Lots to add since my last post on Mar. 11/11. I guess the best way to do it would be point form: so since Mar. 11; I've.......
-Coached two practices; a one hour on Mar. 12 and an two hour on Mar. 13 for my son's atom team.
-Ref'd 11 games. Two minor hockey games Mar. 11 and 12, and nine Native Bands Tournament games from Mar. 14-17. Very intense hockey going on there...
-Coached six games. My son's novice team had a tournament in Thunder Bay. His team finished with three wins and three loses and finished the tournament as B side runner-ups. A great fun filled weekend; the kids tried hard and had a good time, and so did the coaches!
Every year during our March break; Sioux Lookout hosts a native bands tournament where about 20 teams from communities north of us and their fans come to town. This year was my first year officiating some of the games and I've gotta tell ya, they are not like minor hockey games! Guys are pretty intense out there and despite all the rules and regulations about treating officials and each other with respect, stuff still gets said and frustrations still come out in the heat of the moment. Thank heaven for my officiating partner Frank B. He's an experienced guy and he did great at keeping control of the games. Oh, and I've got a few bumps and bruises to heal. I tripped and fell on some bad ice, twice! Hurting my tail bone and my shoulder in the process; and I took a guys clearing attempt off the jock; which made me see stars for a couple of minutes but thankfully, no further damage. He did say he was sorry.....
Minor hockey is winding down, my son's novice team is pretty much finished now that the final tournament of the year is over. My other son's atom team still has some playoff games to go, but that won't take too long either. But I do have to say the next big hockey event I'm looking forward to is my trip to Ottawa April 2/11 to watch the Senators take on the Leafs at ScotiaBank Place. The game is on HNIC!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hockey Diary Mar. 11/11
Six and a half hours at the rink last night!
First was my son's novice practice which I went to and helped run, but I let Cameron stay home and chill out with his grandpa.
Second I did volunteer duty at our Sioux Flyers Jr. playoff game against the Thunder Bay Northstars. One more loss and our boys were out and the pre game scuttlebut was they were ready to throw in the towel. But that wasn't to be as the boys had a one to nothing lead until Thunder Bay tied it with ten seconds left. Then, thanks to a lucky goal (how else do you describe a backhander from centre that goes in?) they won 2-1. Back to Thunder Bay for game five on Saturday.
Third was our Sioux Aces game. Still only played 8 on 8 but because the Flyers game went to OT, we only had ice for 45 minutes. As usual it was fun, I don't know what the score was but I'm pretty sure our team came out on top.
Tonight is a night off from the rink (yay) But starting tomorrow I'll be busy reffing hockey games. 16 of them in six days; should be fun.
Oh, and my Ottawa Senators got by the Florida Panthers last night 2-1. Although it's nice to see them win a few games, I don't want them to screw up their draft situation for next year. A high pick is almost guaranteed and I'd really like to see them get Gabriel Landeskog.
First was my son's novice practice which I went to and helped run, but I let Cameron stay home and chill out with his grandpa.
Second I did volunteer duty at our Sioux Flyers Jr. playoff game against the Thunder Bay Northstars. One more loss and our boys were out and the pre game scuttlebut was they were ready to throw in the towel. But that wasn't to be as the boys had a one to nothing lead until Thunder Bay tied it with ten seconds left. Then, thanks to a lucky goal (how else do you describe a backhander from centre that goes in?) they won 2-1. Back to Thunder Bay for game five on Saturday.
Third was our Sioux Aces game. Still only played 8 on 8 but because the Flyers game went to OT, we only had ice for 45 minutes. As usual it was fun, I don't know what the score was but I'm pretty sure our team came out on top.
Tonight is a night off from the rink (yay) But starting tomorrow I'll be busy reffing hockey games. 16 of them in six days; should be fun.
Oh, and my Ottawa Senators got by the Florida Panthers last night 2-1. Although it's nice to see them win a few games, I don't want them to screw up their draft situation for next year. A high pick is almost guaranteed and I'd really like to see them get Gabriel Landeskog.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Hockey Diary: Mar. 9/11
It's about three weeks before hockey season ends for me and you'd think things would be slowing down a bit.....but no... and I'm not complaining.
Last night Andrew's atom team had a practice at 7. It was a fun time; there were lots of kids out and I had half the kids on half the ice practicing their skating, shooting, and passing. I had a shoot out drill at the end and told the kids the last one to score had to help me pick up the pucks after practice, but of course that didn't happen! We got home at 8-ish and after putting the kids to bed at 8:30 I headed back to the rink for my own hockey game with the Aces.
More guys were out compared to Monday night, but we still played 8 on 8. Our team won last night 12-6. I helped our team with a few points, but no matter how hard I try I can't get anything going with my Warrior stick! It's not until I pull the Easton stick out at the halfway point, that things start happening for me. Every night is like that!
