ATTACK OF THE YOUNG & SKILLED COACH-KILLERS
Why some NHL coaches are allergic to prospects
The 4-9-2 record aside for a moment, there will be a more vital indicator this season of the kind of coach Scott Gordon is. It will be evident in how he deals with a skilled but unfinished, struggling prospect like Kyle Okposo.
While the 20-year old has not exactly exploded out of the gate this season – Okposo has just a goal and 3 assists in 15 games - it’s crucial the first-year coach communicates with him on an almost daily basis.
This might sound like master-of-the-obvious stuff, but history gives pause for concern. There are so many coaches in this league who view talented kids as if they were a virus. For many, Barry Melrose’s proclamation in the ESPN studio of “I don’t like prospects…prospects cost coaches jobs” is gospel.
Remember when Alexei Kovalev and Todd Bertuzzi drove their coaches and every fan in New York nuts? NHL head coaches love players like Richard Park, Jay Pandolfo and Blair Betts. They crush on self-motivated athletes who work in straight lines, guys they can simply wind up and, well, never have to coach. The problem with this, of course, is that you and I can coach those guys.
But as the Red Wings proved once again, it takes all kinds to win hockey games and only the coaches that embrace this concept get to stick around a while. Scotty Bowman and Al Arbour are the two obvious examples. Mike Babcock and Ken Hitchcock are a pair of current enlightened ones. Time will tell if Scott Gordon has the flexibility to coach his players to fit his system, as opposed to jamming his system down their throats.
An old team memory on the subject, if you will. In the Islanders’ opening game of the lockout-shortened 1995 season, a whiz kid named Zigmund Palffy scored both goals for the Islanders in a 2-1 win over Florida at the Coliseum. When the team played in the Panthers’ barn ten days later, a buzz spread at the morning skate: Palffy was going to be a healthy scratch. It is coaching moves like this that make it all too easy for fans and media to think they could do the job better.
When he was asked after the skate why Palffy was going to be scratched, head coach Lorne Henning said that he and his staff “didn’t like the matchups.” If you combined the hockey knowledge of everyone in and around the media scrum that morning, it still wouldn’t add up to 1% of Lornie’s knowledge of the game.
Still…let’s just say everyone was as speechless as I am more than a decade later to explain the move. It’s irrelevant that while Ziggy watched from the press box, the Islanders lost to the Panthers 5-1 that night. The decision was wrong that morning.
It is common knowledge, I think, that Ted Nolan wanted absolutely nothing to do with Robert Nilsson. The disconnect between Nolan and Nilsson was the latest example in the Country of Islanders, but there’s a long, painful line of them over the last 20 years. If you’re a kid who believes the best way to make a play doesn’t always involve a straight line to the net, don’t count on becoming a coach’s favorite. Ted was wrong on Nilsson. It would be a mistake to write it off after he has played only 13 games this season, but we’ll know by midseason if he was wrong on Jeff Tambellini.
You wouldn’t expect Gordon’s relationship with Tambellini and Okposo to be an issue. He saw the 24-year old Tambellini score enough goals against his Providence team to know what he is capable of. Okposo is a different sort of talent, a power forward with more upside than Tambellini who makes plays better than he finishes them. They are now Gordon’s responsibility. From what I’ve seen, the coach is doing his best to develop them on the fly.
How he works with the kids through the downs this season will say a lot about Gordon’s ability to coach, teach and lead.
ETC: When the team charter took off for Ottawa this afternoon, there were no roster moves announced.
Comments?
28 Responses to ATTACK OF THE YOUNG & SKILLED COACH-KILLERS
Why some NHL coaches are allergic to prospects
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straightshooter says:
CB, I just touched on this in your last blog. Other NHL organizations seem to be able to develop their “star” youngsters at the NHL level, why can’t/shouldn’t we? I believe this speaks to your point of coaching at least in part as to the reason. In summary; let Tambellini go and he’ll be producing for someone else by season’s end. Okposo: I’ve seen a higher, more energized level of play last 4-6 games and believe the point production will follow. I submit that there’s nothing wrong with Tambellini or Okposo. Neilson is coming along well and I do believe that he’s a better fit for Okposo in that he thinks pass first which compels Kyle to shoot or puts him in the (game) situation of having to finish. Not that weight doesn’t think pass, unfortunately he’s thinking pass to Guerin way too much (then shooting as option #2).
Finally, I see Bailey as such a “young star.” If the organization’s right in their evaluation of his personality type (leadership skills, poise etc) then his skill set will enable him to compete at this level well enough to stay. But again to your point that will take a hell of lot of coaching.
…..here’s to Hilbert continuing to prove me wrong! -
Scott from Newburgh says:
This might be a bit off subject, in terms of coaching young players, but I saw on the Islanders web site that the Sound Tigers were 10 and 3 ( not sure how many ties) and leading the eastern conference in the AHL. These kids seem to be taking to “The System”. Look at the early results. This is where the long term success of the franchise will come from.
If Gordon sticks to his guns with “The System” with the kids on the big club, then when we start bringing up players form Bridgeport everyone will be on the same page. Look at the Devils, thats how they do it.
