Articles

[hockeygod]

Coaching, goaltending and discipline carry the West

Rory Boylen, The Hockey News,2012-04-24

Look west and you’ll see a new crop of Stanley Cup challengers pushing through to the second round. You’ll see that three of the four higher seeds won, though they might have been regarded as underdogs by many for their lack of playoff pedigree.

Look west and you’ll also see four great coaches advancing to Round 2.

Sure, the four bench bosses who were defeated on the left coast have their own impressive track records, but Darryl Sutter, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and Barry Trotz have done wonders with underdogs – and it’s not the first time for any of them.

Remember when Sutter’s December arrival in Los Angeles was met with schoolyard quips from some corners? Well, he took that 15-14-4 team and went 25-13-11 the rest of the way. Sutter’s system flourishes with a strong goalie, which is how he took the Calgary Flames, with Miikka Kiprusoff, to the Stanley Cup final in 2003-04. It’s worth noting Sutter only coached one season between that run and this season.

Ken Hitchcock’s job in St. Louis has him as the favorite for the Jack Adams Award, but he also had monster success in Dallas – where he won a Cup – one good run in Philadelphia and turned a mediocre Columbus team into a playoff outfit for one season.

Dave Tippett, who won 50 games twice in Dallas, has done a miraculous job since coming to the owner-challenged Coyotes. While they’re often described as defensive, they allow a ton of shots, a figure that’s been climbing each year since Tippett arrived. A more apt description of the team is that they’re well-disciplined: the team’s PIM/G have dropped each year since Tippett’s arrival. The way the team stays committed to their coach’s system is another sign of discipline.

And then there’s Barry Trotz, the coach you can’t help but root for. His body of work is long and distinguished and we’ve all been waiting for his team to break through in the post-season. It really is a travesty he hasn’t won a Jack Adams yet.

Discipline, systems and goalies allow these teams to be successful. Detroit, and Vancouver averaged less than two goals per game in the first round, while Chicago averaged two on the nose.

So, the big picture here is, if you rely on goals to enjoy a hockey game and are one of the people calling for bigger nets or any other rule to spoon feed pucks into the net, you better be cheering for a team in the Eastern Conference. The NHL, like most sports leagues, is full of copycats. A certain type of team wins the Cup one year and other teams design themselves to matchup with that style the next.

If one of these four Western teams ends up as champion, especially after the early exits of the Chicago, Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Jose firepowers, it will be interesting to see how other teams react in the off-season.

With the surges from the Rangers, Blues and Devils in the regular season – based on stifling defensive systems – the groundwork has been laid for this design. If one of the remaining Western teams is crowned champion in June, watch out goal-lovers.

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

[hockeygod]

Early exits will lead to unpredictable off-season

Ken Campbell, The Hockey News, 2012-04-23

Aside from the teams that actually make it out of the first round, you’d have to think the two people most thrilled with the early developments in these playoffs would be Rick Nash and Scott Howson.

A number of teams that were tabbed as legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup have flamed out spectacularly in the first round of the post-season and could be joined by the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks Monday night and either the Washington Capitals or Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

This will undoubtedly lead to howls of the need for change in a number of major NHL markets, which will lead to a greater certainty that not only will Nash be dealt, but that a team will overpay for him. Those teams, of course, will ignore the fact that Nash is already overvalued by his salary and contract terms. And instead of offering the Columbus Blue Jackets the opportunity to simply get out from under that contract in exchange for taking Nash, they’ll be more inclined to meet Howson’s demands. Clearly, Howson was wise to grab his mask and gun and demand an outrageous return at the trade deadline.

Only one team will get Nash, though, which will leave a host of others faced with the age-old question of whether to blow things up or make tweaks in hopes of taking another run at a championship next year. Don’t count on many teams going the former route. It’s simply too risky. Even though making a series of bold and decisive moves in the off-season seems to have worked out just fine for Paul Holmgren and the Philadelphia Flyers, the appetite for tearing things down to build them up again probably isn’t that high among teams who think they still have a legitimate shot to win.

Let’s take the Sharks, for example. On the surface, they look like the poster-team for underachievers in the NHL. And to an extent they deserve that reputation. You’re only as good as your results say you are and the Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup. They were also pretty easily dispatched this year by a St. Louis Blues team that endured its share of lean years before building up its roster into one that looks ready for sustained success.

But the fact is, about half the teams in this league would kill for the Sharks’ spotty record, particularly since they’re coming off back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference final. So what do the Sharks do? Do they trade Joe Thornton? Well, perhaps, if they feel they need to get rid of a player who has consistently been among the league’s elite and was probably their best all-round player this year in both the regular season and the playoffs. Patrick Marleau is by far the bigger enigma on this team, but can they really expect to move him at a $6.9 million cap hit for each of the next two seasons?

What you’re more inclined to see in San Jose is that the likes of Torrey Mitchell, Dominic Moore, Brad Winchester and Colin White will be gone as free agents and replaced by players the Sharks think might be able to give them more when they need it. Heaven knows Sharks GM Doug Wilson has made his share of blockbuster moves over the years and his team isn’t any closer to winning the Stanley Cup.

And what about a team such as the Red Wings? The same outfit that set an NHL record for consecutive wins on home ice this season faces the familiar off-season questions about whether or not they’re too old, too small and not tough enough. This is a team, however, that has had one top-20 draft pick in the past 20 years. There will be calls to finally tear things down and start to rebuild, but does anyone realistically expect the Red Wings to do that?

Because going that route would basically mean GM Ken Holland would have to put Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg up for auction and get young players and draft picks in return. Hey, maybe that’s the way he should consider going, but don’t expect that to happen. The Red Wings will find out soon what Nicklas Lidstrom’s plans are and will likely say farewell to Brad Stuart. They’ll have a ton of cap space to chase Ryan Suter if he becomes available and hope that young players such as Brendan Smith, Riley Sheahan and Calle Jarnkrok continue to develop into future NHLers. The Red Wings will have a center ice corps of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader next season. That’s not a bad place to start, but the key for the Red Wings will be supplementing them with more depth of talent.

Whither the Canucks? Well, obviously the biggest question there is what to do with the goaltending situation. And if they decide to part with Roberto Luongo once and for all, their chances of finding a trading partner will depend on how realistic their demands are. If they demand a bundle in return, forget it. But if they’re willing to part with him for next to nothing or take on somebody else’s burdensome contract in return (see Lecavalier, Vincent) they might be able to move him.

The Pittsburgh Penguins? Well, beyond hoping that goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can bounce back from one of the worst stretches of hockey in his career and teaching the players that the ice is 200 feet long and has a defensive zone, they’re bound to stay the course.

It’s easy to say a team should tear things down and start all over again, but it’s much more difficult to accomplish. And if a team were to do that, there would be no guarantee the strategy would work. On the flip side, there are good teams in the league that know pretty much all you can do in today’s NHL is build a good team, but not a dynasty. Every team in the league has flaws and almost every team that is successful one year faces difficult decisions and questions the next. You think the Nashville Predators will be as good next season and they have been this season? We’ll see after July 1 because they’re either going to lose key parts or they’ll have to sacrifice other parts of their roster to keep them.

These days, all a team can do is build its roster the best it can and hope that things turn out in the playoffs. This is a league, after all, where a team that came within one goal of reaching the Stanley Cup final last season didn’t even make the playoffs this season.

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

[hockeygod]

Spezza got message loud, clear

Don Brennan ,Ottawa Sun, April 24, 2012

OTTAWA – All is good within the Senators family — including the relationship between the coach and his best offensive player.

Paul MacLean had Jason Spezza stapled to the bench for part of the third period with Ottawa trying to come from behind against the Rangers Monday and, while it wasn’t the first time the two haven’t seen eye-to-eye, the disagreement was magnified by the situation.

“He felt the power play wasn’t going good, and it’s his prerogative to put who he wants on the ice,” Spezza, who met with MacLean Tuesday, said afterwards. “He’s just trying to make a change. We’re all trying to figure out how to win.”

Spezza added that he has no “issue” whatsoever with the coach.

“We have a great relationship, I really like the way he coaches the game,” said Spezza, who has three goals and two assists in the six games against the Rangers. “It’s not saying that I (don’t) disagree sometimes with the things he does. I want to be on the ice at all times in key moments of the game, so at times emotions can come out.

COACH OF THE YEAR

“But I really enjoy Paul as a coach. I think he’s done a phenomenal job with our team. I think that in our minds he should be the coach of the year. He’s turned our club around real quick and given us a chance to win the first round against the No. 1 seed in the east. He’s helped us get to a pretty good position and empowered us as players and given us a chance to play a lot.

“We didn’t agree,” Spezza added with a shrug. “That’s part of being a team. The best teams put that stuff behind them pretty quick.

“If there was a message sent, it’s received. We’re looking forward to playing Game 7, and playing real well.”

MacLean said he wants to see more “consistency” in Spezza’s game and that, as usually the case, he’d like him to play through the middle of the rink and shoot the puck more.

“But we’re not disappointed in any way in how Jason’s playing,” he said. “This is a playoff series where every night the other team makes it hard for you to do things. You have to stick to it. Those are the conversations we have, to remind him to stick to it and stick to it. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

Spezza said it’s not always easy to simply pull the trigger.

“They do such a good job blocking shots, it can be frustrating to keep shooting and they keep getting blocked,” he said. “Sometimes you veer off the page and try to make some plays that, when they work look great and when they don’t everybody gets upset about it.

“You can’t just shoot everything. It doesn’t help to just shoot, shoot, shoot. You have to try and make plays, and when they don’t work you pay the price for it.”

