A Quick Look at All the NHL Teams for the 2008-09 Season
Posted by Don MacAdam
A great source for sports information is TSN, Canada’s original sports channel. They are currently running a series that will give you insight into each team in the NHL. For the complete article on Montreal and all the NHL teams go to www.tsn.ca
With the puck dropping on a new NHL season this Saturday, TSN.ca presents ‘30 Teams In 30 Days,’ a quick glimpse at each NHL club as the 2008-09 campaign approaches. Get the lowdown on every lineup, storylines to follow and Scott Cullen’s fantasy analysis. The focus is now on Canada’s six NHL teams, and it continues today with the Montreal Canadiens.
Ever since their inception into professional hockey 99 years ago, there has always been high expectations for the Canadiens…
Now take those expectations and multiply it by 10 this year. With hockey’s most storied franchise set to play its 100th season and celebrate its centennial in 2009, there is no better way to mark the festivities than raising banner No. 25 next October.
Is that asking for too much? Absolutely not.
Heading into 2007-08, the Canadiens – who were expected to be years away from contending – proved everyone wrong by finishing the regular season as the top seed in the Eastern Conference. And while the team went through a roller-coaster playoff run that ended with a second-round exit at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers, they are expected to challenge for the Cup with one of the league’s youngest and most talented lineups.
The Drive For 25 is alive.
General Manager: Bob Gainey (5th season)
Head Coach: Guy Carbonneau (3rd season)
2007-08 Record: 47-25-10 (1st in Conference)
Points Leader: Alex Kovalev – 84
Goals Leader: Alex Kovalev – 35
Assists Leader: Mark Streit – 49
PIM Leader: Tom Kostopoulos – 113
Plus/Minus Leader: Alex Kovalev – 18
PP Goals Leader: Alex Kovalev – 17
SH Goals Leader: Tom Kostopoulos – 3What they did: Going into the offseason, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey wanted to address two improvements for his lineup – a tough and physical presence to protect his skilled players and a big centre with a right-handed shot. The first need was quickly addressed with Georges Laraque, who signed a three-year contract with his hometown team …
What to watch for: The Canadiens were among the league’s fastest and most skilled offensive teams last season and should only get better with the addition of Tanguay. The Quebec native, who struggled in a defensive role under Mike Keenan, has a better opportunity to showcase his playmaking skills alongside captain Saku Koivu. Last season, Alex Kovalev stood above everyone as Montreal’s most valuable player, leading the team in scoring and being an on-ice mentor for his teammates. However, the 35-year-old has been an enigma for most of his career, putting in great performances one year and following it up with lackluster efforts the next. So which Kovalev will we see this season? …
Gainey took a big gamble at last year’s trade deadline when he sent veteran goaltender Cristobal Huet to Washington and annointed 20-year-old Carey Price as the new No. 1. And Price didn’t disappoint, finishing the regular season with a 24-12-3 record and a .920 save percentage. While the league’s top young netminder struggled in the postseason, he’s back in better shape and appears ready to handle the rigors of a full NHL campaign. The Habs also have a solid youngster in Jaroslav Halak, who was arguably the AHL’s top goalie before being called up as a full-time backup last March. Halak should continue to push Price for playing time, but the addition of Marc Denis could make the 23-year-old Slovakian expendable at some point this season.
Parting Shot: This season may be Montreal’s best chance to make a run for a championship, only because there could be considerable changes to the lineup next summer. Kovalev, Tanguay, Lang, Komisarek and captain Saku Koivu will all be eligible to test the open market, while Higgins, Plekanec and Guillaume Latendresse will become restricted free agents. Depending on this year’s performance and what the salary cap looks like next July, next year’s team could look quite different with one or two key players out of the equation. But that doesn’t mean Gainey isn’t prepared. In five years as general manager, the former Habs great has done something that hasn’t been seen in Montreal since the days of Sam Pollock and Frank Selke – assemble a legitimate Cup contender while developing a rich pool of young players waiting in the wings.
High Tech, Scouting, and Predicting Success in Hockey
Posted by Don MacAdam
In a Globe and Mail story by technology reporter Matt Hartley dated September 23, 2008 read how high tech is becoming part of scouting with the help of a devise called a Phantom. It was developed in the artificial intelligence lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Here are clips from the article.
Scouting young hockey prospects is, at best, an inexact science. Something Lauren Sergio is aiming to change with the help of her trusty “force field-creating robotic arm.”
Science fiction it’s not. Since 2003, the York University associate kinesiology professor has spent two days each June running the top 100 NHL prospects through a hand-eye co-ordination test during the league’s annual scouting combine.
“We’re excited about the potential,” NHL Central Scouting director E.J. McGuire said. “But to this point, we are waiting on some of the longitudinal effects to come in on this kind of research.”
It seems simple enough. Each player must stickhandle a ball through four pylons spaced an even distance apart.
There’s just one small catch: the obstacles exist only on a computer screen and the stick is attached to a robotic arm that pushes back against the player, making it harder to maintain control.
