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Our
Latest
Newsletter
February
23, 2010
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Dear
Hockey
Friends,
As
we head into the final
weekend of the Olympics,
and as we all continue
to debate who is the
best at this game, I
write this quick note to
you (I need to be
careful because I have
many friends on both
sides of the border who
will receive this
newsletter).
Regardless
of who we each think is
best, I can assure you
that we can all enjoy
the benefits of the
game, including the many
opportunities that it
can provide for our
young athletes so long
as the various options
are carefully
examined.
I
have worked with
American players who are
playing in Canada, and I
have worked with
Canadian players playing
in the United
States.
It
is important that when
decisions need to be
made that careful
analysis and background
information be gathered
and analyzed in relation
to the benefits that you
are looking for, and the
stage of development of
your player.
I
think that you will find
the articles that I have
included to be quite
interesting.
if
you ever think that we
can help you in working
your way through the
myths and truths, or if
you wish to include your
name on our
HockeyResumes
service, please do not
hesitate to contact me
at your
convenience.
Sincerely,
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We
have had
several NCAA
college
recruiters
state that they
will be on hand
for the Halifax
seminar. They
will also take
the time to
meet with some
of our friends
and watch some
hockey.
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Note:
Please be advised that I do not
necessarily agree with all
information provided in these
articles, nor do I believe that
they necessarily contain all the
information and data that should
be taken into account when making
important decisions.... It's just
the way that they have been
written by these independent
writers.... These articles should
only form part of the background
information one needs to
consider....
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Examining
your future hockey
options
By
Bettina Young
P.
Is
hockey in your future?
If you're a Bantam- or
Midget-aged player, that
is the question you
should be asking
yourself right now. And
if you're a PeeWee,
great- you're that much
ahead of the game. If
playing hockey after
high school is your
goal, then you need to
look at what the options
are, what is possible,
and where you fit in.
The sooner a player
begins this process, the
quicker he or she can
target in on what suits
them best.
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The
two post-high school hockey
options are, of course, either
college or Junior levels of play.
The bottom line to achieving
either one? "Strengthen your
grades and strengthen your game,"
says Coach Steve Malley, a
Maryland high school hockey
coach, and Bowie Hockey Club's
Director of Coaching. Malley, who
also interviews prospective
college entrants for Harvard,
suggests that between those two
areas, you will help create your
very own "Player Profile." This
is essentially a sales brochure
about you- the kind of player you
are, the kind of person you are,
and what you have accomplished.
This is what you will then send
out to the schools you have
targeted.
Scout
your schools
But
first you have to find out about
those schools and their teams. A
good reference is the College
Hockey Guide published by
Athletic Guide Publications. They
also have a Junior Guide, both of
which list rosters, coaches, and
locations. They are not an
academic source, but minimum
requirements for GPA and SAT
scores are listed. Be prepared to
maintain at least a 3.20 GPA in
high school, and post an SAT
score of 1000.
The
competition is tough, and a
strong GPA will at least open the
door. As an example, Malley cites
Penn State's coach, Joe Battista.
He looked at 60 aspiring freshman
who wanted to play hockey for the
school this season. He only took
14.
"Travel,
practice, and academics are tough
to balance," says Malley. "Ask
yourself which is going to help
you achieve your goal; taking
your CD player or your books on
the bus?"
The
other half of the equation is
strengthening your game-
otherwise known as exposure,
exposure, exposure. The best way
to pick up your game is to play
against serious players and to
learn from, and be observed by,
coaches whose opinions count.
Find out where those coaches work
in the summer and go to their
camps. For example, Battista runs
a summer camp at Penn State. Use
the College Guide, contact the
schools that you are interested
in, and ask. They'll tell you if
they run a camp and/or where the
school's coach does.
Show
yourself off
Pursue
the showcases- like Chicago or
Hockey Night in Boston, to name a
couple. Go to their tryout camps.
By the time camp is over, you've
played for coaches who network
with even bigger-name coaches.
Many times, a college coach will
pick a player based on the
recommendation and opinion of
another coach that he
knows.
This
is why Prep schools have an edge
in placing students in Division I
colleges and universities. For
example, Phillips Exeter not only
prepares their students
academically (they'll have 50
kids get into Harvard each year)
but having their own rink also
allows them to put kids on the
ice every day. In the summer,
they play host to a hockey camp
run by the 20-year coach at
Wesleyan. So you don't have to go
to Prep school all year- just for
a few weeks in the summer if you
so chose.
Malley
further encourages players to
narrow their college choices down
to six schools.
Meet
and greet coaches
"Try
to visit the teams and schools
you are interested in and try to
meet the coaches," he adds. "Then
send each of them a serious
letter, telling them that you saw
them play, why you're impressed
with their team, and your
profile- grades, SATs, hockey
strengths."
