My Hockey Blog

Sam Gagner

2012-05-22T11:23:00.002-07:00

Every season there are players who are very hot and cold. The reason for it is....if someone knew there would be no issue as they would have it solved. Consistency is key in any professional sport yet there are players that are good enough to be bad and still be good enough. There is always more to a performance than what is done on the ice. People often forget that outside of the 60 minutes of hockey that players play three to four times a week they have lives, wives, kids, finances, investments, friends, family outings, etc. Q: "Why did _____ have a brutal 3 week stretch in November" A: "His wife just had a baby and he was losing a lot of sleep during that long home stretch. On the road trip he picked it up because he was getting better sleep and by the time he got back home the baby was into a bit of a sleep pattern" Things like this are rarely talked about. It's not that those answers aren't accessible to the media it's more of a combination of said player not wanting to make excuses for his performance and the media wanting to create a little controversy about that certain player not playing well. One of the players who was underachieving to start the season was Sam Gagner. Most heard of the "turn around" game where he put up 8 points and pretty much kick started his season. Here is the story, the numbers and everything else about Sam Gagner's season. http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2012/05/22/sam-gagner-had-an-up-and-down-season-for-the-edmonton-oilers/

Alex Ovechkin vs Claude Giroux

2012-05-08T13:11:00.002-07:00

Ive heard a lot of people asking how Claude Giroux could get suspended for 1 game due to his hit on Zubrus while Ovechkin get's nothing for steam rolling Girardi. To me these two hits were so completely different. Personally if Ovechkin had of been suspended for his hit I would of really questioned that judgement. When Giroux was suspended it was no surprise. Ovechkins hit to me It happens in the offensive zone. It happens around a loose puck that actually ends up in Ovechkins skates. It happens at full speed in mid ice. It happens with two players going the opposite direction both fully aware of the other. In my opinion Girardi actually tried to step into Ovechkin. There was minimal change of course from either player. Yes Ovi left his feet which should/could of been a charge but there is no way that hit should be close to suspendable as I see this as pretty much being an open ice collision that included a player that is built like a tank. (Ovechkin) Girouxs hit to me It happens in the defensive zone. It happens away from the puck after it has been dumped in. It happens along the boards. It happens with two players going in the same direction. Giroux changes his course by at least 90 degree's to finish his check on the unsuspecting Zubrus. He explodes into the head. Zubrus has taken at least 3 strides since he last touched the puck. This is why I agree with Girouxs suspension and agree with Ovechkins none suspension.

Perspectives on player development

2012-04-16T12:35:00.001-07:00

By John Hamre

Remember the ‘late developer,’ cut from the ‘Squirt/PeeWee/Bantam/Midget’ team, that somehow found his/her way to the high school or NCAA or NHL level because they were encouraged to keep developing? This athlete didn’t appear to have enough skill or physical strength when younger, yet succeeded at a higher level as a result of psychological factors, a special internal motivation to continue training, and/or late physical development.

Coaches consider stickhandling, power skating, passing and shooting to be most important attributes in a player’s development. Assume all players at a given level of competition have ‘enough’ skill, strength, speed and conditioning. Mental and emotional skills often separate the best players from the rest.

Several seasons ago, I conducted a graduate school research project, conducted on a sample group of five NCAA Division I men’s hockey teams, focusing on psychological factors for predicting successful elite level hockey play. Within the project, I synthesized a ‘Seven Pronged Predictor Model’ of psychological and other descriptors identified within elite athletic performance, and prediction of performance within hockey and other sports. This model then provides a framework for hockey or athletic development of players and teams:
i. Past Offensive Statistics and Playing Performance;
ii. Individual Motivation;
iii. Personality Disposition Towards Teammates and Others;
iv. Ability to Control the Effects of Anxiety;
v. Focusing Ability;
vi. Visualization Ability;
vii. Superior Mental Health.

I. Past Offensive Statistics and Playing Performance

Players, continue to work on shooting pucks, work on age-appropriate strength, quickness and agility training. Work on overspeed on-ice puck skills and skating agility, edge work and power skating. Be an athlete – hit golf balls, throw/hit baseballs, serve aces in tennis, pass soccer and lacrosse balls on the field, run track, swim, water-ski, etc. Develop hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness and athleticism.

Within younger developmental levels of play, players must learn to play in all situations and roles. Developing physical hockey skills requires players encountering literally thousands of quality repetitions of puck touches in a fun, high-tempo, sometimes competitive environment. At higher levels of play (junior, college and professional), past offensive production provides a strong indication of future offensive production.