Of course the also have Martin Broduer.
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sugar willie says:
Hopefully we’ll be very patient with the youngsters, Okposo in particular. It’s been only 15 games. This team’s going nowhere this year anyway, just commit to a full rebuilding year.
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Darren says:
Bring up Kurtis and Igg’s. They have a point in every game. This team needs scoring and seems like they know “the system”!
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Steve says:
I’m all for having guys like Tambs and Okposo play lots of minutes and see what they can do. They are both young and it might take them a bit. I like what I have seen from Okposo and Neilson.
CB, how long until we start unloading guys that don’t “get” the system? -
jbranny says:
I think Gordon talks too much to his players while on the bench, confusing them during the game. He is always seen yakking in their ears, and not just with the young players. Like many head coaches in professional sports I suspect Gordon talks to them too little OFF THE ICE. I base this last remark on comments made by his players when asked about their status on the team.
Capuano at Bridgeport may have a different approach than Gordon, as he has said many times, it is his responsibility to get his players to the next level and he concentrates on teaching. I think some times at the highest levels, coaches just let the players “figure it out for themselves”, which is a shame considering the investment the teams have in these guys.
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Chris TMC says:
different strokes for different folks. There is no one way that kids/rookies/prospects learn best- if there was, thats what everyone would do with every kid.
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Well Chris, one system is working and the other isn’t.
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Vlad from Brooklyn says:
Not only Gordon has to give the youngsters more ice time and powerplay minutes, he has to spend a lot of his time teaching them the game. Looks like he is so tired of those losses, that he keep throwing vets on ice thinking they are able to win games by themselves.
I hope he reads our comments frequently and understands that most of us (the fans) are okey with losses as long as we see progress in Rebuilding Plan.
As far as I see, he is great coach for teaching his System (positioning on the ice), but players still repeat their individual mistakes over and over again.
They are still kids and need to attend The School of Hockey. They not going to finnish a lot of scoring chances they produce, they not going to finnish their checks or steal the puck from opposition forvards or charge to the net with power and score. Why? They don’t know how!
They don’t need to proove themselves to the team and the coach. They are in the roster, which means GM and Coach believe in them. Now there is a lot of work to be done. Forget about losses. We see tons of williness and heart in the way most players are playing. It’s there! And very hard not to notice that. All we need is skills and it’s not going to come by itself.
I have met with Kyle and Blake Comeau in person. They in love with Long Island and the team. Too bad Comeau is not on the team. His style of play is fearless and simmular to Hunter’s, but a lot faster. He just need to shoot the puck more. All of his goals last season were a beauty.
So we are going to be patient and wait for those goals from the kids. -
I doubt Gordon cares about these comments or any on the other chat sites.
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Comeau is on a two-way deal, THAT is why he is in the AHL… because they can afford to put him there without worrying about waivers. Thats it. If it was Frans or someone else, he would be there. This isnt some personal thing against Blake, IMO… he is getting ice time, learning, growing, and will be back here. Thats what I think. Oh and I agree that Gordon wouldnt give a crap about our comments- as well he shouldnt. If the Internet was popular 35y ago, you think Al Arbour would have worried himself with what people were saying about his losing team? thank god he did what he had to do- because if he didnt, there would be a lot of banners that never made their way to NVMC.
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Rob says:
Can we call up Capuano and send down Gordon for a conditioning stint?
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Let’s hope the young guys continue to develop in the best current place for them at this point. There’s no harm, for example, in seeing what Bailey has for 8 more games and then making a decision on whether or not to keep him here. I’ll consider it a success if we have a better handle on what prospects have a future as NHL players and what don’t by the end of the season.
Derek – to answer your question about supporting the Lighthouse. The best thing we can do right now is to stay visible. Write a letter to Kate Murray at the Town of Hempstead, write to the Newsday editorial board, and write to your local county legislator if you live in Nassau County. Public comments should be coming up soon, so we can be even more vocal then, but in the meantime let’s make sure that people who support the Lighthouse can make their voices heard.
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Terry says:
This year is all about developing the kids with mega icetime in every situation. Let them grow and learn from there mistakes..something Nolan could never do. Wins are(perish the thought)almost secondary,in fact getting a top 2 pick is paramount in there development as a team. Just enjoy watching a young group in it’s embryo stage start to grow.
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DonK says:
Terry, you’ve got it right. Every loss is a day closer to bringing John Tavares (or Victor Hedman) to the Island. This is what the franchise has to have — elite-level talent.
Whatever errors Garth Snow has made, he has finally, and correctly, identified the correct approach: Playing for eighth place each season is a fool’s errand. This is the difference in perspective that helped get Ted Nolan fired.
Why is Pittsburgh an elite team? Because the Penguins were bad for several seasons and got Fleury, Malkin, Crosby (through a lottery, but they had a lot better chance because they had stunk), and Staal. This is the same approach the Isles need to take. It will make for some very tough times (not that the last 15 years have been a joyride), but they need elite-level players to anchor the team.