Most
importantly, he says, if the
coach returns the interest, then
the player needs to respond
promptly. Return the phone call
or complete and mail the
résumé the next
day. Because of NCAA rules,
colleges can not pursue players.
If you don't follow up, the
interest will stop. "Parents need
to help with each step of this
process," Malley says. "And the
sooner a family begins, the
better. Most kids who get to
college had a hockey parent
pushing them with a gentle, firm,
but never-ending
push!"
Bettina
Young Prochnow is a hockey player
with the NCWHL and has two sons
in hockey. She is a columnist for
a newspaper in Livermore,
CA.
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8
Ways to Excel as the
"Non-Star"
Player
While
there are many players
on a hockey team
sometimes it might feel
as though there are only
a few shining
stars.
This
can leave "non-star"
players feeling
unimportant and
second-rate. The
following article, from
former hockey player and
coach Jeff
Serowik
gives excellent advice
for the "non-star"
player.
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A
small percentage of every team
from youth hockey all the way to
the NHL is made up of "star"
players. Typically eighty percent
of a team is composed of the
"non-star players." However, even
if your child is not on the first
line scoring the goals, or
racking up the assists or on the
first defensive line, power play
or penalty kill, they are an
integral part of the hockey team.
There are many cogs in the wheel
that are necessary to make it
spin.
Tips
for the "Non-Star"
Player
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1.
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Be
vocal on the bench and
the ice &endash; Cheer
your teammates on when
they finish their shift.
Start a bench pat and
send it down the line
periodically through the
game. It is also
important to not be
afraid to talk on the
ice. Let a teammate know
you are behind him or
her, or congratulate a
nice play or pass. This
also can psyche the
opposing team out. It is
hard to beat a team that
is unified and
gels.
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2.
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Be
a leader - The goal
scorers or stars are not
always the team leaders.
They may be gifted with
natural ability, but not
necessarily have the
charisma of others on
the team. "Non-star"
players are often the
leaders of a team. There
is nothing better
tha
n
a team full of leaders
with charisma and
respect for all players.
That is the team that
will go all the
way.
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3.
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Be
the first on the ice and
the last off - Work
ethic is important for
both the "star" and
"non-star" players. When
doing a drill, don't
look to see if the coach
or parents are watching.
Be focused on the drill
and your efforts will be
noticed. Be the best
practice player and you
will be a "star"
player.
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4.
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Push
your teammates to do
better - Push each other
including the last
person in a drill. Say,
"Nice effort, keep it
up!"
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5.
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Take
pride in your role -
Notice the little things
that happen in a game
that contribute to a win
or a great effort. The
assist to the assists or
goals should count for
points even though they
do not count on the stat
sheet, as well as the
shot blocked, taking the
hit to save the play,
winning the battle for
the puck, winning the
face off, winning the
race to the puck,
battling for and coming
up with the puck and
battling so hard that a
teammate can grab the
puck.
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6.
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Make
all teammates feel good
about their game
&endash; Remember, every
single player is
responsible for the
win.
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7.
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Rally
around your goalie
&endash; Especially when
he or she is in a losing
streak.
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8.
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Make
the most of a long
season &endash; Make a
joke in the locker room
or have a team joke that
is an inside joke only
to your teammates. Make
each other laugh and
become friends. You need
different personalities
for a winning
team.
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A Note to the "Star"
Player
Be
thankful that you are the "star"
player, but realize that every
player on the team is just as
important and helps assist you to
get those goals. Be humble and
cheer on the "non-star" players.
Become a tight-knit group that
cares for each other &endash;
that is how to win.
"Non-Star"
Players Can Become the "Star"
Players and Vice-Versa Don't
think that you are pigeon-holed
the "non-star" player or "star"
player. Things change quickly in
hockey. You can become the "star"
player of a particular game or
season. The key is to keep
working hard and don't feel bad
about an off game or a bad shift.
Pick yourself up and go for it
the next time you play. Remember
that hockey is a game of
mistakes. Recover and learn from
the mistakes and move on. The
star players of the NHL make
mistakes too. Don't forget to
take pride in yourself whatever
role you have on the
team.
Remember,
you made that team and everybody
is an important member and
integral in helping the team to
victory.
Editor's
Note: Thank you to Jeff
Serowik from Pro Ambitions Hockey
camps for this
article.
Introduction
To This
Article
Recently,
I received a message from Brad
Crossley, Head Coach of the
Dartmouth Subway Hockey Club, in
which he reminded me of the fact
that former Cole Harbour
Minor and Dartmouth Subway hockey
players Blake
Gallagher and
Marc
Cheverie are two of a
hundred players nominated for the
Hobey Baker Award for the best
player in U.S. College Hockey.