II. Individual Motivation

Athletes and teams derive motivation, energy and purpose from many sources and these may vary, and evolve. An athlete may be motivated by the challenge of competition, intrinsic fulfillment and love of the game, by anger or by some other extrinsic reward system. It is difficult to recognize individual sources of behavior motivation in each individual; learning to figure these out may help a coach. An athlete willing to reflect upon their own motivation and grow towards a more intrinsic, purposefully motivated athlete will become a better player and competitor, and enjoy their athletic experiences more.

Ultimately, the best athletes are motivated by approaching situations confident their efforts will result in success, not failure. They are generally motivated by intrinsic rewards found in mastering the skills and teamwork of their sport. While extrinsic rewards or focusing on beating a particular opponent can be effective short term motivators, coaches should also focus on motivation techniques during training periods and team building processes that are sustainable. Develop motivators for athletes and teams derived from concepts such as ‘playing our best,’ ‘becoming our best’ and focusing on positive, successful outcomes with confidence.

Goal setting is important for individual athletes and teams. Goals must be realistic – challenging yet attainable – and should be set for both the short term (today’s practice) and for the long term (an entire season or career). Long term goals give purpose to the daily process of improvement, while short term goals keep an athlete focused on the daily details of effort that ultimately lead to success in the future. Goals set can be evaluated, revised, renewed and provide motivation towards development and successful performance.

III. Personality Disposition Towards Teammates and Others

How do you get along with your teammates? Are you a team player? What qualities do you recognize in your teammates and yourself? Do you seek to create more success with teammates than on your own? Do you focus on practice/game tasks, social time with teammates, your own individual play or the team play and results?

Many frameworks describe human interactions in team sport. Team members may be focused on a ‘common cause’ – the game at hand, a common task. Team members may participate to socialize. Many young athletes participate in sports for social reasons, and close friendships are developed and strengthened on teams; teams which become focused on a common purpose will tend to have better competitive success and developmental results. It is important to recognize at what level (recreational, developmental or elite) and age you play or coach.

The more skill a hockey player has, the more their game decisions when possessing the puck may be based upon their perceptions of what teammates may be able to do if they pass them the puck. Some players will pass the puck to whoever is open. Other players recognize if they pass the puck to some players more often, a successful play will result than if passing to other players. In their minds they are not being selfish; instead they perceive the better option to helping the team is sometimes to keep the puck. Finally, some players are truly selfish; they are focused only on their own play and don’t recognize positive abilities of teammates.

Coaches need to strive to understand each player’s playmaking decisions within the context of their personality, and build forward lines, defensive pairs and team units that are complementary within each. Players need to reflect upon what type of attitude they possess towards their teammates, and grow as team players. Ultimately the best players make other players on their team better!

IV. Ability to Control the Effects of Anxiety

One of the most important factors in predicting an athlete’s ability to succeed at an elite level of competition is whether an athlete can control negative effects of physical and mental/emotional anxiety. Breathing exercises, visualization, relaxation and focusing are effective techniques for athletes to manage and ease competitive stress. Players can learn these techniques to help them succeed and to counter effects of anxiety.

Mental and emotional stress in competition is natural. If managed properly, it can be an energizer; if not positively channeled, stress can lead to physical tension. Hockey players often perform many athletic skills requiring ‘limb flexion and extension’ simultaneously – skating, shooting, passing, changing skating directions, changing skating speeds. Athletes’ tense up physically as a result of mental stress; un-channeled stress can limit an athlete’s performance by reducing physical coordination or fluid range of motion.

When faced with increased stress, a person’s visual attention and focus also tends to narrow towards the source of stress, and the athlete will have less awareness of the total environment. Stress may reduce physical coordination (muscle tension induced) and visual/mental awareness (vision and focus narrowed).

Team and individual pre-game routines aid in developing focus, relieving stress and anxiety and building confident motivation focused on success. Individual player routines allow players to prepare best themselves.

The term ‘Ideal Performance State’ describes an athlete feeling “physically relaxed, mentally calm, low anxiety, energized, optimistic, enjoyment, effortless, automatic, alert, mentally focused, self-confident and in control” (Loehr, 1986, p. 27) when playing at his/her best. Every person is unique – some have to relax, while others need to bring their intensity levels up. Developing constructive pre-practice and pre-game routines allow players and teams to best prepare.

V. Focusing Ability

The ability to ‘focus’ is important for successful athletic performance. Some research suggests that a champion’s ability to concentrate must be “total” (Hemery, 1986). Hemery references specific components of an athlete’s attentional focus.