In effect, it’s a way of measuring whether a player has “soft hands.” But Sergio believes it could become a predictor of whether a prospect will make it to the NHL or spend years toiling in the minors.
“We want to see if there’s any way to predict performance,” she said. “It’s all about control.”…
Sergio and her team are currently developing a formula that gauges the success each prospect has early on in their hockey careers – ice time, points etc. – and how those results compare to their Phantom tests. She hopes certain scores will indicate whether a player is more likely to develop into a Dion Phaneuf, a Matt Stajan or an Alexandre Daigle…
“The challenge is to come up with the best weighting factor,” she said. “So that, at the end of the [scouting combine] we can give the scouts all the scores and … tell them that this player has a 68-per-cent chance of being in the NHL in the next year, or two years, or three years.”…
Sergio’s colleague, Norman Gledhill, has run the fitness component of the scouting combine for the NHL for more than two decades, and was the one who initially suggested Sergio when the league asked for a way of testing hand-eye co-ordination…
“This gets down to the hair-splitting when all these other factors start to wash each other and you’re sitting at a draft table in the fourth round, or even before that, and you’re looking to set up your team’s hit list for this year,” McGuire said.
Eric Lindros Giving Back in a Big Way
Posted by Don MacAdam
People tend to have a very distinct opinion about Eric Lindros. Whatever that opinion may be, this article about his donation has to impress…
Sep 16, 2008 04:16 PM
THE CANADIAN PRESS
LONDON, Ont. – Former NHL star Eric Lindros was known for his presence on the ice – and now in retirement he’ll be known for his generosity off it.
Lindros was on hand in London, Ont., on Tuesday for the unveiling of the Lindros Legacy Research building, made possible by his $5-million donation to the London Health Sciences Centre.
The gift is believed to be the largest one-time charitable donation by a Canadian sports figure.
Doctors at the London Health Sciences Centre helped heal Lindros’s various injuries during his career, which was cut short by concussions.
In a release, Lindros said he was pleased to donate to an “organization that helps so many.”
Lindros retired from the NHL last November after stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars.
How Do You Start Your Pre-Season?
Posted by Frank Hubley
Frank Hubley has been coaching for over 30 years, mostly at the high school level. His teams are always competitive and hard working. Frank is an educator and has a Bachelor of Physical Education degree from the University of New Brunswick. Here is how he handles tryouts.
How do you get your tryouts started? Do you just give out the dates and times and then have players show up for the first ice session? There are many ways that coaches do the tryout process and it varies between age groups.
Here is one way that I use and find to be very effective.
I have a player meeting prior to going on the ice, typically 5-7 days in advance. This gives the players and parents some time to think about the things I have said. At this meeting:
- players are given the ice times for tryouts.
- no guarantee anyone a position on the team.
- I then provide them with an overview of my expectations for them, if they make the team.
- Players are given a brochure to take home for their parents to read, along with a permission slip. Why do I do this? The brochure gives the players and parents information on practice times, tournaments, off ice, finances and fundraising.
- Parents are asked to attend a meeting prior to tryouts. This meeting is typically 2-3 days prior to the first tryout.
When the parents come to their meeting they now have information on which they can ask questions – if they wish. The brochure serves as a very valuable information tool for me.
At the parent meeting I inform the parents:
- that ice time is not something I will discuss
- I am not there to please them but to coach their son
- they will all contribute to the fundraising projects and that
- I am the coach- I run the show.
I believe it to be very important for parents to know my philosophy and how the team will be run prior to allowing their son to tryout for the team. Could you imagine a parent not knowing the cost of playing hockey and their son makes the team and they can’t afford it!
Having a meeting prior to tryouts and gets rid of many problems. You lay out your beliefs and philosophy. If they agree, then you have them. If not, then you get the people who want and believe in what you are doing. As I tell them, 38 students have signed up to try out for the team. If you as a parent do not like what I say and only 20 players show up on the ice, then I only have to release one player.
Over time I have found this to be a good way of approaching the tryout process. Everyone knows up front how the ship is going to sail and who is the captain. I believe this to be very important.
Once the tryouts are finished I have another meeting with the parents whose sons made the team and lay out plans for the year.
Not every league or team can do this but at the High School where I coach this is the way I do it and it works for me.
My suggestion is be up front and firm and things will fall in place.
NHL Players Recognize the Importance of Year Round Training
Posted by Don MacAdam
Every time I come across an article like the one by Canadian Press writer Chris Johnston, I see the value of our book The Hockey Conditioning Handbook. Click on the Store tab above to check it out. The article is on www.canoe.ca and it titled NHLers spend summer training. Here is an excerpt.
Whether Rod Brind’Amour’s season ends in June, April or February, one thing always remains constant – he starts training for the next one as soon as he can.
The captain of the Carolina Hurricanes is one of the fittest players in the NHL because he refuses to stop exercising. He turned 38 over the summer and still has three years left on a contract he fully intends to play out.