Moving forward, he doesn’t believe Monday’s frustrations will carry over to Game 7.

“It’s all water under the bridge,” said Spezza. “It’s one game. All this stuff, because we have two days in between (games), can made into a mountain from a mole hill. When really we’re just generally excited to be in a Game 7. We find ourselves in a really good position right now, going into (play) a team that has a lot of pressure on them.

“We have a chance to spoil their season, they finished in first place, and we have a chance to make ours a real successful one. We like our position.”

—–

Sens say internal conflict resolved

Allen Panzeri, Postmedia News, April 24, 2012

Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators follows a flying puck during an afternoon practice session in Ottawa, April 22, 2012.

Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators follows a flying puck during an afternoon practice session in Ottawa, April 22, 2012.
Photograph by: Jean Levac , Postmedia News

OTTAWA — Daniel Alfredsson once again on Tuesday apologized for his uncharacteristic water bottle-stomping, stick-slamming temper tantrum early in the third period of Monday’s 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers.

But Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean was not apologizing for causing Alfredsson’s meltdown by benching him and the rest of the first power-play unit to begin the third. It was by any standard a gutsy, perhaps risky, coaching move, because it could have alienated the team’s top players at the worst possible moment, with the series potentially heading to a deciding seventh game.

MacLean said it was a coaching decision made in the best interests of the team, and he’d do it all over again.

“I think I just coached the team,” MacLean said. “If you go back in the game to the power plays in the second period, we gave up scoring chances at our net with that unit on the ice. We took penalties with that unit on the ice.

“Kyle Turris’ power-play group scored the goal to make it 1-0 for us. So, in the third period, we felt we should give them the opportunity, since they were better.

“When we coach the team every night, we’ve said a lot of times that the best players play, and a lot of nights it’s Jason (Spezza) and (Alfredsson) and that group.

“(Monday night), it wasn’t, so it’s my job as coach to give the team the best opportunity to win, and the players that do that are the ones that should be on the ice at the right time.

“And that’s all it is to me.”

Nonetheless, there were multiple conversations on Tuesday to sooth the boiling frustrations that emerged from the 3-2 loss, which tied the series at 3-3 and sent it to a seventh game on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

If Alfredsson has ever thrown a fit like Monday’s in his career, it is difficult to remember, which is why he still appeared deeply chagrined the day after. Just back after missing three games with a concussion, Alfredsson said he was frustrated to begin with and then “lost it” when Rangers centre John Mitchell gave him a “pretty good lick” while he was killing a penalty to Turris.

Alfredsson said he was annoyed with himself because he hadn’t seen Mitchell coming at him sooner. When he got to the bench, he erupted, nearly taking off Colin Greening’s leg when he slammed down his stick.

“I know I have to control myself,” Alfredsson said. “I don’t send a good message to the rest of the team by doing that. So I don’t think you’ll see that happen again.”

When his emotions settled, Alfredsson gave Greening a little tap as if to say, “Sorry about that.”

Spezza accepted that MacLean was sending a message by benching the No. 1 power-play unit.

“I think he just didn’t want us out there because he felt we weren’t going good on the power play,” he said. “That’s his prerogative.

“We didn’t agree. We were trying to score, but that’s part of being a team. The best teams put all that stuff behind them pretty quick.

“If there was a message sent, it was received, and we’re looking forward to playing Game 7 and playing real well.”

Asked the state of his relationship with MacLean, Spezza said the two have no issues at all.

“We have a good relationship and I really like the way he coaches the game,” he said. “It’s not saying I don’t disagree sometimes with things he does, and I want to be on the ice at all times in key moments of the game, and at times emotions can come out.

“But I really enjoy Paul as a coach. I think he has done a phenomenal job with our team, and in our mind he should be the coach of the year.”

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

[hockeygod]

NHL playoffs show hints of dead-puck era

Michael Traikos, National Post, Apr 26, 2012

Days after the San Jose Sharks were eliminated in the first-round of the playoffs, the sting of defeat still lives on in general manager Doug Wilson’s mind. For the past several hours, he has been performing an autopsy on his roster, wondering why exactly the team failed. But the more pressing question might be why the team that beat them succeeded.

The Sharks are an offensively loaded team headlined by US$7-million forwards, and they lost to a St. Louis Blues team that is one of the lowest spending and lowest scoring in the league.

The David-vs.-Goliath battle was repeated elsewhere in the Western Conference, with Vancouver losing to Los Angeles, Detroit losing to Nashville, and Chicago losing to Phoenix. In all four cases, top-end talent was suffocated by a penitentiary-like defence and airtight goaltending. It might not have looked pretty, but it was effective.

The question that Wilson was asking Wednesday is whether this shift in power was an aberration or a new reality.

“That’s really the most recent [thing] in my mind, is just how we were beat and who we were beat by,” said Wilson. “[The Blues] were a better team than us all year long. I can’t sit here and complain about that. But what I do have to do is decide how we’re going to build our team going forward to be successful. And several other teams will have to make that same decision. We’re not there yet, but we’re certainly cognizant of what the issue is.”

The issue is not about Patrick Marleau being unable to bury the puck behind Brian Elliott, but whether we are seeing the return of the dead-puck era that characterized the NHL prior to the 2004-05 lockout. It is too early to tell, for sure. But based on the first round, it looks like we might be headed that way.

The Canucks had been the fifth-highest scoring team in the regular season, averaging nearly three goals per game. But their guns were taken away in the first round and they tied with the Sharks for the fewest goals-scored (1.60). The Red Wings (1.80) and Blackhawks (2.00) were also in the bottom four.

But Phoenix, St. Louis, Nashville and Los Angeles almost had as much trouble scoring as the teams they defeated. In last year’s playoffs, there were six teams that averaged three or more goals per game. In this year’s first round, only Philadelphia and Pittsburgh averaged that many.

It is a small sample size that could change dramatically in the next round, which might explain why Canucks general manager Mike Gills stood behind his team’s high-octane identity.

“I believe in offence, I always have,” Gillis said Tuesday. “I believe the league believes in offence. If not, we should change the name of the game to Goalie.”

The Sharks prefer a speed game that puts the puck on their star forwards’ sticks and the opposition on its heels. Part of the reason is because scoring sells in a non-traditional market like San Jose. The other part is because it has proven to be successful.

The Red Wings, who play a two-way game built around puck possession, won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and were finalists in 2009; the Blackhawks won with a run-and-gun game in 2010; the Canucks, who were finalists in 2011, have been the top team in the regular season for the past two years; and, prior to this season, the Sharks were back-to-back Western Conference finalists.

Still, Wilson is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“I guess the response I’ll give you is we have to acknowledge that there are teams that play a certain way and you have to give them credit,” said Wilson. “Now, we’ll see who will succeed as we go through the playoffs.

“You always follow who has success. You have to acknowledge it and you have to evaluate it.”

Whether it was New Jersey turning teams onto the trap or Detroit convincing GMs to draft and develop Europeans, this is a copy-and-paste league. When the Boston Bruins bullied their way to victory over the Canucks in last year’s Stanley Cup final, they showed the rest of the league that size could trump skill.

For smaller-market teams, it might have been a revelation. It is difficult to replicate Vancouver’s or San Jose’s model when you are on a shoestring budget, because goal scorers cost more money than role players. But as St. Louis, Phoenix, and Nashville have shown, wins can be squeezed out as long as you have a goaltender that can stop the puck and players willing to play within a defensive-minded system.

“I certainly think it’s out of necessity that this is what you have and this is how you play,” Wilson said. “But you do have to tip your hat when you see a team like St. Louis. They deserve to be where they are today.”

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

[hockeygod]

I Hated the Idea of Spring Hockey, Then I enrolled my Kid:
Rob Klovance comes to a difficult decision

Rob Klovance, ActiveForLife.ca, April 2012

"If sport has a high point of the year, it must be the first week of spring. When I was growing up, I used to love this time of year. It was when I put my hockey equipment away and I was absolutely ecstatic to see the end of the hockey season."

– Wayne Gretzky, quoted by the National Post, March 2000

I always loved the Great One's take on spring hockey, on how baseball and lacrosse provided the balance – and the change of pace – to renew his love of sport each spring.

But after years of parroting Gretzky's comments to everyone who would listen, here I am, enrolling my kid in spring hockey. Hypocritical? Probably. A bad idea? Maybe. But here are some thoughts on how I got here, and why I think it might work.

At the top of the list of reasons is the fact that Olivier, just turning 8, can't get enough hockey. He and his friends play on the ice, in the park, on their knees inside the house, and on-screen with the PS3. Next on the list is that he's continuing to play other sports, including winter and spring soccer.

And then there's my experience – good and bad – with two years of winter hockey.

The problem with initiation hockey

Hockey Canada got it right when it decided that "Initiation" hockey – for ages 5 through 8 – should be all about fun, skill development, equal ice time and (with no scoreboard until age 8) a de-emphasis on winning. I've volunteered as an assistant coach in that program and have been wowed by how most kids have taken great strides in everything from skating to their understanding of the game.

But as the parent of a tall kid who has a knack for scoring goals, I've quickly learned that the fun-first, participatory nature of Initiation hockey has its limitations. The skill gap between kids can be enormous, and all the kids pay a bit of a price for that gap.

Bad habits can form when the better kids get accustomed to skating end-to-end to score their limit of three goals, the so-called Gretzky Rule. I really like the rule, as it reduces the incidence of one-sided games and helps kids learn to pass and be part of a team. But while some kids do just that, I've seen others – because of poor leadership from coaches and/or parents – have no idea what to do after they bag their three goals.

