First annual first round rankings/mock draft

My First Official Mock Draft/Rankings

As I was watching Pierre Maguire and Craig Button on TSN, and ultimately have thought long and hard about the first round of every draft….well, since I can remember. In my blog I have looked at previous drafts, who I like and who I don’t like, who I would shy away from. In this draft, from an Oiler perspective, trading up would be nice, but ultimately cost prohibitive.

Drafting at 10 is a really nice spot, because you can look at your draft board, see three or four guys you really like and trade down 3 and get a great asset.

So over the course of a few lunch hours….here is what I see in 2009.

My Rankings:

1. Victor Hedman
2. John Tavares
3. Matt Duchene
4. Evander Kane
5. Brayden Schenn
6. Magnus Pajarvi Svensson
7. Jared Cowan
8. Dmitri Kulikov
9. Nazim Kadri
10. Scott Glennie
11. John Moore
12. Oliver Ekman Larsson
13. Jordan Schroeder
14. Ryan Ellis
15. David Rundblad
16. Tim Erixon
17. Nick Leddy
18. Carter Ashton
19. Chris Krieder
20. Louis Leblanc
21. Zack Kassian
22. Calvin De Haan
23. Jacob Josefsson
24. Jordan Caron
25. Peter Holland
26. Kyle Palmieri
27. Landon Ferraro
28. Drew Shore
29. Dylan Olsen
30. Jeremy Morin

Personal favourites not in my top 30….Jerry D’Amigo, Ben Hankowski, Anton Lander, Alexander Avtsyn

1. New York Islanders: John Tavares, C, London (OHL)

It is the best kept secret in hockey, but not to anyone with some common sense. On the NHL XM channel, they suggested that Tavares could me an added 2000 season tickets to the Islanders, while Hedman would be a push. All things considered equal with the two players, all other factors point to taking the forward.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman, D, Modo (SEL)

If Bob Barker had consolation prizes this good, he wouldn’t have needed Beautys. This is as slam dunk as it gets. When you watch Hedman, he has the same skating and body structure as Pronger, and oddly enough, mea culpa Mr. Cherry, Hedman also has a bit of sandpaper to his game. We may even see him in the NHL this fall.

3. Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene, C, Brampton (OHL)

No one expected it to be a three horse race. When late in the year, Matt Duchene started being mentioned with the top two, it was a surprise….and Colorado won’t be surprised when they pick this solid player.

4. Atlanta Thrashers: Evander Kane, C, Vancouver (WHL)

A great all around player, he has skills, grit, and hockey IQ.

5. Los Angeles Kings: Brayden Schenn, C, Brandon (WHL)

Sorry Burkie, you can’t always get what you want. I don’t think he drops to 7. If Burke will spend the assets, he might get the brothers in tandem, but if not, Schenn plies his trade in Hollywood.

6. Phoenix Coyotes: Jared Cowen, D, Spokane (WHL)

The Yotes have Turris, Mueller, Tikhonov, Boedekker on offense, and although Cowen might have some competition for BPA right here, the Phoenix/Hamilton/Winnipeg franchise needs an anchor on the back end, and this guy fits the bill.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Leksand (Allsvenskan)

Unless you can wrap your mind around Burkie trading down, or going a little off the board and taking Kassian, you have to figure he is going to take a blueliner here. Burkie wants either Cowen or Schenn, and as Oiler fans it would be nice to see our beloved blowhard stiffed. Too bad he still ends up with a great player.

8. Dallas Stars: Dmitry Kulikov, D, Drummondville (QMJHL)

I can’t see Kulikov continuing to slide. In my mind he is as good a two way blueliner as you will find in the draft. This reminds me of when it was Phaneuf, Coburn, Suter. This time it is Cowen, Larsson, Kulikov. It just depends on what a team feels is their BPA.

9. Ottawa Senators: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, LW, Timra (SEL)

Craig Button said he reminded him of John Tonelli. Pierre Maguire said he was like Jere Lehtinen. Some compare him to Forsberg and Sundin, others to Markus Naslund. I now am left to think….what type of player is MPS? I would suggest that Naslund is a pretty fair comparison….Maguire is nuts….the knock on MPS was always his defensive play. It is better than it was a couple years ago, but I wouldn’t go all Selke on him.

10. Edmonton Oilers: Scott Glennie C Brandon (WHL)

If I am the GM of the Oilers, which I am not, I have three players that I think I have a shot at with this pick. Dmitri Kulikov, Scott Glennie, and John Moore are the three players I want considered. It is very possible that someone likes Kadri, Ellis, Josefsson before 10. I believe the Oilers are well stocked with defensive depth, and their forward scoring has and continues to be a problem.

11. Nashville Predators: Nazem Kadri, C, London (OHL)

Offensive skill, slick moves, speed. Preds are happy with Kadri at this spot.

12. Minnesota Wild Zack Kassian RW Peterborough (OHL)

Best fighter in the draft. Toughest guy. Top rated power forward type. A good fit with the Wild.

13. Buffalo Sabres John Moore, D, Chicago (USHL)

To me, this guy could be the steal of the draft. Who could possibly be disappointed with a guy that skates like the wind, great shot, hockey sense, good defensively.

