1 on the list of European skaters.
“I think there are more similarities than differences,” said Tambellini, as he selected his lucky tie to head to Toronto to go through the same ordeal as he did last year.
“What I remember is 30 seconds of self-doubt as I looked at (NHL vice-president) Bill Daly, knowing that he knew what the results were and seeing that he was avoiding making eye contact with me.
“Once you start doing it you are very much in the game mode,” he said of the nervous tension.
And Tambellini, who offers the usual stuff about wanting to be No. 1 “to be able to control the draft” definitely knows the difference in getting it right picking No. 1, as he did with Taylor Hall, or going to the draft hoping the lottery winner gets it wrong.
“Until we get together later in the spring, we’re not making the decision. We’re not there yet. And I’d guess that when we get to the draft, 25 of the 30 teams would probably have different top fives.”
That may be. But all 30 almost certainly will have Larsson and Nugent-Hopkins at the top.
If it’s Larsson, he’d become the first Swedish-born player to go No. 1 since Mats Sundin in 1989.
It was no surprise to see the big kid who turns 18 Tuesday as the top European listed by Central Scouting. A force at two World Juniors who has been playing with men in the Swedish Elite League despite being the youngest member of the team, he’s getting big minutes on defence with Skellefea AIK, his home town team, which made it to the final for the first time in 33 years.
Nugent-Hopkins’s stock has been on the rise throughout the season and the Central Scouting final rankings were revealed on NHL.com and came with this powerful quote supplied by scout Peter Sullivan.
“A couple people high up in the Oilers organization — and I’m not naming names — said Hopkins has the best vision on the ice since No. 99,” Sullivan said of Wayne Gretzky.
“That’s the highest compliment you can get.”
If the couple people high up in the Oilers organization are any combination of Kevin Lowe, Tambellini or MacGregor, then you have to wonder if the Oilers are going to ignore size when it comes to this — come-to-think-of-it — Gretzky-sized guy.
Tambellini admits he was surprised to see that comment from somebody at Central Scouting.
“I don’t know who would say something like that, so I can’t comment,” he said.
Sullivan had further comment.
“Another thing is the way Ryan competes. He never takes a night off and he works as hard in his own end as he does in the offensive zone. It takes a special player with special skill to do that,” he said.
Also commenting in the NHL.com release was ex-Oiler B.J. MacDonald, head Western Scout for Central Scouting.
“I think Hopkins will be prolific because he’s one of the few this year where he consistently beats players 1-on-1. He’s the only guy in the draft who can do it consistently.
“As he advances, his learning curve is so fast that he’ll be able to elevate his play alongside better players.”
No. 3 in the mid-term rankings, Nugent-Hopkins moved ahead of Landeskog who dropped to No. 2, while mid-season No. 2 Sean Couturier fell to No. 6.
Landeskog is listed as a left winger and with Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Linus Omark and Ryan Jones, the Oilers are already knee-deep in those.
Clearly the Taylor or Tyler this time was going to be Nugent-Hopkins or Larsson regardless for the Oilers.
But the big question is whether Edmonton gets to decide. That answer comes next.
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As every other draft, with an interest in Talent ID, this will be interesting to see who goes where; and again in 3-5 years from now... who rose to the top! Will RYH surpass Larsson or Landeskog? Or will there be a 'dark horse' come to the forefront?
Dean,
Your first post is good
Only thing I would add is Id flip #2 and #3. I think skating is one of the more important things to hockey. But it depends on age level. I feel if you can skate you can teach them to read the play.
Just my thoughts, overall its good. Thanks for posting
Aberdeen
Looking through a different lens
Director of Scouting Tod Button reveals the Flames new tactic when it comes to ranking prospects
Friday, 24.06.2011 / By Torie Peterson
ST. PAUL, MN -- When one thinks about ranking professional athletes, the first thing that often comes to mind is statistics.
While Calgary Flames Director of Scouting Tod Button agrees those numbers are crucial when it comes to designating players on a ranking list, there's another set of numbers he and the rest of the scouting staff are extremely interested in.
Complicated mathematical formulas.
For the first time in Flames draft history, the team is employing a third party to evaluate what their scouts have found over the past year of researching player after player.
"What we found in the past was that there comes a point where you can't separate the players," Button told CalgaryFlames.com. "Instead of trying to do it randomly, we've always tried to figure out if there's a mathematical formula or if there was some kind of analytics we could use."
Decision Lens, an analytics company that counts NASA and the US Army as clients, takes statistical data and qualitative judgments and identifies where a player should objectively be ranked among his peers.
After the Flames discovered the company last season, they decided they needed to include the Decision Lens process in their final prospect rankings.
Decision Lens' Client Decision Manager Gavin Burns has been sitting in on all of the scouts draft meetings and adding his input on how the club should be ranking players.
The best part of the process, according to Button, is the scouts don't have to adjust their style in order for the software to work.
Button has rapidly become an avid supporter of the program and it looks like it will utilized in coming drafts.
"There's no biases involved. It's a true evaluation. So when we go back and we're stuck on these four players in say the skating category, (we say) can you help us separate them? And Gavin does."
At the end of the day, Decision Lens also aids the scouts in feeling fully secure with the list they've compiled together and Button feels that is absolutely key as the team heads into what may be one of the most crucial drafts in recent history.
"One thing you want to make sure of is that everybody believes in a player. You don't want guys being on the fence or being in the middle of the road. If a guy doesn't want a player or doesn't like a player, you've got to know that. You have to push, prod and pat on the back and sometimes make sure the guys want this list because it's important to get guys in the right order."
Scouts say SJHL Showcase worth the trip
Estevan Mercury Sports, October 19, 2011
The biggest reason for the SJHL to stage its annual showcase event is for scouts from the NHL, NCAA, CIS and WHL to come and get a glimpse of all of their players in the same place.
A pair of NHL scouts who made the trek said it was worth their while to come check out some players who might not be drafted, but could be free agent signings a few years from now.
“In the sense of looking for pro players, I think a lot of these players are going to be a little bit longer-term in terms of their development,” said Roy Stasiuk, a Western Canada scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs who attended his third straight SJHL Showcase.
“We’re hoping some of them will get NCAA scholarships and then we can continue to monitor them.”
Colorado Avalanche scout Don Paarup, also a veteran of the SJHL event, said it’s a case of heated competition for players amongst the 30 NHL teams.
“You don’t want to sit at the draft table and all of a sudden a name pops up, and everybody looks at you and says, ‘You didn’t have the time to go in and see this kid?’”
Paarup said current Avalanche forward T.J. Galiardi is an example of a player he scouted while playing in the AJHL and eventually Colorado drafted him.
Stasiuk said the main things he looks for in a player at this level are skating, compete level and hockey sense, adding that being able to think the game is more important than size in today’s NHL.
Whereas NCAA scouts will often talk to players after games, Paarup said NHL scouts might talk to the coach, but they normally wait until the off-season to speak to a player so as to avoid being a distraction.
Both scouts suggested the SJHL is doing a reasonable job of attracting scouts and securing opportunities for their players, considering the obstacles of drawing from a smaller population and having colder temperatures than the BCHL.
“I hate to say it, but I think there are times when the NCAA recruiters head to B.C. because it’s warmer weather and the buildings are nice and those players get viewed a little more,” said Stasiuk. “I think the SJHL’s doing what it needs to do in order to, number one, attract and retain talent, and then attract scouts and recruiters from the NCAA.”
Paarup believes it’s largely a case of population and that holding a showcase event helps to level the playing field.
“I think maybe it’s a mindset. ‘I’m going to B.C. junior, I’m going to get looked at a bit more.’ But that might be a bit of a fallacy now. That’s one thing the showcase does. You have all of the colleges come in here and it gives the kids an opportunity to showcase what they can do.”
Upwards of 30 scouts were in attendance on the weekend, including representation from the Leafs, Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild.
More than a dozen Bruins attracted attention from scouts at various levels throughout the weekend.
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I love 'Rodeo Roy's' statement - Skating, COMPETE LEVEL and HOCKEY SENSE are the main things he looks for in a hockey player. Being able to think the game is more import than size in today's NHL.
That's why Game Intelligence is so important! It's a coveted ability!
Hockey scouts prowl Island for talent
RON RAUCH, Victoria Times Colonist, December 8, 2011
If you want to know the best place to buy a coffee at a Vancouver Island hockey rink, just ask Victoria’s Gord Bridges or Greg Batters. During the hockey season, their second homes are Island rinks as they search out talent as scouts for their Western Hockey League teams.
Bridges has been working for the Lethbridge Hurricanes for five years while Batters has had a 16-year tenure with the Kamloops Blazers.
Bridges and Batters, along with a host of other scouts were at the Ian Stewart Complex on Thursday, attending the Rick Lapointe Memorial bantam triple-A tournament. The scouts were assessing 14-year-old talent that could be drafted in next year’s WHL draft.
“The No. 1 thing that I’m looking for in a hockey player is his ability to skate,’’ said Bridges, who is the father of former Victoria Salmon Kings goaltender Bryan Bridges. “To me, size doesn’t really matter, as the smaller guys can play at all levels.
“I mainly scout the Island and I do take some trips to the mainland. With good quality teams at this tournament, there will be more scouts here.
