Articles

[hockeygod]

Flames go off the board to select lanky Quebec high schooler: Calgary trades down for a player Weisbrod calls 'the next Nieuwendyk'

Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald, June 23, 2012

Mark Jankowski was going to the Calgary Flames. No matter what.

The namebar was already on the jersey.

The Flames had spoken to the 17-year-old centre hours before the National Hockey League draft — just to make sure he was the one.

He was.

The team, in fact, had been prepared to snag the kid with the 14th pick Friday at the Consol Energy Center.

And when it became apparent that Jankowski would be available later in the first round, the Flames shuffled their pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 21st and 42nd overall picks.

Then — to the shock of Flames fans, to the glee of Flames staffers — general manager Jay Feaster made it official, calling out the name of a player who’s the product of Quebec high school hockey, who’s bound for Dubuque of the U.S. Hockey League next season, who’s joining Providence College the season after that.

Off the charts? Yes.

But colour the team sold.

Particularly John Weisbrod, the assistant general manager.

“Weis thinks this guy, if he’s not the most talented guy coming out of this draft, he’s going to be one of them,” said Feaster.

“High expectations. This is a player that we had targeted.”

Added Jankowski: “I really want to prove them right. That’s what I’m here to do. I think in 10 years I can be the best player in this draft.”

This past season, Flames’ director of scouting Tod Button saw Jankowski first. Liked him a lot.

Next up was Weisbrod.

In December, he happened to be in Quebec to see another prospect — who, because of injury, ended up not playing. That left Weisbrod with a gap in his schedule. Button told him to fill it with a trip up the highway to see Jankowski.

So Weisbrod pointed his rental car into a blizzard — and away he went.

Beyond the kid’s name, he knew little.

“I can tell you I was in a bad mood — I was driving two and a half hours through snow,” said Weisbrod. “But by the middle of the second period, I was laughing out loud by myself in my seat.

“He’s a long way away, he’s raw, he’s young, he’s still got to cross the crocodile-infested waters and develop properly — like, it’s a long way from draft day to play in the NHL — but the physical attributes this guy has. The athleticism. The skating. The hands. The fact that he’ll likely be playing at six-four, 215. I’ve said it to our scouts all week long — he’s Joe Nieuwendyk.”

Jankowski has bloodlines, too.

Grandfather Lou Jankowski played for Detroit and Chicago. Uncle Ryan scouts for the Montreal Canadiens.

And Jankowski’s great-uncle? Would you believe the legendary Red Kelly?

But the kid himself did the convincing.

Not only did he ace three interviews with the Flames, he did wonders on the ice.

Jankowski, who doesn’t turn 18 till September, tore it up for Stanstead College, piling up 94 points, including 53 goals, in only 57 dates.

Central Scouting took notice, boosting the Hamilton native’s ranking from 74th to 43rd.

But what about the competition level — high school hockey in Quebec?

“It’s not the same as playing in the OHL — but in his OHL draft year, he was five-nine,” said Feaster. “But I give our guys credit — they look past what the level of competition is and say, ‘What’s the skill level?’ Our guys are pretty confident that that skill is going to translate into the next level and ultimately make him an NHLer.

“He’s a guy that’s still developing. This isn’t the pick last year at No. 13 where Sven Baertschi plays five games for us this year — and we expect him to make our team out of training camp next season. (Jankowski) is a guy, there’s going to be development time.”

Having a potential plum squirrelled away in a wee boarding school, just north of Vermont, is not necessarily a bad thing, either.

“We knew he was playing in a league where a lot of people would undervalue him,” said Weisbrod. “He was playing against weaker competition. He was playing in obscure places. We knew that would help downgrade him in some team’s minds.

“If you want to let a guy lay in the weeds, that was a good place to do it.”

But when selection No. 21 arrived, it was now or never.

“I don’t want to share anyone’s business,” said Weisbrod, “but I know he wouldn’t have made it through (the first round).

“I know at least two teams that would have taken him.

“We knew we had to take him (Friday) — it was just a matter of where.”

—–

I knew Lou Jankowski and his son, Ryan. I enjoyed chatting with Lou at many of the local Tier 1 and Tier 2 / Midget AAA games in town. Ryan started as the shipper / receiver for Hockey Canada back in the 1990's around the same time I left. He moved up into the video department, scouted for the Spokane Chiefs for many years, then became the NYI scout in Prague, CZ for a few years, before getting promoted to AGM of the NYI. He was released after a few years and got hired by the Habs as an amateur scout. He still lives in Calgary with his wife, whom I first met and worked with almost 20 years ago – she is a teacher but was an athletic therapist at the time. These memories make me feel pretty old! I remember Ryan playing minor hockey and watched him play Junior B!

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

[hockeygod]

Secret ballot sees Calgary Hockey's pee wee body checking ban defeated

CALGARY — ALLAN MAKI, The Globe and Mail, Jun. 23 2012

When the time came, there was no discussion, just a secret ballot vote. And with that, Hockey Calgary’s plans to remove body checking at the pee wee level were over turned.

At its 2012 annual general meeting Saturday, Hockey Calgary’s 24 associations voted against two motions put forward by the board of directors: the, first would have removed body checking for all players 11 and 12 years old effective for the 2012-2013 season.

The second motion, to remove body checking below the Division III level in midget and bantam beginning in 2013-2014, was also defeated.

Hockey Calgary president Todd Millar was asked to announce the actual vote counts on both motions but said that was not permissible under the organization’s bylaws.

Hockey Calgary’s controversial motions stirred much dissension over the last few months.

The board had assembled a body checking committee to investigate the matter and produce recommendations then decided what should be taken to the membership for voting.

That spiked emotions and produced wide-spread discussion and even hostility.

Grace Lane, the president of Westwood Minor Hockey, said she’d “never heard the [minor hockey] presidents yell or berate each other as much as they have over this issue … People are very passionate on both sides of the issue.”

Calgary’s minor hockey presidents had met multiple times over the past five weeks to determine which way to proceed.

When the first motion was defeated Saturday, it brought about cheers and applause.

Hockey Calgary had reviewed a study done five years ago that compared pee wee injuries in Alberta to those in Quebec, where hitting is not allowed at that level.

The study showed there was a 33 per cent increase in injuries in Alberta and a higher risk of concussion.

While Hockey Calgary chose to retain body checking, the Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association voted in favour of banning hitting in its house league games. (Body checking will still be allowed in the rep leagues by more advanced players.)

The Pacific Coast Association, which oversees Vancouver-area kids, was 76 per cent in favour of no-hitting in its “fun leagues” in the hopes of reducing injuries.

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

[hockeygod]

Enshrine Shero already!

Larry Brooks, New York Post, June 24, 2012

PITTSBURGH — When the Hall of Fame selection committee meets Tuesday in Toronto, it will be time — well past time, actually — for the 18-member board to select Fred Shero for induction.

If not, it will be time — well past time, actually — for one of these members to come forward, break the shackles of secrecy under which the committee operates, and explain the arguments to the rest of the hockey world that would have been used to deny entry to the Hall to one of the most successful and influential coaches in NHL history.

