After being riled up by Noah Love earlier in the week I have decided to take an unconventional approach to tonight's NHL Entry Draft. As a collective fan base we have been eying this date since Zach Smith put the stomps to Nathan Horton and ended the regular season in grand fashion. With all the mock drafts, draft week scuttlebutt and personal assumptions that have already played out to no end, I thought some Zen wisdom could be useful to Senators fans. So here we have 10 things to remember on Draft Day from a Buddhist lens. Let there be selections.
no comments
Much like former assistant coach Brad Lauer's jowel, the Ottawa Senators coaching staff has rounded into form. Tasked with filling their respective assistant coaching vacancies, management can consider this a fait accompli and can return their focus to player personnel decisions.
Today's official announcement that former Owen Sound Attack head coach Mark Reeds and former St. Mike's Majors head coach Dave Cameron will be joining Paul MacLean's staff as assistant coaches, shouldn't be a surprise.
Bruce Garrioch correctly speculated that Reeds was a frontrunner for an assistant position last week while Cameron infamously let the cat out of the bag during the Majors' award banquet last week.
“It’s just a matter now of crossing some T’s and dotting some I’s,” Cameron told the crowd, according to Mississauga.com. “The one thing I’ve always said is that coaches are no different than players in terms of wanting to get to the National Hockey League.
“I’m really excited and humbled to get the chance to go to the best league in the world. You know, I was fortunate enough to make it as a player and now I’m really excited to be going back as a coach.” ~ Dave Cameron (via Bruce Garrioch, The Ottawa Sun)
As I mentioned shortly after Cameron's announcement, the optics surrounding his hire will inevitably raise suspicions of Eugene Melnyk's influence over some hockey ops decisions. Deserved or not, Cameron's record speaks for itself and he's more than qualified for an assistant position. Much like a bride would push her fiance to include her brother to be included into the wedding party, as the owner of the Majors, I'd imagine that the Euge went to bat for his junior coach. More importantly, the fact that the organization hired MacLean ahead of Cameron indicates that the management team got the guy that they wanted and not the owner's first choice.It should also be noted that Rick Wamsley and Luke Richardson will be retained in their roles from last season as well.
Now if only someone could figure out whether this is the first time that two junior finalist coaches became assistants on the same NHL bench for the following season, we'd be set. no comments
Below is a story entitled 'Two weeks to fix the franchise: The Ottawa Senators' from National Post writer Noah Love that appeared in its entirety here. His story is in italics and my comments in regular font. Let this be a lesson to always do your research and when in fact you don't know, ask or leave it to someone who does. We may be critical at times but it doesn't mean we can't wear our homer hats when the occasion presents itself. Read on to see why Noah gets no love from this blogger.
no comments
Welcome to a new feature on The 6th Sens - What if...? Wednesdays. The principle is straight forward. Each week one of us will ask a question and then to the best of our abilities, we will try to answer the hypothetical scenario of how things may have worked out instead.
According to the Red Line Report's Kyle Woodlief, the Senators desperately want Landeskog and will try to trade up with Colorado to ensure they get him.
In light of these rumours, our first What if...? Wednesday question will address the question, "What if the Senators didn't trade for Craig Anderson when the team had the NHL's second worst record?"
Well, the immediate consequence of such a turn of events would have been more underwhelming Brian Elliott performances. Often cited by management and a coaching staff as a player who was ill equipped to shoulder the workload given to him once Pascal Leclaire sustained his season ending injury, the likelihood that Elliott would have continued to defecate the mattress was high - much higher than his save percentage of .894.
Is it fair to pin most of last season's disappointing campaign at Elliott's doorstep? No, probably not. Injuries, players trying to rebound off of injuries, the regression of "key" veteran players and the inability of the coaching staff to effectively communicate and handle their players were all contributing factors.
no comments
According to McKeens Hockey Pro Scouting Coordinator Gus Katsaros (@KatsHockey), the most anticipated assistant coaching hire in recent memory has been finalized:
Dave Cameron assistant to the #Senators is now apparently official #NHL
I tried to follow that up with some kind of corresponding link but alas, there's nothing. All we have is Gus' word. I suppose for further confirmation, we'll have to wait for the official announcement from the organization itself.In the meantime, go read Wayne Scanlan's epic piece on the Cameron/Melnyk angle or participate in finding a few Dave Cameron dopplegangers. Here's what I've got:
Michael Fichtner
Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff
no comments
The familiar instrumental percussion track accompanies more still images of ScotiaBank Place. We’re shown footage of Sean Couturier, Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome as they enter the team’s individual prospect evaluation process.
Footage of Ottawa’s psychological testing is shown with Ryan Strome parked in front of lap top. In last week’s episode, Ty Rattie compared his hunched over skating style with that of Jason Spezza but it must pale in comparison to the Quasimodo posture that Strome’s displaying in front of that computer.
At this juncture, we’re introduced to a new character – strength and conditioning coordinator Chris Schwarz. Footage of the prospects stretching and doing basic exercise drills is shown. Thankfully, we’re spared from watching Sean Couturier doing bench press. According to Gord Wilson, Schwarz screens the players individually and reports back to Pierre Dorion and Randy Lee.