Meanwhile, the weakest players on the ice almost never touch the puck and have virtually no hope of scoring or checking. And in practices, their presence waters down the effectiveness – or at least the speed – of drills. We've sometimes split kids up by ability for skating drills, but with puck drills, the weaker kids benefit most from a partner who can make a good pass to them, or to offer some checking resistance while skating backward.

The result is that Olivier, thanks to several hat tricks, has a false sense of his progress. He has the hands to score, plus the size and strength to skate around many players. But because he's been successul, he feels he can sometimes cheat on skating drills or check opponents by stepping up, flat-footed, to steal pucks when he should be skating backwards and turning in pursuit of strong skaters.

Frankly, he's falling behind in his skating. And I feel he needs the challenge of playing and practising with, and against, better players. My son is naturally competitive, and I expect he'll rise to that challenge by working harder at the things he doesn't do that well.

Keeping kids excited about hockey

This isn't about developing a future pro hockey player, just about maintaining my son's enthusiasm for the game. In some games, Olivier has played on a line where his fellow forwards had no chance of keeping up to him, and he was left to try to weave – unsuccessfully – through three or four rivals without any option to pass. His enthusiasm often ebbs and flows, depending on the level of players he's on the ice with.

How important is enthusiasm? When you're getting your kid out of bed at 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning for a 6 a.m. practice, he'd better be having fun on the ice.

When the fun disappears, so does the commitment. Last year, his soccer experience – playing on a team riddled with kids who often would have preferred not to be there, especially in the Wet Coast rain – eroded his love of the game. This winter, it's a whole different story on a strong team with a great coach.

Asked which sport he likes best, Olivier says soccer and hockey are dead even. And I love that.

Finding the positives in spring hockey

Now, about spring hockey. Skating free of the fun-for-all encumbrances of winter hockey, these programs generally emphasize excellence through the formation of select teams. We were astonished by a few emails from high-powered spring-league teams with intense travel schedules and costs of $2,000 or more for the spring season.

In the end, we were sold on a lower-priced program that, in the experience of friends, offered good-quality development, some off-ice sessions including ball hockey and a nice social component in a schedule that should offer far more balance. The clincher is that a few of my son's close friends were joining the same program.

We're hoping that for now, hockey, soccer and school can coexist in the spring. It will be an experiment for all of us, but who knows? Perhaps by the time next spring rolls around, my son – like Gretzky – will choose to pick up a baseball bat or a lacrosse stick to step outside the arena for a five-month break.

That's what I did year-after-year as a kid, and I've played hockey 44 of the last 45 years.

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

[hockeygod]

Well Rounded Athletes Make the Best Hockey Players

ActiveForLife.ca, January 2012

http://www.activeforlife.ca/january-2011-enews/well-rounded-athletes-make-the-best-hockey-players/

The best junior hockey players on the planet have gathered in Edmonton and Calgary to compete for the 2012 World Championships. Canadian players are rated at the top of this elite group. It may surprise you to learn that as kids, most of these rising stars played other sports in addition to hockey.

We had an opportunity to talk with some of the junior players on Team Canada. They told us that they played a variety of sports in their younger, formative years. Soccer, lacrosse, baseball and golf are some of the sports that were most often mentioned.

How can playing other sports contribute to their hockey game? The players said they learned other skills that made them better hockey players. And they gained extra confidence, which is key to hockey success. Without their experiences in other sports, many players feel they wouldn’t have become elite hockey players.

Two brothers on the team, Dougie and Freddie Hamilton, are a great example. Dougie told the Globe & Mail that their parents told them to just play the sports they loved. “They never pressured us into playing hockey,” he said. “We played pretty much every sport growing up.”

Their parents told TSN that they simply emphasized having fun and doing their best.

The fact that well-rounded athletes make better hockey players has been known for a long time. Gretzky, Orr, and many others all played a diversity of sports before specializing in hockey. In fact, Hockey Canada has made playing a broad range of sports a cornerstone of hockey player development.

“Hockey Canada believes that physical literacy for young boys and girls will lead to greater success and longevity in hockey and all sports,” Corey McNabb, who is charge of coaching and player development for Hockey Canada, told us.

McNabb also said that “the ability to learn agility, balance and coordination that comes from playing a variety of sports, builds a solid foundation for athletic success, physical fitness and more importantly, staying active for life.”

For Hockey Canada, the recipe is simple: ensure your son or daughter practices a diversity of sports during the off-season. They can begin specializing in hockey around the age of 12 or 13.

Parents who want to help their kid succeed in hockey can learn a lot from some of the best junior hockey players in the world as well as from a long list of hall-of-famers: Well-rounded athletes do make the best hockey players.

—–

Are Complete Athletes Really the Best Hockey Players?

ActiveForLife.ca, April 2012

In our January newsletter we featured a story about the Canadian National Junior team as they prepared for the 2012 Hockey World Championship.

http://www.activeforlife.ca/january-2011-enews/kids-find-success-through-physical-literacy-january-2012/

During breaks in practice, we asked the players about their athletic background. Many of them told us they played a variety of sports growing up, an indication that they developed physical literacy. We concluded that “well-rounded athletes do make the best hockey players”.

But we wanted to confirm what the players told us, so we asked them to fill out a questionnaire (15 of the 22 players on the roster, 68 percent, completed the survey). The results were quite conclusive: 73 percent of the players indicated that while growing up they played other sports in addition to hockey. On average they didn’t specialize in hockey until age 14. Many were playing other sports until they were 15.

It’s also interesting to note what other sports they played because all of the activities required them to master physical or mental skills that are complementary to hockey.

Canada is not the only hockey powerhouse where physical literacy is key to hockey success. Coaches and players in Sweden, Russia and Finland know the importance of a multi-sport foundation for hockey. These countries have designed their player development programs around the concept that physical activity of any kind improves hockey performance.

Team Canada may not have won the gold medal at the recent World Junior Championship, but our players remain among hockey’s elite in part because most of them are well-rounded athletes.

Parents who want to help their kids succeed in hockey should learn from the best junior players in the world: well-rounded athletes – complete athletes – make the best hockey players.

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

[Tom Molloy]

Unti about 12-14, in the Golden Years of Development, before puberty the kid's should play as many sports as possible but after that they need to play as much hockey with good players and great coaching if they want to be elite. This isn't theory but my experience. Still play other sports but focus on hockey.

All of the players I know who are now playing pro played spring hockey. I can think of 2 NHL, one Hobey Baker winner and two minor leaguers all born in 85 who played spring hockey. An 81 NHLer and his 84 brother who is playing in Europe also.

These are ones I have coached. I encouraged them to play baseball, lacrosse, soccer as well and some did.

Just like learning the violin, you need to put in the hours with good coaching and sometimes the only good coaching they get is on spring teams. My grandson has one of my former university players who played in Europe and is a PE teacher coaching the spring group he is with and he runs a terrific program. Much better than the volunteer during the season who gave a lot of effort but didn't have the expertise.

So we should be careful how high and mighty we get looking back to the 'good old days'. Hockey is now an indoor game and kid's don't play it very much without coaches around. That is our 'New Reality' and if you want to become an elite your best chance is to play on teams with better coaching in the spring.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[hockeygod]

Is Dale Hunter's tough love what the Caps needed?

James Mirtle, Globe and Mail, April 30, 2012

What a peculiar situation Dale Hunter and the Washington Capitals find themselves in these days.

The coach doesn't have a contract beyond the end of these playoffs, and there hasn't really been any indication from management that he's going to get one.

This despite the fact they enter Monday's Game 2 as one of only eight teams still alive in these playoffs.

Hunter is one of the beloved faces of the Caps franchise, a former captain who has played more NHL games in Washington colours than all but Calle Johansson, Peter Bondra and Kelly Miller.

So when GM George McPhee came calling for a favour back in late November, Hunter jumped at the chance despite the lack of guarantees he'd be onboard for the long haul.

Not that he needed them.

What's been interesting about this marriage is that Hunter was perfectly happy back in London with his wildly successful junior franchise.

He and brother, Mark, the Knights head coach and GM, have made a relative fortune from the OHL team since buying it 12 years ago, and there will always be a safe landing spot back there should his return to the Caps not work out.

For much of the year, that's how it appeared things would go down.

Under Hunter, Washington didn't exactly light the league on fire, as one of the highest scoring teams the past few seasons laboured to adjust to a much more defensive style. The Caps went a wholly mediocre 20-19-5 in its first 44 games under the new coach into early March and were in ninth in the East with only a month to go.

A 10-4-2 finish, however, put them up into seventh, with a first round date with the defending champion Boston Bruins that wasn't solved until Joel Ward's overtime winner in Game 7 last week.

Suddenly the man behind the bench, who very much looked to be heading back home had the Caps been eliminated that night, is coaching another day as the underdog.

Hunter's interim status and junior hockey safety net has allowed him an uncommon level of control over the team, as he can bench stars like Alex Ovechkin (who incredibly had just 65 points this season) and Alex Semin without worrying where his next paycheck is coming from.

Maybe that's what this team needed?

After all, the approach has worked pretty well, even if it has a bit over-reliant on rookie Braden Holtby stopping so many pucks. The Caps are second to only the New York Rangers in blocked shots and have gotten goals from 12 different scorers in eight games rather than looking to their top three or four players.

Brooks Laich has as many points as Ovechkin. Jason Chimera has as many as Semin.

And both the big stars have been benched at key times in games.