We have been through this before, and more than once, in this space — year after year in fact, while the fact is simply this:

The exclusion of Shero — who coached consecutive Stanley Cup winners in Philadelphia in 1974-75 in the franchise’s seventh and eighth seasons in the NHL; who was the first NHL coach to hire a full-time assistant; who was the first NHL coach to visit the Soviet Union and incorporate systems he learned watching the Red Army practice; who would scribble the types of inspirational sayings on the blackboard that are now inscribed on the walls of NHL teams’ locker rooms; whose Flyers beat the Red Army on Jan. 11, 1976, when victory seemed so important to the Western Hemisphere; and who finished his coaching career with a .612 winning percentage and four trips to the finals in nine full seasons behind the bench — is inexcusable.

There must be agendas at play here in order to deny Freddie the Fog his rightful place — petty ones, at that. Without sunlight on the process, without accountability of the voters, there only is this evident truth: Blocking Shero’s entry into the Hall of Fame is a reflection on the committee and on the process, not on the coach or his career.

There’s a segment of hockey society that might believe Shero unworthy because of his role in inventing the Broad Street Bullies — who pillaged, plundered and took no prisoners in cutting a swath through the NHL in the mid-70s (and who, by the way, are glorified by the league’s marketing department at every opportunity).

There’s a terrific book by Todd Denault, “The Greatest Game: The Montreal Canadiens, the Red Army, and The Night that Saved Hockey,” that tells the story of not only the 1975 Christmas Eve 3-3 tie between the Canadiens and the Red Army, but posits that the Canadiens saved the NHL from the Flyers and their thuggish ways with the sweep of Philadelphia (minus the injured Bernie Parent) in the 1976 Finals.

ButIf it is Shero’s association with the Broad Street Bullies is that is deemed so offensive by a high enough percentage of the 18-person committee to keep the coach out of the Hall of Fame, then why was Philadelphia owner Ed Snider enshrined in 1988, when the memory of such wanton behavior was fresh in everyone’s mind?

Why was Keith Allen, the general manager of those teams, enshrined in 1992? (By the way, Allen’s official bio on the Hall of Fame’s website includes this priceless line: “… helped build the violent, controversial, but ultimately successful Broad Street Bullies and to this day remains in the organization as a vice-president.)

Out damn spot!

Why then was Bobby Clarke, not only the Flyers’ captain but the guy who broke Valery Kharlamov’s ankle with a, uh, let’s call it, a “violent, controversial, but ultimately successful” slash in Game 6 of the 1972 Summit Series against the USSR, enshrined in 1987?

So let’s recap:

The owner of the Broad Street Bullies: Hall of Fame.

The general manager of the Broad Street Bullies: Hall of Fame.

The captain of the Broad Street Bullies: Hall of Fame.

The coach of the Broad Street Bullies: Not.

Why not? Please: why not?

Shero was never part of the good old boys club, never was a politician. Had few cronies. Marched to the beat of his own drummer. Had a relatively short NHL career due largely to a disease he could not beat.

But he was one of the great coaches in the history of the league, one of the most successful and one of the most innovative.

He had a Hall of Fame career behind the bench. Shame on the Hall of Fame selection committee if Freddie is not properly recognized in the voting on Tuesday.

* Brendan Shanahan, whose 1996 acquisition remade the Red Wings from underachieving lightweights into all-time multiple Cup champions, and the transcendent Joe Sakic are locks for first ballot election into the Hall.

Mats Sundin is a possibility in his first year of eligibility. It’s probably too much to expect election of Anders Hedberg, Pavel Bure or Alexander Mogilny, all of whom are deserving of the honor.

* So the charge of East Coast bias against the media: How about Jonathan Quick receiving just 21 top-three votes from NHL general managers in the balloting for the Vezina while Henrik Lundqvist went 30-for-30?

Hockey Night in Canada refuses to believe Stephane Auger has retired until the show hears it from Alexandre Burrows.

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

[hockeygod]

Hockey bodychecking review continues

By Katie Schneider ,Calgary Sun, June 24, 2012

While Hockey Calgary has given the green light to bodychecking, Hockey Alberta is still reviewing the controversial tactic to see where, if and how it fits in Alberta rinks.

On June 8, Hockey Alberta kicked off its annual general meeting with a seminar about bodychecking and is in the process of forming a committee that will examine the whole scope of the play in the game, said general manager Rob Litwinski.

Hockey Calgary members voted against removing body-checking in peewee, and certain levels of bantam and midget at its annual general meeting held Saturday.

“We are expecting to take the next year to review the body-checking item within our organization, but that’s not just specific to whether it’s in peewee or not,” Litwinski said.

“The committee itself won’t be just looking at peewee checking or not — it will look at the whole scope of bodychecking and what we have in the game.”

And decisions or recommendations on the matter, if any, won’t likely be made by the committee for a year, he said.

The committee is still formulating what their objectives will be in looking at bodychecking, but he anticipates it will look at allowing it in certain divisions.

“A big part of our committee, we believe, will likely be looking at what options there may be in this sport in bodychecking,” he said.

Bodychecking has become a divisive issue that has split the hockey community.

It’s already been banned at the peewee level in both Quebec and Ontario.

“It’s about getting a feel with the environment out there now and ultimately get to a point where we can see if there is a need for change and a desire for change in this province.”

Hockey Alberta is made up of 200 associations, counting Calgary and Edmonton as one.

Hockey Calgary would have to abide by any provincial mandates made by Hockey Alberta.

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

[hockeygod]

Sunday Night Hockey in Canada, anyone?

BRUCE DOWBIGGIN, The Globe and Mail, Jun. 24 2012

The possibility of a second network night in the next Canadian TV broadcast contract due in 2014 might be the NHL’s solution to extending its brand in Canada while keeping as many Canadian TV partners in the game. The idea emerged after a discussion this weekend at the NHL Draft in Pittsburgh with NHL Chief Operating Officer John Collins.

Relaxing on a sofa beneath the stands of the Consol Center just prior to the start of Round One of the draft, Collins was asked what new possibilities exist for media initiatives. “I like the fact that Sunday Night Football has become the No. 1 show on television in the U.S.,” Collins said. “Not just the No. 1 football program in America, but the No. 1 television program overall. That gives us lots of hope for our upcoming Canadian TV rights discussions.”

Collins, a product of the NFL, didn’t elaborate, but Hockey Night In Canada already owns Saturdays. But the thought naturally occurs, why not a second night in an age when sports remains TV’s go-to property? The NHL grows ever more popular in Canada, experiencing saturation coverage on TSN and Sportsnet, with CBC and other networks not far behind in trying to exploit the stickiness of hockey as a Canadian broadcast property. Could the NHL emulate the NFL’s push to expand its brand in football-crazy America?

Monday Night Football was the dominant football program (and overall program) for decades. When the NFL decided to create a special Sunday night platform for a national game, many scoffed. Monday’s the night with the history, status and viewership. After seven or eight hours of football already on Sundays, who was going to stick around for more?

Apparently, everyone. NBC is now king of the networks on Sunday, no small thing in the era where networks are seeing their traditional advertiser-driven schedules abandoned for PVR, AppleTV and a host of new media alternatives. So could we see a second featured night of network hockey in Canada? If it means the NHL keeping Bell, Rogers and CBC all writing big cheques for its rights, look for the NHL to provide platforms to satisfy their needs.

