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Post by SeaBass on Oct 26, 2018 7:11:35 GMT -5
From what Bruce Cassidy knows, David Backes is feeling better.
As of Thursday, one week had passed since Backes absorbed a high hit from Matt Benning during a game in Edmonton. Backes did not play against Vancouver two nights later. Instead of accompanying his teammates to Ottawa for Tuesday’s 4-1 win, Backes flew to Boston.
When Backes will feel well enough to return to the ice is unknown.
Cassidy has termed Backes as ‘out because of an upper-body injury,’ the same status he has given Charlie McAvoy. In comparison, the Bruins were quick to diagnose Urho Vaakanainen with a concussion, which prompted Jeremy Lauzon’s first NHL recall from Providence.
In Backes’s case, such classification does not necessarily translate to a concussion. Backes’ history, however, certainly puts him at risk of a head injury.
As such, Plan C, as Cassidy once called it, is on hold. The date of its reintroduction is unknown.
Plan A was to see if Trent Frederic, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, or Jack Studnicka was ready for varsity play out of camp at the No. 3 center position. The organization deemed development the better short-term route for all three.
The elevation of Sean Kuraly (Plan B) lasted practically as long as one of the energy forward’s average shifts. Once Kuraly was deemed a more appropriate fourth-line center, the Bruins gave Backes a five-game twirl as the No. 3 pivot.
Plan C did not end well.
The Bruins went 3-1-1 with Backes in the middle. But he did not score a point in any of the games. On Oct.18, Backes played only 6:28 because of Benning’s high-and-hard sideswipe.
It leaves Backes with the following numbers to his name: zero goals, zero assists, one confirmed concussion and another high hit in the last five months, and a $6 million average annual value that expires in 2021.
It leaves Joakim Nordstrom, a natural left wing, pinch-hitting as third-line center.
It leaves the Bruins on Plan D, knowing that the deeper they advance into the alphabet, the more desperate they become.
The priority is Backes’ health. He ended last season flat on his back, his brain assaulted by the force of J.T. Miller’s clobbering.
A father to two young children, Backes reported to camp 10 pounds lighter. But any added agility did not help him avoid the check that Benning delivered. Outcomes of hits to the head are different, as are the players who suffer them. But the general rule of thumb is that the more head shots a player absorbs, the greater the damage can become.
It is the latest setback for a player who has experienced his share of them since signing his star-crossed five-year, $30 million contract with the Bruins on July 1, 2016. As a first-year Bruin, Backes averaged 0.51 points per game, his lowest sum since 2007-08. Last season, Backes lost 25 regular-season games because of diverticulitis, colon surgery, a skate to the leg, and a suspension.
This season, Backes is still hunting for his first point.
By the time Backes feels ready to pull his gear back on, he will be behind his teammates by at least one week. No player wants to experience such deficit, to say nothing of a 34-year-old without a point to his name.
Backes’s string of zeroes is tightly wound to his 43.8 Corsi For rating during five-on-five play. Neither he nor his linemates have driven play to the point where goals and assists are the natural outcomes.
Nordstrom has done very well as the No. 4 option on the third line. The natural left wing logged 18:36 of ice time against Ottawa, second-most among team forwards after Patrice Bergeron (18:59). It has not taken Nordstrom much time to gain Cassidy’s trust in even-strength and penalty-killing situations. He was set to be back at center against the Flyers on Thursday, flanked by Anders Bjork and Chris Wagner.
Naturally, Nordstrom has work to do on the draw, where he has won just 11.1 percent of his drops. Studies have shown, however, that faceoff results usually have little to do with goals scored subsequently at either end of the ice.
But the Bruins are best served with Nordstrom back at left wing and back on the fourth line. It would mean they are fully armed at center and on the third line, allowing Nordstrom to submit efficient, high-energy shifts in five-on-five and shorthanded play.
Of course, this would require the Bruins to find a long-term solution at center on the No. 3 threesome. Perhaps Frederic (three goals in seven AHL games) will work his way into the position. Maybe general manager Don Sweeney uses his surplus on the wings (Bjork, Peter Cehlarik, Ryan Donato, Danton Heinen) to acquire help for the middle.