“The second thing I’m looking for is that a player goes hard for the entire game and he doesn’t take a shift or two off. Sometimes the guys will play differently at a tournament so I like to see them perform in a regular-season game when they don’t know scouts are watching them.’’
Bryan Bridges played five seasons in the WHL, winning a Memorial Cup with the Kootenay Ice before heading to the Seattle Thunderbirds. After a stint in the ECHL with various teams, including the Salmon Kings, he is now playing senior hockey in Lloydminster.
Batters, the former Victoria Cougar and Moose Jaw Warrior, is also the commissioner of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League.
“The main thing that I’m looking for is the compete level,’’ said Batters. “We are drafting kids who we hope will help us three years from now.
If they don’t have that compete level now, they will not have it in three years.’’
One of the top picks in this year’s bantam draft is expected to be Matt Barzal from the Burnaby Winter Club. His team is not attending the eight-team tournament.
OVERTIME: The host Victoria Racquet Club Kings opened with a 9-2 win over the Coquitlam Chiefs before dropping a
8-1 decision to Pursuit of Excellence from Kelowna. Seafair from Richmond also has a 1-1 record after beating Team Seattle 8-2 and losing 5-3 to the Calgary Royals. In the other game, the Abbotsford Hawks tripped up Team Seattle 5-1.
The tournament resumes today with games at Ian Stewart, Pearkes and Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
The banquet is 5:30 p.m. at the Memorial Centre with guest speaker Geoff Courtnall. The teams will then watch the WHL game between the Victoria Royals and the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
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My definition of an elite athlete: "Execute Skills... Heads Up... At Speed... Under Pressure... While Fatigued... Consistently" This is the Game Intelligence Mantra!
The Ice Hockey Scouts:
Sport students test an observation system in Finnish Vierumäki
UTE OLBERTZ, Martin Luthor University (Halle-Wittenberg), April 13, 2010
http://www.international.uni-halle.de/magazine/ice-hockey/#
Who will make it into the Finnish U16 ice hockey team? This was the big question which not only plagued the 160 young players at Finnish Vierumäki for four days. It was also a challenge for the five students of the Masters for Applied Sports Psychology program of Halle University, led by Professor Oliver Stoll and Dr. Andreas Lau from the 2nd to 10th of March. They had traveled to Finland to face this challenge, the result of which produced unforeseeable consequences. Of the participating athletes under the age of 16, only 40 received the “ticket” necessary to become junior members in line for the national team.
Right from the beginning there was excitement amongst members of the scouting program for the Finish Ice Hockey Association (FIHA). Professor Stoll had, with support, already visited the Socrates Program the year before. The sports psychologist mentioned: “A partnership with the Haaga-Helia University already began in 2005”. The sports institute Vierumäki also belongs to the university, a small campus located in the midst of quiet Finish forests. The institute there has developed a talent observation system for ice hockey, based on idea of a Vierumäki student, which focuses in particular on the methods of players and which technical elements play a role. The quality of the criteria was later researched and tested at the Martin Luther University. The system has high predictive validity and is now used by the U16 national team in Finland.
What criteria are relevant in a system that assesses whether an ice hockey player is suitable for the national team? Stoll explains: “First we carry out motor and sports medicine test for four days, which are conducted on a parallel basis while the teams start competing against each other in a tournament”. The five sports students from Halle, including Philipp Auerswald who showed extreme sportive capabilities on the ZDF TV show “Wetten Das” (see page 19), observe the 15 year old athletes together with finish students. “Our Master students can now apply what they have learned”, says Stoll.
Every student observes the behavior of three players, also off the ice, and note down their findings in the realm of “mental scouting” on an observation sheet, similar to a questionnaire. The sports psychologist adds: “Those criteria which are relevant as to whether or not a player is applicable include willpower, perseverance, as well as the ability to be a team player and whether the player is capable of taking over responsibility. Nonverbal communication on the ice is also relevant, including body language.”
During the scouting a Finish and a German student were asked to observe the same three players independently of one another. The evaluation and comparison of the results showed a high level of agreement between the students’ findings. This also proves that the screening system is solid and is based on scientific standards. During this process students were able to combine research with practical application. The results from the year before could also be tested and confirmed. Stoll says: “The special thing is that ice hockey trainers can now be educated at an academic level”.
The forty chosen players are supposed to grow into U16 players and are the start of the future of the extended national team. They will be invited regularly over the next two years, and will obtain special training. In addition, during this time period, a further selection will take place alongside the education, so that in the end 25 players aged 18 are left over. The best players played against each other in a tournament at the end of the evaluation and their stay at Vierumäki, which allowed them to show their abilities during a high level game. The Finish partner institute provided for the care and overnight stay of the MLU guests, while the costs of the students were covered by the Finish Ice Hockey Association, and the university teachers were sponsored by the Socrates program. “We are already invited to attend next year” Stoll exclaimed. “A few of the students are already thinking about how to extend this selection process to soccer”.
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I would love to learn more about this... obviously, long-term tracking will provide support for their research tool; or refute it.
"Defining skill variables between U16 national team and non- national team ice hockey players" by Ilkka Haapea
Bachelor`s Thesis - Degree Programme in Sport and Leisure Management, 2011
Watch Ontario prospect's stick magic: Athanasiou wields the kind of skills that’ll make Tiger keep his wedge in the bag.
Luke Fox, Sportsnet.ca, February 2, 2012
The Wikipedia entry on Andreas Athanasiou is two sentences long. Web surfers can learn that Athanasiou is a Canadian ice hockey player, and that the 17-year-old Ontario kid currently plays centre for the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. That’s it.
Which is fine, because words wouldn’t quite be able to capture what the 6’2” Athanasiou can do with the puck anyway. At the Canadian Hockey League’s Top Prospects Game, the Team Orr hopeful showed off his playful puck trickery to NHL.com cameras.
A butter-handed mix of juggling, hacky sack, lacrosse and hockey, Athanasiou's moves make him the most coveted skills competition prospect of his generation.
Game-wise, he’s not too shabby either. The teenager has 16 goals and 22 assists in 44 games played for London this season, and has improved his -11 plus-minus last year to a +14.
Watch Athanasiou flex the kind of skills that’ll make Tiger Woods keep his wedge in the bag.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2012/02/02/athanasiou_hands/
Bonus vintage footage: Athanasiou shows off a few trick shootout shots at the NHL R&D camp in Toronto on Aug. 18. He does not wear a Superman cape. (via Puck Daddy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw3zbgWaRLk&feature=player_embedded
Tom Thompson: Skating skills separate hockey from all else
Tom Thompson, The Hockey News, 2012-02-04
Most sports fans remember when Bo Jackson was the talk of the athletic world. He quickly became an all-star in professional football and baseball. People speculated he could quickly become a star in any sport he tried, with one exception, of course. In the lingo of that era, when people asked, "Does Bo know hockey?" the answer was a resounding, "No." Several years later, when Michael Jordan retired from pro basketball to take a shot at Major League Baseball, many fans were optimistic he would succeed. Again, they reasoned that such a marvelous, determined athlete could find success in any sport, with the exception of hockey, of course.
Clearly, the dominant factor in both of these cases is hockey players must skate at a world-class level, while performing the skills of the sport. No matter how well conditioned, determined and smart, all potential hockey players must be able to skate. Even the Bo Jacksons and Michael Jordans of the world cannot circumvent this requirement.
I was thinking about these factors when I was watching the top prospects in the Canadian League go through the skills competition and 3-on-3 game in Kelowna, B.C. The tempo of the activities on the ice remained high throughout the day. This group of players has faults and limitations just as all players do. However, they share one attribute in common - they can really skate.
Most of the hockey I watch is at the junior, college and high school levels. I do spend some time watching NHL, as well as other pro games, and I also take in a number of bantam games where my younger son plays. At every level, I am struck by the same reaction - the skating ability in every league is higher than it has ever been.
There are a number of factors that have resulted in this phenomenon. The skates themselves are one reason. Their construction makes them lighter and more supportive and the blades provide a more secure foundation on the ice. Most of these present-day players have received specialized instruction from skating coaches from the time they were young. Most of the athletes are stronger and better conditioned than their counterparts from past eras.
There is no doubt the caliber of skating is one of the most attractive elements of our game from a spectator's perspective. Sometimes those of us who work in the game take this aspect for granted. Fans who were enthralled by these CHL stars speeding around all corners of the rink in the skating finals would not be as entertained if athletes were simply running around these corners. Even the best runners could not match the speed or daring of hockey players.
With the up-tempo level of skating come some concerns as well. The new rules put in place in 2005-06 have definitely opened up the game. Rules preventing the obstruction of players in motion and the elimination of the red line have dramatically increased the speed of the game. With stronger, well conditioned athletes not being impeded, while performing on their new style skates, collisions in the normal course of the game are occurring at much greater speeds. The new skate blades being used by heavier players chew up the ice. Pucks are bouncing at every level of hockey and any soft ice can quickly develop dangerous ruts. The quality of play can be adversely affected and the danger factor can increase.