Quick cuts

Collins hit on a number of other TV subjects in an exclusive chat.

On the importance of the Los Angeles Kings making L.A. a hockey market: “We were in the market last year doing focus groups in major cities to understand how high is the bar for casual fans. In Los Angeles, no one could identify a Kings player. [Anze] Kopitar was maybe the one guy they were trying to mention. This was last summer. Game 6 of this year’s final, they did a 25 share in L.A. It was really important. And once you come off a Stanley Cup run your ratings are better from then on.” (Plus, former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson says he watched the NHL, not NBA, playoffs this spring.)

On Canadian antipathy toward the final rounds with no Canadian teams: “It was a tough road for CBC, coming off the highest-rated final in decades with Boston/Vancouver (in 2011). That was as good as it gets. So nothing else could be as good as that.”

On programming differences between Canada and the United States: “We had a lot of things to work out in terms of schedule, with games overlapping. In the U.S. that didn’t seem a problem. They were looking at ratings cumulatively, like [NCAA basketball] March Madness. But in Canada, our broadcasters didn’t want overlap. We learned a lot, and we’ll spend time in the summer trying to figure it out.”

On the positives from the 2012 playoffs: “The first two rounds were great quality, with great buzz . We had almost a New York City final with the Rangers and New Jersey in the Eastern final. We lost a little bit when the Devils won, because even though they have the championship legacy of Stanley Cups, they’ve still not got the tradition like the Rangers. By most measurements it was a pretty successful final, coming off the greatest rated final in a long time.”

On the NHL awards, which (aside from Will Arnett’s killer Brendan Shanahan impersonation) tanked again: “It’s tough. Players like it. I’d love to figure it out, I’d love to have more fun, I’d love for the players to be more comfortable. I’d like to get more fans in. It is what it is. We’ll keep working on it.”

Finally, on Rangers coach John Tortorella’s feelings about the HBO cameras invading his dressing room for the cable channel’s 24/7 series. “The last filmed session, just before the team was going on ice, he turned to the HBO camera and said, ‘I want to talk to you guys.’ … He went on to say how much he respected HBO, that they had respected him and his players, and he said he spoke on behalf of everyone. ‘You guys have been welcomed into the hockey family, you have built the relationships. I just want to thank you. Now, after the game, don’t let the door hit you in ass on the way out.’”

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

[hockeygod]

NHLPA draws line in the dirt ahead of contract talks

DAVID SHOALTS, The Globe and Mail, Jun. 25 2012

About nine months ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman put together a wish list for the coming labour negotiations with the players.

Like anything to do with collective bargaining, it was mainly about money: Lowering the players’ share of revenue from its current 57 per cent to less than 50, cutting players’ rights to salary arbitration, not allowing wealthy teams to get bad contracts off their books by sending the player to the minor leagues, clamping down on front-loaded contracts and limiting the lengths of any player contract.

There is also a push from some of the small-revenue teams to lower the minimum payrolls, or salary-cap floor, to ease their financial woes.

“We don’t want to give up too much and they want to get as much as they can. That’s the whole thing,” Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan said Monday in Chicago as the first of three days of NHL Players’ Association meetings ended. Details may or may not be revealed this week but for the players it essentially means saying no to the owners when the negotiations begin, in the words of NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, “very quickly,” after the meetings finish on Wednesday.

The way the players see it, they gave the owners a 24-per-cent rollback in all of their salaries in 2005 when the current agreement was reached, in addition to finally agreeing to a salary cap based on revenue, at a cost of losing the entire 2004-05 season to a lockout. Even though both the players’ unions in the wealthier NFL and NBA agreed to reduce their share of league revenue to narrow bands of 47 to 48.5 per cent (NFL) or 49 to a little more than 51 per cent (NBA) in recent settlements, the NHL players feel they gave up a lot seven years ago and don’t need to be as generous this time when the agreement expires Sept. 15.

Other issues for the players are the escrow system that came with the salary cap, in which money is withheld from their pay cheques to ensure they receive the proper share of league revenue, developing a concussion protocol, travel and scheduling and participation in the Olympics.

The trouble is the NHL still has the same over-riding problem it did seven years ago – the 10 or so teams at the top of the revenue chart make all kinds of money while teams in the middle struggle to break even and the 10 teams at the bottom lose millions of dollars a year.

Introducing a salary cap based on revenue only exacerbated the problem in the case of the poorest teams. As the Toronto Maple Leafs and the other Canadian teams, aided by something else no one saw coming seven years ago, the Canadian dollar at par, piled up the revenue, the small-revenue teams found it harder and harder to hit the minimum salary limit each year. In the first year of the current agreement, 2005-06, the cap ceiling was $39-million (all currency U.S.). In the season just ended, with the NHL announcing record revenue of $3.3-billion, the cap floor was $49-million.

The owners’ solution is to cut down the players’ share of the revenue. Now that the NFL and NBA players agreed to take 50 per cent or less, the NHL owners are confident they can do the same.

The players, though, see the solution through more revenue sharing. It was introduced in the current agreement, albeit in limited fashion, but the Coyotes and Panthers et al are still swimming in red ink.

“The players had their salaries rolled back by 24 per cent but somehow none of that [money] got into the hands of the small-revenue owners,” said player agent Anton Thun of Toronto. “The reason for that is the revenue redistribution model didn’t work.”

Since many small-revenue teams feel the current revenue-sharing system is too restrictive because they need to hit certain growth targets or they lose part of their share, any labour disruption could be as much about squabbles among the owners as it is between them and the players.

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

[hockeygod]

Gretzky champions physical side of hockey

TORONTO — Robert MacLeod, The Globe and Mail, Jun. 25 2012

When it comes to the raging debate on whether tougher restrictions are necessary on when bodychecking is first introduced to minor hockey league players, the game’s greatest offensive force does some adept verbal stick-handling on the subject.

Wayne Gretzky was in Toronto on Monday where he was among the first individuals appointed to the Order of Hockey in Canada, a new initiative through which Hockey Canada recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions or service to the growth of the sport in Canada.

The NHL’s career scoring leader with over 2,800 points, Gretzky was never known as a punishing physical player and one who, later on in his career, spoke out against escalating violence in the game.

“Most people probably think that I think there shouldn’t be hitting in hockey,” Gretzky said when asked what he felt the proper age to introduce bodychecking to players at the minor hockey level. “But I think that in the game of hockey, the physical side of the game is very important.”

To Gretzky, who retired following the 1998-99 season after a 20-year NHL career, said players at a young age not only need to be taught how to check but also how to take one.

“It’s just as important for players like myself to learn how to take bodychecks,” Gretzky said.

However, Gretzky admitted he was uncertain at what age in a player’s minor hockey development that bodychecking should first be introduced.

“Obviously at the age of 11 or 12 years old. … If you’re going to continue on that path and become a junior player or college player, that you have to learn how to take bodychecks,” he said. “Not only give bodychecks but take bodychecks.

“So maybe we redefine leagues. Maybe there’s kids that don’t want to pursue it as a career but like playing it for the enjoyment of the sport and for the recreation of the game. Maybe down the road there’s two different categories.”

