GIVING THANKS TO COACH GORDON
Trio of Providence proteges say Go-Go delivered
As he continues his lessons post All-Star with Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and the rest of the kid Islanders, Scott Gordon is well-represented in the league by several young players who credit the coach for bringing them along.
Prior to his breakout this season, David Krejci developed under Gordon for a year and a half with Providence of the American Hockey League. The 22-year old Krejci spoke to Point Blank last week of the major impact Gordon had in his preparation for the NHL.
“Scott was my first professional coach,” said the Czech Republic native, “and he helped me so much with the transition from junior (Gatineau of the Quebec League) to the pros. He taught me the importance of taking care of our own end on defense. We had a lot of one-on-one meetings where we looked at video and he helped me understand all the little details that can make you a great player.”
For an offensive whiz like Krejci - 17 goals and 35 assists in 47 games with the Bruins this season - it was surprising to hear the kid talk of how he was aided by Gordon’s psychological approach to the game.
“Confidence is a big deal for me,” Krejci said. “That’s important for a scorer and I think Scott realized that early on. Right from the beginning, he trusted me and believed in me. He told me what he expected from me, which was a lot. I appreciated that.
“It’s nice to see so many of his young players from Providence doing so well in the NHL. I’m glad Coach made it. He deserved it. If the Islanders give him the time, he will get the job done.”
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Chicago Blackhawks Young Star Kris Versteeg said his year-plus with Gordon in Providence was invaluable.
“I really enjoyed playing for Flash,” said Versteeg, traded by Boston to Chicago for Brandon Bochenski and now flourishing in an up-tempo system. “He’s unbelievable. I think he almost kick-started my career again. He put me out there in situations that, in my first year of pro hockey, I never thought I’d get to play in. I wish him all the best.”
But sometimes you can get an even better read on a teacher not from Grade A stars like Krejci but from an overachieving B-level student. That’s why when the Bruins were in town last week it was important to hunt down 5-11, 190-pound defenseman Matt Hunwick, a former 7th round pick.
“One of the biggest reasons I’m here is Gordo’s hands-on approach,” Hunwick (with his hands on Kyle Okposo, left) said in the Bruins’ locker room at Nassau Coliseum. “There’s a whole bunch of guys in this room who will tell you that, starting with a star like Dave Krejci.
“Especially for the Islanders’ young players like Okposo and everyone else coming through the ranks, he’s going to be so good. He’ll stop practice and explain everything. He’ll break it down for you one-on-one with video. He’ll teach. Assuming he gets the time to bring their young players along, you’ll see the benefits.”
But the big question is, can Gordon’s go-go approach work in the NHL?
“Of course it can. It does,” said Hunwick. “Although we’re not mirroring Gordo’s system here, we’re playing much more up-tempo now. And one of the great things about what he preaches is that you really learn how to play as a team. That’s how it worked in Providence and I’m sure will work again for Scott at the next level.”
ETC: The Islanders returned to practice today at Iceworks. Four players who missed games prior to the All-Star break practiced today: Doug Weight, Trent Hunter, Andy Hilbert and Chris Campoli. The team practices tomorrow morning at Iceworks with returning All-Star Mark Streit. With the Islanders’ next game not until Thursday in Atlanta, it’s unlikely the lineup - who stays in Bridgeport, who goes - will come into shape until at least Wednesday.
Comments.
46 Responses to “GIVING THANKS TO COACH GORDON
Trio of Providence proteges say Go-Go delivered”
Please Wait
What a fluffy piece this was. Cant wait for games to start again! lol
Thanks for the continuing updates during the boring All Star Break. With all of the inside info you’ve been giving us on Islanders’ prospects lately, any chance we can get a scout’s recent take on Justin DiBenedetto? His numbers look great this year, but has his stock risen at all?
Does anyone (other than Brendan Witt) ever say anything bad about GoGo?
We’re the ugly duckling right now. Let us develop players through coach through Mgmt and vice versa… and things will beautiful on LI again.
Interesting observations. I still have reservations about Gordon, but am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt through the rest of the season. Lets hope we see some progress.
Regarding the returning players from IR: if everyone’s healthy, who sits?
Hilbert-Weight-Guerin
Comeau-Comrie-Okposo
Tambellini-Nielsen-Hunter
Park-Bailey-Jackman
Not saying those are the lines, but it means that Thompson and Sim are out. Also, what is the deal with Bergenheim?
Chris has been reporting that Phoenix scouts have been following the Isles for the last several games. I’ve gotta think that they are interested in Comrie. He had some success there and they can use some secondary scoring…..if they can afford him, that is. Maybe he’ll be the first shoe to drop in the unloading of the UFAs?
Chris - Off subject but, do you know what’s up with BD Galloff’s blog? Is he ok?
