Entries with the tag: coaching

Patrick Roy? Just Kidding

by Alanah on 05/12/08 at 10:35 AM
Comments (0)

From Bernie Lincicome at the Rocky Mountain News,

Wait. I was only kidding when I suggested Patrick Roy for the coach of the Avalanche. So, I take no credit or blame if Roy gets to stand under his own jersey hanging up there in the Pepsi Center rafters, along with those two Stanley Cup banners he helped win.

My suggestion was in keeping with the Avs’ fondness for leafing backward through their old scrapbooks. Oh, look. There’s Ray Bourque.

Why not him? Or how about Adam Deadmarsh, great name. Chris Drury, old Captain Clutch, still playing, could be a player-coach.

No, it is Roy, the only name that gets the blood up, causes conversation.

continued...

On Flyers’ Coach John Stevens

by Alanah on 05/03/08 at 01:52 PM
Comments (0)

From Elliotte Friedman at CBC,

“His brother owned the one gym in town,” Roloson said. “And we would meet him there to work out. John took it very seriously, and eventually we did, too.”

“I believe his nickname was Rambo, because of how hard he worked out,” Blake said.

Stevens is still in excellent shape and expects nothing less from his players. During the off-day between Games 3 and 4 of this series, the Flyers didn’t skate but did have a weight-training workout.

But his impact extended beyond the exercise room.

more from Dwayne Roloson and Rob Blake on how the Flyers’ coach impacted their own early careers

NHL Conference Call with Lindy Ruff and Barry Trotz

by Alanah on 04/24/08 at 04:07 PM
Comments (0)

On today’s NHL conference call for the media, the guests were Buffalo Sabres’ coach, Lindy Ruff, and Nashville Predators’ coach Barry Trotz. The coaches were invited to help preview the semifinal round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.


Here is the transcript from the Q&A.


Q. I wanted to ask you both, if you were to make a pick here of the final four teams in each conference, why wouldn’t you pick the team that did best against your own team? For instance, Buffalo did well against Montreal and Philly but 0-4 against both Pittsburgh and the Rangers. Nashville did well against Detroit and Colorado but 0-4 against San Jose, and 3-1 against Dallas.

Continue Reading »

Nolan Expected Back As Islanders Coach

by Paul on 04/10/08 at 05:06 PM
Comments (0)

from Greg Logan of Newsday,

Neither Wang nor Snow was happy with Nolan when he expressed some concern near the end of the season about going into the final year of his three-year contract without an extension. But when Snow was asked if there’s any reason to believe Nolan won’t return, he said, “I don’t see any reason. He’s our coach.”

Snow said he expects to sit down with Nolan within the next week to discuss the past season and what lies ahead. Snow blamed the Islanders’ failure to make the playoffs on “a handful of players who didn’t play to their capabilities” and the fact they led the NHL in man-games lost to injuries.

much more on the Islanders and go even deeper at On the Islanders Beat…

Conference Call Transcript: Jacques Lemaire

by Alanah on 04/02/08 at 02:50 PM
Comments (0)

Today, the Minnesota Wild’s head coach Jacques Lemaire was made available by way of a NHL teleconference. With 95 points the Wild sit in first place in the Northwest Division, two points ahead of Colorado and three ahead of the Calgary Flames, who they host tomorrow night.  A victory would guarantee a division championship and home ice in at least in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Here’s the transcript of Lemaire’s Q&A session.



Q. Jacques, one of the things I noticed about your team is how good your record is in special teams play and how important that’s been during the regular season. I’d like you to comment on the power play. You’re eighth best in the league, penalty killing second best in the league. How much has that influenced your success this season and how important will it be in the playoffs versus the regular season?

Continue Reading »

Conference Call Transcript: Mike Keenan

by Alanah on 04/02/08 at 01:20 PM
Comments (0)

Today, the NHL’s Public Relations Department provided Calgary Flames head coach Mike Keenan for media teleconference. The Flames currently have 92 points and reside at 7th seed in the Western Conference.  They trail Minnesota in the NW Division by three points and are one point the behind Colorado with one game in hand.

Here’s the transcript from the media’s Q&A time with ‘Iron Mike.’


Q. There’s so much parity in the league and so much has to be decided in the last five days here. Do you have any sort of theory on why it’s so close? We have seen it now in three straight years since the lockout. I have my own theory, it may have to do with the shootout point, but go ahead and answer that.

Continue Reading »

Interview Transcript: Guy Carbonneau

by Alanah on 03/26/08 at 05:04 PM
Comments (0)

Today, Montreal Canadiens head coach, Guy Carbonneau, was made available for questions via an NHL confererence call. 

