Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: Ken+Hitchcock
The Most Important Signing
by Paul on 07/10/08 at 07:23 AM ET
Comments (0)
from Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch,
The biggest offseason signing in Blue Jackets history—the face of the franchise, mind you—doesn’t score goals or play defense, isn’t much of a skater and struggles to move the puck. His weight hovers around 275 pounds, on a 5-foot-10ish frame, and the only time he has worn the C is when jokesters liken him to Captain Kangaroo.
This is the guy the Jackets are pinning their hopes on? Yes, and it’s hard to argue against them. Ken Hitchcock, who signed a threeyear extension yesterday to coach the Blue Jackets through the 2011-12 season, is more important to the team than any recent free-agent signing or draft pick.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ken+Hitchcock,
Blue Jackets Will Extend Contract of Ken Hitchcock
by Paul on 07/09/08 at 09:14 AM ET
Comments (1)
The Columbus Blue Jackets will hold a 12:30pm press conference today to announce a contract extension for Blue Jackets Head Coach Ken Hitchcock.
Update 1:27pm ET (alanah): Extension is for 3 years, till the end of the 2011-12 season. From the Blue Jackets --
“Signing Ken Hitchcock to this contract extension is another important step for the Columbus Blue Jackets as Ken is at or near the top of anyone’s list when it comes to NHL coaches,” said [GM Scott] Howson. “He has brought credibility, presence and structure to our team and is an integral part of the Blue Jackets’ identity. We are pleased to have stability for at least the next four years at the head coaching position.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ken+Hitchcock,
Morning Line
by Paul on 05/12/08 at 09:03 AM ET
Comments (0)
via Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,
“I think all that music is drowning out the crowd response,” he (Ken Hitchcock) said of the special environment which exists at the IIHF World Championship that you don’t experience at a normal NHL game.
“Standing on the bench, it’s confusing,” he said.
“Fans are yelling and singing like they do in Europe and it’s going against all that canned music like we have in North America. I think the music is drowning out the crowd response.”
“The natural stuff from the fan bases and the canned music is combining to make a lot of racket.”
“What makes the world championships unique is the noise of the fan bases. Listening to those people is wonderful.”
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, International Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ken+Hitchcock,
NHL Conference Call: Lindy Ruff and Ken Hitchcock
by Alanah McGinley on 04/08/08 at 03:01 PM ET
Comments (0)
Today, the NHL hosted a teleconference call for the media to ask questions of Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff and Columbus Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock.
Here is the transcript of that Q&A.
Q. The emphasis has been in the west all year now. Now the popular belief is whoever comes out of the west is going to be the Stanley Cup champion. Do you have that sense, as well?
KEN HITCHCOCK: No, I don’t. I think one of the problems is when you have so many good teams that what’s left of your team at the end of the three series that you have to play in sometimes isn’t much. I think a lot of it depends on the damage that gets done in some of these series.
I think when you look at the competitiveness of the teams and the closeness of really almost all eight teams in the playoffs, you know, I think health is going to be a major issue on whoever comes out from this series because it has the makings, especially in these early rounds, of some really long series here.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: ken+hitchcock, lindy+ruff, media, nhl+conference+call, transcripts,
Maybe We’ve All Made That Mistake…
by Alanah McGinley on 03/06/08 at 03:31 PM ET
Comments (5)
From Columbus Alive:
On our City Limits blog at ColumbusAlive.com, we’ve been writing a lot about Columbus’ quest for some sort of marketable identity. So we couldn’t resist this telling tidbit, reported by Tom Reed in Saturday’s Dispatch:
Ken Hitchcock’s most humbling moment as Blue Jackets coach came in this radiant city on the Pacific Coast [Vancouver, British Columbia].
Hitchcock was trying to clear Canadian customs last summer when the agent asked him his occupation. He told the man he coached the NHL franchise in Columbus.
The agent grew suspicious and countered by saying, “There’s no NHL team in Columbus.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: ken+hitchcock,
Blue Jackets are in the Battle
by Alanah McGinley on 01/14/08 at 07:22 PM ET
Comments (0)
From the AP via SI,
Of all things, the Blue Jackets - the only NHL team to never reach the postseason - find themselves in the midst of the race for the playoffs.
“We know we have a lot of work ahead of ourselves but it’s pretty exciting for our players to know that we’re in the middle of this mess with everybody else,’’ coach Ken Hitchcock said Monday. “We’re right in the battle here to go up the ladder if we can continue to play well, but one bad week and you’re really behind the eight ball. I think it’s going to be like this the rest of the year. It’s going to be close.’’
Heading into this week’s games, the 7-year-old franchise is off to its best season at 21-18-6. The best previous mark at this stage was 17-22-6 in 2002-2003. Considering the club has never come close to having a winning record, that in itself is an accomplishment.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: ken+hitchcock,
Easy Choice
by Paul on 12/16/07 at 08:48 AM ET
Comments (8)
from the Columbus Dispatch,
If the Blue Jackets make the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring, Ken Hitchcock should win the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s top coach.