Is the athlete’s focus on thoughts and imagery of their own performance, or are the focused on the game being played and how they fit in? Can the athlete focus on the big picture of the game (for example, see and execute on a 3-on-2 rush vs. only seeing the 1-on-1 situation)? Helping hockey players develop their ability to focus on the ‘big picture’ of the game played will help them perform at higher levels of play.

In hockey, the game a player sees while playing can be very different than the game a coach or spectator sees. Players need to focus upon the game, and to focus on changing situations beyond their own skill execution. They need to recognize if a teammate is open on a 2-on-1 rush, and then make a decision to pass or shoot depending on a defender’s positioning.

Some players easily focus on things around them, while other players focus more internally or on themselves. Successful hockey players are able to focus upon much going on around them, and have the mental strength to remain focused and not become distracted.

VI. Visualization Ability

An athlete’s ‘minds eye’ can visualize and mentally rehearse athletic actions that can lead to physical improvements. This mental visualization can create a confident, reassuring effect upon the athlete, which helps reduce competitive anxiety. Author David Hemery considered the skill of “visualization” to be the most important attribute champion athletes he researched held in common.

‘Self perceptions’ of a player are significantly correlated with playing performance rankings by their coach. Several important findings in my research were that the more offensive a player perceived himself: a) the higher he tended to be ranked by his coach; and b) the more offense he tended to produce. Another key finding was the fewer penalty minutes a defenseman took, the higher the player’s coach tended to rank him.

These make sense. If you believe you can produce offense as a player you have a better chance to. If you produce offensively within a team concept your coach will tend to rank you more favorably.

Also, if your best defensemen are in the penalty box, the opposing team’s top offensive players are on the ice on a power play against players that are not your team’s best defensive players. Hence, defensemen that take too many penalties tend not to be as favorably ranked by coaches according to empirical data of the NCAA Division I coaches rankings analyzed. Ultimately, the most offensive players that are strongest defensively tend to be rated the highest by their coaches.

So, how do athletes visualize and perceive themselves within a team and game? Is an athlete available to visualize athletic events they want to create, execute or perform within? How do athletes visualize themselves (self-perception) and the game (preparatory and training visualization skills)?

Much offensive skill execution and play is a result of an athlete’s confidence in their own skills, and coaches will hold teams accountable to team defensive systems. Helping a player to ‘relax’ and ‘focus’ on game situations will allow the player to perform better with team play. Reinforcing a player’s positive self-perception of puck skills and offensive potential will enable further skill development – especially among younger players.

Teaching players to see complete patterns in the game allows players to anticipate play more quickly. Visual anticipation enhances successful athletic performance, and speeds up a player’s play without any strength gains required. Teach players awareness to see and focus on the ‘big picture,’ to understand their role(s) within the flow of the game, and to maintain their focus on the game situation in the moment.

Referring to simple ‘geometric shapes’ allows players to easily see the ‘big picture’ of a game and how the game is changing. Teach forwards cycling, forechecking and other concepts by encouraging recognition of ‘triangles created by themselves and teammates.’

Talk about the shape of a triangle – three attacking forwards in the offensive zone – rather than just the positioning of individual players. Young forwards recognizing offensive 2-on-1 advantages are created by rotating their triangle (skating as a unit) can learn much about team offense and cycling.

Teach defensemen to see breakout options as a triangle (the defenseman, wing and center support players). More complex play – stretch plays, lane changes, back-checking to the defensive zone, and others – can be built upon this simple recognition.

VII. Superior Mental Health

Coaches should create environments such that players’ game performances consistently improve. Coaches should ultimately help players to improve their own mental skills related to player development. Coaches should be sensitive to fostering and reinforcing healthy and strong self-perceptions within athletes.

The coaches’ influence directly impacts the culture and environment that an athlete’s self perception is developed within. Ultimately, at most of the developmental levels coached at, ‘life lessons’ and a ‘passion for the game’ fostered should be reasons for our seasons.

These seven skill sets are attributes players can reflect upon, learn about and develop as a person and teammate this spring, summer and next season. Coaches can help players develop their mental skills as part of team building and season-long development plans.

Parents, please encourage your children to participate and compete for fun and team camaraderie, don’t add unnecessary pressures, and support the efforts of the coaches and administrators working so diligently on behalf of the players and teams.

(Full bibliography at: Hamre, J.P. 2007. Relationships Between Psychological Attribute Information and Prediction of Ice Hockey Player Performance. The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota.)
Copyright © 2012 Let's Play Hockey. All Rights Reserved.

Great Interview with Mike Babcock

2012-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

By Bob Wojnowski
Taken from The Detroit News

Detroit -- This one looks unusually daunting. For only the second time in two decades, the Red Wings open the playoffs on the road, and they do it against a Predators team hungering for the moment.