The list will soon be narrowed
down to ten and then again to
three in the coming
weeks.
Blake
is a senior and assistant captain
at Ivy League's Cornell
University and is currently
leading his team in
scoring.
Marc
is a junior and goaltender at the
University of Denver and is
enjoying another stellar season
after playing all 40 games during
his sophomore season in
2008/2009.
You
can find out more about the
Award, and vote for your
favourite player at
www.hobeybaker.com/voting
The
Hobey Baker Award is an annual
award given to the top National
Collegiate Athletic Association
men's ice hockey player. It is
named for hockey player and World
War I veteran Hobey Baker, who
played collegiately at Princeton
University and learned the game
at St. Paul's School (Concord,
New Hampshire).
Congratulations
to these two fine young men, who
are making us who know (or know
of ) them, all very proud. If you
get a chance, please consider
lending your vote to
them.
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Handicapping
the Hobey
by
Adam Wodon
In
the 1990s, college
hockey had gained a lot
of stature in the big
picture, but was still a
ways off from the
first-round NHL
draft-pick hotbed that
the 2000s
became.
Three
Hobey winners from the
'90s became big-time NHL
players - Paul Kariya
('93, Maine), Brendan
Morrison ('97, Michigan)
and Chris Drury ('98,
Boston University). In
the 2000s, there will be
at least five, led by
current U.S. Olympic
goalie Ryan Miller ('01,
Michigan State). There's
also Mike Mottau ('00,
Boston College), Jordan
Leopold ('02,
Minnesota), Matt Carle
('06, Denver) and most
likely Matt Gilroy ('09,
Boston
University).
The
point is that, thanks to
attrition from players
leaving early, and the
lack of as many big-time
players filling the
gaps, the Hobey race
this year resembles
something closer to the
'90s than the 2000s.
That doesn't mean there
aren't very good players
fighting it out for the
Hobey this year. It's
just that, relatively
speaking, it lacks the
kind of star power we've
become accustomed to in
recent years.
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Wisconsin
captain Blake
Geoffrion.
(photo: Brad
Olson)
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Midway
through the season, it was very
difficult to really get a feel
for the Hobey race, and no one
really stood out as an obvious
finalist.
But
in recent weeks, some major
candidates have emerged, after
getting hot to varying degrees.
Here there are:
Forwards
We
go with the theory that goals are
more important than points, and
more telling most of the time.
Not listing them in particular
order, we have:
Chase
Polacek, RPI: No ECAC player
has won the award since Lane
MacDonald in 1989. Polacek's RPI
team is finally back from years
in purgatory, and that gives him
hope; as does his five goals last
weekend, which raised his season
total to a national-best 23. The
last ECAC player to lead the
nation in goal scoring was
Clarkson's Todd White in
1997.
Corey
Tropp, Michigan State: Back
from a certain kind of purgatory
himself, the junior has become a
leader, and his 20 goals are
practically a bonus from what
could've been expected. A very
nice bonus, and one that puts him
in the Hobey picture.
Gustav
Nyquist, Maine: Another
player on a team that's been in
the doldrums the last two years,
and has snapped out of it in a
big way. As part of the best
power-play unit in the country,
Nyquist leads Maine's offense,
and his team has a legit chance
at getting back to the
NCAAs.
Bobby
Butler, New Hampshire: He's
never going to be mistaken for
splashy, but as a senior on a
first-place team, he gets marks
for that. He's been remarkably
consistent all year long, then
went bonkers with four goals
against Providence this past
weekend, giving him 22 for the
season, and putting him on this
list.
Blake
Geoffrion, Wisconsin: He's
finally put it all together with
a strong year, start to finish,
20-plus goals. And as a senior
captain, he has that intangible
going for him - something the
others don't. And his team is a
strong candidate for the Frozen
Four, which is another thing in
his favor.
Defense/Goaltender
Four
defensemen won the award in the
last decade, after none had won
it since Tom Kurvers in
1984. With scoring down, it
became easier for two-way
defenders to stand
out.
Another
could join that list. Perhaps the
favorite here among all of them,
Brendan Smith has made
Wisconsin fans quickly forget
Jamie McBain's early departure.
Smith had 23 points last year -
this year as a junior, he has 36
points, a nation's best 13 goals
as a defenseman, a plus-16
(second on the team to freshman
John Ramage) and nine power-play
goals. He leads a defense corps
that has five first or second
rounders.
Despite
that scoring being down, Ryan
Miller - and his ridiculous
2001 season - is the only
goaltender to capture the award
since 1988. A number of goalies
haven't won with gaudy numbers,
like Cornell's David LeNeveu or
David McKee, or Brown's Yann
Danis - perhaps precisely because
there's been so many of them and
scoring is down.