To expect Backes, however, to be the full-time third-line center upon his return is not just a big request. Given Backes’s health and production, it would be practically out of the question.
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Post by crafar01 on Oct 26, 2018 7:23:16 GMT -5
We've got two of the ten on the list...yay us!
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Post by SeaBass on Oct 26, 2018 8:20:58 GMT -5
We've got two of the ten on the list...yay us! And 2 more could haves with Louie and Lucic
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Post by crafar01 on Oct 26, 2018 8:31:25 GMT -5
We've got two of the ten on the list...yay us! And 2 more could haves with Louie and Lucic True...but it still sucks. And the fact that both Belesky and Backes were just a year apart makes it worse for some reason.
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Post by kjc2 on Oct 26, 2018 12:00:49 GMT -5
We've got two of the ten on the list...yay us! And 2 more could haves with Louie and Lucic At least we got a good return for Lucic (Zboril, Kuraly and Frederic) nothing for Louie. I really hope Zboril makes it, looks like Vaak and Lauzon have stepped a head of him.
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Post by kjc2 on Oct 29, 2018 5:11:41 GMT -5
Congrats to the Red Sox on an incredible year.
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Post by madmarx on Oct 29, 2018 6:24:19 GMT -5
Congrats to the Red Sox on an incredible year. Glad they won not a fan of Machado
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Post by SeaBass on Oct 29, 2018 13:51:51 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Oct 29, 2018 16:30:00 GMT -5
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Post by RascalHoudi on Oct 30, 2018 11:15:22 GMT -5
I liked the way he played last year for his cup of coffee with the big boys. Would be cool to see him play tonight if it happens.
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Post by SeaBass on Oct 31, 2018 12:19:00 GMT -5
With the Red Sox having a parade today isn't it normal for the Bruins to try and slip in some big announcement?
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Post by RascalHoudi on Oct 31, 2018 12:38:42 GMT -5
With the Red Sox having a parade today isn't it normal for the Bruins to try and slip in some big announcement? Pssstt JJ... good time to jack the prices???
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Post by madmarx on Oct 31, 2018 18:15:56 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 1, 2018 7:43:33 GMT -5
Jarome Iginla is enjoying retirement. Why shouldn’t he? He’s living in Boston.
The future Hall of Famer spent only one season (2013-14) with the Bruins, but the city had such a positive impact on his family that he decided to call it home after his playing days were over.
During that one season, he registered 30 goals and 61 points in 78 games for the Bruins. He also recorded five goals and seven points in 12 playoff games. The Bruins attempted to sign him to an incentive-laden contract the following season, but Iginla decided to sign a three-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.
In an attempt to finally win a Stanley Cup, Iginla accepted a trade to Los Angeles at the deadline in 2017, but the Kings failed to earn a postseason berth. He went unsigned last season, and a late-in-the-campaign comeback attempt did not work out. He officially retired as a Calgary Flame, the organization he spent 16 seasons with, over the summer.
Now, he lives in Brookline, and enjoys coaching his two boys, 12 and 10, and 14-year-old daughter.
The Athletic connected with Iginla for a post-career Q&A:
So, what’s it like now coaching your kids with the Boston Junior Eagles?
They all play, so I’m at the rink every day and it’s fun. It keeps me busy. I do stuff during the day, plan practices and everything like that, so it’s been a nice transition. It keeps me competitive, too, because it’s fun to watch and help them.
What’s your role with the team?
I’m kind of like a co-coach on both teams. We have head coaches, but since I have a lot of time on my hands because I’m retired, I help do the practice plans. I can’t be at every practice or game because sometimes they overlap, so I try to make it fair, as far as my sons, because I enjoy watching both of them. I try to split it up.
Why did you decide to live in Boston?