On the teeter-totter of life it is always difficult to maintain a perfect balance. Prior to 2005-06, hockey officials pondered ways to open up the game and allow skaters to flourish. Now, the same officials must consider measures to reduce the dangers inherent in today’s up-tempo game. One set of problems often gives rise to measures that create a new set of problems. The constant factor in hockey is that the essence of the game, its appeal and its difficulties, always involves skating. That is what makes our game unique. Never take it for granted.
"Very Competitive": Kiprusoff padding his stats
STEVE MACFARLANE, QMI Agency, Feb 6 2012
Having coached the NHL’s all-time wins leader and having played in front of a few other greats, Calgary Flames head coach Brent Sutter has a pretty good idea of what it takes to be an elite goaltender.
Watching Martin Brodeur from behind the bench in New Jersey, working with the Flames’ Miikka Kiprusoff behind the scenes, sharing locker-room talk with the likes of Billy Smith, Eddie Belfour, and Kelly Hrudey, the 49-year-old Sutter suggests one common thread unites them all.
“Very competitive,” Sutter said with conviction as his team prepares for a three-game road trip during which it’s very likely Kiprusoff will join the 300-win club.
“Their personalities are different, but they’re very competitive guys. All five of them. And they wanted to be the best.
“They were guys that every game, you knew you could count on them.”
Kiprusoff earned his 299th NHL victory in fine fashion during Friday’s 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. His next one — perhaps as soon as Monday’s tilt with the Anaheim Ducks (8 p.m., Sportsnet West) will place him in a category that can be compared with a forward scoring 500 goals or 1,000 points.
The list ahead of him is short, and the 35-year old — who will become just the 27th netminder to win 300 games — appears capable of climbing the ranks over the next couple of years.
Brodeur continues to add to his unbreakable record of 640-plus victories. Patrick Roy racked up 551 in his nearly 20 years of service. Belfour finished with 484.
Islanders legend Smith won 305 regular-season contests to go with his four Stanley Cups. Hrudey finished about one strong season short of the 300 mark, with 271 to his credit.
Kiprusoff knows the significance of what’s to come. But he shrugs it off the same way he does when a rare bad goal gets past him or when he makes one of his many highlight-reel rejections.
“It’s pretty big. Not that many guys have done it before,” Kiprusoff said. “I’m not thinking too much, though. Try to win anyway tomorrow, in a big game. It’d be nice to get it tomorrow.”
He jokes about being able to play “50 more” seasons, which might be the only way the eight-season starter could catch the likes of Brodeur and Roy, who got their chances to become go-to goaltenders extremely early in their careers.
But that late opportunity makes what he’s accomplished even more impressive. When he does join that elite 300 club, Kiprusoff will have the fewest games played of all 27 members.
“It goes to show what he’s accomplished,” said Flames winger Alex Tanguay, who played a few seasons with Roy in Colorado. “It certainly takes time. It takes consistency. It takes just being a good player. That’s what Kiprusoff is. He’s an outstanding goaltender.”
Roy and Kiprusoff are as different as the other netminders Sutter listed, but with one very obvious similarity, at least to those who know them.
“I think in all athletes, there’s a little fire that burns inside of them that they’re trying to be as good as they can be, the best they can be. With the top guys, it’s even more evident,” Tanguay said.
“Miikka has that demeanour. He might not be talking and stuff like that, but you see him on the ice, he doesn’t want to get beat.
“He’s very competitive.”
Three hundred wins speaks to that.
“We’re all hoping he’s gonna get it tomorrow night,” Tanguay said. “He’s done a good job. He’s been a cornerstone of this franchise for the last seven, eight years.
“Patrick is probably the best goalie that ever played the game, when it came to crunch time.
“But Miikka’s been fun to watch.”
Barzee brought wit and wisdom to scouting job
Mike G. Morreale, NHL.com Staff Writer, 03.28.2012
Long-time NHL scout Jack Barzee never will be confused with the philosopher Confucius, but the man certainly has a way with words.
Just ask any of his colleagues at NHL Central Scouting.
"Jack is one of the funniest human beings on the planet," Central Scouting's Chris Edwards told NHL.com. "The only guy who could out-talk him was (the late) EJ McGuire. EJ would joke about his phone calls with Jack lasting the entire morning. It was always unclear if either guy was listening to the other, though."
The 71-year-old Barzee always has been confident enough to express himself when it came to evaluating an NHL prospect. His passion was evident; whether he approved or disapproved of a group decision made by Central Scouting, everyone usually knew about it by the time the meeting had adjourned.
His honesty was refreshing and, at times, downright hilarious.
That's one of the reasons he'll be sorely missed following this season. Barzee, who has spent 27 years as a professional scout, including 23 with NHL Central Scouting, announced his retirement following the current season, which concludes with the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh, June 22-23.
"Jack will really be missed in his area because few have the depth of knowledge of not only the player, but that player's cousin, uncle, aunt, girlfriend, grandparents, brothers , sisters," quipped Central Scouting's B.J. MacDonald.
Barzee has done it all in hockey, from star player to accomplished executive.
"I went to West Haven (Conn.) High School and played center and wing, and also defense my senior year," Barzee told NHL.com. "When I was a sophomore, I had a chance to play with a senior team in Massachusetts and I was the youngest player on the ice. I remember playing a team from Springfield and going up against Lou Lamoriello -- I still have the newspaper clipping.
"I had to play under a different name on that senior team so that I would not lose my high school eligibility, though," he said. "I remember one of the three names I used was Ralph Edwards."
He went on to play in the United States Hockey League, and then served as a coach, general manager and ultimately owner of the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks in the early 1970s. He's been that league's Executive of the Year (1976-77 with Waterloo), Coach of the Year (1978 with Waterloo; 1981 and '83 with Dubuque) and GM of the Year (1983, Dubuque).
He was instrumental in bringing junior hockey to Dubuque for the first time in 1980. Barzee's teams found immediate success, winning the Clark Cup as champions of the league three times in their first five years (1981, 1983, 1985).
He also was on the USA Hockey Board of Directors and coached and managed festival and a few national teams.
Barzee also spent four seasons as the chief U.S. scout for the Washington Capitals, from 1989-90 through 1992-93.
"During my time with Washington, I scouted some great players, like Paul Kariya, Chris Pronger, Mike Rathje and Sergei Gonchar," Barzee said. "It was an exciting period, for sure."
Barzee has a sound scouting philosophy. He generally has a list of established players he will be viewing when he attends a game, but he'll always watch warm-ups with a keen eye to make certain he doesn't miss a possible diamond in the rough.
"There are many ways to show scouts what you are as a player," Barzee said. "Sometimes the most talented players do not always work the hardest but can step up and win a game for their team. Hockey is a fast game and speed is very important whether it's in your feet, hands or head. If you are a top athlete and have all three of these characteristics, chances are you are one excellent prospect."
In addition to that, Barzee always has enjoyed assessing a player's ability to engage physically and with confidence.
"The competitiveness displayed by his aggressiveness, be it physically or just by his hard work and aggressive puck pursuit, was very important to me as an evaluator," Barzee said. "Scoring, setting up other players and being an unselfish team player are also very important."
Barzee, who scouted much of the U.S. Midwest states, including the USHL, during his term with Central Scouting, usually would join Edwards, who primarily scouts Ontario prospects, for a week-long trip each season.
"Jack is the hardest-working guy in hockey," said Edwards. "I have never met a more conscientious guy in my life. I always looked forward to traveling with him because he had the trip laid out from start to finish. He would give you every detail as soon as he picked me up from the hotel.
"He's a guy who is full of life and who always had a good story to tell. He knew all the good restaurants. There's going to be a big hole in our department, and it will be tough for one guy to fill. Jack also deserves to spend more time with (his wife) Kathy and his (five) grandchildren, who he loves so much and is always talking about."
Barzee told NHL.com that he's looking forward to retirement.
"Everyone is worried about me, but I'm embracing this," Barzee said. "In September, Kathy and I are taking a trip to Paris, London and Scotland. I'm using every Marriott point I have under my name and I'll probably save about $5,000. I told her, let's do it now while we can still walk and do not need the aide of a wheelchair."
Confucius he's not. Delightfully outspoken? You bet.
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Barzee's top all-time prospects
Jack Barzee has scouted many high-end players during his time as a scout, with the Washington Capitals, and for the last 23 years with NHL Central Scouting.
While he's decided to retire from his post, the veteran has many lasting memories to share.
Here are five players he remembers as solid prospects. Also listed is the school or team the player competed with during Barzee's evaluation.
Joe Sakic, Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
Keith Tkachuk, Malden High School (Mass.)
Zach Parise, Shattuck-St. Mary's (Minn.)
Mike Modano, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Tony Amonte, Thayer Academy (Mass.)
-- Mike Morreale
Becoming an NHL scout
Tom Thompson, The Hockey News, 2012-03-30
Like all people in the player personnel departments of NHL teams, I spend a good deal of time on airplanes. I get my share of annoying seat-mates as well as others who are engrossed in their own affairs or drift quickly off to sleep. But one of the pleasures of this job involves another type of seat-mate.
On a recent flight, my friendly seat-mate identified himself as a psychiatrist. I used this opening to pepper him with questions concerning the hockey business and my personal life. When I paused for breath, he then used his opening to ask me a question that I had never been asked before. He politely advised me that he knew I would have a definite answer and then inquired, "When people become aware of your job, what is the most common question that you are asked?"