The debate on bodychecking in minor hockey continues to be a hot-button topic across Canada as parents look to better protect their children in a sport where the documented cases of concussions has risen to an alarming rate.

Over the weekend in Alberta, Hockey Calgary voted against a motion that would have banned bodychecking at the peewee level.

“It’s a real physically demanding sport and it’s never going to change,” Gretzky said. “The players are better athletes today, they’re bigger and stronger. And I understand why parents and some people have apprehension about when hitting should become part of the game.

“So I guess through all that I really don’t have a real answer for you.”

Gretzky was one of five people appointed to the Order of Hockey in Canada, along with former NHL greats Jean Béliveau and Gordie Howe, although neither was present.

Former women’s national team member Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who captained Canada to two Olympic gold medals in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Turin, Italy, in 2006, was also honoured along with Gordon Renwick, a long-time Canadian amateur hockey executive.

Bob Nicholson, the president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada, said the issue of when to start introducing bodychecking to younger players is a complex issue.

He said the most important thing is that younger players, no matter what the age, receive the proper coaching on bodychecking techniques.

“There’s no magical age,” Nicholson said. “Kids start playing hockey at different ages, their skill levels are different. We just have to emphasize with coaches how to teach the skill of checking.”

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

[hockeygod]

Learning to embrace the evolution of hockey's rules

The Globe and Mail, Roy MacGregor, Jun. 25 2012

Hey, c’mon now, it’s obvious.

Approximately 99 per cent of those Calgary peewee hockey players will play 99 per cent of their hockey without bodychecking, presuming they continue into their 60s and 70s as the rec players they are destined to be. So why pretend it’s the NHL when it’s not and never will be?

Wait, though. What are these peewee teams supposed to do when they travel to a weekend tournament in, say, Saskatoon – learn how to give and take a hard check in the warm-up?

Okay, then what are they supposed to do if they head in the other direction and play a team from, say, Vancouver, where bodychecking in peewee has already been banned – unlearn their contact game in the warm-up?

And what of late bloomers? Hockey has them, believe it or not. Are they supposed to learn bodychecking in their basement and driveway just in case they can later make a competitive team?

That’s ludicrous. There are studies that show that 11-<EN>and 12-year-old hockey players knocking the stuffing out of each other are four times more at risk for concussion than if they’re not smashing into each other. Given what little we know about the lasting effects of shots to the head, surely common sense dictates you don’t do it.

And on and on it goes, the endless debating of the national game, from peewee and below all the way to the NHL.

In the end, no matter what the result – in Calgary they voted not to ban bodychecking at peewee – it comes down to a battle between those who call for change and those who rigidly oppose any and all change, as if hockey is never to be tampered with for fear its essence will be lost.

The fact of the matter is that hockey is forever changing, whether by rules or fashion. Just compare this spring’s playoffs to last year’s. There were no new rules, just new strategies, and, consequently, two wildly divergent styles of play.

Earlier this month, respected hockey historian Paul Kitchen, once a pretty good player in his own right, wrote a piece for the Ottawa Citizen that was a welcome reminder that Canada’s national sport is forever being reinvented.

Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick – Stanley Cup champion and MVP of the 2012 playoffs, might like to know that in 1886, when the first hockey league was formed, the rules stated that: “The goal keeper must not, during the play, lie, kneel or sit up on the ice, but must maintain a standing position.”

Kitchen also pointed out that in the game’s first instructional manual, it was said that the goaltender “should never rely upon his assistants to stop any shot.”

Just try to imagine – if you dare – the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs if such thinking were still in force.

A scan through the “major rule changes” in the game – most of them initiated at the NHL level – can leave the average fan reeling. They changed from two 30-minute periods to three 20-minute periods. They dropped the sixth skater – known as the rover a century before Erik Karlsson brought it back in Ottawa – and went with five (some now argue in favour of dropping another and going with four skaters aside).

Penalties were three minutes long and no substitutes allowed for the full three. They came up with delayed penalties. They blew the whistle if they thought any one player was “ragging” the puck – an incomprehensible thought in today’s era of the 22-second shift.

They changed the bluelines, changed them again, and may still change them yet again. They fastened the goalposts to the ice and then unfastened them to the ice.

They brought in the forward pass, the single most dramatic change the game has known.

They put in the red line, took out the red line, and there are many today who will argue they should put it back again.

Decades into the game, they came up with an offside rule, later changed it to delayed offside, later changed it to automatic offside, later went back to delayed offside.

They came up with clearly defined rules for icing, yet today no one in the entire hockey world can say for sure what is icing and what is not.

Goaltenders were once considered fair game outside their crease but protected inside; now they are protected (sometimes) outside and considered fair game inside.

Home teams wore white, visiting teams dark, then visiting teams dark, home white.

They went from no body contact on faceoffs to nothing but body contact in faceoffs. They came up with the penalty shot. They had tie games that ended, then tied games that went into overtime, then tied games that went to shootout.

It would require the rest of this newspaper to detail all the changes made to a simple penalty call, to the number of players on the roster, even to the number of officials on the ice.

Suffice to say, change has never been something to be feared and avoided in hockey.

It is, rather, the constant.

That is not to say every proposal should be embraced – many of us, in fact, don’t know what to think about the peewee bodychecking debate – but it is to say that many proposals deserve consideration.

And any that improve the game on the ice, whether in terms of skill or safety, deserve more than that.

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

[hockeygod]

Wayne Gretzky honoured with inaugural Order of Hockey in Canada

Tyler Harper, The Canadian Press Jun 25, 2012

TORONTO — As he received yet another award honouring his career, Wayne Gretzky said he had no regrets about leaving hockey.

No, he isn’t returning to the sport he conquered — not now, anyway. Instead, Gretzky was content to say he did all he could for the sport during his career.

He recounted his last game as a 10-year-old when his team was beat 8-1 that capped a season he scored 400 goals.

“On the car ride home my dad asked me if I was OK and I said, ’Yeah, I’m fine.’ And he said, ’Well, you ruined your whole year … people are going to come and watch you play. You have to play hard every night,”’ said Gretzky.

After that, Gretzky said he tried to play hard whether he was in an exhibition game or in the Stanley Cup final.

“I had a lot of bad games like every other player, because you can’t play well every single night. But I know I tried hard every game.”

The Great One was one of five people to receive the inaugural Order of Hockey In Canada on Monday for being an individual who made a significant impact on the sport in the country.

Gretzky was joined by Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who captained Canada’s women’s team to a pair of Olympic golf medals.

Campbell-Pascall said the award showed “a tremendous amount of legitimacy and respect for our sport of female hockey.”

Gord Renwick, who helped establish what is now known as Hockey Canada and spent two decades as a board member with the International Ice Hockey Federation, was also honoured.

Hockey legends Jean Beliveau and Gordie Howe were also given the award, although neither were present.

Gretzky, Campbell-Pascall and Renwick were surrounded on stage by members of Canada’s under-18 women’s team and the senior women’s team. Both teams were awarded rings for each capturing gold at the world championships.

Future classes will include just three people honoured annually for the award, which is voted on by a 12-member selection committee.