When I played here we really enjoyed it. It’s a nice city to live, obviously. There are a lot of great things – the schools, the hockey and the proximity with the good competition. [After playing in Boston] we went to Denver for three years and we really enjoyed it. It’s a really nice place to live. The weather’s great and it’s a nice outdoor place. But, the [youth] hockey for the kids, it’s all travel there in Colorado. Without exaggerating, they probably had a minimum of five flights a year each, maybe six, and they were gone weekends. Those are usually Thursday to late-Sunday trips. Since I was done [playing] I didn’t want to travel that much because I wouldn’t be able to see them all.”
So how has this transition been?
It’s been really good – thankfully. Last year, I was trying to get healthy and see if I could try to catch on and have a chance to play for a team and play in the playoffs and enjoy that. I miss that type of hockey. Come September, with everyone getting ready for a new season — so that was tough. You get excited and remember all the possibilities, so I miss that part of it. Otherwise, it’s been great.
I got to play a long time. Near the end, travel wasn’t quite as exciting to go to each city as a player. To be gone for a week when you’re 22 or 23, going from the west coast to the east coast was really exciting. You’d have a 10-day trip and you’re like, “This is awesome.” You’re going to New York, Boston, Washington and it was fun. As I got older, and my kids were at home, I still enjoyed playing but the big road trips weren’t as exciting with the family. It’s nice to be home a lot.
I know you spent a few days practicing last winter with the Providence Bruins, so how close were you to signing with Boston?
I definitely talked to them. I talked to Don Sweeney about the possibility, but you would have to ask him if it was close. I talked to some other teams about doing a tryout, but it just didn’t work out.
I had a hip-resurfacing surgery in New York last October to clean it out. It was just wear and tear and arthritis from the years of playing. So, they tried to clean it out and do the bare minimum to give me a chance to play. I was hoping to play in the Olympics first. The last tournament audition for Team Canada was the Spangler Cup around Christmas time and I was probably a couple of weeks away from [full] action to feel good enough to do that. So I missed that tournament and the Olympics were gone and that was a disappointment.
Kind of like (Brian) Gionta (for Team USA): Have a good Olympics, enjoy that experience and show that I could still play and move. Then, hopefully catch on with a competitive playoff team. It didn’t work out but that’s all right. It was nice to give it a try. For that whole year I was off, I didn’t really know I was fully retired. So, this year isn’t a huge transition because up until after the (trade) deadline when I knew I wasn’t going to be playing, that was the first time when I actually knew I wasn’t going to be playing again. It’s been an easier transition than cold-turkey cutting.
Now that you’ve eased into retirement, what has it been like to coach your kids, along with others?
It’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. I enjoy working with the kids. I probably enjoy more the competitive side of it. Most of the boys’ teams I’m working with are elite travel teams and the kids there are dreaming about playing at high levels. And they should and enjoy doing it. I enjoy working with the girls’ team too. I’ll work practices with them and it’s neat. They want to play good high school or college hockey. They’re like sponges, so you try to give them a few little tricks, or tips on things you saw, because when they’re really into it they’ll go home and practice it, or try it in games and practices. I enjoy their passion. Life goes so fast and I remember when I was that age.
It’s fun coaching but it is a balance trying to dial down the competitive part. You try to find that balance between helping the team win and develop, because this is all new for me too. I’m trying to find that proper balance.
After such a long career, I know you want to spend time with the kids, but maybe in a few years when they’re older, what do you think it would be like to coach at the college or professional levels?
I don’t know. I really enjoy the coaching. I enjoy the competitive side. It gives you the competitiveness without all the wear and tear (laughs) on the body. I can see why so many ex-players get into it. It does look like fun. I know it’s a lot of work. They put a ton of time in, but to be honest, I’m truly not looking that far ahead. I know it will come quick and I’m not ruling it out. Right now, I want to see as many games and practices and all that stuff as I can because before I know it my kids will all be out the door.
How did the many coaches you had in the NHL impact your career?