Remember I said things weren't slowing down? Here's what I mean. Tonight my son's atom team has a game at 6, then we are staying to watch the Sioux Flyers in their playoff game vs. the Thunder Bay Northstars. Tomorrow my son's novice team has a practice, then I'm doing volunteer duty the the Flyer's game as security, and after that we have our own game with the Aces.
Next week is Spring break and there is always a big Northern Bands tournament here during that time. Minor hockey and the Aces have no ice next week but that doesn't mean I have any time off. I'll be reffing. 16 games in 5 days. Then when that's over; it's off to Thunder Bay for my son's novice tournament! It's crazy I know but I absolutely love it.
And finally, my Ottawa Senators went into New Jersey last night and beat the Devils 2-1. On paper it was a total mismatch as Ottawa is 30th in the league and NJ is one of the hottest teams going; they were 22-2-2 since Christmas before last night's game; and on a 9-0 run at home. But my Senators beat them at their own game; playing a stingy defensive style and got two timely goals by up and comer Eric Condra. As usual, our goalie Craig Anderson stood on his head and played great, but what I really liked was Jason Spezza's game. He made a beauty play to set up the game winning goal was a stud on defense a few times, especially when the Devils had about 4 minutes of power play time in the second period; a minute and a half of that was with a two man advantage. Next up is the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Florida. It's a game I expect the boys to win; Florida is in total free fall mode right now.
Last night Andrew's atom team had a practice at 7. It was a fun time; there were lots of kids out and I had half the kids on half the ice practicing their skating, shooting, and passing. I had a shoot out drill at the end and told the kids the last one to score had to help me pick up the pucks after practice, but of course that didn't happen! We got home at 8-ish and after putting the kids to bed at 8:30 I headed back to the rink for my own hockey game with the Aces.
More guys were out compared to Monday night, but we still played 8 on 8. Our team won last night 12-6. I helped our team with a few points, but no matter how hard I try I can't get anything going with my Warrior stick! It's not until I pull the Easton stick out at the halfway point, that things start happening for me. Every night is like that!
Remember I said things weren't slowing down? Here's what I mean. Tonight my son's atom team has a game at 6, then we are staying to watch the Sioux Flyers in their playoff game vs. the Thunder Bay Northstars. Tomorrow my son's novice team has a practice, then I'm doing volunteer duty the the Flyer's game as security, and after that we have our own game with the Aces.
Next week is Spring break and there is always a big Northern Bands tournament here during that time. Minor hockey and the Aces have no ice next week but that doesn't mean I have any time off. I'll be reffing. 16 games in 5 days. Then when that's over; it's off to Thunder Bay for my son's novice tournament! It's crazy I know but I absolutely love it.
And finally, my Ottawa Senators went into New Jersey last night and beat the Devils 2-1. On paper it was a total mismatch as Ottawa is 30th in the league and NJ is one of the hottest teams going; they were 22-2-2 since Christmas before last night's game; and on a 9-0 run at home. But my Senators beat them at their own game; playing a stingy defensive style and got two timely goals by up and comer Eric Condra. As usual, our goalie Craig Anderson stood on his head and played great, but what I really liked was Jason Spezza's game. He made a beauty play to set up the game winning goal was a stud on defense a few times, especially when the Devils had about 4 minutes of power play time in the second period; a minute and a half of that was with a two man advantage. Next up is the Florida Panthers on Thursday in Florida. It's a game I expect the boys to win; Florida is in total free fall mode right now.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Hockey Diary: March 8/11
Hi all,
I've decided to incorporate various "diaries" into my blog. My hockey diary, my golf diary, and my music diary are probably three diaries you'll see here in the near future.
So tonight is my first entry into "my hockey diary." I was busy at the rink tonight with three games. First my son Cameron's novice team had a house league game; they won 5-0; but they usually do win their house league games. I have to say that Cameron has been playing hockey for three years now, and he's a pretty good little skater, but I tell ya, the kid has absolutely no hockey sense, and it drives me crazy! Tonight for example; he could have had a breakaway; but he chose not to chase the puck because he was playing defense! Ugh! The really hard part is when I try to give him advice (I'm the team's assistant coach) he just rolls his eyes at me like he knows everything!
Second was my son Andrew's atom house league playoff game. We played a team who beat us 5-4 last week; and I really wanted to win one tonight (I'm the team's head coach) So I adjusted the lines a bit and told the kids that I wanted to see more passing and a more "dump and chase" kind of game. I have to say the kids played really well; and I think we deserved to win but the game ended 3-3. Andrew didn't get any points but he played very defensively for us. He's dying to score a goal so I think I'll put him at forward for Wednesday night's game.
Finally, I played my own game with the Sioux Aces oldtimers; we have ice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursay nights. I usually play Tuesday's and Thursday's but tonight I made it out for a monday nighter. We were short in numbers (6 on 7) but it was a fun skate. I'm not sure what the final score was, but our team lost by one. I didn't score any goals, but I did help our team with a few assists, but when there's not a lot of guys out, everybody usually gets a point! Hopefully there will be more guys out tomorrow.
