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[hockeygod]

Zalaski, the striped man fans love to hate:
Veteran referee will officiate world junior championship this month

Curtis Stock, Edmonton Journal, December 15, 2011

Edmonton hockey referee Derek Zalaski knows that every time he steps onto the ice he is going to be yelled at, berated, castigated and cursed. He is going to be the most unpopular person in every arena he enters.

And he's fine with it. "It's definitely not a job for everyone," said Zalaski, 36, who has been named as one of the 12 referees for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Calgary, Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. "You have to have a unique personality.

"You get booed all the time. The players are against us. The fans. The coaches. The only ones supporting us are the other officials."

No matter what the sport, what a referee calls – or doesn't call – is either going to be met with mild approval or unrelenting venom. At absolute best, half the people are going to say it was a good call, while the other half will mercilessly voice their displeasure.

"The toughest part is when you go into an environment and people completely disagree with what you've called – even if you are in the right. When you make the right call and people still disagree, it's very difficult," said Zalaski, a veteran of 22 years of officiating. "You can't stand in the middle of the ice and explain why the penalty is called."

And it's not as if he gets to use slowmotion instant replay before making the call.

"It's almost always a split-second decision. Instantaneous. We don't get to go back and scroll frame after frame like they do afterwards."

So, masochists aside, just why would anyone want to be a referee?

"As soon as I tried it, I got hooked," said Zalaski, who will be joined at the junior championship by Edmonton linesman Chris Carlson and referee Devin Klein from Medicine Hat as Hockey Alberta selections.

"It's more fun officiating than playing," he said.

As much as anything, Zalaski likes the challenge: controlling the world's fastest game and applying the rules accordingly.

"We're not always right; we're human like everyone else. I've certainly made my share of mistakes.

"But, I've learned all along that it's all part of the learning process. Mistakes get made. And you learn from them. They make you a better official – as long as you don't make the same mistake twice. As soon as you stop learning, you will stop progressing."

Ironically, referees know they have done their best job when nobody notices them.

"While the accolades go to the players who score the winning goal, we find our success when people don't even know who officiated the game," said Zalaski. "We try and stay out of the limelight."

This will be Zalaski's second world junior tournament. He also worked the 2010 championship in Saskatoon.

He officiated in last year's Asian Winter games in Kazakhstan, the 2009 Spengler Cup and 2009 IIHF World Championship – both held in Switzerland – and the 2006 and 2008 U18 World Championship in Russia and Sweden respectively.

Interestingly, Zalaski's first real international competition was in 2005 at the World Junior Division III championships in Mexico.

"I didn't even know they had a hockey rink in Mexico," said Zalaski, who considers himself "fortunate and honoured" to have had all of these opportunities.

"Each one is very special. To have that officiating resume is something I never even fathomed growing up as a referee."

Zalaski literally did grow up as a referee. He was only 13 when he officiated his first game – a novice contest at the Bill Hunter Arena in west Edmonton.

"I still remember how nervous I was. It was only kids about seven years old, but knowing that the parents and the coaches were going to be looking over your shoulder all the time was intimidating. Especially for a 13-year-old in his first game as an official.

"Back then I felt like it was a personal dislike when I got yelled at."

Now he knows it's just part of the job which he has to let slide.

Skating onto the ice for that first time as a referee, Zalaski wondered if it wouldn't have been a whole lot easier and much less stressful to just take a job at Tim Hortons or Safeway.

But that feeling didn't last long. "I remember in that first game, the first call I had to make was for icing the puck. But I wasn't sure if I was supposed to blow the whistle."

But when Zalaski looked around, everyone was looking at him.

"I learned real quick that I was to take charge out there." Almost immediately Zalaski knew that officiating was for him.

"Being in that pressure situation – I loved it. I really caught the bug. Here was this scrawny kid in what I felt was a really big game with all these adults watching me.

"Now, it's the more pressure the better."

A veteran of 15 years as an official with the Western Hockey League, Zalaski also works games for the Alberta Junior Hockey League and CIS Canadian university hockey. He has twice worked the CIS national championship.

Officiating is much more than a hobby for Zalaski, who works full time as a parts and service manager for Ford of Canada.

"It's my passion – a big part of my life," said Zalaski, who works about 90 games a year.

Married with two young sons – a nine-month-old baby, Matthew, and a two-year-old, Ryan – Zalaski is quick to point out that he has a very understanding wife.

"Danielle makes a tremendous sacrifice for me to chase my dream.

"Just about every weekend in the winter, I'm gone somewhere."

Having officiated about 2,500 games, Zalaski said the way he was going to separate himself from the other 30,000 or so referees in Canada was by being in better shape than any of them.

"I pride myself on my fitness," said Zalaski, who will skate about 15 kilometres every game and who has been chosen as the WHL's Ironman – for top combined fitness and skating – four times.

"I consider myself an athlete and I'm in as good shape – or better – than the players. You have to be."

Having started so young, Zalaski, a Level VI official, said "It's been a wild ride."

But he's not planning on getting off that horse for a long time.

"I want to go as far as I can go. The bug hasn't died down, that's for sure," said Zalaski, who would love to officiate in the NHL or in the Olympics.

Olympics. "Who wouldn't?" he said, although for many people the answer would be, "Who would?"

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

How A Senior League Hockey Fight Ended With One Player Pooping In An Opponent’s Glove

Barry Petchesky, Deadspin.com, Dec 15 2011

Earlier today, the most intriguing athlete bio in the history of athlete bios made the rounds. Zung Nguyen, a 37-year old defenseman for a Boston-area men's hockey league, became an instant legend for this single sentence:

"PLAYER KICKED OUT OF LEAGUE FOR DEFECATING IN OPPONENT'S GLOVE FOLLOWING A FIGHT ON THE ICE."

We put out a call for more information, and you did not disappoint. We spoke to teammates of both pooper and poopee, and have been able to reconstruct just what led one grown man to shit in another's gear.