14. Florida Panthers: Jordan Schroeder RW USA U-18

Offensively dynamic, playing against stiff competition in NCAA and putting up impressive numbers. About the same size as Patrick Kane, needs to add some bulk, but the skill set, skating and hockey sense all project to be a good NHLer.

15. Anaheim Ducks: Ryan Ellis, D, Windsor (OHL)

The Ducks will over the next few seasons be looking to address voids left by Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. With two more inches and 25 pounds, Ellis is an all star in the NHL. He has offensive tools ad nauseum, shot, smarts, and is a good leader. It must be a good draft if every player taken looks like a steal.

16. Columbus Blue Jackets: David Rundblad, D, Skelleftea (SEL)

Rundblad is a solid two way defender with good size. Good skater, and has the ever elusive right shot. He likes to rush and move the puck quickly. Will look good on the Jackets back end.

17. St. Louis Blues: Tim Erixon, D Skelleftea AIK (SEL)

Blues will be excited to see Erixon fall to 17th. Losing out to his buddy Rundblad as to who was going to be taken first, he is projected to be a little less offensive than Rundblad but more physical and better defensively.

18. Montreal Canadiens: Chris Krieder C Andover (MA – HS)

Great wheels in a power forward body. Someone to compliment their smallish skilled forwards. After a couple years in Boston College, Krieder will head to the Bleu Blanc et Rouge

19. New York Rangers Jacob Josefson, C, Djurgarden (SEL)

A little smaller than some of the other forwards available, he has some good wheels, and great hockey sense.

20. Calgary Flames: Nick Leddy, D, Eden Prairie (USHS)

Smart, smart player with tons of skill, but playing in a lower level. Scouting report looks eerily similar to John Moore (Skill, skating ability, good hockey sense), but Leddy also needs to bulk up.

21. Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Ashton LW Wethbridge (WHL)

A pick based on projection. Good skill in a power forward’s body. Just what Philly likes.

22. Vancouver Canucks: Stefan Elliott, D, Saskatoon (WHL)

Has been compared to Brent Seabrook. If you can pick him up at 22nd overall, then he is going to pay some dividends.

23. New Jersey Devils: Kyle Palmieri, RW, USNTDP

Character, grit, good skill, in the mould of a Chris Drury. Lou likes guys that are committed to winning. Also has good vision and a great shot.

24. Washington Capitals: Jeremy Morin, LW, USNTDP

An all around forward with good hands.

25. Boston Bruins: Anton Lander D Tirma (SEL)

Being loaded up front, the Bruins choose to put some stock back in the blueline with Lander.

26. New York Islanders (via San Jose): Calvin de Haan, D, Oshawa

After taking Tavares with their first pick, the Isles grab de Haan to bolster the back end.

27. Carolina Hurricanes: Louis Leblanc, C, (USHL)

Leblanc has very good hands, and along with good hockey sense, he is a tireless worker.

28. Chicago Blackhawks: Peter Holland, C, Guelph (OHL)

Holland to me was at one point a top 15 pick, but seems to lack some motivation. Maybe the Hawks can kick him into gear.

29. Detroit Red Wings: Markus Johansson, C, Farjestad (SEL)

If my projections are close, then the Wings will be disappointed that a blueliner to their liking doesn’t fall. I am sure they would have been happy to see Erixon, Rundblad, Elliot or any of the ilk fall to them at 29. I wouldn’t be surprised if they like someone enough to move up. If not, a solid two way centre like Johansson is just what the doctor ordered.

30. Pittsburgh Penguins: Ryan Button D, Prince Albert (WHL)

Button is a solid two way defender that uses his smarts to keep him ahead of the competition. Pens take the BPA at this point.

And there you have it…cheers.

Necessary Diversion – 2009 Draft…

No, the Oilers aren’t going to get John Tavares.  Even if Tambellini wanted to, he would use the tired old line of “We tried to trade up.” Circa every year’s Kevin Lowe.

So, let’s look at the draft, who might be available, and what we might do in the first few rounds.  Let’s suggest the Oilers finish as they are now, with the 10th overall pick.  For me, the draft is a lot of fun, because I enjoy watching prospects, a former McKeen’s and HF writer will keep tabs on the kids regardless of whether or not he is covering them.

I have had a pretty good track record at the draft, and started dilligently following the kids for the 2001 draft. (For the record, I picked Kovalchuk to be better than Spezza.  ) In 2002, I had the top 3 skaters ranked as they were picked. (Personally I would never draft a goalie in the first round.  Well, unless my head scout was about to jump off the building if I didn’t select his guy.)  I also had Alexander Semin as my next best player.

In 2003,  (Must we talk about 2003?)  I had it pegged well.  I had the three dmen ranked Phaneuf, Suter, Coburn.  My forward board was Staal, Horton, Zherdev, Parise, Carter.(I didn’t think much of Vanek…so you don’t get them all right.)

In 2004, I had a bad board.  I liked the big three at the time, Ovy, Malkin and Barker (But I thought that Barker might have a little trouble being the star the other two were.  I saw him as a bit aloof.  He seems to have matured now.).  I had Alexander Picard, Rob Schremp, AJ Thelen, and Alexander Radulov next.  For the record, I did have Mike Green higher than a lot of people….probably would have considered him in the next couple after Radulov.