I've decided to incorporate various "diaries" into my blog. My hockey diary, my golf diary, and my music diary are probably three diaries you'll see here in the near future.
So tonight is my first entry into "my hockey diary." I was busy at the rink tonight with three games. First my son Cameron's novice team had a house league game; they won 5-0; but they usually do win their house league games. I have to say that Cameron has been playing hockey for three years now, and he's a pretty good little skater, but I tell ya, the kid has absolutely no hockey sense, and it drives me crazy! Tonight for example; he could have had a breakaway; but he chose not to chase the puck because he was playing defense! Ugh! The really hard part is when I try to give him advice (I'm the team's assistant coach) he just rolls his eyes at me like he knows everything!
Second was my son Andrew's atom house league playoff game. We played a team who beat us 5-4 last week; and I really wanted to win one tonight (I'm the team's head coach) So I adjusted the lines a bit and told the kids that I wanted to see more passing and a more "dump and chase" kind of game. I have to say the kids played really well; and I think we deserved to win but the game ended 3-3. Andrew didn't get any points but he played very defensively for us. He's dying to score a goal so I think I'll put him at forward for Wednesday night's game.
Finally, I played my own game with the Sioux Aces oldtimers; we have ice on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursay nights. I usually play Tuesday's and Thursday's but tonight I made it out for a monday nighter. We were short in numbers (6 on 7) but it was a fun skate. I'm not sure what the final score was, but our team lost by one. I didn't score any goals, but I did help our team with a few assists, but when there's not a lot of guys out, everybody usually gets a point! Hopefully there will be more guys out tomorrow.
Monday, January 31, 2011
My Love Affair with Hockey
I remeber at age eight; asking my parents if I could play hockey. I had a lot of friends at school that played; and I loved watching hockey night in Canada on Saturday nights. My favorite team was the Montreal Canadiens, and my favorite player was Guy Lafleur. Mostly though, I loved watching Peter Puck during the first intermssion!
So my parents signed me up, but I needed equipment so my dad and my uncle Ted took me to Keystone Sporting Goods in Selkirk to get suited up. I can remember my uncle saying to my dad "I hope you've got about two hundred and fifty bucks on ya" and my dad going "WHAT??"
So I got started; I played in St. Andrews; our team was called the Sabres; I think.
I played minor hockey in St. Andrews for about three years before before I was old enough to play in Selkirk. I mostly played left wing but my last year in Selkirk I played defense. Out of all those years playing minor hockey; I was on a team that won one tournament; our home tournament one year in St. Andrews.
After one year in Selkirk, I quit hockey. I think I was twelve or thirteen at the time. I tell people I quit because I got hurt, but in reality I quit because I couldn't handle getting yelled at by the coaches. You see coaching minor hockey back then is not the same as it is now. We had coaches, one in particular, that skated us into the ice during almost every practice; and if you made a mistake during a drill, he would practically scream at us, try and slash the sticks out of our hands, and I even remember him bodychecking kids for making a mistake, once he hit a kid from behind and sent him flying, that is burned into my memory.
Quitting hockey is one of the decisions that I've made in my life that I actually regret. Would I have made it to the NHL? Probably not; but I think I would have kept playing until Junior or Junior B; which is where all my friends wound up.
So fast forward about 20 years. I'm now living in Sioux Lookout and one night I get invited out to the outdoor rink with some friends to play a game of hockey. It was a blast and for a few Saturdays in a row we all went out for a game. The following winter some of us signed up with a group of guys who played in the arena; same idea but just on an indoor rink. We always went on after this group of guys who I didn't know. They always had two full teams, two goalies, and a ref for every game. I was like "who are these guys?" I recognized a friend of mine out there and asked him who he played hockey with and he said they were the Sioux Aces oldtimers team; and asked me if I wanted to join them.
So the next year I joined the Sioux Aces and the fire I had inside for the game of hockey came back to life. When I first started I really had a hard time remembering my positioning and keeping up with the pace of the game. I think it was about 10 games before I got a point, and more than that before I got a goal. Eventually though, things started to get a little easier for me. I started researching hockey on the internet; looking for tips on how I could improve as a player, and I started watching my favorite NHL players a little more closely. I joined a gym and started working out; and in my second season I played my first oldtimers tournament. My first "competitive" hockey game since I was twelve!
So that was five years ago; today I still play with the Aces two nights a week. This year is especially fun for me because for the first time I feel like "one of the guys." I also coach BOTH of my son's teams and I referee a few minor hockey games each month. It's crazy busy but I love it; the next big thing for me is a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie in March, 2012.
Like I said earlier, my favorite team growing up was the Montreal Canadiens. I could probably still remember the entire team roster from those days but the players I liked the most were Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt; Larry Robinson; and Ken Dryden.
When the Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL in 1979 I of course became a fan of them; and even took in a few games during the years that they were in Winnipeg. When they moved to Phoenix in 1996 I was "teamless" for the first time ever.