Rogue Squadron and the Young Guns were first and second in their division, but it was not a grudge match when they faced off late on a Friday night. With players ranging from their late 20s to north of 50, it's usually just good, clean fun for men willing to pay $495 to play hockey intense enough to satisfy the need for competition, but casual enough for a case of beer to be on ice in every locker room.

So there was no bad blood, only a late season game with first place on the line at the Pilgrim Rink in Hingham, Mass. But the fireworks began early. Just a few seconds in the game, the puck ended up trapped against the boards in the Young Guns' zone. Rogue Squadron defenseman Zung Nguyen had it pinned, with Young Guns' d-man Dave Bermingham trying to poke it free. Nguyen gave Bermingham a few pokes to the ribs with the butt of his stick, "Bermie" responded in kind, and the gloves came off.

This was rare in itself. The "D" level is reportedly one of the more "goonish" leagues in the NESHL, and the 41-year-old Bermingham is described by a teammate as a "meathead" who's always looking to scrap. But because fighting is outlawed and grounds for immediate ejection, it's very rare to have an honest bare-knuckled fight. Nguyen, who had zero penalty minutes before this game, wasn't a fighter. A former teammate says he was never particularly crazy, and there are 50 other guys in the league he'd have pegged to pull something like this before Nguyen. Sometimes, you catch a guy on the wrong day.

Players on both sides say Bermingham won the fight clearly—"beat the crap out him," to use one's unfortunate phrase. Both players got unsportsmanlike conduct majors, and game misconducts; their nights were done. As they skated back to their respective locker rooms, a still-furious Nguyen hurled one of Bermingham's gloves over the glass into an empty section of seats.

That was supposed to be the end of it. "Guys get into it," one Rogue Squadron player said, "and then they move on. It's just rec league hockey."

Just after the second period began, Nguyen emerged from his locker room and went into the seats near where he had thrown Bermingham's glove. Teammates thought Nguyen was going to see his girlfriend, who had come to watch him play. Soon after, he went down to the corner of the arena, a semi-secluded area near where the Zamboni enters the ice. Young Guns players on the bench saw him squatting there, but didn't think anything of it at the time. He then returned the glove to its original spot in the seats.

Midway through the second period, Bermingham came out of his locker room. He had showered and changed and was ready to crack open a beer but needed to collect the last of his scattered equipment. Those gloves were nearly new: this was the second game he had worn them, and the price tag was still on. Bermie went into the seats where it had landed, picked it up, and put his hand in.

Inside, shit. Fresh, wet, warm, pungent human shit. Bermingham held the glove at arms length and immediately ran alongside the dasher to hand it to a referee. He then stormed off to the locker room.

"Bermie knew he needed to get out of there or he would have killed the guy," one says. "And he probably needed to wash his hands."

The referees immediately declared the game a forfeit win for the Young Guns. At a league meeting the next Monday morning, the NESHL banned Nguyen for life, with no refund on his entry fee. Since he was signed up for three teams at once, he was out $1500.

As it turns out, Rogue Squadron has won every game this year in which one of their players didn't poop inside an opponent's equipment. They lead the Young Guns by a single point in the standings, with just two games left to play. In their first game following the incident, Rogue Squadron passed the hat in the locker room to buy Bermingham a gift card for a sporting goods store. They heard he needed new gloves.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

The San Jose Sharks Holiday Shopping Network

Dec 15, 2011

There's not a whole lot you can say about this that it doesn't say for itself. Joe Thornton and the gang, many still in their Movember glory, put on their selling suits to offer up some fabulous gift ideas. Personally, I'm leaning towards Jamie McGinn's Game-Worn Princess Suit (a bargain at $99.99).

http://www.thecheapseats.ca/2011/12/the-san-jose-sharks-holiday-shopping-network.html

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Proteau: Kings would be wise to hire Dallas Eakins as head coach

Adam Proteau, The Hockey News, 2011-12-15

Seventeen years ago, the Quebec Nordiques, a year away from becoming the Colorado Avalanche, had a tough decision to make. The organization, which was chock-full of emerging young stars, had just fired veteran coach Pierre Page and very easily could have replaced him with any number of experienced bench bosses. But GM Pierre Lacroix and the Nords went the opposite route and hired Marc Crawford, a young coach who had been running the Maple Leafs’ American League affiliate. Less than two years after they did that, Colorado won its first Stanley Cup.

That sequence of events popped into my head this week as the rumor mill churned out whispers the Los Angeles Kings were interested in making veteran former coach and world-class sourpuss Darryl Sutter the permanent replacement for the recently dismissed Terry Murray. As THN senior writer Ken Campbell wrote earlier this week, the idea that Sutter – who never met a smile he couldn’t turn upside down – represents the perfect elixir for what ails the struggling Kings is one that doesn’t sit right with me. You can’t tell me the problem with young stars such as Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar is that they haven’t had a miserable taskmaster breathing down their backs.

No, the Kings need their own version of Crawford – someone who represents the future of the coaching profession, not its ancient, authoritative origins as does Sutter. They need someone very much like Toronto’s current AHL coach, Dallas Eakins, a guy who rapidly is creating a sterling reputation for himself with his ability to challenge and communicate with players.

It isn’t just the Kings who would benefit from the cachet Eakins is building in the hockey world. The Canadiens, who currently are meandering near the fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff race under the somnambulant Jacques Martin, would have their young players infused with the confidence and mindset Eakins brings to the Marlies team. The Avalanche and Blue Jackets also could be in the market for a new coach and could do far worse than the 44-year-old, who stresses physical fitness in a way few coaches before him ever have.

“Fitness is so many different levels for me,” said Eakins, who is highly regarded inside the Leafs organization for what he’s done preparing Toronto’s young prospects for life in the NHL. “It helps me be a better husband, father and a much better coach. I’m not saying anything about any other coaches, but I personally have a problem going to players and harping on their fitness levels if I’m not fit myself.”

Eakins recently put himself through a 160-kilometer race through the Colorado mountains and uses his willingness to commit wholeheartedly to a physical program to provide an example to young players.