Which
brings us to Marc
Cheverie. Certainly there are
many reasons why Denver is No. 2
in the country, but goaltending
is a big part of it, obviously.
When Cheverie went down early in
the season with a severe cut to
his calf (from a skate blade),
the Pioneers' hopes rested in the
balance. But Cheverie returned
relatively quickly, and has been
no worse for wear.
Freshman
Adam Murray was clearly
not ready for the role, so
Cheverie's presence is that much
more valuable. He has a 1.88
goals against average and .939
save percentage in 24
appearances. These numbers are
better than most other goalies of
recent vintage - even those of
Zane Kalemba of Princeton, a
finalist last season with
1.82/.933.
Others
These
players could all reach the upper
tier, easily, by year's end, but
aren't there right now: Casey
Wellman / James Marcou
(Massachusetts); Matt Read
(Bemidji State); Tyler
Ruegsegger / Rhett
Rakhshani
(Denver).
Wellman
has the 19 goals, and Marcou is
the big-time playmaker. But their
team isn't good enough, and both
of them are minus players right
now.
Matt
Read was looking great at
mid-season, and unlike some
players from mid-major teams of
recent years, was much more
legitimate thanks to Bemidji
State's lofty Pairwise ranking at
the moment. But he's tailed off
in the scoring department in
recent weeks. He is still a
plus-27, however, which leads the
nation.
Ruegsegger
and Rakhshani are the senior
leaders, and standouts, on one of
the most talented teams in the
country - and they score big
goals. Thing is, their overall
numbers aren't gaudy, and
Cheverie is ahead of them on the
list. So they will probably be
left out.
Also
of note: No one on Miami
is under consideration here.
That's the No. 1 team in the
country by all measures. This is
somewhat by design. It's just a
tremendously well-balanced team,
with two good goaltenders, and a
treat to watch. Sophomore goalie
Cody Reichard was emerging, as he
got the bulk of the playing time
early on, but when Connor Knapp
returned from an illness and got
to 100 percent, they've been
rotating again, so it's hard to
include Reichard. His numbers are
better than Cheverie's overall,
however - 1.42/.938 - and he's
not totally out of the
running.
One
of the most common physical
fitness tests used for assessing
hcckey players at various stages
of their season / career is known
as the "Beep Test".
The
multi-stage fitness test, also
known as the bleep test, beep
test, pacer test, or shuttle run
test, is used by coaches and
trainers to estimate an athlete's
VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake).
The test is employed by many
teams as an accurate test of
Cardiovascular fitness, one of
the all-important "Components of
Fitness". It was created by Dr.
Maximillion G. Odoowed Ledgear in
1982, and was published in the
European Journal of Applied
Physiology.
Rules
The
test involves running
continuously between two points
that are 20 m apart. These runs
are synchronized with a
pre-recorded audio tape or CD,
which plays "beeps" at set
intervals. As the test proceeds,
the interval between each
successive beep reduces, forcing
the athlete to increase velocity
over the course of the test,
until it is impossible to keep in
sync with the
recording.
The
recording is typically structured
into 23 'levels', each of which
lasts around 63 seconds (the
shortest level is level 16,
lasting 60.45 seconds, the
longest is level 2, lasting 67.8
seconds). Usually, the interval
of beeps is calculated as
requiring a speed at the start of
8.0 km/h, increasing by 0.5 km/h
with each level. The progression
from one level to the next is
signaled by 3 rapid beeps. The
highest level attained before
failing to keep up is recorded as
the score for that
test.
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The
Dilemma
College
Hockey's Recruiting
Battles
Intensify
by
Joshua Berhow/CHN
Writer
The
statement Jack Campbell
released might have been
honest, but one portion
of it wasn't exactly a
message the NCAA wanted
to hear.
Campbell,
who made a verbal
commitment to be an
incoming Michigan
recruit next season,
released a statement
last December explaining
why he chose not to come
to Ann Arbor, Mich.,
next year and instead go
to the Ontario Hockey
League.
And
his message made the
NCAA cringe.
"By
going to the Ontario
Hockey League, I feel it
will accelerate my
development so I will be
able to more quickly
achieve my goal of being
an NHL goaltender," he
said.
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As
if the NCAA didn't have enough
problems competing with Major
Junior hockey in recruiting the
top young players.
Campbell
will most likely be the first
goaltender selected in this
summer's NHL Draft - he was a
sixth-round pick by the OHL's
Windsor Spitfires in 2008 - and
decided to go to the OHL just
days after Michigan sophomore
Robbie Czarnik left the
Wolverines for the OHL's Plymouth
Whalers.
Prior
to Czarnik leaving, Minnesota
sophomore Sam Lofquist left the
Gophers for presumably a deal
with the OHL's London Knights but
has now landed with the Guelph
Storm, and incoming freshman
Kenny Ryan left Boston College
just prior to the start of the
regular season for Major Junior
as well.