Westfall (#5) - I would not expect to see any great increase in winning percentage. If you are talking about better performance out of the youth… i hope it happens, God i hope it happens.
uh two things from last article. brian, i didnt mean beer. im a little underage lol. i dont mind paying for something but will they take orders? and the other thing is thaty some guys are ridiculous. you cant judge a draft that was last year. good to here some people, who are in the pros and played for him, support flash,commisioner,go-go as do little percent of isles fans. and what is up with BD’s blog? we knew we would suck so lets not blame garth or gordon. it all goes back to a crappy building and being in a place where no one wants to come. that and the fact half the team is out
Kevin (#8) - I think you are out of luck as far as ordering stuff for free. Of course, if you are in the right place at the right time, you can grab some free appetizers. I don’t claim to speak for CB tho, just relating my experience from the first PB night
Islanders fan living in Chicago and Versteeg is one of the Blackhawks I love to watch. That was some trade the Hawks pulled off, getting him for Bochenski. Sure would like to see the Islanders make a couple of those.
Glad to see such a good piece on Scott. He deserves it. And time will prove his worth.
no i have no prob paying for stuff its just will they take orders. justin, that trade reminds me ( less impact but the type of trade) is like walter and a second for nokie. we won and once again boston loss.
Kev - Oh yes, this is a very nice restaurant/wine bar. From what I’ve heard the food is fantastic. You can easily order whatever you please from the menu, excepting the alcohol of course! It was a lot of fun last time, though it got a bit crowded at peak time.
It is surreal to feel that everything is falling into place?
hmmmm, Chris I love the site but this is stretching a bit. Can we wait until one of our young up n comers scores more than 1 goal every 15 games.
15 Bloodyskull: What do you want the guy to do- never talk about anything that might ever wind up being possibly the slightest bit good? Ever lol? I mean, its not like he is saying coach is the greatest thing around, he is just putting up some quotes from some kids who really learned from him. Everything cant always be terrible, you know?
Bloodyskull: I’m just reporting what other people said about the coach. If they said he blew, I would have written that, too. My opinion is not in the piece…CB
bloodyskull: does kyle okposo not exist in your world. not to metion trevor smith who got a goal in 5 games. take it easy. theres too much hate on this team. anyone know how iggulden and mcdonald are doing? hope there doing allright.
good piece chris. i believe that gordo’s ability will really shine when this roster is full of players that want, and that can, play overspeed. right now the roster is ill suited towards his style of play. work your magic garth.
Jason #6
BD is on a self imposed sabbatical.
Apparently until the end of the season.
If you can track down his last entry in Hockeybuzz, he wrote a statement in the comments section about it.
The system will still need to be tweaked going forward - that’s ok if it is after this season. The competition in the AHL vs. the NHL is very different.
Can/will NYI ever get the talent to make this work in the Go-go way? I doubt it.
Of course, a huge $$ contract to Jbo in the offseason would be a nice addition to the system, team, and vision of the rebuild. However, I doubt Jbo wants to partake in another team in transition.
However, in an offseason where some of the big markets will be have cap issues that could preclude them from big UFA signings, NYI might (i say might) be able to cout de etat someone. A little from TOH would be nice too.
I am not sure Bowemeester deserves the mega deal he’ll likely get. He is talented but has he really put up the numbers? I dare say he is yet to be the player he was expected to be. Still very talented and might be worth it. Perhaps it is the Panthers holding him back but he has had some talented teams.
I think with guys coming back from injury and a little over a month to the deadline we’ll start seeing some moves soon.
How much longer until Sutton is back?
Man, this site has me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Are the Isles real on pace for having the NHL’s worst season since the lockout?
Let me add, Mr. Botta thank you so much for the Streit All Star game coverage. You sir are fabulous, you’re the best. Keep it up. Make us isles fans proud. You’re like part of the family (yuck!)
Jason #8,
This is what happened to BD Gallof; it is from James Mirtle’s blog From the Rink;
I appreciate all of the solid contributions some readers have made in the right hand sidebars the past few months, but I unfortunately have had a lot of garbage posted there as well.
Lately, someone calling themselves the Masked Avenger has been repurposing their offensive blog content onto this site, material that slags other bloggers, media personalities and NHL officials. It’s all been deleted, but you can read it over on his site if you wish. (I don’t mind if people want to share content from their blog in that space, but it needs to reach a certainly level of dignity to stay there.)
The thing with SBN’s software is that it’s often easy to tell where this nonsense is coming from — and it’s even easier to get rid of. The Masked Avenger’s profile on this site gives away his identity:
For the uninitiated, B.D. Gallof is the Islanders blogger at HockeyBuzz.com (and elsewhere). He owes an apology to TSN’s Bob McKenzie along with a host of other people.