“I always tell players whether we’re in the weight room or on the ice, ‘I’ll never ask you to train, eat or do anything I’m not prepared to do myself’,” Eakins said. “They see a work ethic in me and I think it filters down. It also filters up – I see them working hard in practice, it gets me jacked up.”

A disciple of legendary coach Roger Neilson, Eakins sees himself as a manager of 25 disparate personalities and a preparer of players to coach themselves through high-pressure playoff situations. To that end, he pushes his players as hard as possible throughout training camp and the regular season with the singular goal of being the best-conditioned team at the most crucial moments.

“You should not be training for a 45-second shift or only 18 minutes a night,” he said. “What’s going to happen when you get caught out on the ice for a minute and 15 seconds, or a minute-and-a-half? I want to know that, when we’re in the Calder Cup final, in Game 7, and we’re in quadruple-overtime, I want to know right then we’ve got the other team right by the balls, because we are way fitter than they are.”

The Kings, or any other NHL franchise, can take a chance on a coaching retread any time they want. However, the future of coaching lies with guys like Eakins – and a team in need of a bump in competitiveness would be wise to snap him up before it’s too late.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Dionne: Speed, rink sizes affect concussion numbers

CBC Sports, Dec 16, 2011

Video Content: Chris Pronger is out for the rest of the year with severe post-concussion syndrome. NHL Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne gives his views – Dionne on Pronger's injury

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/ID=2177388428

Count Hockey Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne among those alarmed at the severity of the concussion issue in the NHL in recent months.

The latest concussion revelation came down Thursday when the Philadelphia Flyers took the incredible step of shutting down Chris Pronger —one of the league's toughest players the past two decades — for the rest of the season and the playoffs.

Dionne told CBC News Network on Friday that unlike injuries to other parts of the body, there are no easy answers with concussions.

"Now a player comes back and he's concerned, it affects him not only physically, but mentally," said the 60-year-old, who played 18 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. "It's very difficult to put your finger on."

While the 37-year-old Pronger is a veteran who has taken his share of lumps in a long and impressive career, some of the brightest young NHL talent have also been impacted by concussions of late.

Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang, Jeff Skinner of Carolina, Milan Michalek of Ottawa and Philadelphia's Claude Giroux have all been sidelined indefinitely in recent days.

Crosby missed 68 regular-season and playoff games beginning in early January before returning on Nov. 21. But headaches after a Boston game just two weeks later have him sidelined again. Crosby will miss his fourth consecutive game Friday when the Penguins take on Ottawa.

Ex-NHL great wants red line back

Dionne focused on two areas that could help curb the number of concussions, including rink sizes.

"An extra two feet [behind the net] would make a huge, huge difference for a lot of players," he said.

However, Dionne said he didn't think it was likely that 30 facilities could be reformatted anytime soon.

Dionne also said the the NHL should look at ways to keep the game fast but reduce risk, including reinstating the red line.

"It's very difficult as a forward to protect your defenceman," he said, adding that speed is also maximized by the fact that most players take very short shifts compared to when he played in the league.

The five-foot-eight Dionne managed to avoid concussions in his era, and said the one silver lining is that the players are beginning to think of their long-term health first and foremost.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Mollers cherish world junior memories:
Before the Brothers Hamilton, Albertans were last siblings to star for Team Canada

George Johnson, Postmedia News, December 15, 2011

CALGARY — O Brother, Where Are Thou?

Why, for the first time in three decades, right there, shoulder-to-shoulder, going for gold.

“Great on the Hamilton boys, just great for the family,’’ Mike Moller is saying from his home in Red Deer, Alta. “To have two boys on the same team, representing the country, you can’t get a much prouder moment.

“So, congratulations. It’s quite an accomplishment.

“Hey, the distinction of being the only Canadian brothers to play together in a world juniors for so long was nice. But you’ve just go to tip your hat to these two kids.

Back in 1982, Mike Moller and his brother Randy had no inkling they’d be a part of sibling hockey history that would stand the test of time. Until Wednesday, that is, when Freddie and Dougie Hamilton officially survived coach Don Hay’s final trimming to 22 for Canada’s national junior team.

“Actually, I am a little bit surprised by that,’’ admits Randy Moller, on the phone from Florida. “That we were still the only ones. With all the hockey families in Canada over the years it’d stand to reason that there’d be more, you know, on the same team with brothers, say, only a year apart. At least, you’d think . . .

“Thirty years is a long time ago. At least, it feels like a long time ago.’’

That year, 1982, introduced the selection process to the international junior set-up, the radical philosophy of pulling top players from all over the country to mesh in a brief period of time. Prior to that, the Memorial Cup champions, bolstered by a sprinkling of add-ons, had represented Canada.

Mike Moller remembers his father, John, hopping in an old Camaro with Troy Murray’s father as a winger and the two of them driving to Winnipeg, where Canada played its first three games, and then up into Minnesota for the remainder of the tournament.

“My father’s no longer with us, he passed away in ’99,’’ says Randy, now in his 10th year as part of the Florida Panthers’ radio broadcasts. “But when Red Deer hosted the tournament, he was one of the organizers there. He put a lot of work into it. He loved the world juniors. So this (‘82) holds a real significance for me and my family.

“That’s why I think that not only playing alongside my brother, and winning a gold medal, but having my father there to enjoy the whole thing with us, is what made that whole experience so special.’’

The tournament today certainly doesn’t resemble the 1982 model. Only a sprinkling of games were televised then, and Canada’s tournament- clinching 3-3 tie in Rochester Minnesota, against the Czechs was strictly a radio affair.

In contrast, 5.1 million Canadians tuned into the 2011 gold-medal tilt between Canada and the Russians from Buffalo, New York.

“I’m very proud that the tournament has grown to what it is today,’’ says Randy Moller. “It’s every kid’s dream now, in midget and junior, to be involved in the world junior hockey championship; to be selected to play for your country.

“It’s gotten so big. So much exposure. So much interest.