Being fortunate to play for a long time, I had lots of coaches. Sometimes it didn’t work out in Calgary and we went through a ton of coaches, but on the positive I got to see a lot of different styles and you learned different things that you liked about coaches. I had some great coaches and they definitely made an imprint on me as a player. Even now, trying to relay some of the stuff I learned to the boys I’m coaching — I know they’re younger, but it’s a lot of the same drills, a lot of the same ideas, so I definitely feel blessed to have all those influences.
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Post by orym on Nov 1, 2018 15:29:47 GMT -5
Jarome Iginla is enjoying retirement. Why shouldn’t he? He’s living in Boston. The future Hall of Famer spent only one season (2013-14) with the Bruins, but the city had such a positive impact on his family that he decided to call it home after his playing days were over. During that one season, he registered 30 goals and 61 points in 78 games for the Bruins. He also recorded five goals and seven points in 12 playoff games. The Bruins attempted to sign him to an incentive-laden contract the following season, but Iginla decided to sign a three-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche. In an attempt to finally win a Stanley Cup, Iginla accepted a trade to Los Angeles at the deadline in 2017, but the Kings failed to earn a postseason berth. He went unsigned last season, and a late-in-the-campaign comeback attempt did not work out. He officially retired as a Calgary Flame, the organization he spent 16 seasons with, over the summer. Now, he lives in Brookline, and enjoys coaching his two boys, 12 and 10, and 14-year-old daughter. The Athletic connected with Iginla for a post-career Q&A: So, what’s it like now coaching your kids with the Boston Junior Eagles? They all play, so I’m at the rink every day and it’s fun. It keeps me busy. I do stuff during the day, plan practices and everything like that, so it’s been a nice transition. It keeps me competitive, too, because it’s fun to watch and help them. What’s your role with the team? I’m kind of like a co-coach on both teams. We have head coaches, but since I have a lot of time on my hands because I’m retired, I help do the practice plans. I can’t be at every practice or game because sometimes they overlap, so I try to make it fair, as far as my sons, because I enjoy watching both of them. I try to split it up. Why did you decide to live in Boston? When I played here we really enjoyed it. It’s a nice city to live, obviously. There are a lot of great things – the schools, the hockey and the proximity with the good competition. [After playing in Boston] we went to Denver for three years and we really enjoyed it. It’s a really nice place to live. The weather’s great and it’s a nice outdoor place. But, the [youth] hockey for the kids, it’s all travel there in Colorado. Without exaggerating, they probably had a minimum of five flights a year each, maybe six, and they were gone weekends. Those are usually Thursday to late-Sunday trips. Since I was done [playing] I didn’t want to travel that much because I wouldn’t be able to see them all.” So how has this transition been? It’s been really good – thankfully. Last year, I was trying to get healthy and see if I could try to catch on and have a chance to play for a team and play in the playoffs and enjoy that. I miss that type of hockey. Come September, with everyone getting ready for a new season — so that was tough. You get excited and remember all the possibilities, so I miss that part of it. Otherwise, it’s been great. I got to play a long time. Near the end, travel wasn’t quite as exciting to go to each city as a player. To be gone for a week when you’re 22 or 23, going from the west coast to the east coast was really exciting. You’d have a 10-day trip and you’re like, “This is awesome.” You’re going to New York, Boston, Washington and it was fun. As I got older, and my kids were at home, I still enjoyed playing but the big road trips weren’t as exciting with the family. It’s nice to be home a lot. I know you spent a few days practicing last winter with the Providence Bruins, so how close were you to signing with Boston? I definitely talked to them. I talked to Don Sweeney about the possibility, but you would have to ask him if it was close. I talked to some other teams about doing a tryout, but it just didn’t work out. I had a hip-resurfacing surgery in New York last October to clean it out. It was just wear and tear and arthritis from the years of playing. So, they tried to clean it out and do the bare minimum to give me a chance to play. I was hoping to play in the Olympics first. The last tournament audition for Team Canada was the Spangler Cup around Christmas time and I was probably a couple of weeks away from [full] action to feel good enough to do that. So I missed that tournament and the Olympics were gone and that was a disappointment. Kind of like (Brian) Gionta (for Team USA): Have a good Olympics, enjoy that experience and show that I