In his second season as head coach, Guy has guided the Canadiens to the top record in the Eastern Conference with 96 points. With Monday’s victory over the Ottawa Senators, Montreal has clinched a Stanley Cup record playoff berth for a record 76 times.

Q.  Two quick questions: I was wondering if there was any particular game or trip during the season that you really think was essential for the team’s growth where you thought, maybe, this was more than just a playoff team, that they could win the conference?

Continue Reading »

Willing Combatants Only

by Alanah on 03/25/08 at 01:08 PM
Comments (1)

From Jeff Marek at CBC,

Well, by now we’ve all seen the video of Patrick Roy’s son Jonathan attacking Chicoutimi netminder Bobby Nadeau.  If you haven’t seen the clip yet, have a look.  QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau will rule on the incident sometime Tuesday.

We all have our opinion on the incident itself. It appears that Patrick Roy motioned to his son to skate down the ice and attack the other goalie, who wanted no part of the encounter as is evidenced by the video.

I can never condone that.

more... plus Marek’s thoughts on Patrick Roy’s future as an NHL coach, perhaps of the Avalanche

Paddock Fired

by Paul on 02/27/08 at 04:02 PM
Comments (8)

from TSN,

Having dropped six of their last eight games and 14 of their last 21, the Ottawa Senators have fired head coach John Paddock with just 18 games remaining in the regular season.

continued

And more from the Ottawa Senators,

[General Manager Bryan] Murray, who will return behind the bench as head coach, will continue to perform his duties as Senators general manager. Assistant coach Ron Low has also been relieved of his coaching duties.

Give Trotz Job Security

by Alanah on 02/20/08 at 01:48 PM
Comments (4)

From John Glennon’s blog at The Tennessean,

Over the past couple of months, the Predators have signed David Legwand to a six-year contract, Jordin Tootoo to a two-year contract and forward J.P. Dumont to a four-year contract. It’s time to show a little commitment to the organization’s coaches and scouting staff as well.

Predators general manager David Poile has already said new contracts are in the works for Barry Trotz and company, but it’s not clear yet what length the deals will be. The coaches have become accustomed to working on one-year pacts (they’re doing it again this season), but they deserve a little more security.

continued...

Time to Start Losing

by Alanah on 01/30/08 at 01:17 PM
Comments (3)

From Mike Brophy at The Hockey News,

So here’s the thing, if you are the Los Angeles Kings or the Toronto Maple Leafs, it is probably in your best interest – speaking big picture, that is – to lose the remainder of your games.

It would be better for both teams – and probably Florida, Tampa Bay and Buffalo, too – if they just gave up on this year and did everything in their power to get the top pick in the 2008 Entry Draft; in all likelihood Steven Stamkos.

The problem is: How do you tell 20 players, who are essentially auditioning for next year, as well as a coaching staff whose career might possibly hang in the balance with every victory or defeat, that you want to tank the year?

continued...

Some Quinn Reflections

by Alanah on 01/28/08 at 08:23 PM
Comments (0)

From Cory Wolfe at Canwest News via the National Post,

Education and hockey were intertwined all along for Quinn. Following high school, he accepted a scholarship to Michigan Tech. However, he was ruled ineligible for American collegiate hockey because he had previously signed over his hockey rights to the Detroit Red Wings.

“I ended up back at home and I got a job with the steel company which is where most of my pals were working,” says Quinn. “It was a good job; it was Stelco at the time. But I quickly figured out that’s not where I wanted to spend the rest of my life, working shifts.”

Quinn headed west to Edmonton and joined the junior Oil Kings for the 1962-63 season. The club went on to win the Memorial Cup. The Oil Kings’ success didn’t propel Quinn directly into the NHL spotlight.

...and more of a brief biography on Pat Quinn, not quite ready with a “retirement plan” as yet. A happy birthday to Quinn who turns 65 on Tuesday.

Ulf Samuelsson Has Mellowed

by Paul on 12/17/07 at 08:04 PM
Comments (0)

from the Arizona Republic,

When Ulf Samuelsson skates down the ice during a practice, it isn’t difficult to flash back and visualize him as a premier NHL defenseman, causing havoc and driving opponents up the wall (figuratively and literally).

Samuelsson, a Coyotes assistant, coaches like he played, says coach Wayne Gretzky.

“As a player, he prepared really hard, so he prepares hard at coaching,” he said. “He spends a lot of time behind the scenes, (watching) videos, watching guys, watching systems, and he puts a lot of effort into it.

continued

Andy Murray’s Message

by Alanah on 12/10/07 at 04:57 PM
Comments (0)

From the CP via TSN,

Murray employs a tough style that is ‘’demanding not demeaning’’ and puts a lot of responsibility on the players. After arriving in St. Louis, he found a group of men that felt as if they had let down Mike Kitchen, the man Murray replaced behind the bench.