“They kind of threw that team together. OK, we’re going to play in a world junior championship. We’ve been picked? Yeah, OK, great. Now it’s taken on so much history — just look the players that have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, from all the countries, not just Canada.

“Even having been in Florida for so long, the World Junior tournament is still a big deal for me and for my family. They’re glued to the TV, and I’m watching whenever I’m not traveling or working. Because Canada has done really well it has become such a huge, huge thing, overtaking the Grey Cup and a lot of other sporting events in the country. It’s become a spectacle.

“At the time I played, we were 17, 18 years old and didn’t realize what we were doing, that we were starting a tradition. I feel very honored about that, even 30 years later.

“And to be able to do it together …”

That rare opportunity, that comes along once once in, oh, 30 years, is what sets the Moller brothers experience apart.

“Most of us didn’t have a lot of family there,’’ says Mike. “James Patrick was from Winnipeg. And Carey Wilson. But for most guys, teammates, coaches, the staff, were their only family. So to have my brother Randy there, with me, well, it couldn’t have gotten much better.

“Any time you have a goal you reach, it’s so fantastic to be able to share that. As brothers we’d played junior together in Lethbridge and for the province at the Air Canada Cup, as it was called then.

“But to be able to do this with my brother, to even be on the team to star with, and then bring home the gold, well …

“It’s a very special feeling. One I’ll always remember. One that doesn’t happen to many people.

“A feeling I hope those Hamilton boys get to experience, too.’’

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

HBO program a huge hit among hockey players:
Lightning, Flames fascinated by 24/7 documentary

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, December 16, 2011

Artem Anisimov did a dumb thing.

The New York Rangers forward, a week ago, scored on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then, holding his stick like a rifle, he mock-shot the visitors’ net.

This, predictably, created a ruckus.

None of that is news to Steven Stamkos, who, after all, was there.

But what the Bolts star didn’t know?

That, post-game, Anisimov stood up in the dressing room and choked out his heartfelt regrets to the rest of the Rangers.

Stamkos, like others in the national-viewing audience Wednesday night, saw this back-stage drama play out in HBO’s documentary series 24/7, featuring the Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers.

“For me, it was really cool to see his reaction to his teammates, how sincere his apology was,” Stamkos is saying after Thursday’s morning skate. “That makes you look at that whole issue on a different level.

“Obviously, we wouldn’t have been able to see that if it wasn’t for the show.”

Stamkos, maybe not surprisingly, heartily approves of the all-access aspect of the program, which, annually, leads up to the NHL Winter Classic.

“It’s unbelievable — I even got a couple chills watching that,” Stamkos says. “Just from a sports fan’s perspective, it’s really cool to see behind-the-scenes stuff they don’t get to see on an everyday basis. They . . . see some of the things that are said on the ice, how hard guys get hit, or how you’re icing your shoulder on the plane or the bus after the game. Just the physical demands of travelling. Then you see the lighter side, the jokes and stuff.

“I think everybody in this room would be happy to do a show like that. It’s great for the game. I can’t wait to watch the next episode.”

A year ago, the American cable network had trained its microscope — and microphone — on the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals, whose roster included Scott Hannan.

Hannan, who’d tuned in Wednesday, is asked about the concept.

“Of the universe? Of the solar system? Everything’s so grand,” replies Hannan, happily riffing on Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s unique take on the world, which, of course, had been elicited by HBO. “I think it’s great — it brings the fans right into the room. It’s an exciting look at what happens every day. You see the glitz and the glamour, but (also) that we’re regular guys. (Cameramen) do a great job — they’re there, but they’re not.”

But what about the sanctity of the dressing room and all that?

Having your doors thrown open?

“It’s different, for sure,” says Hannan, defenceman of the Calgary Flames. “In rep hockey, parents weren’t even allowed in the room — ‘No one’s allowed in the room.’ All of stuff goes on in the room, the tongue-in-cheek humour . . . but you want to grow the game, you want to bring a new fan base in, it’s a great when they get to see it like that.”

Everything, even injuries, is displayed for public consumption.

Cameras miss little. Mikes pick up on the previously private — on-ice exchanges and closed-door pep talks. All is there, in uncensored glory, f-bombs and all.

“It shows the human side to hockey players, which is sometimes missed,” says Flames winger Lee Stempniak. “People look at it as — I don’t want to say robots — but that you’re just a hockey player and you don’t have a life. You don’t really do anything other than play hockey. It does a good job of putting the human side on a lot of things. I think it’s great.”

Even those who didn’t watch Wednesday’s episode appreciate the value of the exercise.

“A phenomenal thing,” Tampa centre Dominic Moore says. “As a kid, they had that book, A Day in the Life of the National Hockey League. You got to see all the behind-the-scenes things. That was really neat for a kid to see. Even little things, like how a guy tapes his shinpads. Kids live for that stuff. It’s great access.

“For the most part, all anyone gets to see is the 60 minutes on the ice. So now you get to see the personalities. You see guys are very different off the ice than maybe they seem to be. You see how guys prepare, how guys go about their job.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

CANADIENS FIRE MARTIN; CUNNEYWORTH NAMED INTERIM HEAD COACH

TSN.CA STAFF, Dec 17 2011

Jacques Martin has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Randy Cunneyworth has been named interim head coach until the end of the season.

The team has gotten out to a 13-12-7 start this season and currently sits last in the Northeast Division.

Cunneyworth had been an assistant coach with the team and had previously served as head coach of the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Hamilton.

In one season coaching the Bulldogs Cunneyworth led the team to a 44-27-2-7 record, good enough to claim the AHL North Division title.

The 57-year-old Martin has been the Canadiens head coach since the 2008-09 season. He has amassed a 96-75-25 record with the team.

Martin has coached 1294 NHL games with St. Louis, Ottawa, Florida and Montreal, posting a record of 613-481-119-81.

A team release has indicated that Larry Carriere will become an assistant coach.