That hasn't mattered so far, although maybe it will against a Rangers team that found a way in Game 1 to get better chances than the Bruins did in Round 1. For now, however, this series looks like it has the makings of another long one.

Not bad for a team that looked like it was going nowhere up until about six weeks ago.

(Speaking of which, Tyler Dellow has done some statistical analysis of Ovechkin's decline that provides insight into his regression. Perhaps Hunter not relying on him to play huge minutes reflects how he's played more than anything?)

http://www.mc79hockey.com/?p=4621

—–

Capitals' undisciplined Semin skates on 4th line:
Coach Dale Hunter says he was just 'mixing lines up' ahead of Game 2 vs. Rangers

The Associated Press, Apr 30, 2012

On the first off day of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, it was easy to see which club jumped out on top in the opener.

The top-seeded Rangers held an optional practice Sunday, a day after their 3-1 victory at home over seventh-seeded Washington. The Capitals had everyone on the ice at Madison Square Garden, and lined them up in quite a curious manner.

Alexander Semin, who had three goals for Washington in its first-round upset of defending Stanley Cup champion Boston, skated as a fourth-liner Sunday after he took two penalties in the series-opening loss to the Rangers. Semin was on a line with Mike Knuble and Keith Aucoin, but it might have just been a practice ploy by Capitals coach Dale Hunter and not a predictor of what might occur Monday in Game 2 (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET).

"Just mixing the lines up," Hunter said after practice.

Semin was called for slashing in the first period to negate the rest of the Capitals' first power play. Hunter seemed to absolve that penalty on Sunday because Semin was trying to play the puck when he committed the foul.

'You just can't retaliate. … have to be smart on the ice.'— Capitals coach Dale Hunter on Alexander Semin's Game 1 performance

The other — retaliation tripping after he was slashed by Rangers captain Ryan Callahan — was understandable in Hunter's mind, but one Semin just can't afford to take.

"Both of them should have went," Hunter said. "It was a cross-check [by Callahan] originally. You just can't retaliate. He called one, he could have easily called two.

"It's up to the referees, it's his call. It's one of those things, he did get cross-checked but that's the way hockey is. You have to be smart on the ice."

That was one of the messages the Capitals were focusing on heading into Game 2. They also lost the opening game to the Bruins in the first round — a 1-0 overtime heartbreaker — but rebounded quickly and went home all even in the best-of-seven series.

Fast start

A good performance Monday against the Rangers would put the Capitals in the same spot and wrest home-ice advantage away from New York.

"We've got to go out right away and play our best game," forward Marcus Johansson said. "We can't wait for anything to happen. We have to go out and make something happen — get a good start, get a good feeling and take it from there."

Washington held the Rangers to only 14 shots in Game 1, but goals by rookie Chris Kreider and Brad Richards 90 seconds apart in the third period turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 hole.

The Capitals were also frustrated on the offensive side, mustering only 18 shots against the Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Washington is already trying to deal with getting pucks past the Rangers, who thrive on blocking shots. When they do penetrate the defence, the Capitals still need to find a way to get shots to elude Lundqvist.

"We have to be a lot more desperate," forward Joel Ward said. "They didn't get a whole lot of chances, either, so that is a positive we take out of it.

"[Lundqvist] is a good goalie, but he is human. They block a lot of shots and obviously he's a great goalie, a Vezina candidate, but if we apply enough pressure at least you give yourself a chance. The only way to score is to get pucks on net."

The Capitals also are adept at limited scoring chances and keeping pucks away from young goalie Braden Holtby. Both teams blocked 15 shot attempts in the opener, and only the Rangers had more blocks in the first round than the Capitals.

"It's a new series now and the stakes go up again," Knuble said. "We've got to make sure we're working that much harder to get shots to the net. You get used to a seven-game series, working at a certain pace and a certain way of doing things to generate shots. Well, maybe it's going to be a little bit different now with a different set of defence.

"This defence takes a ton of pride in blocking shots and they know they've got a world-class goalie behind them. We're going to have to upgrade our offensive work ethic and work that much harder to score goals."

Because of that, Holtby knows he has to be better than he was in Game 1.

Quick goals

After the Capitals forged a 1-1 tie on Jason Chimera's goal in the closing seconds of the middle period, Holtby was done in by the two quick goals that won it for the Rangers.

Kreider's winner was a long drive from above the circles, a shot that fooled Holtby because he was expecting Kreider to skate in closer before letting the puck go. Facing so few shots during the game seemed to take the edge and focus away from Holtby.

"Bad games happen," he said Sunday. "You learn way more from losing than you do from winning. There is a lot to learn from that game, not only mentally but technically on some of the goals. It's just a matter of inches how I played them. It would've been a different game. Small things like that but they mean big things in terms of getting better.

"I think I'll be more prepared for [low shot totals]. It will be in the back of my mind to be more prepared for any type of game that comes. Those are the harder games to play when you don't get much action."

This was little news or information coming out of the Rangers on Sunday. Big forward Brian Boyle was back on the ice skating for the third straight game, but coach John Tortorella provided no update as to when he might be ready to rejoin the lineup following a concussion sustained in the first round.

After first riding the stationary bike as part of the concussion protocol, Boyle returned to practice on Friday and then skated on his own on Saturday. He was back on the ice Sunday, making it seem more likely that he might play in this series.

"You can't really predict what's going to happen, so I'm trying to be honest with myself every day and it's been getting better every day," Boyle said. "I know it's boring, but we'll see how it feels [Monday].

"I want to get back out there. It's just tough. What's smart and the right thing to do, and what you want to do don't always match up. I'm optimistic to hopefully get back soon."

Boyle has missed three games since a hit by Ottawa's Chris Neil knocked the six-foot-seven centre out of action, but the Rangers have won each game Boyle has sat out.

New York was also without forward Brandon Dubinsky in Game 1, and he was seen on crutches Sunday at the team's training facility, leaving his status for Game 2 in doubt. Defenceman Steve Eminger played as a forward for the first time, logging four shifts for a total of 4:25 of ice time in the opener.

"I wouldn't put him out there if I didn't think he could," Tortorella said. "He didn't play much, but he played fine."

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

[hockeygod]

Hitchcock, MacLean, Tortorella nominated for Jack Adams Award

The Canadian Press, Apr. 30, 2012

Paul MacLean, Ken Hitchcock and John Tortorella are the nominees for the Jack Adams Award.

The award is handed out to the head coach who has “contributed most to his team's success.”

MacLean made a splash in his NHL debut as a head coach after spending six seasons as an assistant with Detroit.

MacLean's Ottawa Senators surprised the league with a playoff berth and an 18-point improvement over last season's 13th place finish. The Sens also jumped from 26th to fourth in the league in goals per game.

“He makes the hard work fun in a weird way,” said Senators forward Nick Foligno. “He's done a great job for us. He's just come in and gotten to know everybody really well and understand what makes you tick and that's what allowed everyone to play their best because he knows when to push buttons and when to let off and that's what I think makes him such a great coach.”

Hitchcock took over the St. Louis Blues in early November with the team at 6-7-0. Since then the Blues went 43-15-11 and broke or tied 13 franchise records, including a 21-game home points streak and 30 home wins overall.

It's the fourth time Hitchcock has been nominated for the award, but the first in 13 years.

Tortorella guided the Rangers to first place in the Eastern Conference with a 51-24-7 record, their best regular-season performance since capturing the Stanley Cup in 1994.

The club's goals-against figure (187) was tops in the East, and they also led all teams in hits (2,419).

“It's a great honour for him,” said Rangers star Brad Richards. “He has worked with this organization the past three years to build something, and 51 wins this year is just a testament to him and the organization and how the players have bought in.”

Tortorella is the only one of the nominees to have won the award, when he led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the award last year.

The NHL also announced the nominees for Foundation Player Award.

Nashville's Mike Fisher, Toronto's John-Michael Liles and Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders were given the nod for the league's community service award.

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

[hockeygod]

Markham arena could be an NHL bargaining tool

Scott Stinson, national Post, Apr 30, 2012

Since plans to build a 20,000-seat arena in Markham were first revealed last year, details of the project have been hard to come by. Council only ever discussed it in private, and councillors were briefed only after they signed non-disclosure agreements.

The reason for the secrecy became apparent on April 20, when the proposal was finally officially unveiled: Public money would be used to fund half of the arena’s projected $325-million cost. Six days later – six days! – council approved the plan.

Just like that, Markham had agreed to invest an amount, $162.5-million, that is just shy of the town’s entire 2011 Operating Budget of $164-million, in a building that would somehow make money by hosting concerts and ice shows and monster truck rallies and maybe a junior hockey tournament.

No referendum. No consultation with the public. The projected wasn’t even put to tender. This is how boondoggles start.

The NHL is the reason, of course. Hopes of luring a second NHL team to the greater Toronto area have been in the background of the Markham arena talk from the beginning, even though the principals – businessman Graeme Roustan, developer Rudy Bratty and Mayor Frank Scarpitti -have been careful not make a hockey team part of the public discussion.

Except, inconveniently for them, we now know that council met with NHL executives as far back as 2010.

“I don’t want to get [Commissioner Gary] Bettman in trouble, but we met with him,” councillor Jim Jones told my colleague Tim Shufelt on Friday. Another councillor, Joe Li, explained that it was obvious the NHL was key to the plan. “Spending that kind of money just for culture and entertainment? Come on. We won’t even break even.”