That’s easy. On occasions too numerous to remember, I have been asked, "How do you get into the scouting business?"
This question gets asked by all kinds of people and all kinds of seat-mates. For some, it’s merely a polite way of continuing the conversation. For others, they simply have a sincere interest in what appeared to be an interesting job. For a particular group of people, the question is crucial – in their minds, they want to become NHL scouts as soon as possible and are looking for the fastest track to achieve their goal.
My answer to the question is pretty simple. Generally speaking, there are only two routes into the scouting profession at NHL level. The first is to become a star hockey player, usually one who is said to possess "character." When that player's career ends, his team wants to find a spot for him “in the game" and will often offer up a scouting job.
The second route is by far the most common. As in my situation, a minor hockey coach is asked to do a bit of "bird-dogging" for the local junior club. From there, it usually goes something like this:
• He will have some knowledge of the game, some people skills and more passion than his competitors.
• Some of his recommendations prove to be successful and he’ll be offered higher levels of responsibility.
• Eventually he’ll advance to a position of authority with the junior club.
• The team has some success and perhaps graduates some players to the NHL.
• People in hockey circles acknowledge he has a "keen eye" for talent.
• Either a professional acquaintance gets into a position of authority with an NHL team or one of his friends recommends him to a person in authority who trusts his friend.
• He is hired. He is an NHL scout.
Sometimes I respond to this question with inquiries of my own. Does the person really have an understanding of what the job involves? Is the person prepared to make the lifestyle sacrifices that are necessary? Is the person prepared to start at the bottom and work his way to the top?
When I ask people what attracts them to scouting, the most frequent response is that scouts get to do the two things they love - travel and watch hockey games. And while that’s true, scouts don’t watch the game the same way a fan does and the travel isn’t leisurely.
The same fans then offer the insight that the worst aspect of scouting must be the pressure to make decisions. On this point, they are wrong. Every successful scout I know wants to be in a position to make decisions that have some impact. The most difficult aspect of the job is developing the physical and mental endurance to withstand the arduous travel schedule. This requirement causes more veteran scouts to leave the profession than anything else.
Hall of Fame football coach Bud Grant said there were three requirements for success in his job - a patient wife, a loyal dog and a great quarterback. A successful NHL scout doesn’t need a great quarterback, but the other two factors certainly help. Having a friend at the right place to gain entry to the NHL would be the third crucial factor. For qualified candidates, performing an NHL job is often not as difficult as obtaining it.
Flames will follow Weisbrod’s way: Assistant GM brings his own philosophy to NHL draft table
Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, June 19, 2012
Looked at one way, a quarter-century in hockey has moved John Weisbrod only a few hundred feet.
Emotional distance is always another story.
“When you’re 17, 18 years old,” says Weisbrod, “you think you’re bulletproof and you think that everything in life is going to go exactly how you plan it.”
Life’s lessons have carried him from giddy teenager, perched beside his mom, quaking in the draft-day bleachers. . . to “pigheaded” executive (his description), furrow-browed at the draft table.
Weisbrod’s starting point — 1987 National Hockey League draft — remains vivid.
That day opens with a swell breakfast at a downtown hotel in Detroit — it is June 13, his mother’s birthday — before Mom and Sonny mosey over to Joe Louis Arena.
“I can remember not caring one bit what round I went in or what team I went to,” Weisbrod says. “It was just exciting to be there.”
Not only is Weisbrod taken in the fourth round by the Minnesota North Stars — 72 picks after Pierre Turgeon goes first overall to the Buffalo Sabres — he gets to meet American hockey hero Herb Brooks, barely a half-dozen years removed from the Miracle on Ice.
“That was a big thrill — that my draft-day photo was with Herb Brooks,” says Weisbrod, 43. “It was a good day, a fun day. I don’t think you had a second thought, other than playing in the NHL for a long time.”
The weekend in June, of course, means something different to Weisbrod now.
For starters, the Calgary Flames assistant general manager realizes he’s not bulletproof — not after having a shoulder injury kill his playing career. He currently earns a living by making dispassionate decisions on hockey flesh.
Not ill-informed conclusions, just non-emotional ones.
Weisbrod considers his approach clean.
“We want to define very clearly what we want a Calgary Flames player to be, what we want that player to look like, what type of person and player,” he says. “Then we have to be real disciplined about making sure we only give jerseys to guys who fit that criteria.”
This weekend in Pittsburgh marks his very first draft with the Flames.
But, make no mistake, this is his show. Already.
For Weisbrod — big in stature (six foot three), big in brains (English degree from Harvard) — there are no baby steps, no half measures.
With a heavy hand — not a heavy heart — Weisbrod overhauled the team’s scouting philosophy.
That the Flames, uncharacteristically, showed great promise in the past two drafts — 2010 under Darryl Sutter, 2011 under Jay Feaster — is of no matter.
Weisbrod had a plan. He installed it. Scouts, scoffing or not, implemented it.
“I think some of the guys in our own group were sort of looking at the ceiling and rolling their eyes when I first unveiled this to them, thinking I was off my rocker,” says the Syosset, N.Y., native, chuckling. “I don’t mind that at all. I really believe in the way we think about things. Everyone’s adjusted to it really well.
“Hopefully, we’ll get some results when we get to Pittsburgh.”
Having worked previously for the New Jersey Devils, Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins, Weisbrod owns what he considers to be a refined strategy for the teenage-talent hunt.
In his mind, there is one way to do this.
“I have criteria and methods that I’ve always used, that I feel strongly about,” says Weisbrod. “This whole draft-player-evaluation piece is one of the things they brought me here to do, so I obviously wanted to go with the criteria and philosophy I’ve had success with in the past.”
OK, let’s hear about this plan.
What is the crux of the new approach?
Weisbrod, not anxious to “compromise” the production, isn’t saying. But he did shed light on the philosophy.
All teams rate all players on the same things — character, skill, skating, hockey sense — but definitions of those traits get fuzzy.
“Where people get off-track is, ‘What does character mean?’ ” says Weisbrod. “Maybe I define character one way and you define it another way. You use these terms so often . . . they get watered down and subjected to everyone’s own interpretation. More than reinventing the wheel, I think we provided a lot of clarity.
“I’m quite certain that we define a lot of these terms differently than a lot of other organizations.”
Radically different?
“I don’t know if it would seem radical,” he replies. “I think it would just seem really specific. In my experience in scouting, most of the time, there is a lot of generalizations. And I like to put a really sharp point on what we’re doing. Like, where’s the arrow tip? Tell me something specific. I try to design it in a way that our scouts are forced to have conviction. We need to make a call.
“We don’t want generic information that you can get by picking up The Hockey News magazine at the newsstand.”
But how scientifically intricate can this pursuit get?
At the end of the day, it’s a bunch of old guys watching a bunch of young guys chase a puck.
Weisbrod agrees.
“There’s always an art (to scouting) because it’s still a human game,” he says. “And no matter how tight your criteria are, you’re still in a building making human judgments. We’re not trying to turn humans into robots.”
But decisions that form the backbone of a team should not be driven purely, or even partly, by hunches. Much can be gleaned by examining the draft-day busts — “Where did the mis-evaluation happen?” wonders Weisbrod — and by studying the home runs.
Why did Joe Sakic slide to 15th overall in 1987? Why did Jeff Skinner trickle to seventh in 2010?
“We got one of them (in Boston) — Patrice Bergeron,” Weisbrod says of 45th overall pick in 2003. “How does that happen? When you start compiling that data, you start learning about where the tendencies of mistakes are made . . . so there is some science in terms of what things are important. But there’s obviously a really human element to it.
“To say it’s all art or all science would be real difficult to do. It’s a pretty good blend.”
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With the 2012 draft approaching, it is interesting to hear what the scouts are saying... so far as their 'systems' of scouting go. Of course, they won't reveal many details because it is such a competitive marketplace! Too bad. We have to read between the lines.
Draft-related Tweets
Gregg Drinnan, Taking Note, June 20 2012
A couple of interesting NHL draft-related tweets from James Mirtle (@mirtle) of The Globe and Mail:
“Only two players drafted later than 42nd in 2010 draft have played an NHL game in two seasons since. Most picks after Round 1 are projects.”
“And only 11 players out of 210 two years ago have played an entire NHL season. So few of these kids bring immediate help to a team.”
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Makes you appreciate guys like Datsyuk even more! Were Detroit's scouts good or lucky or both?
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NHL draft: Revisiting the talent which slipped to Round 2 in 2011
Neate Sager, Buzzing The Net, Tue 19 Jun, 2012
There is always the story, not even apocryphal, of the junior player who is so sure of being taken in the first round that he decides not to pack a change of clothes in case he has to wait until the Saturday to hear his name on the NHL draft floor. But it's clearly not the end of the world to slip through the first round. Assessing a 17- or 18-year-old's potential is an inexact craft. It's not necessarily damning that a player carries enough boom-or-bust risk that it becomes a case where if he doesn't go in the first 10-15 picks, then there are teams in the back half of the first round who won't touch them with two of Zdeno Chara's sticks taped together. Point being, 12 months out from the 2011 draft, there are are a good-sized handful of prospects who are showing that a few NHL teams missed their chance on that fateful Friday night.