Don’t do this. Don’t fill the FanPosts, FanShots or comments with expletives, insults and other garbage because it’s honestly not all that hard to figure out where it’s coming from and put an end to it.
Thanks.
good piece, lets just hope they give gogo more than 2 seasons w/ the youngsters.
Chris,
I am almost certain that I speak for everyone here. Whatever we can do to help you keep this going, please let us know? You do great work and we all appreciate it!
CB,
You are a gentleman and a scholar !
1 MiKe on Jan 26th, 2009 21:00:51 said:
What a fluffy piece this was. Cant wait for games to start again! lol
3 Mike from Oceanside on Jan 26th, 2009 21:15:24 said:
Does anyone (other than Brendan Witt) ever say anything bad about GoGo?
15 Bloodyskull on Jan 26th, 2009 22:31:38 said: Can we wait until one of our young up n comers scores more than 1 goal every 15 games.
16 Chris TMC on Jan 26th, 2009 22:37:24 said:
15 Bloodyskull: What do you want the guy to do- never talk about anything that might ever wind up being possibly the slightest bit good?
18 kevin on Jan 26th, 2009 22:50:55 said:
bloodyskull: does kyle okposo not exist in your world. not to metion trevor smith who got a goal in 5 games. take it easy. theres too much hate on this team.
Obviously the years of inept play and management have instilled a lot of cynicism. It’s understandable, I’ve become that way myself. It’s hard for me to find ANYTHING positive about this team. The coach is one of only 2 or 3 bright spots I see. I honesty believe that given the chance and the right pieces he can make his system work in this league. And he seems to be standing up pretty well to all the stuff he’s dealing with and everything swirling around him. No small trick for a guy in his first NHL job. The big question of course is will he get his chance here.
18 kevin said:
bloodyskull: does kyle okposo not exist in your world. not to metion trevor smith who got a goal in 5 games. take it easy. theres too much hate on this team.
1 MiKe on Jan 26th, 2009 21:00:51 said:
What a fluffy piece this was. Cant wait for games to start again! lol
Look at the difference in players Go-Go Gordon had to coach in Providence. Half of them are playing for the 34-8-5 Bruins now. Plus, that Providence team he coached last year is better than our Islanders this year. Sad but true. There’s a BIG difference in talent level though, between the AHL and NHL first of all. The aggressive forecehecking style employed by Go-Go works great in the AHL because the speed of the game is alot slower. The players in the NHL skate like rockets and turn the aggressive forecheck into breakaways 3 on 2s 2 on 1s. That’s why the GAAs on the Islanders are pathetic. Secondly, the Islanders are simply not built to play this style of hockey. They are built to play Nolan’s style-which I might add allowed them to at least compete for a playoff spot the past two years. Defense wins in ANY sport too bad the Islanders don’t play any anymore. Thirdly, like the Yankees in early 2007, I think the Islanders ought to look into hiring a new strength and conditioning coach beacuse te amount of injuries they’ve had the past 2 seasons is actually unbelievable.
Either way, playing the “Go-Go” style won’t work with this team because they simply don’t/can’t score enough goals.
What a great minor league coach!
It’s too bad that BD got caught. I liked reading his opinionated blogs. Ahh well, I’ll stick with PB and eschew the idiocy of HB for the rest of the season.
Let’s just say that BD had an upper body injury, better known in the medical field as a TBI.
Untill Flash transforms himself from “skills first” AHL level to “realy contact sport” of NHL reality, he and Isles will have to deal with tons of injuries and disrespect. In my opinion, if he grows some b..ls the future of the team looks much brighter. So far we are on the right track. I hope Snow will make right ajustments (bigger stronger players).
Good read, it’s nice to hear what players have to say about Gordon, he’s taking a lot of heat these days, this piece kinda tells you a bit more and it seems those who have played for him really stand by his style, which is great! love hearing that!
It’s unfotunate that other Coaches are not saying the same thing. Players can say that the system will work in the NHL but I haven’t heard analysts or coaches (sans Billy Jaffe) say that it will work in NHL. There is too big of an adjustment for veteran players to make the necessary reads. Thank goodness we don’t have to worry about veteran players b/c they won’t come here. So I guess we can use the uptempo system with hard working no goal producing AHL’ers until Tavares gets here. But will Tavares help us not give up 5 goals a night? Will our defense tighten up. Maybe Hedman is the right choice to build a franchise around. Not sure yet. I thought Stamkos was supposed to be the next Gretzky, Lemieux Crosby whatever and the Lightning want to trade him already. What is up with that. Schenn seems to be the cornerstone defenseman the Isles missed last year. I can see the Isles picking Hedman and giving us the excuse that they drafted offense high last year in Bailey, Filatove etc. Can’t you.