Most experts are picking Nashville. Many are wondering if Detroit can crank it up after recovering from a spate of injuries. In a windowless office deep inside Joe Louis Arena, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock sifted through the facts and the fiction Tuesday.

He's a man of words and action, a newly minted author and the leader of a team that expects to win, even when the odds mount.

Babcock doesn't exactly scoff at the odds, but anyone who doubts the Red Wings confidence need only spend a few minutes with their coach.

I talked with Babcock for about an hour before the team departed for Nashville and he was engaging and philosophical, and unwilling to concede anything. The Red Wings are healthier, with Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Jimmy Howard and Nicklas Lidstrom almost fully back to form, which puts a grin on Babcock's face.

"Are we that team that was rolling right along with everybody healthy or are we the team that's injured?" Babcock said. "Well, we're healthy. I'm not trying to reinvent anything and I'm not putting any pyramids under the bench or doing any witchcraft. I just go off the facts, and I think the facts add up good. They got a good team and we got a good team. I think we're a real good team, actually."

The Predators are bigger, right down to 6-foot-5 goaltender Pekka Rinne, and on a clean sheet of paper, they might be slightly better.

On a clean sheet of ice, it's not so clear. Datsyuk has most of his moves back, Henrik Zetterberg has been excellent and Babcock, 48, has the sneer and the smarts.

He has won a Stanley Cup and a gold medal and seems as driven as ever. In his seven seasons here, the Red Wings have won the division five times and never finished with fewer than 102 points.

As they enter their most uncertain postseason in a while, Babcock talked about his future, his relationship with his players and the unique challenges of the season.

On whether, in retrospect, the Red Wings should have made more moves at the trade deadline: "How could you? We didn't even know about the injuries. The other thing is, there's a cost. I gotta tell you, I'm cheap. I buy used vehicles. I can't stand overspending, and I know Kenny Holland's the same."

On what still drives him: "I'm a little bit scared. I'm scared not to be good. I learned a lot from Scotty Bowman. He embraced change, he embraced lifelong learning."

On his relationship with the Red Wings captain: "A huge part of me being here this long is Nick Lidstrom. He's been a star, a calming influence with no ego. He's allowed the coach to coach. I think it's way harder to coach a team that's expected to win every year."

Before the Red Wings departed for Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday and the start of the playoffs, coach Mike Babcock sat down with News columnist Bob Wojnowski and shed light on a season of highs, lows and lots of injuries.

Q. Not sure if you've noticed, but almost nobodQy is picking you guys to beat Nashville. I saw on ESPN, 11 of 12 experts took the Predators.

A. This is what I know about the experts — they get paid to make those decisions. But I'm here to tell you, I coach in the league and I have no idea about most of these series. They're that tight.

Q. I figured a coach might like that motivational aspect. Do you find it strange being an underdog?

A. I just think sometimes that's reality. We're playing a real good team. They've loaded up, they're deep and their goalie (Pekka Rinne) is huge.

But we're deep too. I'm really excited about the fact (Darren) Helm will be available. You have no idea how much better coach I become when you put people in the right places. Without him, we're not slotted as good.

Q. So, can you calm a nervous Hockeytown? The Wings have overcome a bunch of injuries, but I get the sense people don't think there's gonna be a run this year.

A. This is what I'd say to you — going into the summer, (GM) Kenny Holland and I talked a lot, and we didn't even know if we'd make the playoffs. Then as the year went on, I said this is the best opportunity for any team I've coached since '09 (when the Wings lost in the Cup finals to the Penguins).

So what's changed between now and then? We've had some injuries. But our real team is gonna be starting the playoffs. I'm confident and they're confident. For whatever reason, year after year, we seem to find ways to win games. I've been here seven years and we've won tons of playoff games. I expect that to continue.

Q. How much of your optimism is based on your players now being healthy, especially Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom?

A. That's huge. I think Howie's ready to go. I think Pav's ready to go. I think Nick's getting ready to go, still a work in progress. I think our mind is right now. They believe and I believe, and the rest of it doesn't much matter.

Q. How can you tell your team's mind is right?

A. Just the focus we have, it's night and day the last two days. We met a long time (Tuesday) — if I met that long during the year, they'd go nuts. But they're in now. There are no guarantees — to me, it's about having an opportunity, and I think we have a good one.

Q. The operative story line is, Nashville is bigger, feistier, hungrier. What about that hunger part?

A. (Smiles). I had a coach who I interviewed last summer and he said, 'You aren't as hungry as you used to be.' He probably wasn't thinking that when we were rolling (with the 23-game home winning streak). So I disagree with that 100 percent. I think winning leads to winning.