Precisely. The councillors’ comments come after the Markham Economist & Sun reported last week that a confidential report prepared by town staff advised negotiating a termination clause in the arena deal should Roustan fail to land an NHL team. It cited unnamed sources who said the proposal was being fast-tracked so a viable plan could be presented to NHL officials in case of a franchise relocation.

Why all the cloak-and-dagger business about the NHL? Because this is how Bettman likes these things to be conducted. An NHL-ready arena in Markham becomes an excellent bargaining chip when the league wants to convince a city that already has a franchise that it needs to invest public money in a new or upgraded arena. The next time the teams in Phoenix, New Jersey or Florida, for example, run into financial problems, the prospect of a glittering new building awaiting them in hockey’s largest market will be used to get the owners a sweeter deal at home. That’s a nice franchise you have there, fellas. Be a shame if something were to happen to it.

Could an NHL team come to Markham? It could, but only after significantly compensating the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and only after Bettman has exhausted all other options. He’s made no secret of being loath to move teams. More likely, Markham’s council has put up $162.5-million just to help the NHL’s current owners gain some negotiating leverage.

It is a baffling turn of events. The town has tried to reassure residents that this is all no big deal, since its share of the arena costs are to be recouped via development levies that are tacked on the construction of new residential units. It won’t cost taxpayers a thing, council has purred.

Except it will. Once those millions start to roll in, it becomes public money. It could be used on pools, libraries, garbage collection, whatever. It will be used to pay down the cost of a new arena. Taxpayers, that is, will be paying for it.

Don’t worry, the town assures soothingly: There’s a business case for it. Think of the economic benefits! Except arenas don’t spur growth. Last year, I spoke with Judith Grant Long, a Harvard professor who wrote a book about public-private arena deals. She summed up her research like this: “It is very difficult to make a case that significant economic benefits are to be derived from developing new major league sports facilities.”

So there’s that. Meanwhile, what if development slows and the funding isn’t easily recouped? What if the arena runs over budget, as such things are wont to do? What if the NHL stays away? The councillors of Markham might want to talk to their counterparts in Kansas City, which built an arena in 2007 that was intended to host an NHL or NBA team.

They don’t have one yet. But they’ve no doubt hosted some nice concerts.

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

[hockeygod]

MCKENZIE: HUNTER NOT WORRIED ABOUT OVECHKIN'S ICE TIME

BOB MCKENZIE, The Hockey News, May 1 2012

I don't think Washington Capitals head coach Dale Hunter is going to worry about Alex Ovechkin's ice time in Game 2 Monday night, which was a low 13:36, because Hunter has one thing on his mind and that is to win hockey games and win a playoff series.

The fact of the matter is, the last four years in the playoffs Alex Ovechkin has averaged between 23-24 minutes per game. They lost in four straight games to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round of last year's playoffs, they lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round two years ago, they lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round three years ago, and they lost in seven games to the New York Rangers four years ago. This team has no playoff success.

Now, could Hunter minimize Ovechkin's ice time on an 82-game regular season? Not a chance in the world. Might it backfire on Hunter before this is over? It might, but if he comes out with a win and gets the Capitals to the third round of the playoffs and if Ovechkin's minutes are 13 minutes or 19 minutes – he's averaging better than 19 minutes going into Monday night's game – Hunter doesn't care. Hunter is so old school; he will do whatever it takes to win a hockey game and I don't think he's worried about his job. I don't know if he wants to come back next year, he just wants to win hockey games and he'll do it even if it ticks a lot of people off.

—–

Less Ovechkin leads to more success for Capitals; Kings offense shouldn't be a surprise

The Hockey News, 2012-04-30

The NHL Playoff Recap gives you THN's take of what happened in each game of the night and what the consequences will be for the rest of the series.

We also provide our Three Stars of the night, which will be tabulated after each round. First Star is three points, Second Star is two points and Third Star is one point. Be sure to vote on who you think the first star was as well.

Of course there's the other side of the coin: The Black Hole is a piece of the lineup that just couldn't get it going on a given night and contributed to a difficult evening for the team.

CAPITALS / RANGERS, GAME 2: CAPITALS 3, RANGERS 2 (SERIES TIED 1-1)

THN’s Take: All right, so let’s see if we’ve got this straight here. The Washington Capitals game plan is to play Jay Beagle more than Alex Ovechkin. And they hope to win doing that, right?

Well, whatever works for the Capitals, who have become a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma in this spring’s playoffs. Finally getting the playoff goaltending they’ve needed and treating their superstar and $10 million man like a third liner has them even with the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Of course, the Capitals were supposed to be the best team in the Eastern Conference themselves, which is a whole other matter to dissect.

There’s little doubt that after a limp and frustrating Game 1 of their second round series, they’re running with the New York Rangers just fine. But whither Ovechkin, who played periods with ice time of 3:33, 5:41 and 4:22, but provided the Capitals with the margin of victory with a patented Ovechkin goal midway through the third period in a 3-2 win.

There were a number of observers, this corner included, who thought the Dale Hunter experiment would not end well for the Capitals. And until the Capitals squeaked into the playoffs, there was little reason to believe Hunter would fare much better in the post-season than Bruce Boudreau did before him. But where Boudreau would try to play tough love with Ovechkin, Hunter has actually gone out and done it. Same with Alex Semin, who received even less ice time than Ovechkin in Game 2. Perhaps the biggest difference between Hunter and Boudreau, aside from the emphasis on playing team defense, is that Hunter is not beholden to Ovechkin the way Boudreau was.

And Hunter has some currency here. He knows Capitals management has watched the team try to do it Ovechkin’s way in the playoffs for a couple of years and they’ve failed miserably. If giving Ovechkin less ice time and less responsibility for singlehandedly delivering victories leads the Capitals to more success, you’re not going to find too many people outside Ovechkin’s inner circle who would have a problem with that. We’ll see if that continues to work, particularly if the Capitals start struggling, but Hunter clearly knows what it takes to win playoff games.

Aside from the winning, this has not exactly been a great playoff for Ovechkin from a personal standpoint. His ice time has been cut drastically, he was called out by teammate Troy Brouwer prior to Game 2 and had as poor an outing in Game 1 as he’s had in any playoff game in his career.

But when the game was on the line and when the Capitals were one the power play, Ovechkin had the puck on his stick and made the most of his opportunity to be a difference maker. And let’s not forget that for all his offensive struggles, he’s still leading the Capitals in scoring in this year’s playoffs. And he did manage to unleash seven shots in the game, which was more than any player on either roster.

But with a team that is getting it done with defense, goaltending and team commitment that renders its stars far less important, the Capitals have never relied on Ovechkin less than they are right now.

And as crazy as that sounds, it might be what leads them to more playoff success than they’ve experienced since he entered the league.

Three Stars

1. Michael Del Zotto – His team lost, but Del Zotto was a force offensively, assisting on both Ranger goals. He also hit two crossbars in the game.

2. Braden Holtby – He didn’t have to provide his customary spectacular play, but the rookie goal was very steady in outplaying all-world Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Holtby’s stop on a Chris Kreider breakaway directly led to the Capitals taking it back and scoring to make it 2-0.

3. Alex Ovechkin – It’s not as though Ovechkin has been playing badly in the playoffs, but he certainly made the most of his limited ice time, taking shots, playing physically and being engaged on the backcheck.

—–

Alex Ovechkin the role player?

James Mirtle, Globe and Mail, May 1, 2012

He sat on the bench for much of the game, drawing the attention of the CBC crew covering it and those watching at home mainly for just how little he was on the ice.

Alex Ovechkin played only 18 shifts on the night, with 3:33 minutes in the first period, 5:41 in the second and 4:22 in the third.

And his 10:36 at even strength was more than only three teammates: Mike Knuble, Alex Semin and Keith Aucoin.

This is a new way of deploying a $9.5-million four-time 50-goal scorer, but it ended up paying off, with Ovechkin scoring the winning goal in Monday's Game 2 on a late game power play.

"You have to suck it up and use time what Dale is giving to me," Ovechkin said of his coach, Dale Hunter, after the game.

Ovechkin's ice time on Monday was a career low for the playoffs, but it's part of a trend under Hunter where he's kept on the bench in favour of pluggers like Jay Beagle as the Caps play a far more defensive style than we've seen since the lockout.

"Ovi is a team guy and he is cheering his guys on," Hunter said. "He knows what these guys are going through at the end of the game. They've got to go out and slide and block shots. He appreciates that.

"The one thing is that he has been real fresh for the power play."

No kidding.

As a long-term strategy, this doesn't particularly seem like the most effective one, although Ovechkin has without question had a mediocre season by his standards.

At first, this all appeared to be a motivational move by Hunter. Now, it simply seems the coach feels he has a better chance to win in the playoffs with his shot blockers on the ice.

One interesting tidbit from all this? Game 3 will mark the second most postseason games Ovechkin has played in a season in his career, matching the nine the Caps had last year when they were swept in Round 2.

His average ice time over the five playoffs he's taken part in, meanwhile, has been very consistent until now: 24:03, 23:21, 23:06, 23:30 and 19:09.

—–

Ovechkin makes most of limited minutes

TERRY KOSHAN, QMI AGENCY, May 1 2012

Interesting how the captains contributed, or didn’t, as Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinal between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals unfolded Monday night.

There was Rangers captain Ryan Callahan hitting everything in a Capitals sweater — in Callahan’s case, defenceman Mike Green was more or less everything — and trying to set the tone for the evening.

The Caps defencemen picked up on it as Roman Hamrlik and Karl Alzner, like Green, began hearing footsteps.