could still play and move. Then, hopefully catch on with a competitive playoff team. It didn’t work out but that’s all right. It was nice to give it a try. For that whole year I was off, I didn’t really know I was fully retired. So, this year isn’t a huge transition because up until after the (trade) deadline when I knew I wasn’t going to be playing, that was the first time when I actually knew I wasn’t going to be playing again. It’s been an easier transition than cold-turkey cutting. Now that you’ve eased into retirement, what has it been like to coach your kids, along with others? It’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy it. I enjoy working with the kids. I probably enjoy more the competitive side of it. Most of the boys’ teams I’m working with are elite travel teams and the kids there are dreaming about playing at high levels. And they should and enjoy doing it. I enjoy working with the girls’ team too. I’ll work practices with them and it’s neat. They want to play good high school or college hockey. They’re like sponges, so you try to give them a few little tricks, or tips on things you saw, because when they’re really into it they’ll go home and practice it, or try it in games and practices. I enjoy their passion. Life goes so fast and I remember when I was that age. It’s fun coaching but it is a balance trying to dial down the competitive part. You try to find that balance between helping the team win and develop, because this is all new for me too. I’m trying to find that proper balance. After such a long career, I know you want to spend time with the kids, but maybe in a few years when they’re older, what do you think it would be like to coach at the college or professional levels? I don’t know. I really enjoy the coaching. I enjoy the competitive side. It gives you the competitiveness without all the wear and tear (laughs) on the body. I can see why so many ex-players get into it. It does look like fun. I know it’s a lot of work. They put a ton of time in, but to be honest, I’m truly not looking that far ahead. I know it will come quick and I’m not ruling it out. Right now, I want to see as many games and practices and all that stuff as I can because before I know it my kids will all be out the door. How did the many coaches you had in the NHL impact your career? Being fortunate to play for a long time, I had lots of coaches. Sometimes it didn’t work out in Calgary and we went through a ton of coaches, but on the positive I got to see a lot of different styles and you learned different things that you liked about coaches. I had some great coaches and they definitely made an imprint on me as a player. Even now, trying to relay some of the stuff I learned to the boys I’m coaching — I know they’re younger, but it’s a lot of the same drills, a lot of the same ideas, so I definitely feel blessed to have all those influences. Great article, Seabass. Thanks for sharing. I really wish he would have stuck around for one more season in Boston. It was great to see him in a Bruins uniform. I was at his first game back in Calgary as a member of the Bruins. It was a really cool experience. Nice to see him laying his hat in Boston and coaching his kids!
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Post by madmarx on Nov 3, 2018 8:08:32 GMT -5
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Post by offwego on Nov 3, 2018 8:56:02 GMT -5
Good article. But I wouldn't read to much into it. What's he supposed to say? There there little boys it get better tomorrow? Now that hes said that it should wake them up and if they want to play they will put in the work. We can add all the others up too.... Anybody not named Bergeron Marchand or Pastrnak...
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 9:04:26 GMT -5
Sorry for posting the articles like this. They are from the Athletic. If you aren't a member you wouldn't be able to read them.
I couldn't post the video that he refers to either....
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To my eyes, Patrice Bergeron has no weaknesses.
Matt Grzelcyk makes few mistakes when defending with his stick.
Zdeno Chara’s most important defensive qualities are strength, positioning, and stick deployment.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Adam Nicholas is too polite to revel in my ignorance. Instead, he points to what never lies: video.
With his custom clips as evidence, the founder of Stride Envy Hockey explained why he believes Bergeron could score 45 goals, why Grzelcyk could be just as productive offensively as Torey Krug, and why the sharpness of Chara’s outlet passes corresponds with smothering defensive performance. To do so, Nicholas had to identify areas of improvement in each of the three.
By the conclusion of his presentation, Nicholas had sold me on the players’ deficiencies and the necessary corrections. But I never played hockey. Skills coaches like Nicholas are trying to open the eyes of players such as a generational shutdown defenseman, a four-time Selke Trophy winner, and a two-year Boston University captain.