Brind’Amour typifies the character needed to be a veteran in today’s NHL. In the past, some believed that longevity was best achieved by taking extensive time off over the summer to let the body heal before essentially starting anew during training camp.
That strategy simply wouldn’t work now.
“It’s definitely a year-round job,” Brind’Amour said during a recent interview. “I think the guys that approach it that way are the ones that last the longest…
The training methods vary by individual.
Brind’Amour likes to get up by 6 a.m. for a bike ride before hitting the gym or going for a skate. Alzner has added more bench press and chin-up exercises to his normal routine that focuses on core strength. Andrew Ference of the Boston Bruins is a friend of Simon Whitfield’s and participated in triathlons while taking time away from skating early in the summer.
The key to Jason Spezza’s off-ice workouts is the presence of other NHLers. He’s one of 10 guys that train together at a gym in Toronto over the summer.
“It’s pretty intense,” said the Ottawa Senators forward. “That’s why you try to have other guys around you that are kind of working towards the same thing.
“It makes it a little bit competitive and keeps the edge on the days you don’t feel like getting out of bed. You’ve got to beat the other guys.”
The 29-year-old Ference believes his generation of players is used to working out all summer long and showing up to training camp in top shape.
However, one change he’s observed over nine seasons in the league is the different approach players now take to their workouts.
“Some guys used to think training was all about going in the gym, pumping iron and getting huge,” said Ference. “They forgot they’re not professional weightlifters or bodybuilders – they have to be ready for hockey.
“I think the type of training, guys have maybe adjusted that to be more specific to our sport.”
Read the rest of the article for more insight on NHL players feeling for the importance of year round specific training for hockey.
NHL Retired Numbers List is Growing
Posted by Don MacAdam
This week saw the addition of two players who will have their numbers retired this season by their former NHL teams. The Washington Capitals will retire Mike Gartner’s number and the Vancouver Canucks will do the same for Trevor Linden. The Montreal Canadiens announced earlier in the summer that they would be retiring Patrick Roy’s number.
There typically isn’t a criterion for retiring a player’s number but if you look down the list of the 95 NHL players who have had their number retired, you will see some of the best who have ever played the game.
There is also another possible motive behind a team retiring a number-marketing. A smart marketing move would be to pick a night when a sellout is not likely and use the ceremony that typically goes with the number retirement to help sell tickets.
Click on the Wikipedia link below and have fun going down the list of players.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This is a complete list of National Hockey League (NHL) retired numbers. A retired number is a jersey number that is taken out of circulation by a team as a means of honouring a former member of that team who wore that number.
The first team to retire a number were the Toronto Maple Leafs, who retired Ace Bailey’s #6 on February 14, 1934, prior to an All-Star game in his honour.
There are currently 95 retired numbers in the NHL. There are also 13 honoured numbers, all issued by the Toronto Maple Leafs. A further 7 numbers were retired, by the Hartford Whalers and Quebec Nordiques, but upon the relocation of the two teams the numbers were put back into circulation.
Only one number has been retired league-wide. Upon the retirement of Wayne Gretzky, it was announced that no other player would again wear his number, 99. The Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings have also separately retired Gretzky’s number.
Upon joining the league in 2000, the Minnesota Wild had a ceremony retiring #1 from circulation as a tribute to the fans.
Only five players have had their number retired by two different teams:
- Bobby Hull – Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets
- Gordie Howe – Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers
- Wayne Gretzky – Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings (also retired league-wide)
- Ray Bourque – Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche
- Mark Messier – New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers
A Radical Book To Help Your Career
Posted by Don MacAdam
The last time I was in Dayton, Ohio, one of my goals was to get our first ebook finished and on line. I had been working with David Esrati, the creative hockey nut who owns The Next Wave (www.thenextwave.biz) ad agency in Dayton. David had his staff members Allison, Seth and Tim working on the finishing touches for the ebook The Hockey Conditioning Handbook. Check it out by hitting the Store tab above. The Next Wave do great work.
When I first walked into David’s office, he handed me a copy of Radical Careering, an eye catching book by Sally Hogshead. The sub title is ‘100 truths to jumpstart your job, your career, and your life.’ David had Sally sign the book “Here’s to Radical Hockey!” That was a nice touch.
When I got home I started reading Radical Careering and couldn’t put it down. The book has information I had seen before along with new material, and all is presented in an informative, entertaining, humorous, and unique way. This is a fun book.
I have used it as a quick pick-me-up to get me going again when I needed a little mental kick in the butt.
Click below to buy your copy. I know you will enjoy…
Radical Careering: 100 Truths to Jumpstart Your Job, Your Career, and Your Life by Sally Hogshead (Paperback – Sep 8, 2005)
62 Used & new from $1.89
Other Editions: Paperback
Excerpt – Back Matter: “… Ready to fire up your shiny new radical careering skills? Let’s go. Online yodtl find all kinds of crazycool …”Surprise me! See a random page in this book.
Here’s to Radical Hockey!