We’re then privy to some footage of the players on-ice workouts that looks like the kind of stock footage you would see on the CTV 6 o’clock news. Thus far, the episode has been pretty underwhelming and on cue, Gabriel Landeskog scores a remarkable breakaway goal.
Tim Murray’s interviewed and reaffirms that the combine and individual screening process is important and allows the organization to tweak their draft list.
For whatever reason, we’re given footage and information pertaining to Paul MacLean’s introductory press conference. Why is this being shown? I’m not entirely sure but when the highlight of the footage is a camera pan of Alfie and his growing hair, it seems like a waste of time/footage.
The worst part of the situation is that Ryan Strome tweeted that he had dinner at Alfredsson’s place while staying in town. In light of this information, where the hell was the footage of this? It could have been a fantastic opportunity to see how Ottawa’s captain relates to the young players and what kind of knowledge he imparts. In a best case scenario, we could have been treated to an MTV style Cribs episode of the Alfie household that showed off the couch in the basement where Erik Karlsson slept.
Episode Synopsis:
Disappointingly, the quality and depth of the episodes seems to be deteriorating with each passing week. Hell, even an article on the Senators website today and today's Sens TV interviews featuring Tim Murray and Pierre Dorion demonstrated more “insider” information than what was captured during episode three. (Note: I've included the Dorion and Murray interviews below.)
If I had to make a suggestion to a prospective second season of Senate Reform, I’d strongly recommend that organization airs the episodes once the draft has concluded. With these episodes airing before the draft takes place, there’s this inherent pressure to not reveal too much and in consequence, the fans are left with short, bland videos that lack the substance to keep them interested.
no comments
“It’s just a matter now of crossing some T’s and dotting some I’s,” Cameron told the crowd, according to Mississauga.com. “The one thing I’ve always said is that coaches are no different than players in terms of wanting to get to the National Hockey League.
“I’m really excited and humbled to get the chance to go to the best league in the world. You know, I was fortunate enough to make it as a player and now I’m really excited to be going back as a coach.” ~ Dave Cameron (via Bruce Garrioch, The Ottawa Sun)
And with this unintentionally hilarious announcement, the Dave Cameron era in Mississauga has drawn to a close. The coach who was too late in calling a critical timeout in the gold medal game of the 2011 World Juniors has now jumped the gun and announced his hiring before it was officially announced by the Senators.
As the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren tweeted (@Citizenkwarren) did he think the news wouldn't travel because there's no national mail service?
I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised though. Cameron, of course, was The Euge’s first choice for the Senators’ vacant head coaching position.
Unfortunately for Cameron, the sad part about this process is that fans will overlook his credentials and qualifications, preferring instead allude to his inability to win critical games – the World Juniors gold medal game; the OHL Finals; and the Memorial Cup Final – as justification for why he should not be hired and ignoring the fact that it’s impressive in itself just to coach in these three events – let alone have them all occur within the same year.
no comments
With the 2011 NHL Entry Draft less then one week away, we took the opportunity to talk to Chris Wideman - Ottawa's 4th round selection in the 2009 draft - about playing at Miami University, pairs figure skating, Kelly Chase and his 2009 draft day experience.
If you haven't already, I encourage all of you to add Chris to Twitter (@Chris_Wideman).
Thanks again to Chris for coming on the show. If he plays hockey as well as he interviews then we will have a real gem on our hands.
As always, you can subscribe/download/stream the episode or entire catalogue of episodes from Itunes. Or you can download the file by right-clicking and saving this file. Or you can simply stream the episode below. We hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions or comments about the podcast, please leave us some feedback in the comment thread below. Thanks for listening, we hope you enjoy the show.
Tracklist for the podcast: The Stand Inside Your Mind; The Shivers Used To Be; and The Rusty Bells Drop Your Eyes.no comments
Hey Boys,
After watching the Cup Finals I feel like I was watching a 2003 Sens playoff rerun. The team with more 'skill and 'finesse' lost to the team with the better goaltending and playoff 'system'. Whistles were put away and the boys were left to play. If the game is reverting back to this grinder style hockey then I'm flip flopping on my desire for Ryan Strome and saying Landeskog might be the man. Only two questions: Will he slip to 6th? Will Lehner give us a real chance?
Trevor (in Toronto)
Well Trevor, be grateful that it didn’t feel like you were watching the 2002 Senators team. Then you wouldn’t be frustrated blaming Ricard Persson’s equivalent for boarding a Neanderthal and receiving a match penalty during the first period of an important game that put your team down a defenceman and cost them a 2-0 game six lead that ultimately would have sealed the deal. (My apologies for the run on sentence, it's a manifestation of repressed anger.)
I can understand the concern in seeing the offensive struggles of Vancouver’s elite players but that Conn Smythe Trophy sitting on Tim Thomas’ shelf has as much to do with their lack of production than their inefficient perimeter play due to Boston’s ‘grit’. And even though these skill players demonstrated some Muckaltian finishing touch, it took the Bruins seven games to eliminate the Canucks.