Fast forward to the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. I entered an online hockey pool run by Future Shop. I figured the Ottawa Senators were going to win it all that year so I loaded up my pool with Sens players. After the first round in which they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning; I was seventh out of about 10,000 "poolies."
The Senators were eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres the next round so that was that, but when the 2006-2007 regular season started I found I couldn't take my eyes off of the Senators and I've been hooked ever since. I even flew to Ottawa in March, 2008 to take in a game. The Senators beat the Boston Bruins 4-1. As a 40th birthday present; my wife bought us tickets to the April 2/11 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs; so I'm really looking forward to that.
So there you have it; my obsession for hockey in a nutshell. See you next post.
So my parents signed me up, but I needed equipment so my dad and my uncle Ted took me to Keystone Sporting Goods in Selkirk to get suited up. I can remember my uncle saying to my dad "I hope you've got about two hundred and fifty bucks on ya" and my dad going "WHAT??"
So I got started; I played in St. Andrews; our team was called the Sabres; I think.
I played minor hockey in St. Andrews for about three years before before I was old enough to play in Selkirk. I mostly played left wing but my last year in Selkirk I played defense. Out of all those years playing minor hockey; I was on a team that won one tournament; our home tournament one year in St. Andrews.
After one year in Selkirk, I quit hockey. I think I was twelve or thirteen at the time. I tell people I quit because I got hurt, but in reality I quit because I couldn't handle getting yelled at by the coaches. You see coaching minor hockey back then is not the same as it is now. We had coaches, one in particular, that skated us into the ice during almost every practice; and if you made a mistake during a drill, he would practically scream at us, try and slash the sticks out of our hands, and I even remember him bodychecking kids for making a mistake, once he hit a kid from behind and sent him flying, that is burned into my memory.
Quitting hockey is one of the decisions that I've made in my life that I actually regret. Would I have made it to the NHL? Probably not; but I think I would have kept playing until Junior or Junior B; which is where all my friends wound up.
So fast forward about 20 years. I'm now living in Sioux Lookout and one night I get invited out to the outdoor rink with some friends to play a game of hockey. It was a blast and for a few Saturdays in a row we all went out for a game. The following winter some of us signed up with a group of guys who played in the arena; same idea but just on an indoor rink. We always went on after this group of guys who I didn't know. They always had two full teams, two goalies, and a ref for every game. I was like "who are these guys?" I recognized a friend of mine out there and asked him who he played hockey with and he said they were the Sioux Aces oldtimers team; and asked me if I wanted to join them.
So the next year I joined the Sioux Aces and the fire I had inside for the game of hockey came back to life. When I first started I really had a hard time remembering my positioning and keeping up with the pace of the game. I think it was about 10 games before I got a point, and more than that before I got a goal. Eventually though, things started to get a little easier for me. I started researching hockey on the internet; looking for tips on how I could improve as a player, and I started watching my favorite NHL players a little more closely. I joined a gym and started working out; and in my second season I played my first oldtimers tournament. My first "competitive" hockey game since I was twelve!
So that was five years ago; today I still play with the Aces two nights a week. This year is especially fun for me because for the first time I feel like "one of the guys." I also coach BOTH of my son's teams and I referee a few minor hockey games each month. It's crazy busy but I love it; the next big thing for me is a tournament in Sault Ste. Marie in March, 2012.
Like I said earlier, my favorite team growing up was the Montreal Canadiens. I could probably still remember the entire team roster from those days but the players I liked the most were Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt; Larry Robinson; and Ken Dryden.
When the Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL in 1979 I of course became a fan of them; and even took in a few games during the years that they were in Winnipeg. When they moved to Phoenix in 1996 I was "teamless" for the first time ever.
Fast forward to the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs. I entered an online hockey pool run by Future Shop. I figured the Ottawa Senators were going to win it all that year so I loaded up my pool with Sens players. After the first round in which they eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning; I was seventh out of about 10,000 "poolies."
The Senators were eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres the next round so that was that, but when the 2006-2007 regular season started I found I couldn't take my eyes off of the Senators and I've been hooked ever since. I even flew to Ottawa in March, 2008 to take in a game. The Senators beat the Boston Bruins 4-1. As a 40th birthday present; my wife bought us tickets to the April 2/11 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs; so I'm really looking forward to that.
So there you have it; my obsession for hockey in a nutshell. See you next post.
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Ottawa Senators 2010-2011 Season: One Fan's Lament
Hello,
Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with the Ottawa Senators. I became a fan of the team during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs and haven't looked back since.
At the start of this current hockey season, I like many other fans were excited about the team. We had some forwards who could put the puck in the net, we had a healthy Pascal Leclaire in goal and we acquired Sergi Gonchar; arguably one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. I was looking forward to watching the team score a lot of goals.
Now; after 50 regular season games; the Senators have a record of 17-25-8; they are at or near the bottom of every statistical category in the league; and are on pace for their worst finish since well before the lockout of 2005. So what went wrong? Here's my take.........