These guys here are hungry. Kenny Holland is hungry. Jimmy Nill's hungry. Jimmy D's (Devellano) hungry. Mr. Ilitch looooves to win. I loooove that.

Q. This is only the second time in 20-plus years the Red Wings have opened the playoffs on the road. What do you think of the notion of uncertainty, that the team may have worn down?

A. They've been telling me that since I got here. We had 102 points, and we didn't have any players on deck for many of those games. Are we that team that was rolling right along with everybody healthy, or are we the team that's injured? Well, we're healthy.

I'm not trying to reinvent anything and I'm not putting any pyramids under the bench or doing any witchcraft. I just go off the facts, and I think the facts add up good. They got a good team and we got a good team. I think we're a real good team, actually.

Q. Would you go back to what you said, that this team has the best chance to win the Cup since '09?

A. Could I say to myself, gee, I wish I hadn't said that? Well, why did I say it? I didn't make it up at the time, so it was what I thought. Here we are, we got the same crew back, so let's get after it.

Q. How do you balance after seven years here — a lifetime for many coaches — pushing a veteran team but not wearing it out?

A. That's a great question. Because we've won so much, we got to a point where you don't have to grind them as hard. And then at this time of the year, they're all in, so it's not even a question.

If the players have ideas, we're all ears. A huge part of me being here this long is Nick Lidstrom. He's been a star, a calming influence with no ego. He's allowed the coach to coach. I think it's way harder to coach a team that's expected to win every year.

Q. I see on your board there (in his Joe Louis Arena office), you've written, "Make the decision and go like hell."

A. That's General Patton. That's what I like to do — give the players all the information, prepare, prepare, prepare, and now let's go find out if we're any good.

Why I love the big games and the playoffs and coaching in the Olympics is because there's uncertainty. But you think you can disarm the bomb, you think you can get it done. I've been real fortunate to coach good athletes, and we've had a lot of luck. We expect to get lucky again. When preparation meets opportunity, you got a chance to get lucky.

Q. How much give and take do you have with players? From the outside, you seem Scotty Bowman-like, somewhat detached?

A: I think I am detached in some ways, but I'm not detached in the feedback on or off the ice. I think it's important with players that you show you're willing to adapt. It used to be Kris Draper, he came to see me all the time. Now I go to Nick (Lidstrom), what do we want to do here — meals, meetings, whatever. Lots of times we leave later in the day because Nick told me.

Q. After 21 straight playoff appearances, the perception might be that the Wings just run themselves. Does that bug you?

A I don't think that bugs me very much. Ken Holland has taught me a lot. I've never been around a guy so successful that takes no credit. But what he says to me all the time is, does it matter?

Q. You've won the Stanley Cup, the gold medal with Team Canada, pretty much everything. What drives you still?

A. What drives me? I'm a little bit scared. I'm scared not to be good. I learned a lot from Scotty Bowman. He embraced change, he embraced lifelong learning. Bill Peters and Jeff Blashill are here because of that.

Q. I was going to ask about your new assistant coaches. Why did you make those moves?

A. Here it is. (He pulls a book out of a cabinet, entitled "Talent is Overrated.") I read this book, and it says all the young, inexperienced, hard-working smart guys outdid the old fat cats every single day. I said to myself, we gotta get better, gotta change. It's a cookie-cutter league, how am I gonna evolve?

Q. OK, but Peters and Blashill had no NHL experience. That's pretty risky.

A. Yeah, probably nuts. We're gonna find out if this was a good idea or not, but we got 102 points for a reason. These guys have worked hard and made me grow and change. They're gonna be way better next year than this year, and we're gonna reap the benefits of that.

Q. Your specialty teams — power play and penalty kill — haven't been as good. Could that be considered a downside of change?

A. Yes. But the way things worked out, I actually think our PK is the best it's been in four years. I thought the numbers were rising and then the wheels came off with injuries. The power play hasn't been near as good. So we gotta fix it.

Q. How about Mike Babcock the husband and father of three. I hear your wife says there's a "Summer Mike" and a "Winter Mike"? Winter Mike is intense — with an older team, do you ever have to dial it down, or worry they've heard it so many times?

A. Probably. My intensity is there at game time and at practice time, but I don't think it's there when talking with them about their families.

The difference between Winter Mike and Summer Mike is this — I've been living here seven years and know my neighbors a little bit. I've had two drinks with them. When you get to my lake home (in Saskatchewan), my dock is jammed with boats. They know I don't run out of beer and wine and we go all day. I got time to tell stories and entertain. I got no time in the winter.