The Blues have gone a combined 43-28-10 since - including 16-10-1 so far this season. His message to the players has been simple.

‘’Basically we just tried to sell a belief system that if we played hard every night and competed that we would have an opportunity to be successful,’’ said Murray. ‘’Losing is misery ... I think the players were just fed up with the way they were feeling here.’’

more

The Ideas Of Ron Wilson

by Paul on 12/03/07 at 08:39 AM
Comments (2)

from Working the Corners,

Limit teams to only four skaters in their own defensive zone. That does two things — unclogs the scoring areas and legitimizes the cherry-picking scoring threat who never wanted to worry about defense anyway. Opposing coaches would have to decide whether to have someone hang with the cherry-picker or go for the man advantage in the offensive zone. Linesmen would have responsibility for whistling a new penalty — too many men inside the blue line.

Wilson acknowledges that he and his fellow coaches deserve some of the blame for the current drop in scoring since play resumed after the lockout.

more

Line Of The Day

by Paul on 11/24/07 at 08:16 AM
Comments (0)

via the Patriot-News,

“Quite honestly,” said Boudreau, elevated Thursday from his position as Hershey’s head coach in the wake of Glen Hanlon’s firing, “I caught myself saying, ‘Ovechkin is up. Ovechkin? Holy smokes.’ That’s what caught me most of all. I was here in front of 20,000 people. It was a good situation.”

Coaching Change For Caps Will Paint A Clearer Picture

by Paul on 11/23/07 at 08:14 AM
Comments (0)

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

Afterwards, Hanlon conceded that he’d never undergone anything quite like the current meltdown at any other stage in his career, as a player or a coach, and sounded as if he were out of answers. So Boudreau gets the first chance to pick up the pieces and in a month or so, McPhee will start to get his answers: If this were really a coaching issue, or if the team that he’s rebuilding isn’t quite ready to turn the corner just yet.

more

Hartley Wants To Coach

by Paul on 11/19/07 at 12:21 PM
Comments (0)

from Pierre LeBrun if the CP via MetroNews,

A Russian agent did indeed recently contact Hartley, who was fired as head coach of the Thrashers on Oct. 17.

“They asked me if I would be interested,” said Hartley. “When you love hockey, you’re interested in coaching and everything ... But we’ll just wait and see how everything plays out.”

He obviously wants back into coaching but wants to make the right move the next time the phone rings.

“I’ve been coaching for the last 20 years,” said Hartley, who coached in Canadian major junior and the AHL before getting his first NHL job in 1998 with Colorado. “But it would be very selfish of me right now to say, ‘I want to coach in the NHL tomorrow.’

read on

Thrashers Will Search For Coach After The Season

by Paul on 11/15/07 at 11:37 AM
Comments (0)

from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday morning that the Thrashers won’t be going outside the organization for a new coach this season. He spoke with the Atlanta Spirit ownership and they supported his plan to keep any replacement at coach within the organization during the season.

For now, Waddell will stay behind the bench and continue to lean on the services of assistants Brad McCrimmon and Steve Weeks. He said the search will reconvene after the season.

continued

The Blues Are Back

by Paul on 11/06/07 at 12:41 PM
Comments (0)

from Michael Farber at Sports Illustrated,

The new motto of the organization is Whatever It Takes, and the Blues have already done enough that on Oct. 30 there were 14,222 in attendance to see a team that had won six of its first nine games. That was still 5,000 short of capacity but, says Davidson, one of Checketts’s first hires, “last year, on a Tuesday in October against Phoenix, we probably would have had six [thousand].” Revenue from tickets sold this season has already surpassed the ticket revenue from all of 2006-07, a solid start for a team that was 7-5 through last Saturday.

The resurgence truly began last winter when the Blues hired the person with the foresight to include every employee in the team picture: coach Andy Murray.

more

One Statement May Keep Waddell Behind The Bench

by Paul on 11/05/07 at 07:10 PM
Comments (0)

from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,

“That’s the reason why I’m here,” said Kovalchuk, speaking of Waddell. “He brought me to this country and drafted me No. 1. When he’s behind the bench, it’s a little bit special for me.”

“It goes back to the first time he was in town [for an interview before the 2001 draft],” Waddell said. “I basically kidnapped him. He had his agent with him and I had one of our PR guys, and they went to the bathroom and I said, ‘You take the agent; I’ll take Kovy.’ I’ve watched him grow up, not just as a player but as a person.”

more

Note: Earlier transcript of Kovalchuk interview here