Although
it's reported that Czarnik is
still going to school at
Michigan, his exact reasons for
leaving the team are still
unclear, and the same goes for
Lofquist and Ryan. But the
biggest dagger to the NCAA has
been without question Campbell's
decision.
"It's
definitely something that has
worried the NCAA in general as
you can see by the steps
[we] took in hiring
someone to help us market our
game and push our game and better
educate people about what it is
and the opportunities there are
in college hockey," said one
member of a WCHA coaching staff,
speaking of the recent hiring of
former head of the NHL Players
Association Paul Kelly, who now
serves as the Executive Director
of College Hockey, Inc, a new
organization designed to help
promote the game at the
collegiate level.
Hockey
East Commissioner Joe Bertagna
said Kelly will "raise the
profile of college hockey," and
he's confident Kelly can help
educate young players on their
future hockey choices.
"Some
kids didn't get all the facts
first and hopefully Paul and his
staff can at least help kids know
both sides before they make a
decision," Bertagna
said.
The
promotion of teams and players is
where the NCAA trails Major
Junior the most, as leagues like
the OHL thrive in Canada from a
marketing and promotional
standpoint.
Major
Junior has a few clear recruiting
advantages over the NCAA as well,
mainly that players are drafted
at a young age and coaches can
talk to players whenever they
want and at any age. College
coaches can't even contact
players until they turn 16, and
still the contact is
limited.
This
has been an age-old issue. But in
recent years, the OHL has raised
the heat, and now, more
top-flight Americans (and there
are more of them) are bolting as
well.
"It
used to be a problem in
recruiting Canadian players,"
said the same member of a WCHA
coaching staff. "It's now a
problem in recruiting hockey
players."
But
what does the NCAA do to prevent
what is now a few stragglers from
becoming an ever-growing movement
away from the college
game?
One
point of emphasis the NCAA has is
education, which is what Bertagna
said has always been the NCAA's
primary focus. He said only about
20 percent of kids who play Major
Junior go on to graduate from a
Canadian university - which is
helped paid for by the player's
former Major Junior team - while
about 80 percent of NCAA hockey
players finish school with a
degree.
The
biggest thing the NCAA can do
seems to be informing players of
their options, and it looks as if
help is on the way in that area
with Kelly coming aboard. Besides
getting word out of what the NCAA
believes are advantages of
college hockey, there's not much
else that can be done
immediately.
There
has been talk in the past about
allowing NCAA coaches to call
players once a year or allow them
to talk to players at a younger
age, and also discussion about
allowing players to play a year
of Major Junior without signing a
contract and losing NCAA
eligibility. These options - like
many others - have been discussed
before, but still seem to be
nowhere near an eventual
reality.
The
NCAA just hopes younger players
can delay their decisions until
they know enough about both
leagues to figure out which route
is the best for them.
Said
the same member of a WCHA
coaching staff: "I've said it
before and I'll say it a thousand
times: I've never seen patience
kill a hockey player."
Engineers
Looking to Catch Fire With 'Red
Out'
by
Joseph Edwards/CHN
Writer
It's
not a new look for the RPI
Engineers, but definitely one
they haven't seen in Troy in
quite some time.
Sure,
they started the season at a
rather mediocre 10-10-1 overall,
and 3-4-2 in what's proving to be
a deep ECAC. Coming into the
season, they were expected to
finish anywhere from 8th to 10th,
depending on which poll you put
more stock in, and while they
were on pace to do slightly
better than that, no one could
have predicted what turning the
page on a new calendar would have
done for the
Engineers.
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Since
2010 began, the
Engineers are 6-3-2.
Their goal scoring is
up, and their goals
against is down. They
have two players in the
top-10 nationally in
scoring - including the
top point-getter across
the NCAA. They've won
all-important games at
Quinnipiac, Princeton,
and swept the season
series with Yale. And,
most importantly, the
Engineers have risen to
fourth in the league,
their highest position
since finishing there in
2003-04.
But
don't say they're on
fire. At least not yet,
anyways.
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"I
wouldn't classify us as on fire,
I'd say we're better," RPI coach
Seth Appert says. "I believed we
were going to be good. [In
December] we beat BU, beat
Michigan; we're playing pretty
good. We're capable of going on a
run. The older guys on this team
hadn't had a chance to
win."
There
are numerous reasons for the
recent turnaround. Appert cites a
consistent power play, and a
penalty kill that's coming into
it's own.
"The
power play has been good all
season, but the penalty kill is
much better," he says. "It took a
while for everyone to get on the
same page and getting everyone to
buy in. There was a drastic
change - they're more aggressive.