Ty Rattie (32nd overall, St. Louis Blues) — Going into the draft, it was a six-of-one, half-dozen-of-the-other deal with Rattie and his Portland Winterhawks teammate Sven Bärtschi. Each seemed to be a likely first-rounder. Bärtschi, who has a late 1992 birthdate, went 13th overall to the Calgary Flames and since scored his first NHL goals while still shy of 20 years old. Rattie, though, had to wait a day to be selected. There were concerns about his acceleration and his compact frame. But Rattie went back to Portland and tallied 121 points and another 33 in the post-season to bring the Winterhawks to within one game of a league title. He's a possibility as a top-6 forward for Canada's national junior team this season.
Boone Jenner (37th, Columbus Blue Jackets)— Jenner made Team Canada last season by virtue of being a physical player who could antagonize opponents. His knacks for agitating, winning faceoffs and killing penalties were evident during his draft season with the Oshawa Generals, but there was a lingering reputation that his skating might hamper him at the next level. The fact Hockey Canada chose him for the world junior, which is more of a skating tournament than league playoffs or the MasterCard Memorial Cup in the CHL, showed that he had brought that up to speed. Jenner captained the Generals this season and now looks like a surefire NHLer. Combining the regular season and playoffs, he outscored Oshawa teammate Nicklas Jensen, whom the Vancouver Canucks took with the penultimate pick of the first round in 2011.
Brandon Saad's rookie season number was also his draft slot (Getty Images)Brandon Saad (43rd, Chicago Blackhawks) — Inconsistency during the second half of the season with the Saginaw Spirit sank Saad's stock, so teams shied away from the 6-foot-2 centre with mad playmaking skills. Saad went on to make the Blackhawks out of training camp and also earned a call-up during their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Coyotes. He had a meh world junior tournament for Team USA, but laid waste to the Ontario League with 76 points in just 44 games.
Ryan Sproul (55th, Detroit Red Wings) — The 6-foot-3 offensive defenceman was at best an outside possibility for the first round, but the Wings got a steal when they took him near the end of the second. Sproul was only an even 6-foot when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds made him a sixth-round selection in the OHL priority selection draft. He dallied with going the NCAA route, had a growth spurt, adapted to his new body and became a force in the second half of his age-17 season with the 'Hounds. Sproul earned OHL all-star recognition this season, which is hardly an easy task for a defenceman on a ninth-place team.
Nikita Kucherov (58th, Tampa Bay Lightning) — This is one of the guys who can be brought up as an exemplar of Russian chill, not Nail Yakupov or Alex Galchenyuk. Kucherov surpassed Yakupov at the 2011 world under-18 championship — and keep in mind they are only 3½ months apart in age. The Russian factor mixed in with concerns about his drive and work ethic that would have been raised if he was the exact same player, only named Nick Smith and from Smiths Falls, Ont., led to teams taking a pass. The Lightning, who had already taken one Russian when they nabbed London Knights centre Vladislav Namestnikov with the No. 27 pick, bit on Kucherov late in Round 2. He played in the KHL this season and contributed to Russia winning a world junior silver medal, scoring seven points in as many games.
Point being, as much the media attention will zero in Round 1, it's not the be-all, end-all. It barely needs pointing out the Detroit Red Wings' cupboard stays stocked even though they seldom have a high pick.
Flames burn midnight oil and more to get it right: GM Feaster and Co. hard at work preparing for NHL draft
Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, June 20, 2012
Craig Conroy finally gave up. He decided to go to bed.
A year ago, the Calgary Flames’ brain trust, with no eye on the clock, had been busily fine tuning its first-round rankings on the eve of the National Hockey League’s entry draft.
Round and round the gents went.
But Conroy, bushed, hit the hay at midnight.
“And they weren’t close,” chuckles Conroy, special assistant to general manager Jay Feaster. “They went into the wee hours. Jay mandated: ‘We need to make sure — we’re going to do this list till it’s exactly right.’ ”
So Feaster & Co. went deep into the night.
Then resumed in the morning.
Then continued past lunch time.
“Up until Friday afternoon, we were challenging the list, challenging the order,” recalls Feaster. “We had some (prospects) that we had boxed — ‘Are we sure that this guy ought to be above this guy?’ And we’d go through all the pure ratings on them. ‘What did we give this guy on character? What did we give this guy on hockey sense? What did we give them on skating?’ All these different things. So we go through it, we challenge that right up until the midnight hour.”
And?
“We actually made a switch,” Feaster says.
“We put Sven ahead of a player who had been ahead of him.”
Meaning, at No. 13, the Flames nabbed Sven Baertschi, now one of the club’s brightest prospects in years, instead of another boy (unnamed by Feaster). The adjustment appears to have been a shrewd one for the Calgarians.
Not surprisingly, the list for this weekend’s draft — Flames pick 14th on Friday night — is getting a thorough going-over. Feaster and the amateur scouts are congregating today in Pittsburgh. So it begins.
After last year’s apparent break-though in the first round, they will again burn the midnight oil.
“We’ve looked back at that,” says Feaster. “If we had not made the change, if we had not kept refining and challenging the list, the player that we would have drafted is a guy that we think is going to play — but I don’t think he is going to play in the same time frame that Sven is and we don’t think he has the same upside that Sven does.
“So what we’ve challenged our guys with is: ‘You have to make sure that the list is in the right order.’ When our pick comes at 14, if the guy that we have rated ninth on our list is there and there’s the guy at 16 . . . we’re not going to say, ‘Should we think about the guy there (at 16)?’ We’re going to take the best player that’s still on our list.”
Ah, yes — the ol’ best-player-available standard.
Feaster is adamant that it is actually true in the Flames’ case.
That regardless of position, regardless of stature, they will snatch the most valuable commodity.
As the general manager stated a year ago, if a team sits there waiting to fill a specific need — say, power forward — it is in danger of passing up a franchise goalie and a star defenceman and a playmaking centre. And still not getting that power forward.
Same thing if you put size restrictions on your wish list.
“We’ve had this debate as it relates to players that aren’t six-foot-plus — the smaller player,” says Feaster. “At our spring meeting, we got into a big debate — how many small players can you have on your roster? I made the point, without naming names, that some of our small players . . . I get phone calls from other teams about them all the time. Those are guys that are assets because they can be traded. Teams say, ‘Hey, that’s a really good player.’ Conversely, we’ve had guys here who are six-foot-four, six-foot-five, in the system, and I’ve never gotten a phone call about them. And, ultimately, they were never guys that you could move.
“We’re in the asset business. Maybe you’re not going to play an all five-foot-eight line in the National Hockey League, but the reality of it is, if you’ve got three guys who are five-foot-eight and all three guys are talented hockey players? They’re assets.”
Feaster learned his lesson in Tampa. He remembers one time, blinkers on, insisting that the Lightning grab a particular type of defenceman. “You take him and say, ‘Boy, look at all those good forwards we passed by.’ ”
Draft weekend, as the Flames have proven in the past, isn’t for only restocking cupboards.
Apparently, it is an ideal time to orchestrate swaps.
Feaster, no shock, declined to offer any hints about potential movement. Other than to say that several things are in the works — but not necessarily close — the Flames boss stayed tight-lipped.
In other words, they might deal for warm bodies.
They might trade up in the first round. They might trade down (perhaps, in the process, recovering the second-round pick sacrificed in the Robyn Regehr trade a year ago).
“I’ve been calling teams for the last couple of weeks,” says Feaster. “I’ve had discussions with guys. Nothing’s advanced to the point that they’re ready to pull the trigger on something. It’s still on the feeling-out process.
“But what happens is when you get (to the draft), it gets more focused.”
Flames’ draft strategy: Select best available players
Calgary’s wish list isn’t restricted to specific positions, sizes or leagues
Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald June 21, 2012
The No. 12 sweater — red in colour, sizzling C on the front — is synonymous with excellence.
Proud past. Fantastic career.
Its wearer, as everyone knows, is none other than Jarome Iginla, captain of the Calgary Flames.
By Friday, though, that jersey will also represent the team’s future.
Because in the first round of the 2012 National Hockey League draft, the Flames’ selection — like all 30 of the night’s picks — will get a keepsake sweater. With, yes, No. 12 on the back.
Which surname (in the short term) goes with it — and what upside (in the long term) develops — is another story. But Calgarians will be banking on the lad.
Flames’ decider Jay Feaster isn’t saying much.
Other than acknowledging he’s lugging a half-dozen jerseys — with different name-bars — to Pittsburgh this weekend.
At this moment, the Flames own the No. 14 pick.
Feaster insists he doesn’t possess the commodities to trade and move up in the first-round order. But don’t discount the notion of trading down for extra assets.
“We think there’s value in this draft . . . to the extent, if we could get back that second-round pick (swapped in the Robyn Regehr deal a year ago), we’d like to do that,” says Feaster. “And (if we stay pat) we’re certainly going to get a good player at No. 14. Whether that’s a player who’s as far advanced as Sven (Baertschi) was . . . Sven was a special case to be there at 13th. But we feel good about (Friday).”