Cunneyworth and general manager Pierre Gauthier will address the media at a joint press conference scheduled for noon et

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

VIDEO: Capitals winger Joel Ward's long journey to the NHL

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, Dec 16 2011

Joel Ward’s road to the NHL was by no means a direct route. The 31-year-old Toronto native went undrafted after spending four years in the Ontario League with Owen Sound. But instead of giving up on his dream, Ward moved to the East Coast to play Canadian University hockey.

After four years at the University of Prince Edward Island, Ward was signed by the Minnesota Wild’s American League affiliate, the Houston Aeros. The following year Ward earned a contract with the Wild, but spent most of the next two seasons in the AHL further developing his game. It wasn’t until he signed with the Nashville Predators as a free agent in 2008-09 that he was able to become a full-time NHLer.

But Ward’s indirect path is only part of the adversity he overcame on his way to the NHL. Ken Campbell takes a closer look at the tragedy Joel Ward endured en route to becoming a professional hockey player.

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Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Sutter farmed out to the Kings

ERIC FRANCIS, QMI AGENCY, Dec 17 2011

TORONTO — It’s commonly believed only one man alive was going to give Darryl Sutter another chance to coach in the NHL again: His longtime pal, Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

That fact — and the fact Sutter never openly campaigned to return to the league — partially explains why it is taking so long for Sutter to get his house in order before joining the Kings on Monday or, more likely, on Tuesday. Sutter has been running a multi-million dollar calving operation in Viking, Alta., the last year with over 200 cows and needed time to find a ranch-hand to run it for him, amongst other issues.

Once he arrives, the question is whether the ball-breaking taskmaster has the ability to coach and communicate effectively in a league that has changed plenty since he last worked a bench in 2006.

Who better to ask than old-school colleague Ken Hitchcock, who admits he had to change his approach when taking over the St. Louis Blues last month?

“You have to change the way you deal with players,” said Hitchcock, known previously for being as hard on players as Sutter.

“You have to gently nudge when critiquing. Players are tougher and more demanding on themselves, and if you’re tough on them, it’s like piling on. “

During the game, things haven’t changed, but it’s the off-days you have to change.

“By the time I get into the rink the next day, they’ve already seen themselves on video. The off-time used to be about rest and relaxing, but now it’s review, review, review.”

Does Hitchcock think Sutter can adapt and be successful turning around the Kings?

“I can tell you from coaching against him, his teams didn’t take many shifts off and they compete at a high level,” Hitchcock said.

Crumpling a new trend?

Heading into the season, Terry Gregson warned all NHL officials to watch for — and crack down on — head-snapping aimed at drawing penalties. It hasn’t been a problem, though. Instead, the latest concern is ‘crumpling.’

“We thought there’d be more head-snapping, but we found now guys are doing it along the boards. They’re crumpling, and that’s worse because when referees only have that real-time snapshot of the hit — and no benefit of slow-motion replays — it makes it hard,” said NHL director of officiating Gregson.

“You don’t want to give guys a diving penalty for embellishment and then find out he has a separated shoulder — you’d look like an arse.”

Also, refs have been instructed to pay attention to their instincts in terms of what they call “situational awareness.”

For example, Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford feels the hit Edmonton Oilers’ Andy Sutton delivered to concuss Jeff Skinner would not have been possible had officials given the Oil defenceman two minutes and a misconduct for his hit on Alexei Ponikarovsky earlier (it went unpenalized).

Things were escalating in a game that was getting out of control, and officials have been advised to go with their gut on whether it’s just easier to sit a few guys with misconducts as tempers start to flare and play gets edgy.

That said, when refs do that, Gregson seems to get phone calls from GMs the next day suggesting his officials were overzealous.

As always, it seems the referees can never win.

RINK WIDENING

In an effort to cut down on concussions, many have trotted out the age-old idea of widening the rink to give guys more room on international-sized ice.

It’s a non-starter with NHL executives. One exec estimated it would cost upwards of US$12 million to retrofit his rink — a cost every team in the league would have to swallow to varying degrees. That doesn’t include the lost revenue in premium rink-side seats you’d lose.

Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford says the cost might actually be worth it, but there’s no proof international-sized ice would help reduce concussions because the European leagues don’t sport as good or as fast of hockey as the NHL. In fact, while it would give more room for players to avoid contact, some think an argument could be made that it would allow for more speed, producing even more violent collisions.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Paulina Gretzky needs to 'act classier'

LINDA MASSARELLA, QMI Agency, Dec 17 2011

LOS ANGELES – Will Paulina Gretzky make the Hot 100 list?

Word is Maxim magazine researchers are compiling information on The Great One's daughter to see if they should include her in their best-selling issue of the year, Maxim's Hot 100.

Former luminaries include Avril Lavigne, Estella Warren, Eva Mendez, Mila Kunis and Nicole Scherzinger.

The issue, which is usually published in May, chooses sexy girls who have made some sort of splash over the past year.

Paulina, 22, and the incident with the racy Twitter photos — and subsequent finger wagging from conservative Papa Gretzky — fits the bill.

She's also tall, statuesque, a natural blond, athletic — and really pretty.

Maxim editor-in-chief Dan Bova would not return calls seeking comment on the matter. But word is he's leaning toward including the hockey legend's daughter in the issue because a) she's a good fit and b) it would generate media buzz for the issue.

Since Paulina removed her naughty photos in late November from her Twitter account — after the alleged blow-out with dad — her popularity has soared.

The sauciest of the photos went viral on the Internet and are being reproduced by hundreds, if not thousands, of bloggers and online magazines.

More interesting is that Paulina's Twitter account, which had about 25,000 followers two weeks ago, now has about 60,000 followers.Those are some impressive numbers, especially given the fact she has only tweeted once in two weeks.

Paulina has readily admitted she put the photos on herself to help kickstart her modelling career.

Planned or not, the incident with dad is finally putting her on the map.

Dalia MacPhee, a Vancouver-based fashion designer and an A-list Hollywood stylist, says Canadians are naturally enamoured with Paulina, since she's the Great One's daughter.

But, in Hollywood, it's not so simple.