It’s interesting that you bring up Landeskog’s name. He’s one of the few prospects mentioned in the top 10 whose blend of physically maturity, leadership and style of play has drawn comparisons to that of Mike Richards. Once you acknowledge that Alfie’s career is winding down and Landeskog has ‘future captain’ written all over him, it’s pretty easy to understand why so many Senators fans want to see the Kitchener Rangers captain wind up in their lap.
Not everyone shares the same enthusiasm though…
“After a poor season, the need for change was obvious. I felt Paul fit the profile: he’s been a player; he’s been a head coach; he’s been an assistant coach in the National Hockey League; he’s been a winner everywhere he’s been. I think he brings energy, experience, expertise and people skills most importantly. When you make a change, you want it to be a positive one so without further ado, I would like to introduce Paul MacLean as the new coach of the Ottawa Senators.” ~ Bryan Murray
And with that, the Paul MacLean era in Ottawa was underway. As the fourth coaching hire of Bryan Murray, there’s hope that he can help stabilize a Senators coaching situation that has had more ups and downs than Brian Elliott’s career save percentage.
If anything, the former Detroit assistant coach could probably best be described as the antithesis of Clouston so it’s no surprise that one of the recurring themes from yesterday’s events was the emphasis on communication skills.
The former coach was dogged by criticisms by the players during their exit interviews. There were the negative traditional media opinions were the norm once it became clear that he was not returning behind the bench. And who could forget the unintentional comedy that stemmed from his inability to break good news to Erik Karlsson without it getting awkward?
Listening to what was said by Murray and Eugene Melnyk, the message was simple: a NHL coach may have the best plan, work ethic, players or intelligence but if they lack the ability to communicate and capture the sustained attention of their players, it need not matter.
Fortunately, MacLean held his own yesterday - appearing at ease with the media and deftly handling their questions with confidence, poise and humor.
The more I listened to him speak, the more impressed I became.
“The NHL is a fast and a physical league and it needs to be played that way. The game needs to be played that way. The game is played in two hundred feet; it’s not played in hundred foot increments. You have to be able to skate the whole rink so we’re going to be able to skate the rink and play good defence. But we’re going to come out and attack the net and make sure that we’re putting pressure on the opposition to make good plays in order to have an opportunity to beat us.“
(As an aside, it sounds so… so… so good. I only wish that they had consulted this guy before inking Chris Phillips to a three year extension.)
“I think it’s important in the NHL today is that the coach and the players communicate. Communication with the player is important in empowering them and having them invest in what you’re trying to do and what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s not me against them. It’s us - the Ottawa Senators – against the rest of the league and we have to work together to accomplish that goal. The players have to know what I expect from them and what Bryan expects from them and be demanded of that every day that they do it at the same time.”
Despite posting three 40-goal campaigns playing alongside Dale Hawerchuk, MacLean wasn’t shy about racking up the PIMS - reaching triple digits six times in his career. It’s this combination of grit and skill, MacLean that should allow him to relate to any type player regardless of whether they’re a Jason Spezza or a Chris Neil.
Not even some nonsensical questions about his mustache or Jason Spezza were enough to detract from what was otherwise an exemplary press conference that instilled some faith back in the franchise. (Incidentally, the highlight of the press conference for me had to be when Bryan Murray told MacLean not to talk to Earl McRae a lot. I don’t blame him for that either - by bringing up MacLean’s resemblance to Wilford Brimley, McRae’s stealing my shtick.)
As I told the Ottawa Sun’s Aeden Helmer for a piece that ran the other day, in the spectrum of fans, cynics will opine the fact that he hasn’t had any prior head coaching experience while the optimists will hope that he’s a Babcock prodigy – a coach whom many consider to be one of the best in the game. I’d like to think that I’m somewhere in the middle, leaning towards being on the tepidly optimistic side. Unlike some of his predecessors, MacLean should be afforded the luxury of patience and lowered expectations. And as a rebuilding team, there should be an emphasis on player development instead of the inherent pressures of short-term success.
Was it a smart hire?
Time will tell but after listening to MacLean speak, I’m definitely more optimistic. Of course it helps that he comes with a strong recommendation from Mike Babcock and there’s this hope that he can turn Ottawa into the Eastern Conference’s version of the Red Wings. Detroit’s been the NFL equivalent to the New England Patriots in the sense that teams are just looking to purge them of their off-ice personnel. As we’ve seen with New England being a Bill Belichick disciple -- Eric Mangini, Josh McDaniels, Romeo Crennel or Charlie Weis -- isn’t a guaranteed precursor for success and you can parallel that with the Red Wings. Dave Lewis flamed out with the Bruins while Todd McLellan has taken the Sharks to back-to-back Western Conference Finals.
Most fans would agree that a good coach hire is just one part of the puzzle to return the Senators to prominence. While management has done a good job of adding restocking the system, now that MacLean’s in tow, emphasis needs to be placed on improving management’s spotty trade record.
no comments