And the voting shouldn’t be close.
Yes, it’s way too early to be handing out hardware. The Blue Jackets played their 32nd game (out of 82) last night.
But for the first time since the Blue Jackets joined the NHL in 2000-01, it’s safe for their fans to check the standings around the holidays without getting too depressed.
Way to early to be mentioning the Jack Adams Award…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Ken+Hitchcock,
Line Of The Day
by Paul on 11/29/07 at 02:10 PM ET
Comments (1)
from Puck-rakers,
Hitchcock was asked if he was planning to “go with Malarchuk” tonight against the Canucks:
“Hey, he wasn’t bad for a guy in the 1970s. I don’t think you’ll see him (Thursday night). It was hard enough to get him out there for practice. He kept holding out for a better deal. We didn’t get it done until right before practice.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Clint+Malarchuk, columbus+blue+jackets, ken+hitchcock,
Nash On The Same Page With Hitchcock
by Paul on 11/27/07 at 09:20 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Edmonton Journal,
“You can get your workers to buy in every night,” Hitchcock said Monday. “But if you can get your skill guys to buy into that (defence-first system), that’s how you win.”
Nash readily admits he and his teammates have bought Hitchcock’s system, the one that drove sniper Brett Hull to distraction when he played under Hitchcock in Dallas.
And Hitchcock noted that, apart from his own tutelage, his charges have an ongoing living lab in how to play sound defence sitting right there atop the Central Division - the Detroit Red Wings.
“They’re the gold standard,” Hitchcock said of the Wings’ textbook all-around game. “(Pavel) Datsyuk and (Henrik) Zetterberg - they all check.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, ken+hitchcock, Rick+Nash,
Howson In The Right Place
by Paul on 11/26/07 at 09:47 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Edmonton Journal,
Howson isn’t only a detail man, obviously. He has to paint the big picture for a franchise that has yet to make the NHL playoffs. Where the Jackets are headed and how they will get there depends on Howson as much as it does Hitchcock and the players. Fortunately, coach and GM complement one another.
“His strengths really balance with me. He’s a really patient, big-picture guy who sees things in months and years and I fight the daily fight, like all coaches do,” said Hitchcock. “Because he was a player at all levels, his ability to understand the team mindset at the end of competition is calming for me. You’re able to move past the emotion of the game and that’s important for me....”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, ken+hitchcock, Scott+Howson,
Stay Out Of Hitch’s Way
by Paul on 11/23/07 at 07:51 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Columbus Dispatch,
Hitchcock ambled in with a smirk-smile on his face and a massive monkey wrench in his belt. The cast-iron wrench is a good tool. It can twist a nut. It works as a hammer or a back scratcher. Sometimes, it’s handy just for show.
Hitchcock installed his system. Now, hockey systems can be overrated, as one does not differ much from another. The important thing is consistency, and Hitchcock was consistent: “Do this, do this because it works, and if you do not do this, you will not play.” Then, he held up the monkey wrench.
Critical point: Nobody interfered.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, Ken+Hitchcock,
Open Practice
by Paul on 11/16/07 at 06:09 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Columbus Dispatch,
The NHL, unlike other major sports leagues, does not have lucrative national television contracts. The Blue Jackets rely heavily on gate receipts and recognize the value of letting fans attend free practices in the Ice Haus adjacent to the arena.
“We’re not in a position to be losing fans,” left winger Rick Nash said.
Fans can learn a lot about the sport, Hitchcock said, by attending practices. Former Tampa Bay Lightning coach Terry Crisp used to run one session a season wearing a microphone to educate the crowd.
“To me, the most fun is watching how a team performs in practice and how the coach yells and how many swear words he uses,” Hitchcock said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, fans, ken+hitchcock, rick+nash,
Fighting Rick Nash
by Paul on 11/15/07 at 07:59 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Columbus Dispatch,
What was Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock thinking when he saw his best player dropping the gloves with a notorious knucklehead?
“I hope he doesn’t hurt his hand,” Hitchcock said.
And what was Nash thinking?
“It’s part of the game,” Nash said. “He (Vandermeer) threw a couple of cheap shots during the game, a couple of cross-checks. We fought. No big deal. Boller (Jared Boll) and Shell (Jody Shelley) fight all the time.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, fighting, ken+hitchcock, Rick+Nash,
Columbus Needs To “Bring It” Every Night
by Paul on 11/14/07 at 07:17 AM ET
Comments (0)
from the Columbus Dispatch,
The Blue Jackets, despite years of picking high in the draft, have fewer dynamic players than just about any other club in the Western Conference, save Phoenix.
The Blue Jackets can’t beat clubs on autopilot. The only way they can be successful is when they play a high-octane, borderline reckless brand of hockey.
“It’s not enough for us to match the energy of our opponents,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “We have to bring more energy than they have. We have to outplay them in that aspect of the game, or we’re going to struggle.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: columbus+blue+jackets, ken+hitchcock,