In 2005, I did have Bobby Ryan right after Crosby.  I hated Pouliot.  I did have Brule as the third best forward and JMFJ as the top dman.  Marc Staal was next on my board. Then Setoguchi, then Bourret.  Didn’t like Lee, Skille, or Kopitar (Because I knew nothing about him).  I had Hanzal, Oshie and O’Marra all very close next.  Cogliano was not on my radar at all.

In 2006, my top seven was Johnson, Kessel, Backstrom, Toews, Staal, Okposo, Mueller.  Hard to go wrong with any of those guys.  Just for balance, I wasn’t that high on Claude Giroux.  Darn Flyers.

In 2007, I had Kane, JVR, Turris, Alzner with Voracek next and Gagner after.  Loved McDonagh, and RIP Cherepanov.  Hated the Alex Plante pick.  Big Max Pacioretty fan too.  Don’t like Sutter, thought Gilles didn’t have enough offensive go-go to pick that high.  I also liked Angelo Espo, but it looks like he will not cover the bet.  Also, I didn’t get any viewings of Riley Nash to have a solid opinion.  Hopefully he turns out.

In 2008, it is hard to gauge performance of my board, but Stamkos first, Doughty, Bogosian, Filatov, Schenn, Pietrangelo, Boedeker, Wilson, …..I don’t have Beach anywhere near my team.  I had no idea on Karlsson, and I am high on Colborne.  I thought Gustavsson was a terrible pick and didn’t have him in the first round.  I had Del Zotto right after Colborne.  Happy enough with Eberle, since at that pick he was BPA.

So with that, let’s take a look at a couple rounds of the 2009 draft early round projections.  The ISS Rankings of the top 30 are…

Name Pos Birth Date S/C Ht. Wt. Team League
1 Tavares, John C 9/20/1990 L 6.00 200 London OHL
2 Hedman, Victor LD 12/18/1990 L 6.06 220 Modo SweE
3 Svensson-Paajarvi, Magnus LW 4/12/1991 L 6.01 200 Timra SweE
4 Duchene, Matt C 1/16/1991 L 5.11 196 Brampton OHL
5 Schenn, Brayden C 8/22/1991 L 6.00 193 Brandon WHL
6 Kane, Evander C 8/2/1991 L 6.01 180 Vancouver WHL
7 Cowen, Jared LD 1/25/1991 L 6.04.7 218 Spokane WHL
8 Kadri, Nazem C 10/6/1990 L 5.11.5 180 London OHL
9 Kulikov, Dmitri LD 10/29/1990 L 6.00 190 Drummondville QMJHL
10 Josefson, Jacob C 3/2/1991 L 6.00 187 Djurgarden SweE
11 Holland, Peter C 1/14/1991 L 6.01.5 188 Guelph OHL
12 Schroeder, Jordan RW 9/29/1990 R 5.08.2 175 Minnesota WCHA
13 Ellis, Ryan RD 1/3/1991 R 5.09.2 183 Windsor OHL
14 Shore, Drew C 1/29/1991 R 6.02 190 USA Under-18 NTDP
15 Despres, Simon  LD 7/27/1991 L 6.03.5 214 Saint John QMJHL
16 Leblanc, Louis  C 1/26/1991 R 6.00 178 Omaha USHL
17 Moore, John  LD 11/19/1990 L 6.02 189 Chicago USHL
18 Ferraro, Landon  RW 8/8/1991 R 5.11 169 Red Deer WHL
19 Kassian, Zack  RW 1/24/1991 R 6.02.5 212 Peterborough OHL
20 Glennie, Scott  C 2/22/1991 R 6.01 180 Brandon WHL
21 Palmieri, Kyle  C 2/1/1991 R 5.10 191 USA Under-18 NTDP
22 Ashton, Carter  LW 4/1/1991 L 6.04 212 Lethbridge WHL
23 Ekman-Larsson, Oliver LD 7/17/1991 L 6.02 176 Leksands SweAl
24 Caron, Jordan  C 11/2/1990 L 6.02.5 200 Rimouski QMJHL
25 Leddy, Nick LD 3/20/1991 L 5.11 179 Eden Prairie MN-HS
26 Werek, Ethan  C 6/7/1991 L 6.00.5 191 Kingston OHL
27 Nattinen, Joonas  C 1/3/1991 R 6.02 183 Espoo FinJrA
28 Morin, Jeremy  C 4/16/1991 R 6.00.5 189 USA Under-18 NTDP
29 Kreider, Chris LW 4/30/1991 L 6.02 201 Andover MA-HS
30 Panik, Richard  C 2/7/1991 L 6.01 202 Trinec CzeE

Reconciling this with CSS Rankings (If you pick Euro and NA in the same draft spot)

1 Tavares, John
2 Hedman, Victor
3 Svensson-Paajarvi, Magnus
4 Duchene, Matt
5 Kane, Evander
6 Schroder, Jordan
7 Schenn, Brayden
8 Despres, Simon
9 Cowan, Jared
10 Josefson, Jacob
11 Moore, John
12 Holland, Peter
13 Ashton, Carter
14 Kadri, Nazim
15 Glennie, Scott
16 Ferraro, Landon
17 Kreider, Chris
18 Ellis, Ryan
19 Budish, Zack
20 Kulikov, Dmitri
21 Leblanc, Louis
22 Palmieri, Kyle
23 Rundblad, David
24 Caron, Jordan
25 Morin, Jeremy
26 Elliot, Stefan
27 Erixon, Tim
28 Olsen, Dylan
29 Kassian, Zack
30 Johansson, Marcus

What that leaves us with is with most likelihood, one of the following….Kadri, Kulikov, Josefson, Moore, Holland, Schroeder, Despres….they seem to all be in a pack around 8-15.  Who do you like?