"Gretzky is just one of a million famous people who has a daughter who wants to model. Money is tight right now, and the name only gets you so far."

In order to "make it," MacPhee suggests Gretzky immediately start dressing a little classier.

"You have one second to make an impression, and she's made hers. In a way, she's branded by those racy photos because she can't take them back."

The good news, says MacPhee, is Gretzky is young and Hollywood loves a good comeback story.

"She's 22 years old and has every right to act like a 22 year old, so it's still early enough to make some positive changes."

MacPhee advises Gretzky to act quickly.

"She could turn this around by Christmas. "If it were up to me, I'd polish her up, cover her up a little bit more, put her in some beautiful eye-catching and serious wear.

"I'd get her on the guest list of every high-profile Hollywood premiere. The media would love to see her! All she needs to say is, 'Oops, it's done, but I'm a classier girl now!'

"She needs to show them that she's not just Wayne Gretzky's daughter, but that she's serious in her own right and that she looks so good and so classy that she starts making the best-dressed lists."

With her Twitter following and the buzz around her, expect to hear a lot more from Paulina Gretzky in the upcoming year.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Campbell: Martin firing opens door to more change in Montreal
At 13-12-7, the Canadiens are two points out of a playoff spot.

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, 2011-12-17

If it turns out that Randy Cunneyworth can’t learn French or improve the Montreal Canadiens power play, does Jacques Martin’s firing finally open the door for Patrick Roy to ascend to the throne?

After all, it’s not unprecedented that a former star who is the owner-coach-head-bottle-washer of a junior franchise is plucked from the team bus to take over an NHL bench. The Washington Capitals have already done that this season with Dale Hunter.

And the Canadiens are running out of candidates. Guy Boucher was once in their organization, but they lost him to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kirk Muller got tired of waiting around for a coaching job and left for his own bench in the American League, where he lasted less than two months before being scooped up by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Regardless of who takes over in Montreal, there’s a good chance he will not be as reviled as Martin, the star of this week’s installment of ‘Look Who Got Gassed This Time!’ TM. For many Canadiens fans, half of their Christmas/Hanukkah gift came true, the other half would be if the Canadiens ownership decided to show the door to GM Pierre Gauthier.

Without question, the biggest criticism of Martin was his insistence on driving a square peg into a round hole in Montreal. And it’s something these defensive geniuses do all the time. You could give guys such as Martin and Dave King the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens and they’d somehow turn them into a bunch of defense-minded automatons. In case Martin hadn’t noticed, Gauthier and his predecessor, Bob Gainey, weren’t exactly assembling the 2007 Anaheim Ducks here. The Canadiens are a small, skilled and speedy bunch of players whose ability to create offense needs to be encouraged, not squelched, if you want to get the most out of them. Instead, Martin insisted on playing a system that was hardly a meritocracy – just ask some of the players – and was based on a defensive system that made it impossible to capitalize on their strengths.

All of which is all right when it’s working. Fans of teams don’t mind watching turgid hockey if it means their team is winning all those 2-1 and 1-0 games. But the Canadiens haven’t exactly been a roaring success on that front. With the exception of the 2010 playoffs, when they made the playoffs by one point and rode Jaroslav Halak’s goaltending to the Eastern Conference final, this is a team that has largely underachieved under Martin.

The whole idea of playing the game the way Martin insisted it be played is to get an early lead, then either bore the hell out of your opponent or at least shut them down and frustrate them to the point where the lead stands up. And that simply wasn’t happening for the Canadiens this season. Case in point was the Dec. 8 game against the Vancouver Canucks, when the Canadiens opened up a 3-0 lead before losing 4-3 in a shootout. At the Bell Centre, the Canadiens had a 5-6-6 record and in their 11 regulation and overtime losses, they had leads at one point in eight of those games.

What this team needs now is someone who will take the personnel available and coach it accordingly rather than impose his own philosophy on the situation. Cunneyworth, who has certainly paid his dues as a head coach in the American League and an assistant in the NHL, would seem better equipped to do that. He’d better be, because historically a coach who cannot speak French in Montreal has to be successful.

There’s every indication Martin’s message was being lost on the Canadiens, particularly considering Josh Gorges’ comments after the morning skate on Saturday, just hours after the coaching change was announced.

“If you only have half the guys or three-quarters of the guys doing what’s asked of them, then everyone is in disarray,” Gorges said. “And that’s where we got to…so consequently we lost games we shouldn’t have lost and changes needed to be made.”

The fact the players would be in disarray is an indictment of the coaching staff. Again, Martin’s system is supposed result in the exact opposite of disarray. Defensive systems are, by their very nature, based on control and slowing down the game. And Gorges is right. If there was disarray, it’s because some of the players became frustrated with playing that style.

Martin certainly couldn’t control the injuries on the blueline, nor could he have envisioned that number of underperforming players this season. In fact, with the exception of goalie Carey Price and the line of Erik Cole, David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty, you could certainly argue the Canadiens have been a group of passengers this season.

There are a group of younger players on this team that will be thrilled with this move. You can expect Pacioretty to have an even more front-line role, while other younger players will probably get a better opportunity to show what they can do.

It remains to be seen whether that will be enough. If not, you can expect a thorough housecleaning in Montreal after the season. Geoff Molson and his group paid about $575 million for the Canadiens in 2009 and they need the playoff revenues. If that doesn’t happen, you can expect the bloodletting to make Saturday’s move look like a paper cut. Gauthier will likely be gone and that will open up all sorts of possibilities – perhaps Pierre McGuire in the executive suite and Patrick Roy behind the bench.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

The root of the problems

Ryan Dixon, Sportsnet.ca, December 17, 2011

In the process of firing Jacques Martin from his post as coach of the Montreal Canadiens, GM Pierre Gauthier said he really thanked Martin for what he's given to the organization. Gauthier should probably have also slipped in an apology for some of his contributions, or lack thereof.