And there was Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin doing a whole lot of nothing as coach Dale Hunter used him for just 3:33 in the opening 20 minutes.

Sure, the Caps had some penalties to kill, thereby upending the flow off the bench, but it was only three, and two of those were in the final few minutes.

One of the simplest tenets in playoff hockey is that your best players have to be your best players. Hard for that to happen when your most prolific performer is spending most of the game standing at the bench or taking it one step further and dangling one leg over the boards.

But give Hunter credit — he pushed the right buttons for Ovechkin in Game 2.

If nothing else, Ovechkin has a flair for the dramatic, an ability to make a difference that most players are incapable of making.

Few of his NHL colleagues can score from 40 feet with a wrist shot, but Ovechkin did just that during a Capitals power play with less than eight minutes remaining in the third period.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was screened by teammate Ryan McDonagh and Caps forward Troy Brouwer and was unable to pick up Ovechkin’s shot, which went into the net and stood up as the winner.

In the end, Ovechkin was on the ice for a total of just 13:36 in a 3-2 Capitals victory.

But as stars can do, he made the last of those minutes count.

—–

Alex the Villain wins it for Caps: Ovechkin doing all he can with few minutes he has

MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency, May 1 2012

NEW YORK – It was the favoured chant of the capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden Monday night.

Cue the coutdown.

“Five … four … three … two … one … Ovie sucks! … Ovie sucks! …” they screamed in unison, mocking Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin.

For the first two periods, it seemed to be working.

But anyone familiar with Alex Ovechkin knows he loves the spotlight. In the third period, he grabbed it, much to the chagrin of the New York Rangers and their fans.

In true Ovechkin form, The Great Eight ripped the winning goal at 12:33 of the third to give the visiting Capitals a 3-2 victory. This best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal is now tied at one game apiece.

Not bad for a guy who played six minutes less than Jay Beagle.

And five minutes less than Troy Brouwer.

And two minutes less than Matt Hendricks.

Those Capitals players have never been known as superstars.

Ovechkin has.

In the minds of some, he still is.

In the end, six Capital forwards received more ice time than the 13:36 given to Ovechkin. That list, by the way, doesn't include Washington's other star sniper, Alexander Semin.

While coach Dale Hunter insisted Ovechkin’s conservative minutes were due to the Caps “rolling four lines,” it’s easy to see the dilemma that Ovechkin finds himself in.

He wants to play gobs of minutes. And he wants to win in the playoffs. Hunter doesn’t necessarily see the two going hand in hand.

Monday night, Ovechkin put on a good game face. As the clock ticked down, he smiled and yelled support to his teammates, all while his butt was nailed to the bench in favour of more defensive-minded players.

“I feel good,” Ovechkin said. “You have to suck it up and use (the) time that Dale is giving to me.

“The most important thing right now, guys, is just to win the series and win the game. If you are going to talk about my game time and all that kind of stuff, it’s not (the) season -– it’s the playoffs. It’s what I said before, you have to suck it up and play for the team.”

Notice that Ovechkin is using the term “suck it up” a lot.

Does that seem like the phrase used by a happy camper?

Yet, when you saw the way he occupied the role as the team’s lead cheerleader down the stretch, well, there certainly are mixed messages coming from Ovechkin.

“Sometimes if you’re not (in) there you feel like you’re not in the game but if you have 10 second shift or 5 second shift you just have to go there and do something. It’s kind of hard but it is what it is,” Ovechkin said.

Maybe he’s not a fan of Hunter. At the same time, Hunter’s blueprint is working, and, at least for the time being, Ovechkin is putting any potential sulking on the back burner while this Hunter-guided ride continues to be successful.

“Ovie is a team guy and he’s cheering his guys on,” Hunter said. “He knows what these guys are going through at the end of the game. They’ve got to go out and slide and block shots. He appreciates that.”

But does Ovechkin appreciate playing 10 less shifts in a game than Jay Beagle (28-18)? We doubt it.

The Caps built an early 2-0 lead Monday on goals by Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera before the Rangers clawed their way back. A Brad Richards tally in the final minute of the first period was followed by a Ryan Callahan marker in the third, setting the stage for Ovechkin’s heroics.

As for the crowd’s mockery of him, Ovechkin took it in stride. He knows very well that fans don’t abuse you like that unless you are good.

“They pay their money, they see you play, they can do what they want,” he laughed.

On this night, the Garden faithful didn’t see much of Ovechkin, but it was enough to know he still has the makeup to be a hero on any given night, Dale Hunter or no Dale Hunter.

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

[hockeygod]

CBC’s Scott Oake shares story of his son’s fatal addiction

BRUCE DOWBIGGIN, Globe and Mail, Apr. 30, 2012

Known to millions as the host of Hockey Night in Canada, Scott Oake has been keeping something quiet for more than a year now: the loss of his eldest son Bruce to a fatal spiral of addiction.

Thirteen months ago, Bruce died in Calgary of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 25. After a brief leave to grieve, the CBC sportscaster returned to the broadcast booth to complete the 2011 playoffs and 2011-12 regular season. But the pain remains.

“That’s the one thing we learned,” Scott says, recounting the tragedy from the living room of his Winnipeg home, accompanied by wife Anne and their youngest son Darcy. “That addiction knows no socioeconomic boundaries. We’re just an average family.”

Bruce Oake was one of more than 36,000 people who died of a drug overdose in North America in 2011. His use of opioids, in particular, is part of an epidemic. One study on drug use among Ontario students found that one in five teenage girls admitted to using an opioid painkiller without a prescription. Canadian sales of the most popular such painkiller, OxyContin, rose to more than $240-million in 2010 from $3-million in 1996.

The Oakes have largely kept their grief private since March 28, 2011, the day Bruce overdosed. Now, to help raise awareness and money for an as-yet-unnamed addiction facility in Winnipeg (Darcy, an acclaimed illusionist, is performing a charity magic show at Manitoba Theatre Centre June 14 and 15), the family has decided to talk. In an exclusive interview with The Globe and Mail, the Oakes say they want people to understand that while the lives of those dying from drug addiction may have a common end, their stories encompass every segment of society.

For Bruce, that meant growing up in the home of a high-profile dad in sports-crazy Winnipeg. He boxed, played music, got into mischief. “He was a difficult little boy,” recalls Anne, a trained nurse. “He had ADHD, and they diagnosed him with Tourette’s, and he had trouble in school. He was always acting out. He struggled his whole life.”

Any hopes that Bruce would grow out of his teenaged behaviour were dashed when he wound up in hospital one night in 2007. He had an OxyContin problem. “We don’t want to make it seem he was a poor put-upon kid,” Scott says. “He was running with the wrong crowd. We had to pull him back into the house and get help for him.”

Thus began a harsh education about drugs, rehab facilities and the perils of addiction that only ended in Bruce’s passing. “He was in detox here in Manitoba for a week,” Scott says. “We took him right from there to a private rehab facility just outside Toronto at considerable cost. He was there for 45 days. We were naive about this, thinking, ‘That’s all it’s going to take. He’ll need some time in this facility and he’ll be fine and we’ll go back to our happy little lives.’ That’s not how it turned out. After that, we came to the realization that we’re in for a long and protracted struggle.”

That struggle took Bruce to facilities in Winnipeg, Halifax, Toronto and, finally, Calgary. The drugs ranged from crystal meth to OxyContin and injectables like heroin. By Darcy’s count, Bruce was in detox eight separate times. “He’d go to rehab, get clean and then come out, get his swagger back and be right back at it,” Darcy says. “He’d think he could control it, have a drink, then it would spiral out of control.”

Bruce’s life became a continual search for drugs. “When he was in Halifax,” Anne recalls, “he used to buy OxyContin and hydromorphone from a guy whose wife had cancer, and he was selling her cancer painkilling medication.”

“He could always find what he needed,” Scott says. “It’s like addicts have radar. They can just tell.”

The last, best hope for recovery was Simon House, a non-profit facility in Calgary that Scott has visited and liked. “When he went to Calgary, we hoped the drug lifestyle was over with and he’d get out and make better decisions,” Scott says. “It seemed to help. Even up to the weeks before Bruce died he had a good job, a nice place to live, a car, a girlfriend who really loved him. It wasn’t like he was on the street. But inevitably, he got in with whatever people could give him what he needed.”

When Bruce died, Scott and Darcy soon found escape in their work. Anne, on the other hand, has only recently returned to her job as a palliative nurse. “We never lose any sleep over what we might have done,” Scott says. “Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. We did every possible thing we could to save him.” Scott acknowledges that there was a likely genetic contribution to Bruce’s addiction – “We don’t deny there has been an addiction problem in my family,” he says – but that in the end, his son could not be saved unless he wanted the help. “He wanted it to an extent,” Scott says, “and he wanted a better life, but he just couldn’t conquer [the addiction].”

When NHLer Derek Boogaard died of an overdose seven weeks after Bruce’s passing, Scott felt his private grief intersect his professional life. “Young men that age can kid themselves into thinking they’re going to be alright no matter what. Why else would he come out of rehab and start using right away?” he says of Mr. Boogaard. “He thought he was cured. He could handle it. In the end it cost him his life.”

The problem for NHL stars and average people alike, Scott says, is “you have no hope of recovery as an addict if you don’t do the right things for the rest of your life. And those are pretty difficult decisions for a 23- or 24-year-old. For someone that age to say, ‘I can never have a drink like my buddies, I can’t party the way they do. I have to put myself in better situations, make better decisions.’ Derek Boogaard couldn’t do it. And Bruce couldn’t do it.”