“For us to be the first ones, it’s a great honour,” said Gretzky. “Everyone’s tickled to be here and be part of this. This is a wonderful night for all of us.”

Gretzky retired from the NHL in 1999 after a long career that included four Stanley Cups and later an Olympic gold medal as manager of Canada’s men’s team at the 2002 Winter Games.

But he was still thrilled to share his latest award with Beliveau and Howe, two of his childhood heroes.

Gretzky said he was home Sunday visiting his father when he found one of the few pictures he has of meeting Beliveau.

“So I brought it up to show my son and I think my dad thought somebody was stealing it. He immediately took it back downstairs and put it back,” said Gretzky.

As for Howe, the player who Gretzky said is still his idol made an early impression when he was 17 and the Edmonton Oilers were playing the New England Whalers.

Gretzky remembered Whalers coach Harry Neale being asked by a trainer about what to do about a pair of skates.

“[Neale] said, ’Those are Gordie’s skates. If I don’t hide them, he won’t take a day off.’ And I remember thinking at 17 years old, wow, he’s 48 years old and he’s still the same player and the same person he was.”

Gretzky’s playing days are over, and, following his tenure as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, he said a return to hockey “isn’t in the cards.”

But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future.

“Everything I have in my life is because of hockey and everything I have in my life is because of the National Hockey League,” he said. “Simple as that. It’s the greatest game in the world.”

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

[hockeygod]

Islanders reportedly offered Blue Jackets all of their draft picks

Sean Fitz-Gerald, The Associated Press, Jun 25, 2012

One report cited several anonymous NHL sources saying the New York Islanders offered their entire allotment of picks to the Blue Jackets for the chance to pick defenceman Ryan Murray second overall.

A terrible team offered to trade every single pick in its draft to acquire the one star player it thought could save a franchise. It was 1999, and Mike Ditka, then in charge of the New Orleans Saints, traded his full allotment of picks to the Washington Redskins for the fifth overall selection — which he used to pick running back Ricky Williams.

Williams was the second running back taken, after Edgerrin James.

Before the draft, NHL.com quoted Howson saying his staff planned to meet to discuss a “few possibilities” that would have seen the team move down.

“I never liked (the trade),” former New Orleans salary cap consultant Terry O’Neil told The Times-Picayune around the 10-year anniversary of the pick. “I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now. I only wish I could have been more persuasive at the time.”

According to a report, history nearly repeated itself over the weekend, in the NHL.

Aaron Portzline, of The Columbus Dispatch, cited several anonymous NHL sources saying the New York Islanders offered their entire allotment of picks to the Blue Jackets for the chance to pick defenceman Ryan Murray second overall.

“That’s right, for the Jackets’ No. 2 pick, the Islanders offered pick Nos. 4, 34, 65, 103, 125, 155 and 185,” Portzline reported Monday. “The bounty would have given the Jackets the following picks: 4, 31, 34, 62, 65, 95, 103, 125, 152, 155, 182 and 185. And if that weren’t enough, the Jackets could have had the Kings’ No. 30 if they wanted it.”

Columbus finished 30 points out of a playoff spot last season. The Blue Jackets used the second overall pick to take Murray. Portzline said general manager Scott Howson declined comment when asked of the trade offer.

Before the draft, NHL.com quoted Howson saying his staff planned to meet to discuss a “few possibilities” that would have seen the team move down in the draft. There was no indication of how far they might have moved — or how many times said move would have resulted in them returning to the podium a DOZEN TIMES.

“The players that we have rated one and two are very close, and we’d be delighted to get either one of them,” Howson said, on NHL.com. “I think there are one or two players in this draft who will be able to step in right away.”

The Islanders took defenceman Griffin Reinhart at No. 4, and if history is any indication, general manager Garth Snow is probably lucky he was turned down.

Chris Botta @ChrisBottaNHL

Those paying even a little attention must know offers like that aren't suggested by Garth, so leave my old colleague alone.
25 Jun 12

How did it work out for the Ditka?

The Saints went 3-13 in 1999, and Ditka was fired in January.

“I don’t care if it was for the second coming of Walter Payton, there was no way the deal could work out,” Fox sports NFL analyst Chris Landry told The Times-Picayune. “And the fact that Ricky was a disappointment, a non-productive player for them, made it one of the worst trades of all time.”

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

[hockeygod]

Time to free up NHL free agency + 30 Thoughts

Elliotte Friedman, CBC Sports, June 26, 2012

Highly coveted 21-year-old Justin Schultz is now a free agent, having declined to sign a contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He can't officially join a new team until July 1, but is free to listen to offers and enjoy tea with potential suitors, which he will do this week.

Here's the question: Why can't every free agent do this?

What if the NHL had a similar system to the NBA, where everyone without a contract can talk to any interested party for, say, a week before new deals are allowed to be signed? Basketball free agency begins Sunday — just like hockey — but no one can officially commit until July 1.

The No. 1 reason for this suggestion is cutting down on mistakes for both the teams and the players. Free agency is where the most errors are made and it usually comes down to fit.

For NHL brass, there's a rush to make contact, toss out your best offer, get something done before you lose your target and overpay another guy you really don't like. For players, it can overwhelming. You're either flattened by multiple offers or panicked that you aren't getting enough.

And even if you do find something that makes you happy, do you really know what you're getting into? How much knowledge is there about the organization or the city? And if you're married, heaven help you if your wife is unhappy (I'm speaking from personal experience).

One former player disliked the idea because he thinks the current set-up favours his active brethren.

"The system forces teams to overpay," he said.

That's true. But after thinking about it, I'm not sure things would be any different. Let's say, for argument's sake, the "courting period" began a day or two after the draft. That could keep July 1 as the signing date and prevent things from dragging further into summer.

During that time, free agents could visit as many cities or talk to as many teams as they wished, chat face-to-face, look around, see where they're going to live, etc. Just because you can't sign for a few days doesn't mean the pressure eases on the teams.

Imagine the reports: "Zach Parise to visit Pittsburgh today, Detroit tomorrow and Minnesota Thursday" or "Ryan Suter leaves Detroit, heads to Chicago."

That's not going to cool down fan or media expectations.

It could also benefit organizations like the Carolina Hurricanes, a team without a huge free-agent history but with a core of players that love living in the area. Bring someone down, show them why everyone stays there and maybe you get lucky.

Of course, this isn't foolproof. Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers acquired Ilya Bryzgalov on June 7 and that didn't go exactly as planned. Yet despite that spectacular implosion, more mistakes occur because life-altering decisions are made with so little time to think.

Maybe it's better for everyone if things are done differently.

30 THOUGHTS

1. Wrote a little bit yesterday about the New York Islanders' offer to trade all of their selections in last weekend's draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the No. 2 overall pick.

After posting it, a few people pointed out that this was likely Islanders owner Charles Wang's idea more than general manager Garth Snow's. That's probably true. Wang wields great influence in hockey decisions, even though ownership interference in such matters is rarely a good idea (see Rick DiPietro or Alexei Yashin contracts).

Asked a few draft gurus what they thought of the idea. Two said they could see a situation where it could make sense.

"[It's] only a seven-round draft now," said one. "If you've traded a few of your picks and don't have many, maybe you try it for a top player."