INJURIES! This train wreck of a season started twenty minutes into their first practice when Filip Kuba; one of our projected top four defensemen hit a rut in the ice; fell into the boards and broke an ankle; twenty minutes! Must have been an omen. Then Pascale Leclaire has been injured so many times these past two seasons that I can't keep track of them all. His most recent injury happened in mid December when he got hurt during a pre-game skate! He's still not on the mend. Milan Michalek and Alexei Kovalev are still recovering from off season knee surgeries last year, but Milan is starting to look like his old self lately. Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson have been playing hurt all season. Then on boxing day, the daddy of them all happened. Jason Spezza; our number one centre was checked from behind by Kris Letang of the Penguins into the boards and suffered a separated shoulder. No penalty and no discipline by the league. They've played fourteen games since; and only have one win.
Luke Richardson's daughter commits suicide.Not really sure if this is a reason for the team's struggles but it deserves mentioning. In mid November assistant coach Luke Richardson's 14 year old daughter Daron took her own life. The team may have gotten a brief emotional uplift the next night as they shut out the Boston Bruins in Boston; probably the team's best game of the year; but it didn't last. The day of Daron's funeral, the team attended the service in Ottawa, then flew to Raleigh the same day for a game against the Hurricanes. They lost 7-1.
Players not stepping up. Peter Regin was a point getting machine in last year's playoff series with the Penguins; this year he has one goal. Nick Foligno lit up the opposition in pre season; but only has about 12 points so far. Lately he's been playing better. Sergi Gonchar is among the league's worst in plus minus. Chris Phillips and Erik Karlsson are turnover machines, and our goalies have been, I hate to say it because I'm not a goalie but, brutal. Sure Brian Elliott has the team record for most consecutive victories which he earned last year, but the team played super good in front of him. He's a guy who goes as the team goes, not the other way around. I had high hopes for Mike Brodeur after the couple of games he played last year, but this year he too has been hurt and not playing well. Prospect Robin Lehner won his only start in an Ottawa uniform, and he played well in the World Junior tournament, but he's only nineteen so they are taking their time with him.
Are the coach and the GM to blame?Personally I don't think so. Let's start with GM Bryan Murray. Is it his fault Pascale Leclaire can't go two days without getting hurt? Is it his fault Sergi Gonchar is having trouble getting points and is a defensive liability? (ok, we knew about the defensive liability part when they signed him) Is it his fault Peter Regin and Nick Foligno aren't progressing like people thought; based on their past performances? Is it his fault Jason Spezza was injured? Is it his fault Alexei Kovalev has no heart? Is it his fault Dany Heatley sabotaged this franchise last summer by demanding a trade? I rest my case, I think he's doing the best that he can and he should stay in the organization after this season is over.
On to coach Clou. He does mix up his lines a lot so there is no chance for forwards to find any chemistry with each other and I think that's an issue. However, with the injuries he's had to deal with, what else can he do? He doesn't seem to have Erik Karlsson and Sergi Gonchar playing their opposite sides on the power play and I don't agree with that. Playing the opposite side gives you more chances for one timers from the point; a play that I'm a big fan of. And he often pulls his goaltenders, which is bad for their confidence. But other than that, I like the guy as a coach and hope he stays next season too.
So why aren't they scoring? I'll tell you exactly why. Since the beginning of the season, Bryan Murray said he "likes to have the puck." and wants this team to play a puck possession game. Now I understand the philosophy, the more you have the puck, the more the opposition can't score on you. Well here's the dealio; these guys are just not skilled enough to play a puck possession game. They are so brainwashed into puck possession that it makes them nervous and unconfident when they get the puck, resulting in poor decisions, turnovers, and goals against, a lot of goals against. Now here's what I think, instead of puck possession, chip the puck in, forecheck like mad, make one or two passes, get guys in front and SHOOT!I think it was Wayne Gretzky who said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. They need to shoot more, they need to screen goalies more, and they need to get more of those "dirty goals." Now would this help them score more often? I don't know, but shooting more doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.
So where do we go from here? Hopefully when Jason and Pascal get back they can play well and help the team be more competitive and win some games. I hope management goes after some goal scorers and goal scoring prospects because you can't score one or two a game and expect to win. Personally, I'd like to see a sniper (Semin, Parise (I know he's an RFA), Gagne) and a goalie (Vokoun) somewhere down the line. We need more first line talent! A poor finish would mean a high draft pick and there are some kids who look pretty good. Landeskog, Coutourier, and Nugent-Hopkins look like players who could step up right away. As the trade deadline nears, I would be listening to offers about Phillips, Gonchar, ( I guess any defenseman other than Karlsson), Kovalev, Fisher, (yes Fisher), Ruutu, and any of our goalies except Lehner. What I would REALLY like to see is Murry swing a deal with Boston for Toronto's first round pick!