Ouch…

As a busy guy, I watch what I can, when I can.  I watched the first two periods of the Minnesota game.  You can give individual player grades, where you have some guys going and some guys not.  You can count chances here and there.

There is something that you can’t measure.  Passion.  This team has no passion.

There are a lot of people that suggest that these are millionaire hockey players that are getting paid to do their jobs, and they should be self motivated and committed to doing their job.  MacTavish also seems like a coach that doesn’t use his powers of persuasion to invoke a sense of urgency on a team with more than enough talent to make the playoffs.  So, maybe the coach shouldn’t have to motivate his players, but if he has to, then he has to.

Well, here are some examples of guys that might help get the job done.  (Well, you might need a time machine.)

1.  Scotty Bowman.

“I was in St. Louis and had given the guys a curfew,” Bowman said recently, going back to the beginning of his NHL coaching career, in the late ’60s. “I didn’t do a bed check or anything, and I had guys that tramped a lot. So once I gave the bellman at the hotel we were at $10 and a hockey stick. He stood in the lobby, and when the players rolled in at one, two in the morning, he had the guys sign the stick. Every guy who cut curfew, his name was on that stick in his own handwriting. I just walked into the room the next day and held it out. ‘Look what I’ve got.”

2. Herb Brooks.

“When it came to hockey, he was ahead of his time,” Ken Morrow said. “All of his teams overachieved because Herbie understood how to get the best out of each player and make him part of a team. And like everyone who played for him, I became a better person because I played for Herb Brooks.”

3. Badger Bob Johnson.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the second game of an important two-game series against Herb Brooks’ Minnesota Golden Gophers at the old Williams Arena on the UM campus during the 1978-79 season. The game was tied going into the third period and both teams were still in their respective locker rooms in the bowels of Williams Arena – each refusing to take the ice first before the start of the third period. The bitter rivalry between Brooks and Johnson was legend and often manifested itself in ways beyond simple gamesmanship in order to establish even the slightest of edges.

Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on our locker room door, and I when I opened it, there stood referee Medo Martinello, hands on hips, and barking this command to the visiting coach: ”Let’s go Bob - take the ice.” Johnson grunted and nervously ran his hand over his face from top to bottom as he often would when out on the spot.

“Just one minute, Medo,” said Johnson as he closed the door.

Frustrated, Johnson moved to address his players one more time before acquiescing to the demands of the WCHA officiating staff to take the ice before Minnesota. But just before he did, I reminded him of a conversation we had earlier in the week over breakfast at Mickey’s in Madison.

“Clockwise,” I said. “Let’s take the ice first, but let’s skate clockwise around the rink instead of counter-clockwise.”

Earlier in the week at Mickey’s we had talked about the phenomenon of all skaters’ insistence of skating counter-clockwise and never clockwise around the rink - even at public skating. Johnson dismissed all of the conventional theories and just intuitively knew there was something more to it than simply being right-handed or left-handed. So my assignment for the week was to find out why 100 percent of all skaters prefer to skate in a counter-clockwise direction.

This was a prime example of Johnson’s deep need to know about every aspect of his passion. And sure enough after speaking with several physics professors at the UW as well as a good friend and former U.S. Pairs coach Pieter Kollen in Colorado Springs it became clear that Johnson was right. It was the gravitational pull of the earth that caused skaters to skate, hurricanes to swirl, and toilets to flush in a counter-clockwise direction north of the equator and the opposite direction south of the equator.

Without even responding to me, Johnson moved to the middle of the locker room and said: ”Each of you knows what you have to do to win this game. Now let’s go out there and do it.”

With that, the team collectively jumped to its feet and headed for the door. But before starting goalie Roy Schultz could lead the Badger team out, Johnson quickly pulled him aside and told him to lead the Badgers around the rink ”clockwise.” Schultz was a simple farm boy from Regina, Saskatchewan who followed Johnson’s instructions without question and lead the Badgers out onto the Williams Arena ice in a clockwise direction without really understanding why.

A few moments later, the Gophers started to make their way to the ice all puffed up for the third period, then suddenly as a group, slowed to a stand-still and stared out onto the ice confused at what they saw. It was amazing to watch as the Gophers reluctantly and uncomfortably took the ice to start the third period.

The Badgers ultimately won the game but who is to say for certain whether or not taking the ice clockwise had anything to do with it or not. Afterall, Brooks ultimately led that Gopher team to the NCAA Championship later that year.

4. Al Arbour.

One day the Islanders showed up at a practice facility to find that an egg had been placed in each of their lockers.”What Al told the players was, ‘If you carried that egg with you last night when you played, you wouldn’t have broken it because not one of you touched a soul,” Torrey recalled.

Torrey recalls that Arbour was always “fussing and fuming” about losses, but the next day he would come in smiling because he would have a plan.