New York did have seven choices, though.

Meanwhile, another exec said his organization joked about offering all of its selections for a certain prospect, but discarded the idea when internal discussions turned serious.

A few teams wouldn't consider making such an offer because, even though you may not find more than two or three players per draft, what are you going to do?

Get up and leave without trying?

"Talk about a way to piss off your scouts," said an exec.

The math in Monday's article showed there is some logic to the Islanders' offer — and the Blue Jackets' refusal — because of the success rate of the picks in question. Later picks are especially unlikely to succeed. Of the 57 men chosen either 125th, 155th or 185th from 1990-2008, just seven even played an NHL game (Three reached 100, the other four played a combined 22).

A few readers pointed out on Twitter that all those extra picks would give the Blue Jackets greater flexibility to make other moves and more chances to hit the jackpot.

There's great disagreement with that thinking. The trades at this year's draft were hockey deals, not about flipping picks. The Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames made their first-round swap, while the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks did a small one involving the 109th and 191st choices. Other than that, it was so quiet that just one timeout was called. Everything was done by approximately 3 p.m. ET Saturday.

This wasn't the draft to be stocking selections, never mind the fact that so many picks could cause headaches with a team's 50-contract limit. When it was all over, Columbus got two players it wanted — Ryan Murray (second) and Oscar Dansk (31st) — and the Islanders can't be too upset with Griffin Reinhart as so many teams raved about him in the last few weeks.

2. Schultz's suitors are wondering if Anaheim still plans to file tampering charges the moment someone actually signs him. It's a tough process. You're obligated to hand over whatever correspondence the NHL desires.

3. Reports indicate Roberto Luongo only wants to waive his no-trade for Florida, but that's a tough one for the Panthers to pull off. You could see how they would want him, hoping to grow momentum from a Southeast Division title. Florida's goaltending wasn't great in the playoffs and he could serve as a bridge while Jacob Markstrom gets ready.

4. Here's the problem, though. The Panthers believe Markstrom will be a difference-maker. What makes more sense, then, for a non-cap team: Re-acquiring Luongo or (eventually) handing the job to the younger man? Even if you get the Vancouver Canucks to take expensive bodies in return for Luongo, it's still easier to build around Markstrom because he will have a lower salary. For a budget-conscious team, that's critical.

5. Luongo might not prefer Toronto, but he knows it makes a lot of sense for everyone involved — even him. Several reports indicated Luke Schenn was offered for the goalie, but think Canucks GM Mike Gillis countered by asking for Toronto's fifth-overall draft pick. The Maple Leafs and Canucks are playing a macho game right now, but things will eventually get serious. Hopefully soon.

6. Will the seriousness begin with a Cory Schneider offer sheet? There's a lot of debate about this, but remember one thing: While Leafs GM Brian Burke has railed against this process in the past, he has stated his anger stemmed from the fact that the Edmonton Oilers didn't warn him in advance of the Dustin

Penner move. He did threaten to do it to the Boston Bruins, when chasing Phil Kessel. He doesn't like long-term deals, either. But he just added a guy (James van Riemsdyk) under contract until 2018. You assume, it if does happen, it would be modelled on the Niklas Hjalmarsson-Antti Niemi affair.

7. Generally, offer sheet talk is a waste of time. But I'm curious to see if two other players get any action. One is is Sam Gagner. He'll be 23 in August and the fit hasn't always been good in Edmonton. You're not going to throw $5 million at him, but is he worth a first- and third-round pick? (That's between $3,364,391 and $5,046,585.) There are a lot of teams looking for centres.

8. The other is Shea Weber and that probably depends on where Parise and Suter end up. The Pittsburgh Penguins have the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference, a little spooked. If they get one or both of them, other contenders are going to be desperate to do something. Desperate enough to make all-world defender Weber an offer?

9. Have always believed Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson's best opportunity to deal Rick Nash will be after Parise's decision. Think some other teams hoped their first-round picks would really appeal to Columbus, but that wasn't the case. My guess is that Nash and Bobby Ryan, if Anaheim wants to do it, get dealt after Parise signs. If Pittsburgh doesn't get Parise, Nash makes sense — assuming it has what the Blue Jackets want.

10. One GM (no one quoted here) says there are about "8-10' good players available via trade. Of course, he was not willing to name them.

11. If Ducks GM Bob Murray wants to repair the organization's relationship with Ryan, all he has to do is look 31 miles northwest to Staples Center. The Kings had an awkward exchange with Dustin Brown at the deadline. He still captained them to a Stanley Cup championship. It's not ideal, but things can be fixed.

12. Two months after their opening-round loss to Philadelphia, it's still a painful memory for Pittsburgh. But the lessons are being learned by Penguins GM Ray Shero. "The Kings won the Stanley Cup allowing 30 goals the entire playoffs," he said Monday. "We scored 30 in the first round and lost (Actually, they scored 26, but you get the idea). "We played so well when [Sidney] Crosby came back that we lost our identity a little bit … We became a more run-and-gun, off-the-rush team. Look at the penalty kill. We were first [in 2010-11] and third this year. In the playoffs, the Flyers scored at will." Pittsburgh's penalty kill was 47.8 per cent against Philadelphia, by far the worst of any playoff team.

13. What does all of this mean? Shero is targeting players like Brandon Sutter because "he is comfortable defending anywhere on the ice. You have to be able to defend to win. And not just your defencemen, but your forwards as well." Hockey analyst Darren Pang made a great point about Sutter on Twitter. Sutter's a right-handed shot — a balance for lefty centremen Evgeni Malkin and Crosby.

14. Shero might not have been happy Jordan Staal turned down a 10-year offer, but he did two important things for his franchise. He showed the fans the Penguins did everything possible to keep him. And he didn't punish Staal by sending him somewhere the forward didn't want to go. Players notice when teams do right. Sending Zbynek Michalek back to the Phoenix Coyotes didn't hurt Pittsburgh's image, either.

15. Heard a lot of praise for Brian Dumoulin, the Boston College defenceman Pittsburgh got in the deal.

16. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford handled this very smartly. He called Shero once after Pittsburgh was kayoed, promising not to be a bother, but admitting his interest. He called a second time six days before the draft. Then, when the Penguin GM was ready last Friday, Rutherford didn't fool around and made a serious deal. The head Hurricane had great incentive to get it done. Jordan's a terrific player. Also, why screw around, risk him getting sent elsewhere, thereby annoying your franchise player and captain?

17. It's well-known by now that the New York Rangers and Toronto talked to Pittsburgh. All Shero would say is there were two other legit suitors. Wondering if one was Minnesota because a couple of teams said they believed the Wild chased hard.

18. Last point on Staal. I think there was one team which considered going after him, but pulled back because of a potential lockout. Here's why. If you're not Carolina, it's not set up well for you to keep him if he's not showing up in your city until December. You lose the ability to really build a bond in the one year you have to convince him. Never thought of that until it was explained to me.

19. Finally, have to think there's no way Shero does this deal now without believing Crosby is healthy and locked-up long-term. All Shero would say is he hopes to get something done with his captain over the next couple of weeks.