Certainly, they’ve done their homework.
At the recent NHL combine in Toronto, assistant general manager John Weisbrod and special assistant to the general manager Craig Conroy grilled more than 50 prospects. There are plans to re-interview seven or eight of those kids today and Friday, this time with Feaster on the premises.
“I, obviously, want Jay to have a chance to eyeball some of these guys as well,” says Weisbrod.
Much like Feaster, Weisbrod claims it is foolish to restrict the Flames’ wishlist to specific positions or sizes or leagues or countries.
The Flames, to their detriment, fell into that trap not so long ago. (There’s a reason the team has zero players in their mid-20s — the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 drafts were grimly executed.)
“I don’t think it’s a secret that there’s been some provinciality in the Calgary draft in the past,” says Weisbrod. “That’s one of our objectives — to eliminate that.
“We want the best player we can get.
“We don’t care what league he comes from, or whether he’s European or American or Canadian or playing junior or playing college.
“It’s too hard as it is — we have to look at the whole playing field.”
So despite coming off two strong draft weekends — Darryl Sutter presiding in 2010, Feaster in 2011 — the Flames decided to overhaul their scouting philosophy.
Meaning, good or bad, this is Weisbrod’s baby now.
“The one thing I can assure you — there will be nothing willy-nilly going on at our draft table come draft day,” says Weisbrod. “It will all be very structured. Whether we’re right or wrong, we’ll know exactly why we’re doing what we’re doing every step of the way. That much I can control.”
NHL draft: Are defencemen really maturing slower than forwards?
By Neate Sager, Yahoo! Sports, Jun 21 2012
NHL draft: Are defencemen really maturing slower than forwards? The rub with any rule of thumb is it can become entrenched belief without being challenged.
There is suspense hanging in the air over what the Edmonton Oilers will do with the No. 1 overall choice in Friday's NHL draft. They could apply the KISS principle and draft Nail Yakupov, the best player available (at least in the non-ACL surgery division), make a trade or take a defenceman such as the quietly efficient Ryan Murray. (Is it worth pointing out the fun fact that Murray, who was measured at 6-foot-½ at the NHL combine, goes first on Friday, he would be the shortest defenceman taken No. 1 overall in almost 40 years? Or that teams can find their defensive linchpin through other means besides a lottery pick?)
So the bromide about defencemen taking longer to mature until full-time NHLers is getting a lot of play this week. As one scout put it to Sportsnet's Gare Joyce: "It takes defenceman longer simply because of physical maturity."
Does it hold up to scrutiny, though? From Eric Duhatschek:
In terms of its overall makeup, the 2012 draft class bears some resemblance to 2008, which also featured one consensus all-world forward at the top — Steven Stamkos — plus a lot of quality on the blueline.
Four years after the fact, virtually every young defenceman making an impact in the NHL came from that star-studded 2008 draft: Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Myers, Erik Karlsson, Jake Gardiner, Michael Del Zotto, John Carlson.
... [O]f the 16 forwards taken in the first round in 2008, most are still trying to find their way and are lagging far behind their defensive counterparts — Nikita Filatov, Colin Wilson, Mikkel Boedker, Kyle Beach, Zach Boychuk, Joe Colborne, Mattias Tedenby, Greg Nemisz, Viktor Tikhonov, Daulton Leveille.
Maybe it's a function of how the NHL changed postlockout and put a premium on defencemen who can move the puck as opposed to moving out the man, but the reality is, in recent years, high-end defencemen have made the adjustment to the NHL as quickly, or even more quickly, than the forwards. (Globe & Mail)
The best way to corroborate this is probably not to point out that more centres and wings taken in recent drafts have become NHL regulars than defencemen. More forwards go in the first 5-10 picks of the draft, so they probably have higher early expectations. Generally speaking, the kids on the blue line have been all right. Here's a quick and dirty and look at the drafts since the 2008's bumper crop of back-enders:
2009: A dozen defenders went in the first round — a total that might be topped on Friday in Pittsburgh. Each one has played a NHL game, thanks to the New York Islanders getting former Oshawa Generals captain Calvin de Haan into one game this season. Victor Hedman and Oliver Ekman-Larsson are each maturing into minute-munching mainstays with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Phoenix Coyotes, respectively. Neither looks like a superstar, though. Dmitry Kulikov (14th overall) also played top-four minutes for a Stanley Cup playoff team this season with the Florida Panthers.
The first Canadian defenceman off the board, former Windsor Spitfires captain Ryan Ellis, debuted this season with the Nashville Predators. There's a small asterisk on Ellis since the Predators prefer to move prospects along carefully. Ellis got into 35 games total with the Preds. That was three more than the 20-year-old Shea Weber, one of those franchise defencemen taken in a later round, did in 2005-06.
2010: Three of the first six D-men taken, the Florida Panthers' Erik Gudbranson (No. 3 overall), Anaheim Ducks' Cam Fowler (No. 12) and Carolina Hurricanes' Justin Faulk (No. 37), made the NHL as teens. Phoenix Coyotes prospect Brandon Gormley, the third defender taken in that first round, was a world junior tournament all-star and led the Shawinigan Cataractes to the 2012 MasterCard Cup. It's possible he might have advanced to the NHL with another organization that wasn't as deep as the Coyotes.
2011: It is obviously too early to tell but New Jersey Devils selection Adam Larsson, the only defenceman called among the first eight picks, made the NHL to stay this season. The next defenceman taken, Dougie Hamilton (No. 9 to the Boston Bruins), could push for a roster spot this season, depending on what happens with the NHL CBA.
Three of the four draft picks who stayed up are forwards. That includes the top two picks, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and eventual Calder Trophy winner Gabriel Landeskog. Seven of the eight who played NHL games play up front, but it's about quality, not quantity.
Is the 2012 draft a down year?
Rory Boylen, The Hockey News, 2012-06-23
“I’ve been in this racket for 15 years and straight across the board this is the weakest draft. Straight across the board, without question.” – Canadian Hockey League scout in 2009.
That quote was from a story published on THN.com in 2009 about the junior prospects who would one day make up the 2012 NHL draft. Even that far back there were questions about the depth of talent available, a perception that carried through to this day.
“The talent was good in the first round, but the consensus of most people in the business was that this was not a deep draft,” said one Eastern Conference scout. “What that means is it’s harder to find the people from later on who will play, but if you look at every round of every draft there’s people who play well in the NHL, it’s just harder to find them. And there might not be as many in this draft.”
To be sure, there will always be plenty of NHLers in every draft. Even in the dreaded 1999 draft there were three players who have played more than 600 NHL games – and counting. As one scout explained in 2009, everyone is in the same pool playing with the same rules, so you can’t just throw your arms up in surrender. Someone is going to break out.
“Any draft you’re looking at value so you can find good players later on as well,” said a Western Conference scout. “Up front it’s not the sexiest, deepest draft of immediate talent. I think you look at the depth over the seven rounds - are you going to find guys who you find as a value player?”
The value this season was on the blueline and we saw this coming three years ago. Eight of the first 10 and 13 of the first 30 picks were defensemen, the most in the first round since 1996. The trend didn’t end there as 64 D-men were taken in the last six rounds. Round 3 had only seven blueliners taken, the lowest in the draft. Is this a signal of a bad crop of forwards?
“(The defensemen) are so good,” said the Eastern Conference scout. “It’s as simple as that. Every one of those guys who went in the first round is a good prospect and have some dynamic element to their game. These D-men eclipsed the forwards. You look at some of the forwards that maybe fell into the 10-20 range who might have been higher, but people were so taken by these defensemen.”
Time will tell just where this year’s crop ranks up against all the rest, but it’s too early to declare this the new 1999 nightmare.
But it is starting from behind and has some negative perceptions to beat – starting right from the top.
Creating a draft-eligible Frankenstein
Ross MacLean, The Hockey News, 2012-06-22
Every prospect brings something special to the table, a set of skills that differentiate themselves from the others in their class. With so many intriguing talents and such a varied and diverse group of youngsters, I thought it might be fun to play mad scientist and put together the perfect prospect, Frankenstein-style, using the qualities of the 2012 draft class.
Feet - Nail Yakupov, RW, Sarnia Sting (OHL)
‘Yak’ can fly and the biggest reason why is his ability to move his feet quickly and control his edges. He is extremely elusive because of his ability to turn on a dime or jam on the breaks, sending opposing players off on a wild goose chase as he winds his way into scoring areas.
Legs - Ryan Murray, D, Everett Silvertips (WHL)
Watching Murray skate is a pure joy. His stride is very smooth and produces good power with an effective length and recovery. His ability to pivot and change directions is excellent, making him the obvious candidate for this area.
Hips - Malcolm Subban, G, Belleville Bulls (OHL)
Strange to think a goalie would crack an area on this list, but it’s impossible to ignore Subban’s ability to shuffle from side to side. To say it is explosive would be a severe understatement.
Torso - Matt Dumba, D, Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
The uber-strong Dumba has insane core strength and relies on it heavily for his big hits, explosive movements and ridiculously hard one-timers.
Chest - Jacob Trouba, D, US NTDP (USHL)
Trouba is big and strong and is outstanding in push-and-pull battles around the net. He can be a brick wall for opposition skaters trying to win any space against him. His results during the combine, which saw him rank in the top 10 for both push strength and pull strength, attest to this.