It took time, but we stayed the
course. The goals-per-game being
down is better due to the
PK."
While
they're letting up just 2.27
goals against since January
began, there's been an uptick in
scoring as well. That stems from
a youth infusion on a roster that
is over half freshmen and
sophomores, including first-year
players Brandon Pirri, a 2009
Chicago Blackhawks draft pick
currently tied for eighth in
national scoring (9-30-39), and
Jerry D'Amigo, a point-per-game
man (9-19-28), drafted by the
Toronto Maple Leafs. They're
aiding the campaign from junior
Chase Polacek - the nation's top
point-getter (23-23- 46) - and
senior Paul Kerins.
"[Having
the young guys] has helped at
lot," Polacek says. "We were
expected to be just one line, but
now we have a second and a third
line. They give us scoring punch,
and give other teams a hard time
and we can do a little damage.
When they go after one, the other
line dominates."
And
the coach agrees.
"D'Amigo
and Pirri are deserving of all
the accolades," he says. "The
team is driven by Polacek and
Kerins. Chase is a legitimate
Hobey Baker candidate, without
question. He's made the next step
in his evolution as a player. He
made that step to a real, real
hard player to play against. He
attacks the goal, he's aggresive.
You can score 10-15 goals from
the perimeter as a skill player,
but to score 20-25 goals, you
need to get to the front of the
net."
And
that's just how they've been
attacking their goals: aggressive
and physically. And the only ones
not surprised by their recent
success is the Engineers
themselves. They'll get a chance
to show the rest of the ECAC over
the next two weekends, with
mettle-testing rematches with
Quinnipiac, Princeton and
Cornell, which could vault them
as high as first in the league,
but could also see them drop all
the way to 10th. In their favor
is the Princeton matchup on
Saturday, which will showcase the
annual Big Red Freakout, in which
RPI goes all red - jerseys,
helmets, socks, fans and more.
First, though, they must get
through Friday, and without
sophomore goalie Allen York,
who's played almost 85 percent of
the team's minutes this season,
lost to an ankle injury for at
least the weekend.
"It's
good and bad," Appert says. "I
love the tradition [of the
Freakout], but you worry, as
a coach, that there's too much
emphasis on one game. First, we
have to win on Friday. In the
last few seasons, our record
pre-Freakout has been poor. We
want them not-so-amped-up and
playing hyper-tense hockey. We
have to use it to our advantage
and turn it into a huge home-ice
advantage."
Don't
think his player's don't know the
score, either. A top-four finish
in league play garners the team a
first-round bye, and home ice in
the second round of the
playoffs.
"While
the Freakout is a big deal, you
cant let the emotions be any
different," Polacek says. "We're
going into it knowing that we
have a task at hand, and it's to
get two points."
While
it's clear they get the big
picture, the even bigger one
isn't lost on anyone
either.
"We've
paid attention to [the
standings], sure," Appert
says. "This is the first time in
years that we've had an
opportunity to play meaningful
games in February."
"We're
expected to finish eighth and
even beyond," Polacek says.
"That's what we've shown people
over the last two, three, four
seasons, and it's people have
come to expect a similar finish.
We've been working on the little
things, working on being the best
at our game. Being more
aggressive and assertive. We're
not a powerhouse, but we're doing
what we wanted to do, what we
wanted to accomplish, and what
we're about."
The
next few weekends will sharpen
and solidify that definition, and
could put Polacek, Appert, and
the rest of the Engineers in
position to finally be 'on fire,'
and maybe even some national
attention.
5
Skate-Sharpening Secrets from a
Seasoned Pro
|
Skate
sharpening - an art
perfected by pros over
the years or a craft any
teen at the rink can do?
I'd never even heard of
skate sharpening when my
son started playing
hockey. And several
years into his hockey
career, all I knew was
that skates needed to be
sharpened after skating
on a pond (aka,
outside). But I picked
up a few things here and
there- like it costs or
and they need sharpened
about once a month. I
would just pop into the
hockey store nearby,
where we had a prepaid
sharpening card, and
wait for the teenager at
the counter to run them
through a
machine.
But
I started to notice that
some people are really
picky about skate
sharpening. My son's
skating instructor
sharpens his own at
home. Some people hate
the sharpening from the
hockey stores, others
hate the sharpening from
this rink and some from
that rink. A friend
bought his own machine
to sharpen his son's
skates. At Bantam
tryouts this year, he
said he was concerned he
might be "holding his
son back" because of the
"radius."
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I
didn't know anything about the
radius, but I scoffed at this. I
was confident that my 8-year-old
could outskate just about anyone
with Kleenex boxes on his feet.