He remembers the Islanders had played poorly on the road in Los Angeles and Arbour had essentially said that his team had “gone to the dogs.” He said they had played like dogs.

The next day they flew to Vancouver and Arbour asked Torrey to go for a walk as he sorted out what was going wrong. On their journey, they stopped at a general store, and Arbour spied a bag of dog biscuits sitting on the counter. He bought them.

“I said Al if you’re hungry we can go have lunch with the players,” Torrey said, laughing at the memory. “But he had a plan.”

Arbour went to the dining area where players were having lunch and he told the waiters to put a plate of biscuits on each table instead of dessert. Arbour and Torrey waited around the corner to monitor the reaction.

“And I remember Al peeked around the corner, and he turned back laughing, ‘can you believe that Stefan Persson just ate one,’” Torrey recalls.  Then Arbour and Torrey heard all of the players barking like dogs, and Arbour knew that he had made his point and had a good laugh at the same time.

5. Toe Blake.

The mastermind behind the on-ice exploits of the likes of “The Rocket”, Jean Beliveau, Doug Harvey, Bernard Geoffrion and Jacques Plante, Blake always knew which buttons to push. Wearing his trademark fedora wherever he went, he had a knack for keeping his talented group of superstars and future Hall of Famers focused and hungry year in, year out. While they could easily have become complacent, Blake’s Canadiens were instead the most driven and determined team in the NHL.

Now ask yourself if you feel the same way about our coach.  Is he a good NHL coach?  Well he isn’t Mario Tremblay.  But he isn’t good enough to get this team into the playoffs (Well, as of this moment.)  and that will be five misses, two first round losses, and one fortuitous finals appearance in eight seasons.  Wouldn’t a good coach do more with less?

He seems like a decent fellow, and a player’s coach (Unless you have lots of skill.) overall.  But if game 82 shows up and people aren’t shelling out sheckles for playoff ducats, then the Silver Fox has to bow out.  Period.

The morning after…

I heard MacT talk about a four bad minutes in the 2nd period cost them this game.  The Coyotes had them hemmed in and got 3-4 chances a couple times and that sunk his team.  Maybe we should wonder why they didn’t come out like a house on fire in the first.  I don’t know what team that our coach watches, but that wasn’t a desperate effort.  Not even close.

In a must win game against a non playoff team, the Oilers were flat.  Either the coach has an inability to get these guys fired up, or they are playing to get him fired.  One of the two.

Hopefully tonight, they are fired up on their own, because I don’t think our coach can get any more out of them than he already has.

Style points….zero.

With my Novice team in the finals, I didn’t get to watch all of the game.  I predicted an Oiler 3-2 final, although expecting victory, I was not surprised.  Apparently, reading over at Lowetide in the comments of the game section, Dennis pointed out that Gagner took the late draw that caused a goal.

I know I am only a first year Novice head coach, but with a few minutes left, if I am in my own zone, I do not put my weakest players out there in a game where I am either struggling to hang on, or fighting to win.

Sam Gagner has a 43.3 face-off win percentage on the year.  Both Brodziak and Horcoff are substantially better.  Since I didn’t see the game, I don’t know what the shifts leading up to the faceoff was, nor do I know for sure whether it came off an icing and Gagner had to take the draw.  Either way, this team plays a passive game.  A very passive game.

Take a look at these stats.

PP: 22nd

PK: 27th

Shots for: 29th

Shots against: 25th

Win% trailing after 1st: 24th

Not only that, but our face offs are 26th in the league.  We don’t have the puck, we don’t pursue the puck, we don’t win the puck, we don’t carry the puck.  We don’t play an offensive style, we don’t aggressively play the game when we are ahead, we fight for a tie and a late winning goal, or to get to OT and get a loser point or fortunate win.

Hopefully the system changes.  The playing personnel changes, but the coaches seem to consistently coach them into a grinding style, which must be tiring after a while.  Ask Hemsky.

I hate hockey, I love hockey, I am not sure…

This is a hard post to write.   I was ready to call it a day.  All I could think about was how my pass time, my passion (Outside my work and family) had been bastardized to the point where the mere thought of it (Hockey itself) disgusted me.

I suppose I will have to paint a picture.  I was a smoker, out of shape, but at 32 decided to give up the habit, get in shape.  What better way to do that then to join a recreational hockey team and get back to my roots.  (I grew up on the ice at the outdoor rink my Dad managed)  So I joined a league, and it didn’t work out, but a couple years later, I joined a pretty good hockey team. (Called the Xtreme Hockey Club…go figure)

We played together for 8 seasons summer and winter, and won the title every season that we were together.  But the seasons took their toll, and with more young bucks coming in, I was feeling like my age and slow down meant that I just didn’t have the “jam” to continue as a player.  I retired from playing for the time being.

But, I couldn’t just not be involved in hockey, I still needed to be in shape.  The league had been advertising for referees for a couple seasons.  I thought..hey, skating, a few bucks, what the heck, it could be fun.  Not only that, my 7 year old was starting hockey, and I could coach and juggle the two.  Was going to be a fun winter.

A funny thing happened on the way to the fun winter…hockey players.  Men’s recreational hockey players.