Heart - Scott Kosmachuk, RW, Guelph Storm (OHL)
There were several players I considered for this particular spot, but Kosmachuk’s consistent effort level and passion, combined with his clutch scoring ability, stood above the rest.
Wrists - Filip Forsberg, C, Leksand (Allsvenskan, Sweden)
Forsberg’s release in the slot is out-of-this-world fast. His ability to unleash lightning quick shots makes him ultra-dangerous in the offensive zone. The power involved in doing this is impressive and when you add to that how strong he is on his stick you get a great indication of why this selection was a no-brainer.
Hands - Tim Bozon, LW, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
Bozon has great quickness in his hands and also displays some exciting creativity. A lot of this is strongly attributed to his great mind, but here’s hoping some of that muscle memory remains in those well-trained hands of his.
Knuckles - Tom Wilson, RW, Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
In such a dynamic game, every now and then even the most skilled players might need to turn at least slightly pugilistic. Wilson is big, strong and fearless and while he is nowhere near a one-dimensional player, his knuckles certainly are a welcome part of what he brings to the table.
Arms - Radek Faksa, C, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Not only do Faksa’s arms help him protect the puck effectively and provide a very strong release on his shots, he also registered the largest wingspan among skaters during the NHL combine.
Shoulders - Dalton Thrower, D, Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
As dynamic and well-rounded as Thrower is, watching him throw hits is one of my favorite parts of his game. A clean, but hard hitter, Thrower loves getting his shoulders involved in the game and once he gets going, opponents are often intimidated.
Mouth - Griffin Reinhart, D, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
There might be some better players who can use their tongues to agitate, but Reinhart projects his voice well and often has some interesting, if not hilarious, things to say off the ice. If you need proof, follow on Twitter (@GriffinReinhart).
Eyes - Morgan Rielly, D, Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL)
Rielly’s vision makes him incredibly dangerous with or without the puck. He identifies plays all over the rink and always seems to know which options and areas of the ice are available to him or opponents.
Eyes in the Back of Head - Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
It’s a Frankenstein, so why not? Grigorenko has Joe Thornton-like playmaking ability and instinctively knows where his teammates are without even looking.
Head - Olli Maatta, D, London Knights (OHL)
Maatta displays tremendous maturity and intelligence around the ice. His ability to adapt to different styles and tempo of play is outstanding. He never seems to panic in any situation and has a calming influence on his team while on the ice.
How The Length of the Draft Prevents Success
Alan Bass, Hockeybuzz.com, June 21 2012
When Steve Tambellini convenes his draft table on Friday night, he and his scouting staff will be faced with 378 names, according to NHL Central Scouting’s rankings – and scores more that the NHL’s front office failed to notice. Granted, the choice will not be difficult when it comes to choosing a name (assuming they retain the top overall pick), but when setting their draft board, there are literally millions of possibilities, in terms of determining which player’s name is placed next on the big board.
However, out of an average of seven choices a team has in the draft, most will be lucky if one player eventually makes it to the NHL on a full-time basis. The draft is one of the strangest events in sports – in essence, hundreds of scouts are being paid millions of dollars in order to guess what a 17-year-old kid will look like when he is 25. You rarely see hospitals paying money to guess what kids will ultimately become doctors.
Not to say that the draft is not worthwhile and exciting. But it does bring up a problem with the length of the draft, and something known as the “paradox of choice.” There is a great deal of psychological research on decision-making, and results have consistently found that the more choices someone has, the less likely they are to make a correct decision, and the less satisfied they will be with their ultimate selection.
For example, one study showed that in an employee investment plan, for every 10 mutual funds an employer offered, the rate of participation among employees went down two percent. Another study had two groups of participants select a painting to keep, but one group had a three-day waiting period in which they could change their painting, while the other group had to stick with their decision immediately. Although no one decided to exchange paintings, the group that had the opportunity to do so ultimately was less satisfied with their initial decision. When people are presented with a myriad of choices, many people do not have enough information to make a decision that makes them content.
Okay, so a professional scout and an entire hockey operations department is generally assumed to have more information than necessary in order to make these decisions. But is that, in fact, true? If you look at statistics from 1988 to 1997, after the first three rounds, The probability of selecting a player that plays at least 200 games remains the same – meaning the accuracy of a team’s seventh round selection matches the accuracy of its fourth round selection – which means that it’s easier and more effective to simply flip a coin.
But try telling that logic to Ken Holland and his Detroit staff. Those in the NHL industry often do not realize that the values of second and third round selections are identical, based on the accuracy of their choices, and the values of fourth through seventh round selections are identical as well. However, there seems to be this understanding that hockey operations departments are completely adept at determining which players will become the most successful – forgetting the fact that when they pick one player, they are immediately rejecting hundreds of others.
When people are presented with a plethora of options, they often are less satisfied with their choice than if they had fewer options, because they often think about the numerous other possibilities that they could have conjured, and the regret often subtracts from the decision that was made – even if the decision was, in fact, correct. When you choose something, at the same time you are refusing to choose something else.
Not to go off topic, but take, for example, a fish in a fishbowl. It only has a limited number of possibilities in its habitat. But if you shatter the bowl and give it all the possibilities in the world, you ultimately end up with paralysis – an inability to move.
The length of the draft has been decreased in recent years, and most likely will not be shortened again in the foreseeable future. But if scouts and management can be aware of this paradox and understand the effects that the nature of the draft has on these decisions, they might be able to break this paradox and begin to increase their success.
NHL Draft - Goaltender Size
It would seem that large goaltenders remain in vogue with NHL teams.
The Goalie Guild (@The Goalie Guild) tweeted a draft breakdown by height:
Two at 6-foot-5
Five at 6-foot-4
Three at 6-foot-3
Five at 6-foot-2
Seven at 6-foot-1
One each at 6-foot-0 and 5-foot-11.
NHL 2012 Draft Numbers
The OHL had 48 players selected, while 32 were from the WHL and 19 from the QMJHL.
Of all players selected, 98 are Canadian and 56 from the U.S. Interestingly, those 56 players were spread throughout 17 states.
Coming this fall? Teenage NHL draft picks often stick around
Guy Spurrier, REUTERS, Jun 25, 2012
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/06/25/coming-this-fall-teenage-nhl-draft-picks-often-stick-around/
Your favourite NHL team hired a bunch of teenagers this weekend at the annual job fair in Pittsburgh. Most of them will never make your favourite team’s roster.
But some of them will. And it’s even possible you might see some of them this fall, barring a lockout.
With the advent of the 10-game rule in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement, there is a special focus on draftees that have junior eligibility remaining. The nine-game (or less) tryout at the start of each season has become an interesting early-season guessing game. The rule, from the CBA, in its glorious lawyer language:
9.1 (d) (i) In the event that an 18 year old or 19 year old Player signs an SPC [standard player contract] with a Club but does not play at least ten (10) NHL Games in the first season under that SPC, the term of his SPC and his number of years in the Entry Level System shall be extended for a period of one (1) year …
Looking at the numbers, it was surprising to learn that more players actually make their NHL club as 18- and 19-year-olds than are sent back after getting their brief tryout.
Mining Hockey-Reference.com for lists of post-lockout teenage players (under 20 years old as of Feb. 1, which is Hockey Reference’s default age parameter), 53 players were retained as teenagers by their NHL club while only 31 played fewer than 10 games in their first season and were sent back to their junior or NCAA teams.
Six of the No. 1 picks and five of the No. 2 picks made their club the season after they were drafted. Of course, that list is a who’s who of the game’s young stars: Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (the No. 1s); Jordan Staal, Drew Doughty, Victor Hedman, Tyler Seguin and Gabriel Landeskog (the No. 2s).
The only No. 1 who had to wait a season was defenceman Erik Johnson, then of the St. Louis Blues.
The highest draft pick to get sent back to junior after an early-season tryout was Kyle Turris, then of the Phoenix Coyotes, who had been drafted out of the B.C. junior hockey league. He spent a year at the University of Wisconsin before making the Coyotes the next season.
In the chart below, you’ll find a breakdown of the number of teenage players who made their NHL team with junior/university eligibility left and those who had brief stints without triggering the first year of their contract. The numbers are broken down by year, draft position, hockey position and by team. Four teams have yet to have their teenage draft picks play a game in the NHL since the lockout.
For a closer look at the players who made each list, follow these links:
Made NHL team before junior eligibility was up
http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=2006&year_max=2012&season_start=1&season_end=1&age_min=0&age_max=19&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=S&handed=&c1stat=games_played&c1comp=gt&c1val=10&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=year_id&order_by_asc=Y
Played fewer than than 10 games in their first season: Skaters
http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=2006&year_max=2012&season_start=1&season_end=1&age_min=0&age_max=19&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=S&handed=&c1stat=games_played&c1comp=lt&c1val=9&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=year_id&order_by_asc=Y
Goalies
http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&year_min=2006&year_max=2012&season_start=1&season_end=1&age_min=0&age_max=19&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=G&handed=&c1stat=games_goalie&c1comp=lt&c1val=9&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=year_id&order_by_asc=Y
College coach says Schultz is real deal: Ex-Flame Eaves helped player develop at Wisconsin for three years
By George Johnson, Calgary Herald June 29, 2012
CALGARY — Mike Eaves considers himself a lucky gent. To have been perched in an orchestra seat the last three years and able to see firsthand what all the fuss is about.