I do two things — go to all my kids' activities and I do this. People that see you doing this job, they probably think you're no fun.

Q. This might be an unfair question, but is this where you'll finish your coaching career?

A: I doubt it. What I mean by that is, odds are, they're giving me the boot sometime. I mean, that's the math. If Ken Holland and the Ilitches will keep me, I'll work as hard as I can as long as I can to win as many games as I can. I got no reason to move. I'm a young man, my contract right now ends when I'm 52. If you make it through that contract, I probably need one more.

Q. Do you have any hobbies?

A. Hunting, water-skiing, downhill skiing. I water-ski 6:30 every morning all summer long, never miss a day. I love to work out. I love my kids, I like taking trips with my wife. I love helping with kids stricken with cancer. And my daughter runs my speaking business; I do two or three gigs a year.

I always thought I was gonna be a professor at a university. Wouldn't it be great to go to Oxford for classes? I always tell my kids, I don't know how you expect to know what you're doing at 18 when I haven't figured out what I want to do and I'm 48.

Q. Among things you do, you're now an author?

A. Yeah, I wrote a book — "Leave No Doubt." That was cool. I didn't want it to come out at playoff time, but the publisher gets involved and now the book comes out next week.

When I coached in the Olympics, we wanted to leave no doubt Canada was the best hockey nation in the world. That was our credo. But this isn't about hockey, it's a life book. It's about pursuing your dreams, maximizing your potential, overcoming adversity, fighting through momentary doubt.

Q. You mentioned adversity — right before the season, there was the horrible tragedy with your former assistant, Brad McCrimmon. (Coaching a team in Russia, he died in a plane crash.) How hard did that hit you in the gut?

A. All those guys had families, and that's what resonates with me. Those kids don't have a dad. Beast (McCrimmon) had a love affair with his family like nobody I ever met. It goes to show, you better hug your kids today.

Q. You're a coach, an author, a motivator. What do you think is the most important element of leadership?

A. Confidence. If you're gonna be a leader in the NHL, you need confidence to make the right decision at the right time. You have to have a presence about you. If you don't, they're gonna eat you alive. This is the biggest exposure of weakness I've ever seen in my life — pro sports. With players, if you don't have confidence, they know.

Q. In retrospect, should you guys have made more moves at the trade deadline?

A. How could you? We didn't even know about the injuries. The other thing is, there's a cost. I gotta tell you, I'm cheap. I buy used vehicles. I can't stand overspending, and I know Kenny Holland's the same. I think the injuries exposed something about us — we weren't as deep as we thought we were. We'll fix that.

Q. You sound very positive about your team's chances. Your players sound primed. You feel this team has been waiting all year for this?

A. No question, absolutely. We've gone to sleep at times during the regular season, that's the burden of being good. When you coach for Canada in the Olympic Games, there's pressure because of expectations. When you coach the Red Wings, there's pressure because of expectations. But you don't want to coach a bad team with no expectations, do you?

Now this thing about how we're fading away? Well, we'll see about that. We'll find a way to make it happen. I don't know how. I just know we will.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120411/OPINION03/204110326#ixzz1rl2GFsr2

_____ colored glasses.

2012-03-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last night I took in game 3 of the Tigers Blades playoff series. The game where Emerson Etem scored 3 and the Blades scored 2. Sitting in a relatively full rink I am always exposed to one of my biggest pet peeves. The Homers.

We put up with Homers all through the year and it usually intensifies as the season gets closer to the end. There are a few types of homers.

Parent Homers : I can handle this to a point. I understand wanting your own kid to do well. It's when a homer parent is excited when another player fails that bothers me. Apparently in some peoples minds its socially acceptable to call out a 14 year old from the stands. Tell them they are awful, the dirtiest player in the league, a cancer, a useless piece of crap...the list goes on and on. Ask any scout and they could give you a list of things they have heard a homer parent yell at a kid. Most parents are good. There is always one or two that give the rest a bad name. Parents if you are reading this. This behavior some of you display...it does affect your kids future. We do our homework on who belongs to who, the kid who belongs to the crazy lady dumping popcorn down peoples backs and throwing out "f bombs" at the refs, generally get's stroked off the list pretty quick. In draft meetings the question "what are the parents like" comes up very often.

Fan Homers : These are the folks I was surrounded by last night. I understand being a fan and the passion that goes along with that. I would never want to remove that from the game because without the passionate fans the game is nothing. I also understand it's hard to see a game as a neutral observer. I still struggle to watch a Warriors game from a neutral stand point as they are a team I grew up watching and loving. At some point though you have to realize that the 2 refs on the ice do not have a personal vendetta against you or the team you cheer for. They are simply calling the game as they see it and for the most part, most of them see it pretty well or at least fair.