Don’t get me wrong, I met a lot of great people playing rec hockey.  I met my best man playing rec hockey.  Until you ref recreational hockey, you have no idea what kind of animal they are.  I started reffing in October, and the amount of abuse that hockey players put on officials, is unreal.  Some real examples…

-Puck takes funny bounce off boards and hits my skate and player calls me a ****ing idiot.

-My partner waves off an icing and a player goes on a tirade how I am a ****ing moron.

-After a game giving a player three penalties, he suggest I keep my head up because he will take my teeth out next game. (And made it a point to say he was serious.)

-I wave an icing (100% sure it was the correct call) and the resulting breakaway scores.  The next face off,  losing player gets the puck, looks at me, down at the puck, back at me and takes a full slapshot that hits me in the leg.

Obviously I can penalize the infractions, but why does someone want this job?  I see why they have to advertise for referees…

After the last incident,  I had had enough.  This game sucks.  The players suck, and as far as I am concerned, I will only ref this year, and never again.  I don’t want to play it, I don’t even want to watch it on TV, or highlights.  I am disgusted at this game and the players that play it.  I couldn’t care a less if the NHL folded and all ‘Nucks, ‘Oil, ‘Habs, ‘Sens fans could cry in their beers and it wouldn’t matter to me.  TSN.ca is off my bookmarks.  I didn’t check a score for a week.  I left some of my fantasy leagues…  I will ref until the end of the season, but every drive to the rink is tempered with a lack of enthusiasm.  Not only is it just a job, it is now hard work.

But, I still have committments.  I am the head coach of my son’s Novice team.  We still have a season to finish.

It was actually quite funny, the coaching thing.  I intended to be an assistant coach.  I am a busy guy.  When the director phoned and asked me to be the Head coach, although I liked the idea, I travel with business, I have 5 kids, it is quite a committment.  Obviously I didn’t think that there was another candidate by what the director said because I took the job.  He even asked me to help with evaluations.

When my son went to the evaluation, he could barely stand up on his skates. (So did many others)  We went through the process, and my son ended up on a team in one of the lower Novice divisions.  When I got the team, 80% could barely skate, and maybe one had played organized hockey.  I didn’t even know if I could coach them.  I am probably better off suggesting when Staios loses his man and causes a goal than how to stop with two feet.   Could I take my hockey knowledge and break it right down to the basics?  I don’t generally think basically.

Well, we start working on it, lose our first two, then we get hammered in our third game 10-1.  It could be a long season.  But the kids are willing, and I am committed…so we work, and we work hard.  Last place team in the first round of Novice in our division at 2-6-0.  There is improvement, because the two wins are at the end of the round and the kids are starting to get it.  Best players start playing like best players, goalie settles down and because solid.  In the second round, they turn it up a notch, and go 5-1-0.  We might just have something here.

I get the call that we have been moved up a division.  “What the ****?”  We had one good win and all the rest were one or two goal victories.  Our goal differential was 11?  There is a team above us that didn’t move up that had no losses and a better goal differential.  Minor hockey is stupid, the directors are stupid….they are all stupid.  Hockey is stupid.  I call whoever I can, this is nuts.  Sadly, every avenue is shut down.  No one cares, that is just the way it is.  I am pissed, the parents are pissed.  Well, be a good soldier and suck it up.

It gets worse though.  Early in the season, one of my players moves to Ontario.  I am down to 12 kids.  Over Christmas, I play several games with less than 10 skaters.  I call the director.  “Sorry, we can’t help you.  You don’t get any affiliates.”  We fight against better teams, somehow we compete with what we have….some games I look at the kids who are tired and tell them they have to stay on the ice and feel genuine regret.

They still fight, and not too bad, after the third round, 3-5-0 against stiffer competition.  Pretty good I think.  But then, it gets worse.  One of my kids has arthritic knees and doctors say she is going to have to quit sports.  One of my kids goes to Mexico on holidays.  The playoffs are almost here.  What the heck are we going to do?  The best we can do is six forwards and three defensemen.  The league has to see it my way.  I call around for help, but no one is listening.  “I know it is frustrating, but you have to get by.”

Game one of the playoffs (A two loss and out playoff system) didn’t go well.  A team we just lost to 5-1 near the end of the year is going to be tough to beat.  And they were better.  A 6-1 loss was on the table and looking like an end to the season might be soon in the cards.

Interesting what happens though.  I see the next team we play happens to be lower in the standings.  I don’t know how they organize it, but getting one little win before bowing out would be a moral victory.   I don’t really want to see them lose like this.  The next game before the game,  I talk all about effort and compete and go over with the kids what they have learned all year.  I ask each player one by one to tell me one thing they are going to do to be successful.  The start regurgitating everything they have been taught all year.  “Use the boards.”, “Be aggressive.”, “Play your positions.”, “Pass the puck.”

Oddly they don’t really play all that well compared to some games.  Maybe they feel defeated.  I already am pretty disallusioned at hockey, so if they did end up losing, the bright lining is that I am done with it.  But they do play well enough to win 4-1.  After every game, I always call the kids to the bench for three cheers and congratulate them win or lose.  But I call, and none of them come.  They all skate over to mob our little goalie.  I shrug and smile, because they are happy.

So we lose Sunday, but win Thursday, and so on to Saturday.  I look at the schedule again.  The team right above us in the standings.  Well, I don’t care how it got there, but that works for me, we should be in it.  Not only that, our player that is injured wants to sit on the bench with us.  For sure.