And the fuss, he’s here to tell you, is worth it.
“Great kid,’’ the long-ago Calgary Flames’ centreman is praising from the head-coaching office at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison, Badger Town. “Justin Schultz is just a terrific, terrific kid.
“Quiet. Soft spoken. Heck, sometimes you don’t even know he’s in the room. He’ll engage with you, he has his own opinions, but this is not a guy that’s going to start a conversation out of the blue.
“Not a big talker. But quite a player.
“I read somewhere that people are questioning his character. Well, I can say with some authority that this is a young man who says if he’s going to be somewhere, he’s there on time; who says if he’s going to get something done for you, he does.
“Character? He’s got lots and lots of it. There are no airs about him.’’
As a recent example of that last trait, Schultz returned to Madison earlier this summer to work out with the Badgers’ strength and conditioning coach, joining Wisconsin teammates along with a slew of pros, including Adam Burish, Brian Elliott and Tom Gilbert.
“Our equipment manager,’’ reveals Eaves, “put Justin’s gear in the room with the pros, Justin took one look and told him: ‘No, put me back in the room with the boys. I don’t belong in there with those guys. I’m not a pro yet. I haven’t signed a contract.’
“That’s pretty respectful. He doesn’t want anything given to him; he wants to earn everything that comes his way. That tells you what kind of a kid he is.’’
Even though most NHL fans have never seen him play, might not be able to pick his photo out of a group of 8x10 glosses, Justin Schultz just happens to be all the rage as the July 1st approaches. He’s trending online. After officially “de-registering” from Wisconsin the last week of May, the 43rd overall pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2008 is readying to plunge into the golden-encrusted pool of unrestricted free agency.
Teams, meanwhile, are completely gaga, simply salivating, over the boy. At 21, he’s closer to the finished product than the vast majority of first-round draft selections. He produced 16 goals and 44 points this year from the blueline for the Badgers.
There isn’t an organization among the 30 that wouldn’t kill to sign this kid to an entry-level contract and watch him blossom.
“You take a look at Justin’s resume up to this point,’’ says Eaves. “A Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist the last two years, the defensive player of the year in the WCHA the last two years, an All-American the last two years. So you’d have to say he’s been successful at this level.”
According to reports, Schultz’s destination decision has been narrowed to either Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa or the New York Rangers.
In terms of potential immediate impact, Eaves mentions Jake Gardiner of the Leafs —Schultz’s point partner at Wisconsin two seasons ago — as a barometer. Gardiner used a 10-game stint with the AHL Marlies after his university as a launching pad to making the Toronto roster last season and contributing 30 points in his freshman campaign.
“The transition time for Jake was pretty quick. Justin and Jake are both excellent skaters. Both have the ability to see that first pass and make that first pass. In terms of point-production I might give the edge to Justin because that one of the best parts of his package. He sees the ice from back of the blueline, can quarterback a team from there, and his shot’s got some magic on it.”
Mike Eaves has coached at Wisconsin for the past 10 seasons. So he’s seen prospects pan out, and fade out.
Having played seven years pro, this is someone who fully understands that with 21-year-olds there is no such thing as a sure thing. Even if there are pretty safe bets.
“Playing hockey,’’ says Eaves, “is what Justin Schultz should be doing, because he has that presence on the ice that you cannot teach. You love watching those guys that have presence. It’s an undefiniable quality.
“Ryan Suter had it, too.
“When he was here, Ryan was the most comfortable playing the game, loved to do it. . . “Justin, same thing.
“You put that together with a really good skill set and I can see him playing a long time in the NHL, and well.’’
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At 21, this young man is closer to a 'finished product' than most of the 18 year olds just taken in the draft. Too bad the draft age is 18 and they couldn't increase it to 19 or 20. I think it would help ensure more accurate predictions in who will play at what level...
Player Traits - What do you look for when choosing a player?
I spoke to a coaching friend of mine on the weekend - long-time teacher, Dan MacDonald. Dan played many sports growing up and still keeps in shape to play baseball competitively. This overall athletic experience gives him a neat perspective because he takes ideas from all sports and from all coaching cultures. A student of the game, he looks to fine-tune his knowledge. For example, a few years ago, he attended the Florida Gators NCAA spring football camp where he met and studied beside Urban Meyer. (I found it amazing to hear that coaches (from an unrelated sport) can call up these programs and ask to be a guest at their spring camps - what a PD opportunity!)
Dan has coached minor sports (not just hockey) for more than 30 years, on the hockey side, this includes several Midget AAA championships with Red Deer, several years in Junior A and the WHL, and a few years in College. I coached against him in Midget AAA. He always had teams that developed their fundamentals and played smart, disciplined hockey. I had a love / hate relationship when coaching against him - I loved to coach against him because I knew it would be tough and it would make me better; I don't think I ever beat him, and in fact he beat us out of the playoffs that year in a 3 game sweep (best of 5), so that sucked!
Dan played minor hockey (midget) on a line with Brian Sutter and scored a ton of goals because Brian WANTED the puck... if Brian lost it, he got it back. He was a "beast in the corners." If Brian had it, he didn't give it away - the opponent had to work hard to steal the puck from Brian. He worked harder and competed more than anybody else around. Dan said that made a big impression on him and he never forgot those lessons.
I asked Dan, "When you are selecting players for your team, what are the top three things you look for?" After some deliberation and discussion, here are his answers, with some of my commentary:
1) PASSION / COMPETE. If you don't compete, you aren't an athlete. If you loose the puck, go get it back - without hesitation. Forecheck and backcheck. Be determined and work hard. Take pride in competing to the best of your ability. When you lose, it should hurt. You should be on the verge of tears; because you put so much effort and intensity into the game and practices, that you take losing as a personal slight against your pride. This doesn't mean you can be disrespectful - it means you can feel the emotion and aren't happy - but learn from it, use it as fuel for next time, and regroup. You aren't playing for affiliation / social / sensation needs - you are playing to compete - to show you are the best you can be and hopefully, be better than everyone else in the process. This can be termed "passion". (I think any coach will take a chance on a player who consistently demonstrates passion and competitiveness as this player will improve more than someone with an inconsistent work ethic.)
2) HOCKEY SENSE. The ability to make something happen. When you come off the ice, you ask yourself, "Did I just do something, to make a positive difference in my game, for my team, on this shift?" You are noticeable, not invisible - not just taking up time and space. Make an impact every time you get a chance. This is fueled by #1 - passion and the urge, the need to compete!
3) SKATING ABILITY. Quickness (acceleration), top speed (forward and / or backward - position dependent), and one of the big keys - agility (the ability to move laterally while moving fast.) Using deception prior to shifting laterally, you must be able to accelerate around the opponent after the fake.
Dan states the real key is for the coach to know, define and believe in his own philosophy - in Dan's case, these 3 points above - and not deviate from the philosophy. The coach must set the expectations and hold the players accountable - in order to get players to challenge their limits. For example, Dan expects players to fall down and / or loose the puck during overspeed training (with the head up), or else he doesn't think they are trying hard enough. Experience has shown that 99% of the players out there might push to just below their perceived level, then back off. They don't want to risk screwing up in front of the coach or their peers - especially when we are talking about veteran players! There is a real fear of failure. My friend John Castrillon said, "They are working hard... within their comfort zone!" Dan wants the players to find the outer limits of their comfort zone and have them push through it - thereby stretching their perceived boundaries. By failing, getting up and trying again is how you get better! What if a baby simply gave up because he or she couldn't walk or talk by 11 months of age? That is silly - they keep practicing as they don't care if they fail. They know that if they work at it hard enough, they will figure it out.
We discussed the importance of developing the basic skills by repetition. Instead of "the agony of repetition", Dan used the term, "repetition without the insanity" which I understood to mean short, intense time periods to practice the basic skills, followed by a progression series or sequence that moves from performing individual skills, stationary in isolation ... to performing skills in combination ... to individual skills and skills in combination while moving ... to skills while under pressure.... to skills within the context of the game. This sounds like Dan supports the traditional form of skill development - I don't think there is any escaping that "10,000 hours / 10 years" - but moves through things quickly enough to prevent boredom and maintain focus / intensity for a longer time by progressing through the sequence. The more one shifts towards the situational model / game sense model, the more transferable the decision-making skills become applicable to the game... which I believe is how one 'learns' hockey sense... Always remember, "The game is the best teacher."
In closing, Dan stressed the importance of the coach to give everything he has - every training session and every game - to be an active participant in making the players better. No spectating; no dropping of the guard. This takes enormous preparation, mental energy, focus and attention to detail. (I take notes after each practice as to what worked, what didn't, how I could improve the drill / game for next time and grade the drill on a 10 point scale. I put these right on the practice plan so I have a record I can reflect back to them.)
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Please share your experiences and opinions on this topic... from a coach's / scout's / player's /fan's perspective. Do these things change when you are a scout? A player? A fan? How...?
Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."