We had a few guys sitting around us (my wife, kid and I) that could not get past the fact that the Blades made some mistakes. Every icing, every offside, every penalty and every "missed" penalty something was shouted at the officials. Although the way offsides have been called has changed in the past the principle of the rule has been in place for a good 80 years now. Yet there seem to be people that have not grasped the basic principle of offside.

Scout Homers: At the beginning of the year there are no allegiances to any team anywhere by any scout. As the season begins to progress scouts will start to watch the standings a little closer. Figure out how the playoffs may shape up. By round 1 of playoffs most scouts have their allegiances sorted. There will be no cheering, no high fives or fist pumping, no drinks thrown on the ice. A simple sigh when "their" team loses is the only reaction you may ever see. The sigh comes for only one selfish reason. Travel. If you polled every Saskatoon area scout these playoffs and asked them who they wanted to win in the North League, I can guarantee every single one (with the exception of a couple who have cabins in the north) would say Sask Valley. Purely selfish.

Memorable Games

2012-03-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

Of the hundreds and thousands of games attended over the years there are only a couple games that really stick out. Obviously players are always remembered. What a player did or what kind of player they are but I'd have a real hard time thinking back and remembering 10 specific games over the years. Tuesday night is probably a game that will make that list when I think back. Sask Valley vs Northeast in the final and deciding game of the north final. It certainly wasn't the greatest game in the world but the circumstances made the game what it was. The players all really left it on the ice in that game. Everyone competing hard. It was a back and fourth game with both teams holding leads in the third period. Sask Valley had scored with 5 mins left but gave up the lead with 2 mins left to put the game into Overtime.

The game ended in double OT with the Northeast Wolfpack going onto the the provincial championships. With that. Here are the top 5 games that I actually remember.

5) The first game of every season. Maybe I don't remember the game itself but I sure look forward to it. Get out to the rink. See everyone I haven't seen over the summer. Talk with parents, scouts, players, etc. Buy that large coffee and complain about how cold the rink is. After the game I love walking out to a nice warm fall night knowing that in a couple months the rink will feel warm and the -27 outside will be enough to make me consider scouting baseball (if it were that easy to switch there would be no hockey scouts).

4) Every Saskatoon Blazer vs Saskatoon Contact game - The least efficient thing I could possibly do as a scout is go watch two Saskatoon Midget AAA teams play each other. I go to these games as a fan of the game. Not many notes are taken. They are the most intense games of the year. Could be exhibtion, could be playoffs. They would be played the same way. The two teams could be placed first and last in the league and the game would still be very tight and hard fought. There is always a game around Christmas every year which I particularly enjoy as everyone is home for the holidays, the rink is packed and the players seem to feed off the energy just a little bit more.

3) For any scout living in the east that works for a team in the west (and vice versa) it means you only get to see your team play live once or twice every two years. So the first time I got to see the Winterhawks play live will always be memorable. The fact that it came against a team I watched growing up made it a little more exciting. The fact we won didn't hurt either.

2) Weyburn vs Northeast - 2011/2012 season - This game was at the PA tournament. I believe the game was still in round robin. Just a very hard fought, physical game. Really a game that had everything. Ref put his whistle away and let them battle it out. Probably the most physical bantam game I've ever seen. Kids played with so much energy and passion. This game still get's brought up between periods in scout and parent circles.

1) Lumsden vs Saskatoon Frostbite 2009/2010 season- Current WHLers, Carter Hansen, Tim Mcgauley played for the Lumsden team. A few future WHLers on the Frostbite team. Playing in the old format of 2 game total point playoffs this was game 2 of that series. The Frostbite were down by 8 goals or so going into the 2nd game. Somehow the Frostbite were able to fill the net that night and scored the go ahead goal with around 1:30 left in the game. A real notable incident in this game was the Lumsden coach changing goalies with under 5 mins left.

Prospect Lingo

2012-03-19T12:20:00.001-07:00

Playoff Season is winding down with GSHL, SBAAHL North/South, SMAAAHL finals all starting or started in the past week. This marks the 2nd last push of the scouting season for myself. The final push of course coming with provincial camps in April and the Draft in May.