(Like Bull Durham winning a golf
bet while playing with garden
tools, he'd been tearing up the
ice for two years in skates
handed down from his brother, his
brother's teammates, his
brother's teammates
siblings…). Unfortunately, I
soon found out that my little guy
essentially was skating in
Kleenex boxes.
In
the last scrimmage of his U8-B
year, he fell a lot. The coach
mentioned his skates might need
sharpened. A new pro shop had
recently opened at our local
rink- and this one featured a
real pro with 20 years
experience. Robert Hineline at
the Skater's Edge in Littleton,
Colorado, took one look at his
skates and said, "These have no
rocker."
If
you looked at the profile of his
blades, they were almost squared
off in the front and back.
Hineline demonstrated by trying
to rock the skate from heel to
toe on the counter. Without a
rocker, he says, "It's hard to
rotate with so much blade on the
ice, leading to falls during
transitions."
I
had to believe Hineline- even
though the rocker repair was . He
has sharpened skates for many
nationally ranked figure skaters
along with the Los Angeles Kings.
According to his website, "Robert
is a machinist by trade. That
skill makes his skate sharpening
an art, and he is known for his
precision." His top
skate-sharpening advice, with not
too much jargon,
includes:
1.
Skates need to be sharpened after
every eight to 10 hours of
skating time. Depending on how
many shifts you get and how long
your games are, this might be
after, say, four games and six
practices.
2.
The harder the ice, the sharper
skates need to be. If a rink is
known to have harder than usual
ice for your area, let the
sharpener know. If you're
traveling to Canada, the ice
there is generally
harder.
3.
An unskilled skate sharpener can
"thrash" skates, causing lasting
damage to the blades. If the
blades look brown, the sharpener
is overheating the skate and
taking out the temper (hardness)
and the edge will only last for
four hours. Plus, it will take
five sharpenings for the skates
to recover. If the blades look
black, the edge will only last
two hours.
4.
To find an artistic- or at least
skilled- skate sharpener, the
best thing to do is ask around.
Then test the sharpener's
work:
* Rocker: To check the
rocker, stand the skate up on a
countertop: Only 1/2² to 2² of
the blade should touch the
counter and the skate should
rock.
* Hollow & Radius: The
hollow is the groove between the
two edges, the inside and outside
edge of a skate blade. (Never
noticed it? Get out those reading
glasses). The hollow is measured
according to the radius of a
circle, with common hollows being
3/8², 7/16², and 1/2². You can
test the radius by placing a
dime, quarter, or nickel in the
groove, respectively.
* Squareness: To see if
the hollow is straight, place a
pencil on top of the blade. This
should be square.
5.
Only use a Sweet-Stick hand-held
ceramic sharpener for taking the
nicks out of blades; if you try
to sharpen with one, you can
change the entire shape of the
blade and bite angle and could
cause permanent
damage.
The
Three Most Important Coaching
Roles Every Coach Should
Master
|
Coaches
can play many roles
&endash; including
medic, psychologist,
chauffeur and sometimes
equipment manager to
name a few. There are
three key roles that
define the philosophy,
practice and impact of a
coach. The coaches who
confuse these roles can
find themselves making
serious mistakes. The
coaches who manage these
roles effectively are
the ones who win and
change lives.
The
coach as teacher -
Every coach is a teacher
who provides instruction
in sport-specific skills
and strategies. The best
coaches also teach
positive life skills
like healthy living,
positive character, self
direction, teamwork and
leadership. Even when
coaches are not teaching
with words, they are
teaching with action.
Their athletes watch
them closely and learn
from what they
do.
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The
coach as leader - Every coach
is also a leader, whether they
realize it or not. As a leader,
it is the coach's job to provide
purpose, direction and motivation
to the athletes on the team. Like
teaching, some coaches are better
leaders than others. The best
leaders produce teams that get
the most out of their talent and
play with a high degree of
spirit, honor and trust. Coaches
who lack leadership skills
usually have teams that
under-perform for their
talent.
The
coach as competitor - The
third role of a coach is that of
competitor. We don't talk about
this role as much as the roles of
teacher and leader, but the
coach's competitive disposition
is always a factor. A coach with
a controlled and positive
competitive disposition can teach
their athletes important life
lessons about competing with
honor. Coaches who lack
competitive self-restraint can
cause serious problems for
athletes under their
supervision.
Role
Confusion
Most
coaches who make serious mistakes
are confused about their role
priorities. They may have good
intentions about teaching and
leading for positive youth
development, but when they get
into competitive situations their
own need to win over-rides their
commitment to doing what is right
for their athletes' personal
development. They make rash
decisions aimed at winning in the
moment without realizing or
caring that they may be damaging
the positive development of their
own athletes. Their athletes see
this for what it is, and revoke
their trust in the coach as a
teacher and leader. Then the
coach wonders why the team plays
tight under pressure and why the
athletes don't stay loyal to the
program.