It hasn't all been bad. Erik Karlsson is only nineteen and will play in his first all star game. Chris Kelly stepped his game up when Jason got hurt, and we have a good core of players left from the cup run in 2007 to build around. Am I disappointed in this season? Yes. I am excited for the future? Definitely, but the right decisions have to be made, so we'll see.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm obsessed with the Ottawa Senators. I became a fan of the team during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs and haven't looked back since.
At the start of this current hockey season, I like many other fans were excited about the team. We had some forwards who could put the puck in the net, we had a healthy Pascal Leclaire in goal and we acquired Sergi Gonchar; arguably one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. I was looking forward to watching the team score a lot of goals.
Now; after 50 regular season games; the Senators have a record of 17-25-8; they are at or near the bottom of every statistical category in the league; and are on pace for their worst finish since well before the lockout of 2005. So what went wrong? Here's my take.........
INJURIES! This train wreck of a season started twenty minutes into their first practice when Filip Kuba; one of our projected top four defensemen hit a rut in the ice; fell into the boards and broke an ankle; twenty minutes! Must have been an omen. Then Pascale Leclaire has been injured so many times these past two seasons that I can't keep track of them all. His most recent injury happened in mid December when he got hurt during a pre-game skate! He's still not on the mend. Milan Michalek and Alexei Kovalev are still recovering from off season knee surgeries last year, but Milan is starting to look like his old self lately. Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson have been playing hurt all season. Then on boxing day, the daddy of them all happened. Jason Spezza; our number one centre was checked from behind by Kris Letang of the Penguins into the boards and suffered a separated shoulder. No penalty and no discipline by the league. They've played fourteen games since; and only have one win.
Luke Richardson's daughter commits suicide.Not really sure if this is a reason for the team's struggles but it deserves mentioning. In mid November assistant coach Luke Richardson's 14 year old daughter Daron took her own life. The team may have gotten a brief emotional uplift the next night as they shut out the Boston Bruins in Boston; probably the team's best game of the year; but it didn't last. The day of Daron's funeral, the team attended the service in Ottawa, then flew to Raleigh the same day for a game against the Hurricanes. They lost 7-1.
Players not stepping up. Peter Regin was a point getting machine in last year's playoff series with the Penguins; this year he has one goal. Nick Foligno lit up the opposition in pre season; but only has about 12 points so far. Lately he's been playing better. Sergi Gonchar is among the league's worst in plus minus. Chris Phillips and Erik Karlsson are turnover machines, and our goalies have been, I hate to say it because I'm not a goalie but, brutal. Sure Brian Elliott has the team record for most consecutive victories which he earned last year, but the team played super good in front of him. He's a guy who goes as the team goes, not the other way around. I had high hopes for Mike Brodeur after the couple of games he played last year, but this year he too has been hurt and not playing well. Prospect Robin Lehner won his only start in an Ottawa uniform, and he played well in the World Junior tournament, but he's only nineteen so they are taking their time with him.
Are the coach and the GM to blame?Personally I don't think so. Let's start with GM Bryan Murray. Is it his fault Pascale Leclaire can't go two days without getting hurt? Is it his fault Sergi Gonchar is having trouble getting points and is a defensive liability? (ok, we knew about the defensive liability part when they signed him) Is it his fault Peter Regin and Nick Foligno aren't progressing like people thought; based on their past performances? Is it his fault Jason Spezza was injured? Is it his fault Alexei Kovalev has no heart? Is it his fault Dany Heatley sabotaged this franchise last summer by demanding a trade? I rest my case, I think he's doing the best that he can and he should stay in the organization after this season is over.
On to coach Clou. He does mix up his lines a lot so there is no chance for forwards to find any chemistry with each other and I think that's an issue. However, with the injuries he's had to deal with, what else can he do? He doesn't seem to have Erik Karlsson and Sergi Gonchar playing their opposite sides on the power play and I don't agree with that. Playing the opposite side gives you more chances for one timers from the point; a play that I'm a big fan of. And he often pulls his goaltenders, which is bad for their confidence. But other than that, I like the guy as a coach and hope he stays next season too.
So why aren't they scoring? I'll tell you exactly why. Since the beginning of the season, Bryan Murray said he "likes to have the puck." and wants this team to play a puck possession game. Now I understand the philosophy, the more you have the puck, the more the opposition can't score on you. Well here's the dealio; these guys are just not skilled enough to play a puck possession game. They are so brainwashed into puck possession that it makes them nervous and unconfident when they get the puck, resulting in poor decisions, turnovers, and goals against, a lot of goals against. Now here's what I think, instead of puck possession, chip the puck in, forecheck like mad, make one or two passes, get guys in front and SHOOT!I think it was Wayne Gretzky who said you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. They need to shoot more, they need to screen goalies more, and they need to get more of those "dirty goals." Now would this help them score more often? I don't know, but shooting more doesn't sound like a bad idea to me.