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

[hockeygod]

Ovechkin won't win clash of wills against Hunter: Captain rides pine while Caps win

By MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency, May 2 2012

NEW YORK – Five things we have learned through the first two games of the Washington Capitals-New York Rangers Eastern Conference semifinal, which is deadlocked at 1-1 heading into Game 3 Wednesday night at the Verizon Center in the U.S. capital.

1. Alex Ovechkin is not going to win any clash of wills with Caps coach Dale Hunter.

Ovechkin's 13:36 of ice time in Game 2 has become THE issue of contention in this series, especially since the likes of Jay Beagle received six minutes and 10 shifts more than the Great Eight.

When asked about how little he had played, Ovechkin, who scored the winning goal in the third period of the Caps 3-2 victory, twice used the term "suck it up" when referring to the good of the team.

Six forwards, including Beagle, played more than Ovechkin, which had some critics second-guessing Hunter.

Really, people, as long as the Caps are winning, do you really think Dale Hunter cares?

Not in the least.

It's obvious that Hunter views Ovechkin as a defensive liability. So, as long as the Caps have the lead, don't expect to see him get a lot of ice time.

Should Washington fall behind, well, that's a different story. In that case, Hunter will double-shift his top goal scorer whenever possible to generate offence.

2. Most Capitals are buying what Hunter is selling.

A year ago the Caps were swept in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Twelve months later, with Hunter at the helm, they've already won once in the second round.

And as long as they keep posting W's, the players will keep drinking Hunter's Kool-Aid.

"It's hard to argue when we're winning hockey games," forward Jason Chimera said. "A lot of guys, their ice time has gone down, but we're winning hockey games. You can't argue with that."

Added veteran forward Mike Knuble: "Anybody who's following our team, you see he's coaching the situations."

3. Braden Holtby continues to prove to doubters that he is The Real Deal.

We've seen one-round wonders before — former Habs Cinderella story Steve Penney comes to mind — so anointing the Capitals rookie as the "next great thing" after his performance in upsetting the defending Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins in the opening round might be, well, a bit premature.

But there is no doubt he continues to impress.

After a wobbly effort in the Caps' 3-1 loss in Game 1, Holtby was outstanding in Game 2, stopping both Chris Kreider and Michael Rupp on full or partial breakaways.

More important to Hunter is the fact that Holtby has not lost back-to-back outings in his past 25 games. If he extends that streak, the Caps will have a legitimate shot against the No. 1 seed in the east.

4. Chris Kreider has brought some spark to a Rangers offence that could use one.

"Moribund" is probably the best way to describe New York's pop-gun attack through the first two games. Sure, they won Game 1, but they did it with just 14 shots on goal.

As a result, Kreider, the big, smooth-skating rookie who was celebrating an NCAA hockey championship just three weeks ago with Boston College, had been bumped up to the Rangers top line by Game 2. Whether he stays there for Game 3 remains to be seen, but he has brought an infusion of energy to a New York lineup that badly needs it.

Kreider's wheels were on display in Game 2, when he sped to a breakaway before being stopped by Holtby. On a team full of fierce forecheckers, the addition of Kreider has certainly upped the skill level of the Rangers forward ranks.

5. Marian Gaborik must be a difference maker.

The way New Yorkers have embraced Brian Boyle now that he's back in the lineup, you would think he's Mark Messier. And that's fine. But with these games all threatening to be close, it's time for the highly-skilled Gaborik to take matters into his own hands.

Gaborik arguably has as much raw talent as any forward in the league, but can be invisible at times during the tight checking of the NHL playoffs. With a cap hit of $7.5 million, he should be one of the Rangers best players each and every night.

Thus far in this series, he has been anything but that.

CAPITALS FORWARDS ICE TIME

A look at the ice time of Washington Capitals forwards in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Rangers on Monday, a 3-2 Caps win.

1. Jay Beagle, 19:58

2. Troy Brouwer, 18:48

3. Brooks Laich, 17:46

4. Marcus Johansson, 16:55

5. Nicklas Backstrom, 16:18

6. Matt Hendricks, 15:26

7. Alex Ovechkin, 13:36

8. Jason Chimera, 13:05

9. Alex Semin, 12:27

10. Joel Ward, 12:06

11. Mike Knuble, 9:49

12. Keith Aucoin, 9:29

—–

Quality minutes matter to Ovie's teammates: Capitals D-man Alzner knows Ovechkin will come up big regardless of ice time

The Associated Press, May 2, 2012

Alex Ovechkin's ice time keeps shrinking in the Stanley Cup playoffs, all the way down to a career-low 13½ minutes in Game 2 of the Washington Capitals' NHL Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Rangers.

Seems to be working so far.

With the teams tied at a game apiece and shifting to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET), followed by Game 4 on Saturday, a major topic of conversation is how little two-time NHL MVP Ovechkin is playing.

Despite the reduced action, Washington's captain and leading scorer did manage to net the winning goal on a power play in Game 2.

"To be honest, it's not even something that we notice. We don't go down the sheet at the end of the game and say, 'How much did 'Ovie' play?' That's just not something that we do," Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner said Tuesday, a day off for Washington's players.

"You know he wants to play more, and he's frustrated by not playing 20 minutes. But he doesn't care — he wants to win that game. Playing 13 minutes, he goes out and scores the most important goal of the game. It doesn't really matter how much he plays; he's going to come up big."

No one on the Capitals has scored more goals this post-season than Ovechkin's three. And he leads the team with six points, too.
Languishing on bench

But head coach Dale Hunter is hiding Ovechkin on the bench for long stretches at a time, especially when the Capitals are trying to protect a lead.

During the regular season, the player known as Alex the Great topped Washington's forwards by averaging 19 minutes 48 seconds of total ice time, and 16:08 of even-strength ice time. In the playoffs, Ovechkin ranks only third, and his numbers are down to 19:08 and 15:23.

"If guys are getting upset about ice time, and that's all you're worrying about, then you're off. You're just not going to play good," Alzner said. "I've seen that happen to a lot of guys."

In Monday night's 3-2 victory at New York, Ovechkin's 10:36 of even-strength time ranked only eighth among Washington's 12 forwards – and was nearly six full minutes less than Jay Beagle, for example.

"We've got guys like Beagle, [Jason] Chimera and [Matt Hendricks] that are looked at when we're leading in a game to maintain that lead," forward Troy Brouwer said, "and Alex knows that, and he has to accept that."

Whether Ovechkin's diminished role is a result of an inability or unwillingness to play the sort of safe, possession-focused, defensive-minded hockey that Hunter seeks – or a result of something else – it's tough to argue with the results. After all, the seventh-seeded Capitals got past the second-seeded and reigning Cup champion Boston Bruins in a tight-as-can-be, each-game-decided-by-one-goal series.

And now Hunter's Capitals are even with the top-seeded Rangers.

"He's coaching the situations. He's playing certain guys. If we're down a goal, [Ovechkin is] going to be our main guy. He's going every other shift. If we're up a goal, then Dale tends to lean on other guys. That's the way it is," forward Mike Knuble said. "I guess they can talk about it this summer after the season and figure it out. For now it's working and we're going to run with it."
'Suck it up'

After Monday's game, Ovechkin said: "You have to suck it up and use [the] time … Dale is giving to me. … Sometimes, if you're not [out] there, you feel like you're not in [the] game, but if you have 10-second shift or 5-second shift, you just have to go there and do something. It's kind of hard."

And during the Bruins series, Ovechkin acknowledged: "Of course, sometimes you get angry you didn't play a lot [of] minutes. And sometimes you get angry you're not out there. But if it's good for the team, you have to eat it."

One direct consequence of his reduced role is less action for New York defenceman Dan Girardi, who had been averaging about 27 minutes in the playoffs before playing about 20½ minutes in Game 2.

"That's the matchup we're trying to get," Girardi said.

Asked whether he's surprised by Washington's strategy with Ovechkin, Girardi replied: "I don't know much about that. You'd have to ask Dale Hunter."

That wasn't possible Tuesday: Neither Ovechkin nor Hunter spoke to reporters at the team's practice facility in Virginia.

When Rangers coach John Tortorella met with the media in New York, things got a little testy, but not before he responded this way when asked about Ovechkin's paltry ice time: "I don't worry or comment about the other team."

Looking for more in-depth analysis?

Rangers defenceman Michael Del Zotto wasn't quite ready to credit the Capitals with doing much at the offensive end.

"We gave them all their goals. They're going to have to do a better job of earning them," he said. "As a whole team here, we can't just give them freebies like that."

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

[hockeygod]

Who is Marc Bergevin?

JAMES MIRTLE, Globe and Mail, May 2, 2012

The Montreal Canadiens announced on Wednesday they have hired former NHL defenceman and Chicago Blackhawks assistant general manager Marc Bergevin as their new GM.

Here’s a closer look at who he is and what he brings to the table of one hockey’s most high profile jobs:

The person

Bergevin, 46, may just be the complete opposite of outgoing Habs GM Pierre Gauthier, as his reputation for years has been as the funniest man in hockey.

There are dozens of stories about him playing pranks on teammates, coaches, trainers, hotel staff and flight attendants – among others – and he was often acquired by teams late in his career because of his personality and what he brought to the dressing room.

"He's the only one I've ever seen prank the GM," former teammate Craig Conroy once said to the Calgary Herald. "It was hilarious. (Former Blues GM Larry Pleau) had gotten a prank on Bergevin and he was going to get him back."

That gag involved an elaborate setup where Bergevin had a reporter write a fake story ripping the GM and had it slipped into Pleau’s package of morning reading material.