20. Do believe the report that the Ottawa Senators is not on Rick Nash's list, but this would be a really good fit. He'd look great with Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson creating opportunities. The Senators will need a top winger to replace Daniel Alfredsson (how could Alfredsson retire if Nash actually did show up?). This is a team with the assets to close a Columbus deal. Don't know how flexible Nash is willing to be, but it wouldn't hurt to consider this.

21. Another attraction to Ottawa would be that the team is on the rise. Senators GM Bryan Murray didn't want to discuss Nash, but did slightly temper things: "We've got a lot of good young players, but we have to see which ones take the next step and which ones 'flatten out.'"

22. One of the keys for Ottawa will be finding a new partner for Karlsson. Filip Kuba, as it stands now, is unlikely to return. Jared Cowen would be a good fit, but Murray doesn't see any reason to split up the successful Cowen-Sergei Gonchar pairing.

23. A lot of questions about Karlsson's new seven-year, $45.5-million contract. It was a bit of a surprise because there was a minimal bonuses and no lockout protection. Karlsson did the Senators a favour by taking less cash with Gonchar's and Spezza's current contracts still on the books, providing flexibility. Murray and Senators owner Eugene Melnyk repaid him with a longer term than they initially wanted. Plus, if the age of unrestricted free agency rises in a new collective bargaining agreement, they'll be forced to qualify Karlsson at $7.5 million — the final-year salary of this deal. Fair deal for both sides.

24. The biggest test for the Flames now belongs to their player development staff. Whatever anyone thinks of 21st-overall selection Mark Jankowski no longer matters. They've made the pick and must make sure their investment is properly cultivated. You've heard all the adjectives: "raw," "project," etc. Now you've got to make sure he gets from point A to point Z. One scout compared him to Blake Wheeler, a surprise pick at fifth overall in 2004, which isn't too shabby.

25. A few Flames fans asked about Jay Bouwmeester. There are teams who do like him. He plays 26 minutes a night and is incredibly durable — having played 588 straight games. He can skate the puck of out trouble. "People have to realize he may never be the second coming of Bobby Orr or Paul Coffey, but he's still very useful," one exec said. 'So why don't you go get him?" I asked. There was a pause. "That cap hit." At $6.68 million, it's tough.

26. Wrote a couple of weeks ago that Brent Sutter would have received "official" permission to talk to Edmonton if he wanted (his contract with Calgary ends this week). Think I was wrong about that one. Sounds like the Flames weren't happy with the public dalliance between their former head coach and the Oilers. It's tough because we all understand the rivalry. But Calgary did fire Sutter and you can't blame a guy for looking at new work.

27. A lot of debate about Ondrej Pavelec's new deal in Winnipeg. Even though it turned out he wasn't serious about the KHL, he had leverage because the Jets are organizationally thin in goal. If he did leave or the team decided to trade him, the alternatives were not guaranteed to be better. By the time that Carey Price, Devin Dubnyk and Schneider are signed, this deal will look fine.

28. Besides being traded for each other, Schenn and van Riemsdyk have something in common: both needed a change of scenery. As I've written before, many teams believe Schenn will be better off outside Toronto and now we find out if that's right. The Flyers just seemed unhappy with van Riemsdyk as he was constantly included in trade discussions. He's more than capable of being a difference-maker, but must stay healthy.

29. Sharks GM Doug Wilson hates July 1, but does he make an exception for Ryan Suter? Maybe try to sell him on the fact uncle Gary Suter loved finishing his career there?

30. The Blackhawks were thrilled to get Teuvo Teravainen 18th in the draft. A few teams tried to move in from No. 12 on to get him, but couldn't get it done. The clubs in those positions would say, "If our guy isn't available, we'll make the deal," but always seemed to get their man. Chicago's gain.

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

[hockeygod]

SAKIC, SUNDIN, OATES AND BURE TO BE INDUCTED INTO HHOF

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 8/26/2012

Joe Sakic was only four when his father took him to a hockey game and his life-long love affair with the sport began.

The stylish centre who spent his entire 20-year NHL career with a Quebec Nordiques-Colorado Avalanche franchise parlayed that passion into a berth in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Sakic was voted into the Hall by the 18-member selection committee Tuesday along with three other star forwards who terrorized goaltenders over the last three decades — Adam Oates, Mats Sundin and Pavel Bure.

The players will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame on Nov. 12 in Toronto.

"I remember when I was four my dad took me to a Vancouver Canucks game against the Atlanta Flames," Sakic recalled on a conference call. "I fell in love with hockey and I wanted to play.

"It was all I wanted to do, on the ice or on the street."

Oates' honour came only hours after he was named head coach of the Washington Capitals.

"Obviously, it's been an absolutely fantastic day," said Oates. "I'm excited about the coaching job and to be called to the Hall of Fame — it's just a special day for me."

Sakic and Sundin, who began their careers as teammates in Quebec City, were selected in their first year of eligibility, while Oates and Bure got in after waits of five and six years, respectively.

They were the only inductees as no builders or women made it this year. Among those overlooked were power winger Brendan Shanahan, now the NHL's disciplinarian who was in his first year of eligibility, and former coaches Pat Burns and Fred Shero.

Between them, the four new members scored 1,967 regular-season goals and added 3,786 assists.

Sakic was a one of the smartest players of his era, who despite a slight frame, could make plays in heavy traffic or snap home a goal.

Sundin was a big, rangy centre who dominated the area around the net. He made his name mostly as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Oates was the premier passer of his time, who formed legendary one-two punch combinations with finishers like Brett Hull in St. Louis and Cam Neely in Boston.

Bure, a right-winger known as the Russian Rocket, could pull fans from their seats with his spectacular high-speed rushes up the ice for Vancouver and Florida.

Sundin is the second Swede in the Hall after another Toronto great, defenceman Borje Salming. Bure joins fellows Russians Vliacheslav Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak, Igor Larionov and Valeri Kharlamov.

Sundin said his eyes were opened to the skill level in the NHL by Sakic when he joined the Nordiques after being picked first overall in 1989 draft.

"When you're in Sweden, you're not used to seeing a player like that who can play at both ends of the ice," the 41-year-old said. "It was not only scoring points that impressed me, it was his overall game. He had no weaknesses."

Sakic was captain of his team for 16 years, the second-longest tenure in NHL history. He scored 50 goals twice and had six 100-point seasons. He won Stanley Cups in 1996, when he was playoff MVP, and in 2001.

The Vancouver native won the Hart Trophy and Lester Pearson (now Lindsay) awards in 2001 and was MVP of Canada's gold medal team at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also won world championship gold in 1994 and is a member of the Triple Gold Club of players who have won the worlds, the Olympics and a Stanley Cup.

Sakic had 625 goals and 1,016 assists in 1,378 NHL games.

Sundin never won a Stanley Cup, but was captain of Sweden's 2006 Olympic gold medal squad. He was also the first Swedish player to earn 1,000 NHL points.

The native of Bromma, Sweden, was traded to Toronto in 1997 and went on to play 13 seasons in the Maple Leafs pressure-cooker, the last 11 as captain. He holds Leafs records for most 20-goal seasons (13), most 30-goal campaigns (10), most game-winning goals (79) and most regular-season overtime goals (14).