So where do we go from here? Hopefully when Jason and Pascal get back they can play well and help the team be more competitive and win some games. I hope management goes after some goal scorers and goal scoring prospects because you can't score one or two a game and expect to win. Personally, I'd like to see a sniper (Semin, Parise (I know he's an RFA), Gagne) and a goalie (Vokoun) somewhere down the line. We need more first line talent! A poor finish would mean a high draft pick and there are some kids who look pretty good. Landeskog, Coutourier, and Nugent-Hopkins look like players who could step up right away. As the trade deadline nears, I would be listening to offers about Phillips, Gonchar, ( I guess any defenseman other than Karlsson), Kovalev, Fisher, (yes Fisher), Ruutu, and any of our goalies except Lehner. What I would REALLY like to see is Murry swing a deal with Boston for Toronto's first round pick!
It hasn't all been bad. Erik Karlsson is only nineteen and will play in his first all star game. Chris Kelly stepped his game up when Jason got hurt, and we have a good core of players left from the cup run in 2007 to build around. Am I disappointed in this season? Yes. I am excited for the future? Definitely, but the right decisions have to be made, so we'll see.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Dryden Hockey Tournament Dec. 10-12, 2010
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend my first minor hockey tournament as a head coach. It was in Dryden, Ontario with my Atom team the Sioux Lookout Jr. Flyers. I have to say that I had lofty expectations for our team; maybe even winning this tournament; based on the facts that we have good players and the kids were playing well as a team at the time. But at the same time, it's all about the experience for the kids so I made sure I did my best to see that each kid on our team got lots of ice time.
Game 1: Our first game was against a team from Dryden. This was an interesting game for me as a coach because we had not played a game since the Monday of the previous week. So to keep things simple I lined up the kids in positions which I thought they would feel the most comfortable; and I explained to them that this game's line up was not set in stone. Well, I guess it worked because we won 15-0.
Yes, I'll admit the Dryden team did not have a lot of skilled players, but at the same time, we played a good team game; we passed the puck and played our positions well. And when Dryden did have chances, our goalie made the saves. After the game I told the kids "I know I said the line up wasn't set in stone but........." and then one of our parents chimed it, "that worked." Yes it did!
Game 2: Our second game was against a team from Kenora; six hours after game one. I was happy to see the kids didn't seem tired and they were anxious to play another hockey game. I talked to a couple of kids who politely came up to me and asked if they could play different positions, so I juggled our line up a bit to accommodate them. After the first period of this game, the score was 2-2; we had given up a 2-0 lead but the kids didn't get down on themselves and the final score was 9-2 for us. I (and a lot of others) noticed some kids on their team; one in particular; seemed to get progressively more angry as the game went on; and started to trip, slash, and crosscheck our kids; even our goalie, pretty aggressively. As one of my players put it "she was nasty!" I liked how our team handled it though, we got off the ice and talked about it as a team in our dressing room; we didn't make a fuss with the refs or the coaches or parents of the other team, and then we moved on.
Game 3 was Saturday morning at 10:30. All the kids showed up looking well rested and ready to roll. Our opponent was a team from Thunder Bay. Now; based on what little experience I had; I knew Thunder Bay teams were good teams. So as a bit of strategy; I lined up my best player and his line as our third line instead of our first; hoping Thunder Bay would have a weaker third line and our guys would have a field day. It worked early, we got up on them 2-0. But like I said earlier, they had a good team and they tied it up 2-2. Again, our kids didn't get down and continued to play hard. We got the lead 3-2; and it seemed like we made it 4-2 a little later but a good goal was not seen by the refs so they didn't count it, Then in the third period; they stormed us for three straight goals to make it 5-3. I could tell on the bench the kids seemed pretty down; so my assistant coach and I just kept telling them to keep playing hard and good things will happen. Our best player scored late in the game to make it 5-4; so we pulled our goalie with about 45 seconds left. We stormed their net but just couldn't bury that tying goal, we lost 5-4. While we were shaking hands with the other coaches, they praised us for having a good team and playing a good game, which I appreciated to hear, but seemed somewhat confused about why they would say that with such conviction. Later I looked at the standings, their team was pummeling other teams 8-1 and 7-2; and we came within a disallowed goal of tying them. I was super proud of our kids after that game and I told them so. I thought it was the best game I'd ever seen them play; we could have given up when it was 5-3, but we didn't; and we clawed our way back and almost tied it.
(continued below)
Game 4: Our final round robin game was Saturday afternoon about 4 hours after our close one with Thunder Bay and I have to say; the kids looked tired. I thought we gave up some goals the previous game because some of our defensemen aren't that mobile yet, so I moved one of my forwards back to defense because he was a good skater; and he could help out the lesser skilled kids. He wasn't crazy about the idea, but I convinced him by telling him he'd get more ice time! I asked the kids before the game "are you guys tired?" and they all shouted "NO!" And I told them I thought they looked tired and to prove me wrong. Well they did, we won 4-0. This game was made interesting by our new defenseman, who kept wanting to play as a forward and wouldn't stay back, leaving our less mobile kids on their own. He played a great game though, picking up an assist and sliding through our crease to save a goal! Another highlight for our team was one of our defensemen scored! It was a long wrister from the point that made it's way in after hitting a couple of sticks. The kid that scored is my most reliable defenseman, so to see him score one was pretty special. I picked him our team MVP that game. The other team had some chances, but our goalie was there everytime. When we went to shake hands with other coaches, one of them said to me "you've got a hot goalie there." He was right, we had the best goalie in the tournament, in my opinion.
