Tag: Toronto Maple Leafs

A Special Team Skating Session with Graeme Townsend

We all like to do unique things for our players. Skating is one area where there are lots of products and people suggesting they can offer just such a thing. Well, we have a special guy for you and your team- Graeme Townsend.

I had the pleasure of coaching Graeme in the AHL. He was known as a team player and a heart and soul type; he was not known for his skating. Graeme has changed that.

He is the skating coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was in the same capacity with the San Jose Sharks. Graeme also played in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Ottawa Senators.

We had Graeme, and his chief instructor Adam Nicholas, take over a team practice a couple of weeks ago. They demonstrated unique skating techniques that Graeme has perfected and uses with his NHL players.

It was a great session. Graeme and Adam had the full attention of our Quebec major junior players as they were worked through drills teaching different game specific skating techniques.

The session had a valuable motivational component as well. Graeme explained how he personally grew as a player and how these techniques he was presenting have helped others.

Our players were left with practical drills to take away from the session that they have enthusiastically incorporated into our daily practice sessions.

We are definitely having Graeme and Adam back to work with our players. We highly endorse Graeme and encourage you to do something special for yourself, or your team, and have Graeme become a part of what you do.

Go to www.thestridedoctor.com and check out the different camps that Graeme has available. This might be just the thing for you or your team. Here is more contact information:

Graeme Townsend- [email protected] or call 978.360.4244

Joe Hearn- [email protected] or call 207.577.0622

The Case for Experience and Stability in Building a Management Team

Mike Smith has been a GM with two NHL teams and with Team USA. He is well known as one of the cerebral people in the game, having studied the game at different levels and written books on various hockey topics. Now one of his projects is a blog on www.thn.com. His post on November 23/08 deals with building a management team and he uses the Detroit Red Wings as his elite example. As an assistant coach for the Red Wings for three seasons, I saw first hand of which he speaks. Here is an excerpt…

The point is, in my opinion, nothing replaces experience when you’re a GM. The same holds true for the management staff. Every season has a similar yet different rhythm to it. When things are bleak and look even darker going forward, the vultures tend to come out. Listening to them can be deadly. Experience tells you: “Don’t listen.”

The organization that epitomizes experience at the upper management level is Detroit. The Red Wings have clearly been the dominant franchise over the last 20 years. Four Stanley Cups, in ‘97, ‘98, ‘02 and ’08, and 18-straight playoff years reflect their success.

Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the Red Wings in June of 1982. Not only have they built a franchise that looked for and kept experienced people, they have also placed emphasis on stability. The NHL, like other major leagues, all too often makes changes prematurely, often in a panic.

Let’s look at the Red Wings’ combination of experience and stability:

  • Jim Devellano was the first GM hired by the Ilitch family in 1982. Twenty-seven years later, he’s still there. This is his 42nd year in the NHL. He played a major role in the construction of the New York Islanders dynasty in the 1970s and early ‘80s.
  • Ken Holland is starting his 12th season as GM and his 26th in the organization. A former American League goaltender, he began his post-playing career as an amateur scout, progressed to director of scouting, then assistant GM and, in 1998, GM.
  • Jim Nill is entering his 11th season as assistant GM and 15th with the Red Wings. He has a background both as an amateur and pro scout and also served as GM of Team Canada at the 2004 world championships.
  • Steve Yzerman, beginning his third season as vice-president. This is his 26th year with the club. He has twice served as GM of Team Canada at the world championships.
  • Scotty Bowman, though now with the Chicago Blackhawks, joined the Red Wings in 1993 as coach. His NHL coaching career began in 1967 with the St. Louis Blues and he’s won 12 Stanley Cups in his career. He stayed on as a consultant with the Wings following his retirement from coaching in 2002.

The critical fact is all of these men had jobs in which they had to make crucial decisions.

Being a coach, a director of scouting or a GM of a national team requires decision-making. Mistakes are made. But to grow, you need to learn from the mistakes. Nothing will happen during the season this management group has not seen before. Their years of experience have brought them sound judgment.

Not all ownerships follow the Detroit path. I like the Detroit model, but the new ownerships in Tampa Bay and Vancouver have looked to player agents – Brian Lawton and Mike Gillis – to be their hockey leaders. Both have limited, if any, team management experience. This is not to say they will not be successful. After all, it is hard to criticize the job Pierre Lacroix – a former agent – did with the Colorado Avalanche.

Mike Smith is a former GM with the Blackhawks and Jets and associate GM with the Maple Leafs. He also served as GM for Team USA More from Mike Smith