Nicholas, 33, topped out at Division 3 University of Southern Maine. He never played professionally. The trick Nicholas has to pull off is to convince players from the best league in the world — who are already being coached by elite hockey minds employed by their clubs — that, in so many words, they’re doing it all wrong.
A goal-scoring threshold
“Because I didn’t play at the highest level, I have a different perspective than other guys,” Nicholas said. “If you played at the highest level, you might be very simple with your descriptions. I go in depth and show them, talk to them like a student.”
Nicholas counts former Hockey East collegians Noah Hanifin, Charlie Coyle, and Jordan Greenway among his NHL clients. He has served as UMass Lowell’s skills coach. In conjunction with Darryl Belfry, founder of Belfry Hockey, Nicholas consults with the USHL’s Chicago Steel.
By those standards and the hours he spends studying video, Nicholas considers himself qualified to classify Bergeron as the best puck support player in the league. From Nicholas’s perspective, Bergeron is always in the right spot to take a pass, help a teammate defend, or create opportunities for linemates.
“He gets in such good areas,” Nicholas said. “But if he gets into such good areas and only scores 30 goals, how do we get him to 40? People are content with 30. No. No. I want 40. I want 45. No doubt. No doubt in my mind he could be an absolute massive force.”
Bergeron’s spatial awareness knows no matches. He doesn’t just occupy space. He commands it, the way he leans in on faceoffs or carves out space as the power-play bumper for his one-timer.
Being first to open ice, however, isn’t necessarily required. Sometimes, it’s better for a shooter to arrive late to the areas from where he can score.
According to Nicholas’s proprietary analytics, Bergeron’s chance quantity is high from the top-of-the-house plot that has become his office. High volume, however, has not necessarily translated to appropriate production.
Consider, for example, how Bergeron scored 10 power-play goals last season. He did so while draining 19.6 percent of his shots. Patrik Laine, in comparison, buried 27.4 percent of his shots to score 20 man-up goals.
The quality of Bergeron’s shot does not compare to Laine’s. But there are ways Bergeron could adjust to put more pucks in nets.
To prove his point, Nicholas loads a clip from Game No. 2 this season against Buffalo. John Moore carries the puck down the left-side wall and into the offensive zone. Bergeron arrives in support, receives a pass from Moore, and muscles a shot on net through Marco Scandella. It does not go in.
The primary issue Nicholas has with the sequence is how Bergeron insists on owning the ice from where he shoots the puck. To Nicholas’s eye, Bergeron arrives too early. This decision triggers other problems: slamming on the brakes, losing momentum, having to twist his body toward the net, losing power his legs should provide, and asking his upper body to generate thrust on the shot.
“He didn’t come high enough on an arc so he can continue his motion through the shot,” Nicholas explained. “So he comes to a stop. Look at where he stops the puck in the middle of his body. It’s not a shot threat. Now he keeps the puck exposed. Then see how his feet flail? How they widen out? That’s a tipped puck, over the net, no value. This is the stuff where I think he’s leaving a lot on the table because of his footwork.”
Had Bergeron arrived slower and gotten above the puck, he would not have had to stop. Bergeron would have his feet pointed toward the net. He could have caught Moore’s pass and whipped a harder and more accurate shot on goal.
“If he shoots off his right foot, boom, it’s gone,” Nicholas said. “He’s shooting that right into the net. Ah frick, all day.”
As a counterpoint, Nicholas loads a clip of Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov against Florida. As in Bergeron’s example, Kucherov, a left-shot forward, is shooting from his weak side. You would not know it from the velocity and accuracy of his shot. In one motion, Kucherov catches the puck, loads it up, and fires a pea into the net.
It started because Kucherov skated into his shooting zone instead of occupying it.
“He brings it right into the shot threat,” Nicholas said. “He reels the puck in. He goes out in front of his body. His hands are out in front of the body and he brings it right into the shooting position in one motion. See how he catches it with his toes to the net and wants to shoot? This is another area where you don’t occupy the space where you want to shoot from. He gets above it. Then you see his angle coming down on that.”