"When you're retired you reflect on your career and you see how fortunate you were to have your passion as your profession," said Sundin, who had 564 goals and 785 assists in 1,346 career games.

He retired after the brief stint with the Canucks in 2008-09.

Oates, a Toronto native, was never drafted, but was signed as a free agent by the Detroit Red Wings in 1985 after three years at RPI. He developed into an uncanny playmaker who had 341 goals and 1,079 assists, which was sixth all-time, in 19 seasons.

He said he was brought up to emphasize setting up goals rather than scoring them himself.

"My father was British and a soccer player and he idolized Stanley Matthews," Oates said of the English soccer great known as The Magician who played at the top level for more than three decades. "He always said that if you're unselfish, the other players will like you."

Oates had four 100-point seasons, including 1992-93 with Boston when he had a career high 45 goals and 142 points. He played 19 seasons with Detroit, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Anaheim and Edmonton.

Bure defected from the former Soviet Union to join the Canucks in 1991 and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He became one of the most exciting goal-scorers of his time with 437 goals and 342 assists over 11 seasons with Vancouver, Florida and the New York Rangers.

He had back-to-back 60-goal seasons in the early 1990s and had five seasons of 50-plus goals.

"It's a huge honour," he said, before handing part of the credit to Pat Quinn, the co-chairman of the Hall of Fame selection committee who was his first NHL coach with the Canucks.

"I watched Pavel go from a 20-year-old to become one of the greatest stars of the game," said Quinn, who also coached Sundin in Toronto and Sakic with the 2002 Olympic squad

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

[hockeygod]

Edmonton Oilers set to name Ralph Krueger new head coach

John MacKinnon, Postmedia News, Jun 27, 2012

Sometimes those internal promotions can be the trickiest things, apparently.

When the Edmonton Oilers make it official Wednesday morning at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park that the 10th head coach in franchise history will be Ralph Krueger, it will mark the end of a seemingly torturous, 80-day process from season’s end to official announcement.

All to promote from within a 52-year-old, professional coach with a two-year body of NHL work, a living resume, if you will, right at the club’s fingertips.

Due diligence is crucial, of course, but the line between prudence and downright dithering can be hard to discern with the Oilers.

The club’s sixth straight non-playoff season ended on April 7; on May 17, general manager Steve Tambellini announced that Tom Renney, the head coach the past two years, would not be returning; and 40 days after that, Krueger, Renney’s hand-picked associate coach the last two seasons, was officially installed as the head man.

In roughly the same time span, newly installed Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has hired Michel Therrien as his head coach, Sylvain Lefebvre as his farm club’s head man, not to mention hockey operations staff that includes Rick Dudley, Patrice Brisebois, Martin Lapointe, Gerard Gallant, Scott Mellanby and Ethan Moreau.

All of whom, it should be noted, were working for other organizations; not an internal promotion in sight.

If the Oilers were thinking boldly outside the box, hiring a brilliant but unknown coach from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, say, or from deep in the minors, or the U.S. college ranks, well, the hesitancy would be understandable.

Which is not to say the well-respected Krueger is an uninspired choice. He’s a rock-solid choice; it remains to be seen whether his tenure as head coach will be inspired. The proof will be in the performance of the talented young team he takes over.

The work history of the Winnipeg-born career coach sure is impressive. Krueger probably came to the attention of Canadian students of international hockey back in 1998, when he coached Switzerland to fourth place at the world hockey championship in Zurich, Switzerland.

Krueger coached the Swiss national team from 1977 to 2010, making him the longest-serving national team head coach in the modern era of international hockey.

During that span he guided Switzerland to 12 world championship tournaments and three Olympic Games, including a sixth-place finish in 2006 at Turin, Italy.

He’s a cerebral coach who is also the founder and owner of the motivational speaking company, Teamlife (From Failure to Success), which is also the title of a book he wrote.

“If I had to characterize his style, I would say he’s ‘in charge,’ ” said former NHL and Canadian national team coach Andy Murray, a fellow Manitoban who coached against Krueger at a number of world championships. “He’s in charge of all facets, he’s a take-charge person who played the game at a high level and has certainly coached at a high level.

“This is what he was hoping for when he came over from Europe, was a chance to coach an NHL team, so I’m happy for him.”

Krueger is as approachable as he is thoughtful. Observant hockey fans may well have seen him after Oilers practices, a backpack strapped on, walking from Rexall Place through the river valley to his downtown condo, all the while talking to his wife or kids on his mobile phone.

Whatever phase of development the rebuilding Oilers are in, it comes with rising fans’ expectations, especially given all the excitement over the selection of Russian sniper Nail Yakupov first overall in the NHL entry draft, not to mention the league-wide romancing of free-agent defenceman Justin Schultz.

Krueger will be expected to help narrow the gap between the fans’ soaring expectations and the club’s recent bottom-feeding reality.

It’s fitting that a man who wrote a book about the journey from failure to success in life is taking charge of the once-dominant Oilers. If anyone can find some answers to lift the club in the direction of respectability, you have to think he can.

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
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Capitals hire ex-captain Adam Oates as new coach

Joseph White, The Associated Press, Jun 26, 2012

WASHINGTON — Once again, a Washington Capitals leadership baton is passed from Dale Hunter to Adam Oates.

More than a decade after Oates followed Hunter as captain, a similar transition happened Tuesday when Oates was hired as the Capitals coach.

Oates joined Washington six weeks after Hunter’s abrupt resignation, which came 48 hours after the Capitals wrapped up their season. Hunter led the team to the second round of the playoffs as a mid-season replacement before deciding he would rather be at home with his family, his farm and the junior club he owns in Canada.

So next up is Oates, 49, who played 19 seasons as a centre in the NHL, including parts of six seasons with the Capitals from 1996-2002. His 290 assists rank 10th in team history, and he and Hunter were part of the 1997-98 team that made the only Stanley Cup finals appearance to date in franchise history.

When Hunter was traded in March 1999, Oates was selected as captain for the following season.

Oates, who will be formally introduced at a news conference Wednesday, has spent the last three seasons as an NHL assistant, first with the Tampa Bay Lightning before moving to the New Jersey Devils in 2010. He was part of the staff that helped lead the Devils to this year’s Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

His most formidable task will be to develop a playing style that best suits a Capitals roster brimming with talent and that can also succeed in the playoffs. Led by Alex Ovechkin, Washington won four consecutive Southeast Division titles under offensive-minded coach Bruce Boudreau but couldn’t advance beyond the second round of the post-season.

Boudreau was fired in November after an early-season slump and was replaced by the defence-first Hunter. Hunter eventually rallied the players enough to get them back in the playoffs but couldn’t push them to the conference finals.

Oates played in the NHL from 1985-2004, appearing in 1,337 games while scoring 341 goals with 1,079 assists for Detroit, St. Louis, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, Anaheim and Edmonton. Only Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux have averaged more assists-per-game than Oates in the NHL history, and only Gretzky (662) had more assists than Oates (636) during the 1990s.

“Adam was a highly intelligent player in the NHL for 19 seasons,” Capitals general manager George McPhee said in a statement released by the club. “He has been an assistant coach in our conference for the past three seasons and is prepared to lead our club as head coach.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
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[Bob Gaffney]

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