Blackhawks legend Denis Savard, who took Bergevin into his home as a rookie in Chicago when he knew little English, had a similar story.

“[You] go to the bathroom, and he fills your coat pockets with forks, knives, salt shakers,” Savard told Blackhawks historian Bob Verdi in an article last year. “Then he’d tell the restaurant owner ‘this guy next to me is stealing stuff.’ Thank goodness Bergie took it easy on me.”

(The Hockey news once did a six page article detailing all of his various exploits in the prank department, including a second equipment bag he carried full of props.)

Bergevin told the Chicago Tribune earlier this season that he’s toned down his act since moving into the executive office.

"Once in a while I'll crack a joke, but I stay away from that mostly," Bergevin said. "It's not a big part of my life anymore. In the office, I like to joke around with the people up there, trying to keep things loose. In that regard I haven't changed."

Bergevin grew up in the Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood in Montreal, so taking the Habs job will be a homecoming. His father was a firefighter in the city for years.

He is married to a Chicago native (Ruth) and has two sons (Wes and Rhett) and a daughter (Elle).

The player

Bergevin retired in 2004 after 20 years in the NHL with eight different teams. Drafted in the third round by the Blackhawks at age 17 in 1983, he was an undersized stay-at-home defenceman known for playing a safe, physical style.

After winning two Calder Cups in the minors in Springfield, Bergevin’s best season production-wise was with the Hartford Whalers in 1991-92 when he had 24 points in 75 games.

His best overall campaign, however, was likely when he was plus-27 and played a top four role with the first-place St. Louis Blues in 1999-00.

Bergevin is ranked 97th all time with 1,191 NHL games played and late in his career had a reputation for being a fitness fanatic, which is how he played almost until his 39th birthday.

Internationally, he took part in the 1994 world championships in Italy when Canada won gold for the first time since 1961.

"When we had him before, he was such a good influence with young kids, and he's such a good character guy," former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Craig Patrick said of Bergevin during his second stint there in 2003. "But also he's a guy who helps relieve a lot of tensions in the dressing room and on the bench.”

Some of Bergevin’s closest friends in the game are Mario Lemieux, Luc Robitaille, Joel Quenneville and Al MacInnis, so he keeps pretty well respected company.

The hockey exec

Bergevin was named a pro scout in September of 2005 with the Blackhawks a year after retiring and has been part of that organization ever since.

In 2007, he was moved up to director of pro scouting. In 2008, he became an assistant coach, and in 2009, he was promoted to director of player personnel.

That year Bergevin finally won the Stanley Cup for the first time.

“It meant so much to me,” he told Verdi. “As a child, I took off school to sit on my cousin’s shoulders for the parade in Montreal. A year after I left the Red Wings, they win the Cup in 1997. A year after I left the Tampa Bay Lightning, they win the Cup in 2004. That’s the year I retired, with Vancouver. Many of my friends, like Mario, won the Cup and invited me to parties. I never went. The year Anaheim won, in 2007, I was scouting for Chicago. Third period, I had to leave. I couldn’t watch. That’s why I was so emotional in Philadelphia. I was a mess.”

Suddenly Chicago’s executives were in demand elsewhere, and assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was hired to be the Winnipeg Jets GM last summer. Bergevin took on that role as Stan Bowman’s right hand man in June and has earned praise from Scotty Bowman as having a keen eye for talent.

"He's got tons of connections," Stan Bowman told the Tribune recently. "He's the kind of guy on a team that people would gravitate toward. You play that out over a 20-year career, and he's got so many different connections he can draw upon."

“My strength is not numbers, salary cap stuff, but I will learn,” Bergevin said last summer shortly after being promoted to assistant GM. “I always tried to realize what I could do and what I couldn’t do.”

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

[hockeygod]

Leafs on 24/7? Zzzzz

Bruce Dowbiggin, Globe and Mail, May. 02, 2012

HBO has selected the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings as the featured teams for its 24/7 documentary next season. A large reason for the appearance of a Canadian team on the U.S.-based show, says John Collins, chief operating officer of the NHL, is the ratings success of last year’s Stanley Cup Final between Boston and Vancouver.

“The historical view had been you need two big U.S. markets in any of these games to pop a number,” says Collins. “In this case the best hockey won out. It was so compelling people forgot about their own teams and joined in. It opens up an opportunity to do more with NBC and HBO to make them less reliant on U.S match-ups. It also allows us to go back to our Canadian partners and go ‘See? It can work’. It led directly to scheduling Toronto and Detroit for the Winter Classic in 2013.”

The appearance of the Maple Leafs on 24/7 is a no-brainer for ratings as Leaf Nation would tune in to see Brian Burke mow his lawn. But let’s be honest, the best Canadian team for TV purposes would be the Vancouver Canucks (the most hated team in the NHL for many) against Detroit or Chicago or Boston. Postseason fame is what fuels interest, and Toronto hasn’t seen a playoff game since Paul Martin was Prime Minister. Vancouver, meanwhile, has played a number of bitterly contested series since 2009.

Maybe the Leafs pick up Roberto Luongo or someone else vaguely interesting this summer. Maybe Brian Burke loses it (again). Otherwise it’s a snooze for all but the most hopelessly smitten Buds fans. What’s the headline? What Red Bull hat does Dion Phaneuf wear today? Imagine instead the bile when Alex Burrows, Maxim Lapierre or Ryan Kesler appear at the United Center in Chicago or the TD Centre in Boston. Better TV by a mile.

Honour Crimes: In his essay in last Friday's Globe and Mail, Ken Dryden talked about when respect governed NHL players’ treatment of each other on the ice. Dryden cited an incident in which Detroit legend Gordie Howe warned Johnny Bower of Toronto “Look out, John, I’m behind you” as he approached the future Hall of Fame goalie from behind.

Many have criticized Brendan Shanahan, the NHL vice-president of player safety, for allowing too much cavalier behaviour by unrepentant players this season. It might surprise some that Shanahan cites the same standard of civility when making his own judgments. In an interview with Usual Suspects, Shanahan described the “live and let live” standard he used as a player – and which he applies in his current post.

Talking about a controversial hit earlier this season when Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg hit Columbus’ Nikita Nikitin from behind (and was ejected from the game as a result), Shanahan relied on his own experience as a player going into the corner against a vulnerable defenceman.

“This is one of those things where you had to play it to feel it to get it,” Shanahan told us in his New York City office. “Those plays don’t happen all the time. To me, when I went in the corner (as a player) and put my hand on the guy’s back it was my way of saying ‘I’m here’. Sometimes with a guy who’d played with you you’d do that and yell ‘Heads Up! Coming through’.

“Because Nikitin got hurt there was an immediate uproar. But when I looked at the video I said I think (Zetterberg) has got his hand on his back, but Nikitin blows a wheel. It looks like he was pushed, but to their credit, the Columbus player and GM said (Nikitin) didn’t get pushed, he fell, So the major penalty (assessed to Zetterberg) was rescinded. That’s an example where what looks like a shove is a different thing.

“By the way, I asked Columbus after that if they’d have said the same thing in playoffs, and they said no. So I had an idea of what was ahead in this job (as the playoffs approached).”

Oake Follow Up: We received a lot of feedback from our interview with CBC’s Scott Oake and his family over the death of their son Bruce to a drug overdoes in March of 2011. Some wanted more information about the event in Winnipeg on June 14/15 in which Darcy Oake, Bruce’s brother, will perform his acclaimed illusionist show at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. Here’s more.

“Life’s not a Hollywood movie,” says Darcy. “What we’re hoping by opening a facility here is to make it into something positive. Be positive and spread the message. There’s such a stigma about drug abuse. Nobody wants to talk about it. People look at you with those sad pity eyes and no one knows what to say, and you’re at the point where you’re consoling other people when you’re trying to deal with it on your own. I don’t want his addiction to define Bruce.”

Scott Oake says the idea of the piece is to raise parents’ awareness of the signs. “To the families, be aware. Recognize the signs. Don’t kid yourself. If you have concerns, check them out. When Bruce started fooling around with crystal meth he’d come to the cottage and sleep the whole weekend. We’d wonder if that’s just being a young guy. Looking back, he was going hard on [the drug] and was catching upon his sleep when he came off it. When we came to the realization that he had a problem, we acted.

“We made a decision instantly that we weren’t going to hide behind his cause of death. Anne and I wrote the obit on the plane to Calgary and asked that everyone make donations to Simon House and they got a lot of money in Bruce’s name. And we heard from people after that they had someone in their life who thought enough about it to go to rehab, so there’s that immediate positive effect. We weren’t hiding behind it then and we won’t now.”

Life Of Brian: Everyone has justly celebrated the announce position between benches in the NHL popularized by Pierre McGuire. Intimacy and all that. How quickly they forget. Back in 1974, Brian McFarlane got very up close and personal during this Flyers/ Rangers playoff game. Our favourite part is when Mr. Peter Puck asks lineman Matt Pavlich to triage the cut on Barry Ashbee. Sadly, the injury ended Ashbee’s career.

Tip Line: Why the rich are not like the rest of us. Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen has money the way a beach has sand. The NFL tried this weekend to ensure that no one tipped off the draft picks on TV or social media before commissioner Roger Goodell announced the selections at the dais.

Allen must have missed the memo (cough, cough). Allen broke almost all of the early Round 1 picks and trades on Twitter before Goodell could start his hug-it-out session with players on the stage. Then, after the Seahawks made their pick, Allen went back to ironing the thousand-dollar bills in his wallet. Cold.

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

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