If Nicholas were to consult with Bergeron, he would start with his feet. On the ice, they would work on shifting his weight between his edges to make him more agile. Nicholas would then have Bergeron receive pucks and shoot with improved weight transfer. With multiple repetitions, Bergeron could incorporate this into his muscle memory.
“He’s so good, so elite, that these adjustments can be made in-season,” Nicholas said. “You don’t think every day he couldn’t work on this patterning in practice?”
Like most players, Bergeron focuses on skills and skating in the offseason. He hires JP Cote for the former and Julie Robitaille for the latter. During the season, he works with Bruins skills coach Kim Brandvold. Bergeron has not hired an independent skills coach like Nicholas in-season, but said he’d consider anything if it means improvement.
“I don’t think I know it all,” Bergeron said. “That’s why I’m always open to learning and hearing from whoever it is. I feel like I’m humble enough to know that people have knowledge, whoever they are. If they’re trying to help me at whatever it is, I’d be more than happy to listen to that advice and try to work on it. I think it’s important to be open to that.”
Sticking to it
Grzelcyk has five points through 11 games, second among Bruins defensemen. Three of his points are on the power play. He has put six pucks on net.
All those numbers could be better.
“Matty Grzelcyk with the puck is electric,” Nicholas said. “He’s absolutely electric with the puck on his stick. He is unbelievable. We have to get him the puck as much as we can.”
Grzlecyk’s production correlates to the time he spends on defense. Nicholas believes Grzlecyk can reduce the defensive matches he burns, which would give him more time to go on the attack. One area where Grzlecyk could close off defensive plays is by making stronger maneuvers with his stick.
Bruce Cassidy has a general rule of thumb: Two hands on the stick for battle situations, one hand for pursuit.
A simple theory is hard to execute.
Nicholas pulls up a clip of Grzelcyk defending Kyle Okposo from earlier this year. As Grzelcyk approaches Okposo to slow down the wing’s approach, the defenseman first keeps his stick to his side, two hands on the shaft. Grzlecyk would have been better served with his right hand on his stick, reaching and retracting to influence Okposo’s puck-carrying ability. Nicholas compares this in-and-out motion to slicing a block of cheese.
Instead, Grzelcyk keeps his stick at his side. Okposo reads the negligible threat and carries the puck toward the left-side wall.
The Bruins are still in good shape with backcheckers on their way to support. If Grzelcyk is aggressive with his stick on Okposo, the Sabre would not have a play to his backhand. Instead, Grzelcyk stays back, which gives Okposo his opening. It is all an experienced power forward like Okposo needs.
The right wing drives to the net, slips a puck through Charlie McAvoy, and submits a high-quality chance. Jaroslav Halak’s sharpness keeps it from becoming a goal.
Grzelcyk could have shut down Okposo’s approach on several occasions if he were more aggressive with his stick.
“The problem is he goes to two hands,” Nicholas said. “It’s got to be top elbow — in-out, in-out, in-out. Not side-out, side-out. If you go side-out as a lefty, see how far my stick blade has to go? Instead, keeping my elbow tucked, now with my stick range, I can influence. You want to have good stick position to discourage the puck carrier to go here. If my stick’s at the side of my body, you’re not discouraging anything. The best players in the game wait for sticks.”
Grzelcyk worked with Nicholas when he was at BU. Nicholas has sent Grzelcyk this clip as a courtesy.
“What I would show him is a good stick, and inside that good stick, we’d want separation skills,” Nicholas said. “Inside the separation skills, we’d want to activate his strengths. We want to go from his weaknesses into his strengths and into the sequencing, then repeat, repeat, repeat. Then it’s all dialed in.”
Grzelcyk has yet to commit to hiring Nicholas as a skills coach. Grzelcyk works with Brandvold during the offseason. Grzelcyk and Brandvold huddle during the season when the defenseman needs guidance.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Grzelcyk said of hiring Nicholas. “I’m just going to work with Kim during the summer. Hopefully it won’t have to come to that point. But it’s certainly nice to have [Nicholas] around. I’ve gotten to know him over a number of years now. To see the success he’s had recently, he’s been able to help some pretty big-name guys. Whenever he tries to give me advice, I certainly try to listen.”