It's a time of year that maybe doesn't reveal a whole lot but is used more for fine tuning your read. It's nice to see players playing with a little more on the line. Who handles the pressure well and who doesn't. It's also nice because everyone has been identified. You can walk into a game knowing who your going to watch and what your going to look for and how you have them ranked on your list compared to other players in the game. It's easy, it's fun. Half the games are spent talking with other scouts. Very few notes are taken. It's more to reaffirm what you already know. It's a time when guys will give a little info here and there to get a little in return. My theory is that it's hard enough coming up with a final draft list that everyone in the organization agrees on without working in the fact that Joe Blow scout from some other team says he likes player a's skating and compete and thinks he'll be a 2nd line player. No one is swapping lists but there aren't really any secrets. Every scout knows every player that can and can't play. It's not as if there are players drafted that organizations don't know about or don't have reports on. Teams will have as many reports on players drafted in the 1st round as they will have on players drafted in the 12th round. No Secrets, no hidden gems. Just variations in projections.

After reading the book "Searching for Bobby Orr" I was pretty thankful for the era I was born into. Those guys had to really work. There WERE secrets. Were talking one of the best players to ever play the game and there were people in the game who did not know about him as a prospect. Now any 8 year old kid that can pull off the lacrosse move on a breakaway get's a national news story and 10 million hits on youtube. We don't find players like they did, we just evaluate and project.

If I'm looking for some hidden gem I think I could just type "hidden gem" into google and I'm pretty sure it would give me the players name and hockeydb or eliteprospects.com profile. I'd log onto rinknet and see that the organization has 37 reports on him over the last 3 seasons and I've, in fact, watched him 13 times since December and he has 4 videos online. No Secrets.

It's always this time of year when the same jokes start to come out when casually chatting about a top end player. "I heard he's dealing drugs", "Didn't you know his dad played college." or "I'd take that kid in the 5th round" You can guarantee that every top end player in the world has had a drug dealing joke, gang involvement joke or mid round draft joke made about them at some point or another by multiple scouts. I am just imagining a scout with the inability to sense sarcasm and how messed up his reports would be.

Gretzky's scouting report would read.

"Chatted with Wayne after the game and seemed like a good kid but have heard rumors about him dealing drugs and being heavily involved in gang activity. Recently charged with stealing a car? Being investigated for murder and war crimes. Is a top end player but hearing tons of off ice character issues. May spend life in prison. Stay away!"

(Might get in trouble for that if someone is reading out of context. READ CONTEXT!)

My rule of thumb is the worse the line someone feeds you the better the player. So do not worry if you overhear a scout telling another scout that your kid is using druges.

Here is a little guideline to print off and put in your pocket.

Quote	Projection	Times heard
I hear he murdered someone	- Generational Talent	Ultra rare
I hear he deals drugs/gangs/crime	Top 5 pick	- yearly
I heard hes going to college(sometimes thrown out trying to pass as truth)	Top 10 pick	yearly
silence	late 1st/2nd round pick -	every game
silence	3rd-8th rd pick -	every game
Ahh he'll end up in Jr. A (the scout thinks he is a darkhorse)	late picks	occasionally
"Oh he's a good kid, real nice family, good looking mom, dad will buy your drinks, both parents are over 6'0 and were in the olympics"	stay away, something is wrong	unknown

This Blog

2012-03-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

My first blog post on this "hockey blog." I'll be real honest about the purpose of this blog. Basically the purpose of it is to integrate my two passions (Hockey and Real Estate) into one. It is to give the people that know me and the people that don't a chance to see the hockey side of me and in the end I plan to seep into your subconscious as a real estate agent so when you hear of someone wanting to buy or sell a house my name immediately comes to mind, only because I have magically brainwashed you to think of me all because of this hockey blog. Let the brainwashing begin...

Things I'll avoid talking about
I'm not going to be doing prospect reports as this would obviously be detrimental to the team and me. I am not going to be throwing around player names a whole bunch unless I'm briefly recapping a game. I'm not going to give away player rankings which again would be detrimental and I will avoid talking about how the team I work for evaluates players...the detriment thing.

Things I will talk about
What I will talk about is hockey issues, my time in the rinks, "day in the life" type stuff, my family will probably get a few shout outs, the ups and downs, the ins and outs and the challenges of being a junior hockey scout. Basically it's just a place I can complain about people who want to take fighting out of hockey.
Speaking of hockey fights. One of my favorites.

A side note: PJ Stock and Stephen Peat suffered multiple concussions in this fight. Or in other words a multicussion.

Mul·ti·cus·sion[mal-tee-kuhsh-uhn]
1. when a person or thing suffers multiple concussions inside a 2-3 minute window.
Origin
2010-2012 - Current English
Example
PJ and Stephen were multicussed in that video.

Anyways, enough with the fun and games. I have to get to a playoff game (Saskatoon Bandits vs Saskatoon Outlaws) at the Kinsmen arena which is approx 66 km from my house.