I think we should be competitive.  And we are.  A hard fought two two game goes into the final 3 minutes, and one of our best players goes and finds a way to slip one past the goalie.  We find a way to hang on to a slim victory.  The kids jump all over the goalie again.  Now we are looking at superstitions.  Little number 6 wears the same clothes to every game, we do the same speeches, and same lines.  Win Saturday, play Sunday.

Well, it looks as though nice while it lasted.  The team we lost 5-1 and 6-1 is our opponent next.  The speech is a little more animated.  It has to be about the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight.  We aren’t the best or most talented team, but there are kids that couldn’t skate 6 months ago fighting their hardest along the boards to win it.

A lot of it is confidence, and they seem to have some now.  Close game, up one, tied, up one, and the late goal to clinch it against the team that beat us.  Our goalie decided he was going to stand on his little head and some timely goals brings these kids to the point of eruption.  Another great celebration against a team they were thinking they would lose to.  Win Sunday, play Monday.

I look again and somehow we have avoided the top two teams thus far, and we play the fourth place team.  A team we played well in the regular season.  After the first period, it looks like we are spent.  Down 2-0 and a lot of kids standing around.  We coaches chatter on the bench about they are skating harder than us, that we need a big play.  One of our players needs to make a big play.  We get the big play.  Our number 6 steals the puck and shoots it off the post and in.  After that goal the energy boost to the team is evident.   Another goal comes quickly and we own the play for the rest of the game.  We score two waved off goals.  One at the 2nd period buzzer, and one on a bad whistle.  They hold on to overtime.

In overtime for minor hockey it starts 5 on 5, then each minute you reduce one player per side all the way to 1 on 1 if necessary.  I try to match my players as best I can, giving them rest and working it so we aren’t deficient anywhere.  I arrange it so that when we are down to 2 on 2, our two best players (One is my boy.) are on the ice.  We play the first three to a draw, a couple close calls at either end.  But my line matching works so that my 2 on 2 line up is fairly rested and ready to go.  I only takes 30 seconds and my son dekes both players and puts a high shot in over the goalie.  The place erupts.  My assistant coach goes on the ice and throws my son in the air a few times with hugs, the kids mob the goalie.  I grab all the kids at centre and tell them to wave and point at their parents who are so proud, the parent roar in approval.

I love the game…for today anyways.

It is only one game, but a good one.

Well, he wasn’t sitting last night. The amount of one liners on messageboards and around the water coolers about Rob Schremp was astronomical.

“Excellent, he should get about 3:42 of ice time and will play on a line with Stortini and Joey Moss.” -guy at the office.

“This makes no sense. They don’t even have Scott Ferguson available to play the other wing.” – Lowetide

All funny stuff, although those of us that felt like Jani Rita wasn’t given a fair shake weren’t really laughing. But, I am sure that Craig MacTavish swallowed hard, closed his eyes, and committed himself to let Schremp play 10 minutes and some PP time on the 2nd line.

The official line was 1 assist, 1 shot, 2 PIM, 14:53. It exceeded my expectation. So did Schremp’s performance. It reckoned me back to watching Jason Spezza before he was sent to the minors in 2002. Spezza looked like a guy that couldn’t find defensive zone coverage with a compass and road map. Sure he could dangle, but if your guy is open, or you consistently bump into your own guys in your zone, you need to get a clue before being on the ice.

Up to this point, I feel like management’s handling of Robbie Schremp has been pretty good. I think Robbie Schremp’s attitude towards his development has been pretty good. I thought he was one of the better players on the the ice, forchecked well, positioned well, backchecked well.

Granted I thought there were times where he wasn’t exactly in the spot I thought he should be in, and times when I thought he looked like he was watching the play, but I give him a B+ for the game, and expect that if this is his level of play and he is committed to improving, then he isn’t the guy that gets sent back down, Liam Reddox is. (Or if one of our two GM’s gets off their duffs, a goalie goes out so he can stay.)

The ball will bounce into Tambellini’s court…IF he is running the show.

Funny. This is a very telling picture as to what I was thinking when this post came to mind. Who’s call is it? Let’s just say that Mark Spector’s article in Sportsnet was very accurate and an unnamed veteran has suggested that a coaching change might be the best route to take after trade possibilities are looked at.

With Kevin Lowe in the background, the hiring of Tambellini, an outsider, as the GM, that would lend credence to the fact that Katz is not looking to perpetuate an old boys club that has emphasis on anything other than winning. That being said, Katz has been on record as referring to Lowe and MacT as friends. You find it a lot in business that people surround themselves with people they trust, and friends fall in that category.

Let me ask you a question….does the team look a bit stale to you? It gives off the impression to me, and sometimes a change in leadership can infuse a freshness that can spark a team.

I listened intently to the media scrum on 630 ched archives (Third link down) with the interview of Steve Tambellini. Thus far in 2008-09 he seems to have been eerily silent. Not a lot of talk with Tambo, not a lot of moves, seemingly in the background more than Bush is to Obama.

In the scrum, I sense that Tambellini is very politically correct, and talks as if they are a management team that he is part of, not the leader of. I get the sense that he feels like the coach is doing a reasonable job and that the players are the guys that should be held accountable for what is going on. Either that or it is the company line that he has been instructed to profess.