Later that evening, we found out we finished sixth place out of sixteen teams; which was OK, but I couldn't help but think about that one disallowed goal against Thunder Bay. In my head we would have won that game or maybe even tied it, but either way we would have ended up in the A side instead. But that was our place and we had to live with it. Our first playoff game was the next morning at 8:30am.
That evening I went home and emailed our parents about the game time. That night though; I couldn't sleep. I hadn't been involved in a minor hockey playoff (or any hockey, for that matter) since I was about 12 years old! I was so nervous, yet excited at the same time. I kept going through my head, trying to think what I could say in the dressing room to get the kids fired up, or what I could do to our line up to make us more competitive, balanced, yet still fair for the kids in terms of ice time. In the end though, I couldn't come up with a damn thing! After I think 2 or 3 hours of shut eye for me, we loaded up at 6:30am Sunday morning for our next game.
Game 5: Our first playoff game; and I was happy to see all the kids there rested and ready to go. I didn't shuffle the line up; and preached to the kids to remember to do the things we do well that set us apart from the other teams that were no longer playing in this tournament. My assistant coach got the kids fired up. He would say so who are we? And the kids would scream "FLYERS" over and over again before we went out. Way to go coach! We played another team from Kenora and it was a pretty even game, but in the end it worked out for us. Our skilled players scored some goals and our goalie made all the saves and we won 4-0. It was on to the B side finals!
We didn't have too much time as our next game was only an hour after our first one ended. Our whole team and parents spent the hour watching the other Sioux Lookout team play their A side semi final game. Probably the most exciting Atom game I have ever seen! It was just a non stop, up and down, back and forth hockey game. The team from Sioux played their hearts out but in the end they came up just short; losing 6-5.
Game 6: Our last game of the tournament; win or lose. Our opponent was from Red Lake. They were a good team, they won a lot of their games 4-2 or 5-3 and according to a parent that I spoke to, they had two kids who passed the puck well and scored all their goals. To be honest with you, I thought they sounded pretty beatable, but for some reason, I was nervous for our team before the game. I made no line up changes, some kids asked but I just couldn't accommodate them at that point in the tournament, we were playing well, and we were playing as a team. Red Lake actually scored the first goal of the game, after we had some chances but didn't score, and the kids seemed a little down on themselves. But this time I didn't say anything as they always bounced back before. We wound up getting two goals from our third line centre and went up 2-1; but after his second goal, Red Lake scored again on the very next shift; game tied 2-2. The kids seemed to play tentative so I reminded them to play hard and without fear; if they made a mistake, there were five kids on the ice to help them out. It was our last game of the day and I just thought we should play like it. Red Lake made it 3-2 but we were able to tie it. I got the feeling that it was going to be a "next goal wins" kind of game and I was feeling a little upset that it got to that point because throughout the whole game our kids had chances, but either hit a post, had a save made against us, or we missed the net entirely. Sure enough, Red Lake scored to make it 4-3 and with about a minute and a half left I called a time out. I just used the time out to give the kids a rest and then I put a made up line of my five best skaters out there to try and tie things up. With about 45 seconds left we pulled our goalie for a sixth skater. The kids played their hearts out but we just couldn't seem to get the puck deep into their end, then somehow,and I don't know how, the puck started to make it's way towards our empty net from center ice. At first I thought it was going to go wide, then as it got closer I thought it was going to hit the post, it seemed like forever for me, but then my next feeling was my heart sinking as I watched that puck slide into our net, millimeters from the inside of the post. We lost the B side final 5-3.
During a short ceremony to hand the medals out to the kids I made sure to thank the organizers of the tournament for a job well done; and to ask the fans in the arena to give our kids a hand; they played their hearts out but came up just short.
I was happy to see how the kids handled the loss. No one cried, no one complained, we all just accepted that we tried our best, but it just wasn't to be for us this time. In my own mind, we were the better team out there, we just couldn't bury our chances early in the game and it wound up costing us. But whatever, I asked each and every kid if they had fun and the answer was always a "yes" and that's what's important for kids playing hockey at this age.
I shouldn't forget to mention I had several compliments from other coaches, other parents, the refs, and the tournament organizers about how we were a good team that played well. I can't put into words how proud I am of these kids! Two more tournaments to go; both in the month of February,2011. Of course I'll be blogging those so feel free to come back to this site and see how we did! Thanks for reading.
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