Passing leads to good defense
Chara is a proud man. Pride, however, has no place in his life if he’s chasing improvements.
“Ego has to go aside,” Chara said. “I’m a student. I always felt that way in anything. If I go on the bike with guys, wrestle, or whatever I do, I want to learn something. I want to get better.”
To prove his point, Chara told a story about practicing power skating with figure skaters in Slovakia. All of the skaters were children between five and 10 years old, save for the 40-year-old 6-foot-9 hockey player.
It is a crime that video of this session does not exist. I picture Kramer from Seinfeld at the dojo, mauling children with various chops, kicks, and throws.
“All the parents probably looked at me like, ‘What’s he doing?’ But I didn’t care,” Chara said. “I was there to get better. If that’s what it takes, that’s what it takes.”
So when Nicholas contacted Matt Keator, Chara’s agent, several years ago to offer his services, the captain agreed. During on-ice and video sessions, Nicholas worked with Chara to reduce his crossovers, open his hips, and stay square to attackers.
An even simpler path to better play was clear in-game video and analytics. When Chara’s even-strength possession numbers were down, Nicholas identified his passes were not accurate. Instead of making clean outlet passes to teammates’ sticks, Chara was rushing his outs by skying pucks high or going off the glass.
More often than not, this resulted in a change of possession. Attackers pulled down pucks at center ice and went back at Chara. No defenseman, not even a strongman like Chara, defends well in such scenarios.
“If he’s lobbing pucks up in the neutral zone, they turn the puck over, and he’s at the goal line, that’s not going to be a favorable situation for him,” Nicholas said. “He’s not fast enough. He can’t gap up. If he can’t gap up, then he looks vulnerable.”
Nicholas’s reminder was for Chara to consider closer options: the center curling down low, the strong-side wing posted up on the wall. It was a straightforward fix, one that Chara was happy to execute.
Incorporating more coaching
Skills coaches like Nicholas have been around for a long time. Multiple generations of Massachusetts players have developed under the watch of Paul Vincent. Today, specialists like Nicholas, Belfry, and Adam Oates continue to work in the skate grooves that Vincent and his contemporaries carved.
If Nicholas has a gripe, it is the lens through which hockey still views his livelihood. According to traditional thinking, skills development is a summertime activity emphasizing four principles: skating, passing, stickhandling, and shooting.
In this way, it’s trickier for skills specialists to integrate their expertise with the work of NHL coaches and their assistants. Friction exists, especially when NHL coaches worry about outside voices disrupting team and player progress.
This puzzles Nicholas and his counterparts. Skills coaches want their clients to improve and maximize their earnings. If a player adds 20 percent more offense, his team is likely to gain more points. Wins are worth the raises the player should receive.
“Coaches get nervous because they think we’re a threat to them,” Nicholas said. “How is that a threat to them? They’re going to win more games because of that.”
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:14:05 GMT -5
Updated Odds...
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Post by fforr on Nov 5, 2018 10:14:07 GMT -5
Would think he’d have a field day with the rest of the team. 😉
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:14:45 GMT -5
Updated Odds... Sure looks like we are in the toughest division.
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:16:11 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:16:29 GMT -5
Would think he’d have a field day with the rest of the team. 😉 Probably not enough hours in the day!
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:18:57 GMT -5
For shits and giggles.
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Post by SeaBass on Nov 5, 2018 10:30:00 GMT -5
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Post by RascalHoudi on Nov 5, 2018 11:22:19 GMT -5
For shits and giggles. Providence Pirates look good...
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Post by madmarx on Nov 5, 2018 20:15:04 GMT -5
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Post by kjc2 on Nov 5, 2018 20:54:31 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Nov 5, 2018 20:54:42 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Nov 5, 2018 20:57:09 GMT -5
Not a fan of having Players on video without knowing but that’s the world we live in unfortunately..
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