Until I see a move that gives the sense that Tambellini is running the show, this is still Kevin Lowe’s team and if that is the case, the coach leaving is the last selection on the list of multiple choices.

Coaching…motivation, a necessary evil?

Al Arbour was a master motivator. Herb Brooks also falls into the category along with Scotty Bowman and I am certain quite a few others.

I have heard the school of thought that Craig MacTavish shouldn’t have to motivate millionaire hockey players, that their paycheque should be motivation enough. That being said, why are all the greatest coaches of all time considered great motivators?

In Ken Dryden’s book, The Game, he cited this about Bowman…”Scotty Bowman is not someone who is easy to like…. Abrupt, straightforward, without flair or charm, he seems cold and abrasive, sometimes obnoxious, controversial but never colorful. He is not Vince Lombardi, tough and gruff with a heart of gold. His players don’t sit and tell hateful-affectionate stories about him…. He is complex, confusing, misunderstood, unclear in every way but one. He is a brilliant coach, the best of his time.” Canadiens star Steve Shutt put it this way: “You hated him 364 days years, and on the 365th day you got your Stanley Cup ring.”

When I watched the Oilers last night, I saw some pretty good players. I saw some skill and some pretty good plays. I thought that the goalie was pretty good, especially in close.

There was one thing that I thought was entirely missing was the willingness to compete at the highest level. This was Craig MacTavish’s quote last night.

“It’s clear the will was there,” he said. “We’re a tight group right now. In particular at home. The will and the try and all of those things based on effort are there. It’s just a lack of execution in some pretty critical areas of the game offensively.”

It may be odd to some, but I have a differing opinion as to how the game looked. Not that the Oilers were dogging it. It wasn’t a brutal effort. But it would be easy for anyone who took the time to watch the first half of the TSN double header to see that the losing team (Detroit) would have hammered either of the teams that were on the Rexall ice.

The puck pursuit was very good, the effort on every play was at a high level. But then again, that is the difference between contenders and pretenders.

I have always been someone who could take or leave Craig MacTavish. He seems to be able to teach certain players and get the most out of them. Most players like to play for him. He seems to be accountable.

On the other hand, he can’t coach skill very well, he can’t motivate players, and maximize their potential. Skill players do not flourish under MacTavish, which is probably why Tim Sesito and Liam Reddox are up. Brule and Schremp do not fall under the prototypical MacTavish player.

With the Oilers property as it sits, I would have the following…

Penner Horcoff Hemsky

Nilsson Cogliano Gagner

Moreau Schremp Cole

Brule Brodziak Stortini(And if you aren’t happy with Stortini, move him and call up Potulny)

MacIntyre

Souray Gilbert

Visnovsky Grebeshkov

Staios Smid

Strudwick

Garon/Roloson (Move one….and I am not concerened which.)

Deslauriers

Set your line up with your best players and go to war. Motivate them and get them fired up…because I am certain Oiler fans are tired of mediocrity….and part, a good part is on MacTavish, like it or not. Motivating is part of the job, and if you can’t do it, there are others who can.

A game of chicken…

This isn’t Oiler related, but I wanted to talk about negotiations and how they work.  I was reading an article in Twincities.com that indicated that Wild GM Doug Risebrough had yet to communicate with Backstrom’s agent Don Baizley about a contract with Backstrom set to be an Unrestricted Free Agent on July 1.

In Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the art of listening is the key to a successful negotiation.  This episode is another example of poor negotiations.

If I were an NHL GM, which would of course be the dream job, I would have constant contact with the agents of my key players.  My goal would be to maintain my key core of players and then mix in complimentary players to be successful.  Why that doesn’t seem to work in Minnesota is a mystery to me with Gaborik almost a for sure exit and no contact with one of the best statistical goalies in the league.

There are 28 Unrestricted Free Agent goalies but 4-5 of them are legitimate starters for a team that wants to be a playoff contender.  A resurgent Khabibulin, Tim Thomas, Martin Biron, and Manny Legace.  If you want to sprinkle in guys that could be considered a potential starter, Dwayne Roloson, Manny Fernandez, and even Mathieu Garon might be on your list as someone you can sign on the cheap and let him run for a year or two.

Looking at the availables, none of them are more appealing than the guy you already have in house, so why would you not be talking with the agent a quarter of the way through the season?  I can’t see a back up plan (sorry for the pun) and for a team that seems to be fairly successful, they have a lot of question marks.

I think back to the Ryan Smyth negotiation, and I wonder if either Lowe or Meehan were thinking clearly and providing each other a clear understanding of position and negotiated in good faith for both parties.

Did they actually listen to each other?  Did the $100K mean that much to either party?  Was the offer of a no trade clause worth the $100K and should have been accepted?  Is Kevin Lowe such a hard line Megalomaniac that when he carves a line in the sand, no one should DARE try to get him off his position? (I tend to believe that Kevin Lowe is a “My way or the highway” sort of negotiator.

So GMs play chicken with Agents, Agents with GMs, and sometimes action or inaction changes the internal make of their team for years to come.  If this season doesn’t work out well for the Wild, they will certainly be falling a notch starting in 2009-10.