Taking
Action
The
truth is that few coaches are
completely immune to the risk of
putting their competitive
instincts ahead of positive
development of their athletes.
The driving will to win can get
the best of anyone.
Positive
competition is good, but we do
need competitive self- restraint,
which is simply the practice of
putting the needs of our athletes
ahead of our own need to win. We
can accomplish this
by:
*
Reminding ourselves that as
adults we are teachers and
leaders of young people first and
competitors second.
*
Committing to make positive youth
development our highest mission
as a coach.
*
Judging ourselves not on our
win-loss record, but on the
content of our athletes'
competitive character and
positive development.
None
of this means that winning is
unimportant or not worth
pursuing. It simply means we will
not compromise the positive
development of our athletes for
the sake of a
scoreboard.
|
Bettman
thrilled with start to
Olympics
Monday,
02.22.2010 / 10:42 AM /
All-Access
Vancouver
By
Mike G. Morreale -
NHL.com Staff
Writer
It's
quite possible the NHL
picked up a few more
fans following the
dramatic outcome of
Sunday's USA-Canada
contest in the
preliminary round of the
men's ice hockey
tournament at Canada
Hockey Place in
Vancouver.
That's
something NHL
Commissioner Gary
Bettman is certainly
hoping for. The
Commissioner was a guest
of Willie Geist on MSNBC
immediately following
Team USA's thrilling 5-3
victory over Team Canada
during the second game
of Super Sunday at the
2010
Olympics.
Here's
a portion of that
question and answer
session.
Geist:
How impressed were you
with the game between
the United States and
Canada?
Bettman:
We've had a terrific
tournament so far and as
we move to the medal
round, I'm sure it's
going to continue to be
exciting. But this is
basically the NHL game.
We're in an NHL building
(GM Place in Vancouver),
we're playing with NHL
rules on NHL
ice.
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We're using NHL officials with
the four-man system and we're
using NHL players. This reminded
me very much of a playoff game
but, the most important thing, in
terms of this tournament, is that
our players have a long history
and tradition of representing
their countries in international
play. They love doing it and
they're thrilled to be here and
the Vancouver Olympics have been
a great experience for all of
us.
Geist:
Don't you think having fans see a
game like this is certainly a
boon for your sport?
Bettman:
We think it's important to do the
right things internationally and
that's why this is our fourth
Olympics. That's why we're the
only sports league that actually
shuts down a couple of weeks to
go to the Olympics. However, it's
not without an impact on the NHL
season. When you're in a place
like Vancouver or Salt Lake City
(in 2002), in North American time
zones, the impact and benefit is
a lot different than when you're
halfway around the world. So in
anticipation of your next
question, we haven't made a
decision about going to Sochi,
Russia, in 2014. We'll take a
deep breath after this experience
and figure out whether or not it
makes sense for us to go to the
next Olympics. But we're glad
we're here now.
Geist:
Could you lay out the League's
concerns with going to future
Olympics?
Bettman:
The Super Bowl is over and it's
our time in the season in terms
of the attention. At this point
in the calendar, there's no
baseball yet. We're heading into
the stretch run for our regular
season and playoffs and we've had
incredible competitive balance
It's not just that we disappear
for two weeks, but we have some
NHL teams who send eight or nine
players to the Olympics and
others that send one or two. The
teams coming back from this
two-week break are in a whole lot
different condition than when
they left. Teams that have had
major Olympic participation are
going to come back a little more
nicked up, maybe with injuries.
The other thing is where the
Games are played -- it makes a
big difference. How much
attention the Olympics get and
our game gets is very important.
In Sochi, Russia, the time zones
are eight hours ahead of the East
Coast and North American, which
means the bulk of our games for
which we're giving up our prime
time exposure will be played from
4 a.m. and 2 p.m. which is not
necessarily ideal. That's why
when the Games have been played
in North America, we've seen a
lot greater impact on the Games
than when they're halfway around
the world. Having said that, I'm
pointing out the discussion
points for anyone to suggest
there is no impact in taking the
two-week break -- that's a bit
naïve.
Geist:
How do you create the excitement
for ice hockey you see all over
Vancouver in the United States
where football, baseball and
basketball dominant the sports
landscape?
Bettman:
That's something we've been doing
over the years. We are Canada's
game and that's one of the things
making these Olympics so special.
I think when the final analysis
is made on what took place in
Vancouver, hockey will be the
dominant story. With respect to
what we do in the United States,
we're coming off of four years of
record attendance and record
revenues. We have the best fans
in all the world and we're a
pretty well-kept secret in some
parts of the United States. But
that secret is getting revealed
to more and more people over
time. If you've never been an NHL
fan, tune in to us and you'll
like what you see.
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