There's no doubt the Canadiens have been an underwhelming club this season, one that has shown a shocking inability to protect leads. Montreal's winning percentage when scoring first is .471, the second-worst mark in the league. That's certainly not what we've come to expect from a team coached by Martin and Gauthier noted that instability was a big factor in his decision. But consider, for a moment, that four of the seven defencemen Martin had to rely on most this year are either in their rookie or sophomore NHL season and you start to understand why leads were disappearing. Had the Canadiens cleared even a few more loose pucks, they'd be sitting higher than the 11th-place standing they had on Saturday morning and Martin would still have his job.

If interim coach Randy Cunneyworth can come in and stop Alexei Emelin, Raphael Diaz and P.K. Subban from making the mistakes young blueliners tend to commit, he should have been given an NHL head coaching job long before now. And that will ring even truer if he can move Mike Cammalleri off a 17-goal pace, teach Lars Eller how to finish and miraculously heal Andrei Markov's wounded knee.

Overall, the Habs went 96-75-25 during Martin's stewardship in nearly two-and-a-half seasons and I'm not the first to suggest that had they been guided by Scotty Bowman himself, that record wouldn't be any better. That's not to say Martin is a fantastic coach who pulled all the right strings, but when you consider what he had to work with, it's difficult to understand how anybody could have extracted more from a team that featured strong goaltending, a collection of small, speedy skaters and not much else.

This is Gauthier's third significant move of a season that's not even half over, following the dismissal of assistant coach Perry Pearn after the Canadiens started the year 1-5-2 and the move to acquire Tomas Kaberle just over a week ago. To be fair, Montreal is 12-7-5 since Pearn was labelled the scapegoat for a bad start (though just 8-7-5 after an initial four-game surge) and Kaberle has four assists in three games as a Hab. Maybe all three moves will ultimately pay off to some degree, but they feel more like the result of Gauthier knowing if this team doesn't make the playoffs, owner Geoff Molson will have to examine wider organizational change.

If there's a point of optimism for Habs fans, it's the possibility Cunneyworth will try to make Montreal more of an attacking team. The Canadiens don't have much in the way of offensive weapons, but Cunneyworth, in his first meeting with the media, talked about using the club's best assets, one of which he identified as speed. The chances Martin was ever going to push the envelope are about the same as him finding a new career as a stand-up comedian, but, again, it's not like he was taking the sparkplugs out of a fleet of Ferraris by insisting the Habs play a defence-minded game.

The bottom line is, whatever tack Cunneyworth chooses, best-case scenario for Montreal remains sneaking into the playoffs and trying to pull off an upset. In other words, exactly what happened under Martin the past two years. Altering that reality requires action beyond the in-season shuffling Gauthier has done the past few months. And even if Cunneyworth does a great job, he'll only be able to mask that fact for so long.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

Disappointing debut for Cunneyworth

THE CANADIAN PRESS, December 17, 2011

MONTREAL — Even after the shock of a coaching change, things remained the same for the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens held a 15-minute players-only meeting in their dressing room after Randy Cunneyworth's head coaching debut was spoiled by the same kind of third period letdown that ushered his predecessor Jacques Martin out the door.

David Clarkson tied the game late in the second period and Patrick Elias and Dainius Zubrus scored in the third as the New Jersey Devils downed the Canadiens 5-3 on Saturday night.

"It's a frustrated group of players," said Cunneyworth, who had been promoted that morning when Martin was fired after too many similar losses at home, where Montreal is now 5-7-6 for the season. "They know it's not enough.

"They were up against a good team but I thought they were up for the task. I know it was a letdown in the end."

Boos filled the Bell Centre as the game wound down on Cunneyworth's first game as an NHL head coach.

Elias passed John McLean as the Devils' all-time goal-scoring leader with his 347th and 348th, while Peter Sykora also scored for New Jersey (18-13-1).

Montreal (13-13-7) started the day in 11th place and fell further out of playoff position. Now they are relived to be heading out on a six-game road trip.

"We wanted to start fresh and it's the same story over again," said centre Lars Eller. "But there are still a lot of games left and we have to pull ourselves together and figure out a way to win."

Cunneyworth made small adjustments from Martin's routine, including placing more trust in a young centre like Eller and his linemates Louis Leblanc and Mathieu Darche. The team looked a little more adventurous on attack, while ice tme between the top three lines was more evenly distributed.

Eller and defencemen P.K. Subban and Chris Campoli scored for the Canadiens.

Campoli was also the goat on the game-winner, as he was stripped of the puck in the slot and Elias finished a give-and-go with Sykora 1:31 into the third period. Cunneyworth said it was not all Campoli's fault.

"We have to be better positionally," he said. "I don't think we gave him a good out, a good target. But we tell them to use the glass if they don't see anything."

Sykora picked up the puck for Elias' record goal.

"It just feels nice," said career Devil Elias. "It feels like you're doing something right and it keeps me going. Hopefully I have a lot more in me."

Zubrus sealed the win with a power-play goal at 10:18.

"Part of the reason for the changes was exactly what we did tonight," said defenceman Josh Gorges. "At some point we have to take ownership upon ourselves and understand it's not good enough."

He said it may help the team to be on the road over the holiday period. They have a winning record (8-6-1) away from home.

"It's a chance to be together as a group and focus on hockey," he said. "And on the road, you don't have to be pretty. You can just win games. We've done that a lot on the road and hopefully we can gain the confidence we need and apply it to home ice."

The Devils were coming off an emotional 6-3 victory over Dallas on Friday night, when legendary defenceman Scott Niedermayer's No. 27 jersey was retired.

The Canadiens hoped to take advantage by jumping on the Devils early, but New Jersey had the first seven shots and got the opening goal when Zubrus' shot went in off Sykora past a screened Carey Price.

Montreal took three penalties in the first period, the last one a minor on Erik Cole for a hit to the head of rookie rearguard Adam Larsson, who was reaching forward for a puck behind his net when Cole's shoulder contacted his helmet. Larsson was not hurt and stayed in the game, but it will likely be looked at by NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

Montreal was on a two-man advantage when Subban scored on a point blast 2:21 into the second period. Tomas Kaberle picked up his fifth point in four games as a Canadien with an assist.