Its nice to hear that these young guys credit Gordon with helping them so much with his hands on approach. With what has gone on this year (injuries!) and the team he was given to start with, he has had his work cut out for him. By the end of the season we are going to hear comments like what is above from many of our young guys too. Let’s see what he can do with them this last half. I’m looking forward to it.
I really don’t see Gordon making it here past next year unless he spends a good amount of time in the off-season tweaking his philosophy. Sure, more talent will help, but he’s also left this team out to dry a few times. They definitely need to be more physical, and definitely more cohesive in their own zone.
I hope that Garth and GoGo (there’s gotta be a sitcom in there; I’m thinking a Swedish immigrant and his pet monkey finding mischief and mayhem in suburban setting) work together in the draft and during the UFA period to bring THEIR team up to OUR expectations. Not once again lower our expectations down to their team.
The best part of this season is that we learned that we have two serviceable NHL goalies in the system. If the team played better defensively they might have a respectable record.
Let’s hope for a healthy second half, some more progress by the prospects and a defensive epiphany.
i like dooks post says it all.vlad’s comment about size is key_ can’t win with smurfs- phillys name for undersized rangers of the 90’s. in poker you can’t win with number cards only you also need queens kings and aces. Gordon in this analogy is the manager with poor players. It has been suggested that the manager in most sports can influence the outcome of a game by his player choices, strategic and tactical moves, and of course inspiration and motivation. having said all that it has been said in baseball that the manager in a very long season can change the outcome of a game about 8-10 times by his decsions regardless of what the other team does. That span can mean the difference between a great season and a disaster. Jury is out on gordon in all fairness i would neither praise over is management of the current mess or blame him for our occupping the basement’
Two quickies…
1. Maybe the injuries (the groins, not sutton’s broken foot) are b/c these guys weren’t in good enough shape for such a rigorous system
2. Personally, I wouldn’t break up the McLean-Nielsen-TambO line just yet b/c they’ve buzzed the past few games. Slide Hunter in elsewhere
“If the team played better defensively they might have a respectable record.”
If,If,If.
If the team had better players they’d have a respectable record.
The sports corollary to the restaurant axiom ‘location, location, location’ is ‘talent, talent, talent.’
Given 2 teams with equal talent, effort wins. Given 2 teams with equal talent and equal effort, THEN coaching wins. First and foremost - in sports, the team with best players wins. Exceptions are 1 in a 1000.
Dose, that comment does seem silly out of context. My point was that they have played HORRIBLE defensively and both back up goalies have kept them in games they’ve had no business being in.
If not for some incredible performances by JMAC and Danis their record would be even worse. There is no simple excuse for that. Snow and Gordon should be ashamed of this teams product.
If fans are going to take the “we knew we were going to be bad” approach, there’s no reason not to just turn them off and come back when they are good again.
For us diehards, sure, the subtle growth of Okposo and Comeau might be enough, but you don’t [re]grow a fan base with this kind of disaster.
They definitely need to improve in the second half.
(…and lets see more McLean and Smith and less Sim and Tambellini).
should snow and gordon be ashamed of the injuries too? thats why were this bad. no dp and no defence and lately no offense due to injuries.
JPinVA on Jan 27th, 2009 12:24:38 said:
Dose, that comment does seem silly out of context. My point was that they have played HORRIBLE defensively and both back up goalies have kept them in games they’ve had no business being in.
JP - Understood. And by the way, I usually agree with your points more than anyone else’s here. Sadly, the reason for the ‘horrible’ defensive hockey is that they don’t have good enough players. I have to say that I am among those with the “we knew they were going to be bad approach.” I expected zero this year, and can’t really understand how anyone could have looked at the opening day roster - even before the injuries - and honestly expected much better than we’ve seen. And I adhere to the theory that this was essentially by design, and by necessity, based on the arena issue. I also admit that a couple of times I even swore off this team while in a drunken or emotional (or both)rage, because of how bad things have gotten. But I still watch. Every game. To borrow a phrase my dad used, I guess I’m a ‘glutton for punishment.” Or I really do love this team.
The injuries have been ridiculous this year but if you remember this time last year, we were for a short time a playoff team-the no. 6 seed at our high point for a week or two-until all the injuries hit. Then we fell completely apart. Big difference between this years team and last years team- say what you want about Miro Satan, Fedotenko and Vasicek those 3 were better players than what we have now. Say Weight took Vasicek’s place-ok he would be considered an upgrade over Vasicek but the 25-30 whatever it was (which is a low number for the talent level) goals we lost from Miro and Tank just were not replaced. Plain and simple.
Gotta find guys who can put the puck in the net! Somehow someway-the only thing that can be done is giving some Bridgeport guys a chance. We can’t get anything of value in a trade so I hope to see guys like Kurtis McLean, Trevor Smith, and Mike Iggulden be given a chance. All deserve it more than Tambellini-he’s terrible and has been given way too many chances. He’s a bust