Will Okposo and Bailey be elite players? Probably not, but they’ll be good ones. There are other good role/support players on hand. But until the Isles get (and keep) a franchise player (and get a new/remodeled arena, but that’s another issue), they’re only chasing their tails.
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Strummer's Army says:
I agree in that Snow is doing the right thing in playing for the top pick. We need it and players like this come around only so often. It is the fastest way to return to being very competitive. Especially have the three 2nd rounders. We need to acquire more picks, early. This year we don’t need so many players. We have had two drafts with tons of picks that will fill out the organization. You can see the lack of quality depth right now in Bridge as not many of those guys are draft picks.
In regards, to evaluating some of the young players on our roster you just have to watch their individual game more then their stats. Okposo is constantly praised by oppossing announcers. This team is what it is. Okposo is playing alongside Andy Hilbert. You can’t expect huge numbers. It isn’t like the old days when Isles prospects came up. Shoot when LaFontaine joined thing of all the great players he came up to. I mean the other centers were Trottier and Sutter. Okposo plays with Hilbert and even when Witt, Meyer, and Martinek comes back the worst defense in the NHL. That makes things tough on forwards.
I think we have the right coach, some excellent young players, core guys like Bergy, Hunter, and DiPietro, and some recent strong draft selections. The Isles are still paying for Mike Milbury’s debt.
If you’d like to see Okposo and some of the young guys numbers shoot up Snow would trade for a center like Ryan Kesler and a d-man like Kevin Bieksa both of whom we’ll see next week. Until Snow makes a move like that just know they are doing what they can with a number of players being only AHL caliber.
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Islanders1984 says:
Okposo does allot of things right. He will start scoring soon. just got to give him time to develop. Remember we gave up too early on bertuzzi. I really don’t want to be hearing from Rags fans for the next 15 years
“How the hell could you guys trade away Kyle Okposo”
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lets hope there is something positive going on behind the scenes with these young players ,
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andy says:
oh no, Ovechkin has only scored 4 goals, so far.
oh no, Crosby has only scored 4 goals, so far.
maybe they’ll get traded bc they are not producing enoughoh jeeze, we got a bunch of milburys posting comments.
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Paul says:
It is Great to see Bridgeport leading the whole league with 24 pts so far, KUDOS to them. Not for nothing but Okposo looks like maybe he should have some time down in Bridgeport and Bailey should be there as well to grow more and adapt to gordons system on a winning team. They are all part of the future.
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Willis says:
Good article and good comments too. I hadn’t thought about some of the guys needing extra help and attention. I hope they are getting it, if not from Gordon, then from somebody.
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matt says:
Bailey can’t stay in the AHL its either juniors or NHL after 9 games his contract starts if he is still up with the “big” team. Probably wouldn’t be a bad thing if it could happen though.
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CB – sorry to post this here, but have you received either one of my messages to you?? I have not gotten a reply and wanted to make sure you received them.
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I would also like to point out another prospect of the past that we expected something from, but did not see anything until the second half of the season….Bergenheim. After scoring 4 goals in 28 games playing on a first line with Yashin and Nilsson, his first full season here he only had 2 goals in the first 41 games. He then managed 8 more the remaining 41 games.
If you really want to know if you have a diamond in the rough, they have to play an entire season before they can be judged. As Logan and Chris have mentioned, the kids should have gotten that opportunity last year and didn’t.
For now, we watch and scout for ourselves, then play GM after the season is over.
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Bill says:
I like what I have seen from Okposo so far. He’s only 20 and can already power his way past opposing team defences. Just wait till this kid hits 25 years old, he will much bigger and stronger then, and will be very difficult to stop. Power forwards generally take more time to develop than finesse types, so be patient.
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misterpink says:
Great article as always. Love to see little inside stories from the past sprinkled in. Now I’ve got ziggy on the brain (and not just the memory of his post-goal makeout session with Travis, or the night I met him at Mulcahys and he left for the parking lot with two different girls within an hour – and he was so loaded he signed my jersey as a big splotch in the middle of the crest). What I remember most was the almost supernatural ability of his stick to find the puck anywhere on the ice (especially near the other team’s blue line). The scoreboard videos of little Zig and giant Chara together were great too. I think that was around the same time as the Pilon crazytrain and the Blow up Madison Square Garden vids. What a nice memory – even though we weren’t winning anything back then either.
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DP's Hip says:
CB: Detroit’s success was based on the best guys dressing, and the kids not being in it until they’re ABSOLUTELY ready, or did you forget Darrin Helm’s success in the postseason followed by his demotion this current season – for his great benefit.
Kids learn. It’s imperative to the success of the team in the future. The DRW will not have an Okposo up, much less a Tambellini or especially a Bailey until they have done EVERYTHING to ensure the player is ready.
And we continue with our Chyzowski and Bertuzzi indoctrinations…..while many try to say we’re doing it differently this time?
We’re still putting major league pressure on kids. It’s like we’ll never learn. We’re teaching the kids to shoot a gun with rifles pointed straight at them? Drivers ed starts on the LIE kids, so buckle up.
hopefully he works with okposo and tambs better then nolan did