Elias got it back when he sneaked in from behind the net to pound Ilya Kovalchuk's pass into an open side on a power play at 5:05.

Campoli got his first as a Canadien on a shot from the slot at 6:33 and Eller scored from the slot at 8:57, but Clarkson tied it at 18:26 after taking a perfect stretch pass from Larsson and beating Price with a wrist shot.

Notes: Defenceman Raphael Diaz (sick) and forward Travis Moen (lower body) each sat out a second game for Montreal. . . Henrik Tallinder (back spasms) missed a second game for New Jersey, while Tim Sestito and Alexander Urbom were scratched. . . The NHL's two best penalty killing teams were in action, but New jersey gave up one and Montreal two on the power play.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

[hockeygod]

All things related

John Shannon, Sportsnet.ca, December 17, 2011

So the Montreal Canadiens have joined the list of teams that have grown impatient with coaching. It really shouldn't be any surprise, after all the rumours have been out there since the weekend before Paul Maurice and Bruce Boudreau were removed.

And while Ken Hitchcock's appointment in St. Louis has been a tremendous success, the other moves (even though it appears the Capitals are improving) have not jump-started the teams to play better.

There is always the hope that a new coach will change the on-ice momentum for at least 10 games. That's because teams can ill afford long winless streaks in the three-point NHL. Hence the change in Montreal.

But make no mistake about what happened to Jacques Martin. Ownership, management and the fans demand that this team must make the playoffs. What baffles me is that Pierre Gauthier appears to be above the controversy. Yet to many, Pierre Gauthier appears to be the biggest issue. Re-signing an injured Andre Markov, signing Erik Cole for four years and $18 million, taking on $9 million in salary for Tomas Kaberle (its early folks, just wait!) are amongst the issues for this GM.

Compounding the player issues with losing both Kirk Muller and Guy Boucher from the organization in the past three years, and ridding the team of both Perry Pearn and now Martin in this season, Gauthier must take more responsibility in the mess that is the Montreal Canadiens.

Something smells in Montreal, and to me it's leadership from management. Perhaps they miss the vision and analytical mind of Pierre Boivin as team president.

—

Speaking of fired coaches, with Terry Murray now gone, there are two more coaches that started their seasons in Europe down for the count. In fact, since the Premiere Games started in earnest in 2008, 18 NHL teams have visited Europe. Of those teams, 10 coaches were fired within 18 months of starting overseas.

So for you coaches or those aspiring to coach in the NHL, if you're asked if you want to start on the other side of the Atlantic, vote NO! Or at least get a long-term contract extension before you do.

—

Hey, the concussion discussions have heated up in the past few days. There is no doubt that every constituent should be concerned. However, the league, the teams and the players should actually all receive some credit for trying to improve awareness and treatment of head injuries over the past few years. And while the league reports concussions might be down slightly, it is still distressing that big names aren't playing. In my mind, the key word in all of this is awareness. In looking at what the NHL has done the past few years, there appears to be an aggressive approach to the problem:

January 2010

NHL becomes the first pro sports League to adopt a Concussion Evaluation and Management Protocol, a comprehensive document governing all phases of concussion evaluation and management.

March 2010

A rule prohibiting "lateral, back-pressure or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact" was implemented, allowing NHL Hockey Operations the ability to review for the purpose of supplementary discipline.

The League also announced that, effective in 2010-11, there would be a prohibition of the use of shoulder pads that do not have one-half inch of padding on all areas that could make contact with an opponent. Such a requirement for elbow pads had been in effect since 2003.

June 2010

Effective the start of the 2010-11 season, Rule 48 – Illegal Check to the Head – was implemented, allowing a major penalty and a game misconduct for a "lateral or blind-side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact."

March 2011

The Blue-Ribbon Committee comprised of NHL executives Brendan Shanahan and Rob Blake, Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman and Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk was asked by the Commissioner and the GMs to study all the possible ways of creating a safer environment for the players.

June 2011

The NHL became the first professional league to create a Player Safety Department. The department is focused on rules that can better protect players, safety issues related to equipment and the playing environment, in addition to the administering of supplemental discipline.

August 2011

NHL becomes the first professional sports League to develop mandatory rules calling for removal of a player from a game for medical evaluation. Pursuant to the League-wide concussion protocol, any player who displays one or more of the determined signs of concussion, or who exhibits or reports one or more of the determined concussion symptoms (either on-ice or at any subsequent time), shall be removed as soon as possible from the playing environment by Club medical personnel.

The player shall then be evaluated by the team physician and/or athletic trainer or therapist in a distraction-free environment using a comprehensive standardized acute concussion assessment tool to determine whether the player is diagnosed as having concussion.

The team physician shall make the determination whether the player is diagnosed with a concussion. If, after the evaluation noted above the team physician determines that the player is not diagnosed with a concussion, the player may return to play.

2011-12 Season

All remaining seamless tempered glass systems in arenas have been replaced with a safer plexiglass system, which allows for more "give" on contact. Also, a curved-glass system has replaced the padded "turnbuckles" that were set on the stanchions at the end of each player bench. And of course, Rule 48 was broadened to prohibit any contact with an opponent where the head is targeted and the principal point of contact.

—

The deadline the NHL has given the Players Association concerning feedback on realignment shouldn't be viewed as early indication of hostilities between the two sides for the coming CBA negotiations. While the league has said they want a decision from the union by early January, representations from both sides do agree that this is just the process based on the current agreement.

According to a league source, approval is not needed from the PA but , "CBA requires that we discuss with the PA and that they not act unreasonably. We assume they won't."

On the other side, a PA source told me, "John, Just an FYI that we have indeed had lengthy discussions with the league on realignment and they are committed to providing us with the data and information that helped them decide on their proposal (which indeed requires PA sign-off). It just cannot be unreasonably held."

Disagreement or semantics? You decide.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."

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