So says the Detroit News. Ladies and gentleman, we have our first confirmed formal interview for the open head coach position. Todd McLellan, assistant with the Detroit Red Wings.
That's the good news. The bad news is that, as expected, he's also interviewing with San Jose.
Read my other posts on McLellan here.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Postcard from Wilkes-Barre
This will be brief, like a postcard has to be. I was working two non-game stories pretty hard tonight during Game 4 of the AHL finals (Thrashers upcoming draft and coaching search), so I have less on the game.
First let me say that I was interested in coming this trip partly because although I'm from PA, I've never been to this part of the state. I always wanted to check it out and this was the perfect opportunity. It's a little hillier than I expected. The fans and ushers are tough people. This is a Philly-type crowd for sure.
The press box was cramped, so I found another seat for the second and third periods. I sat next to an NHL supervisor for officials in a chair at the top of the bowl. We were instant buddies. I got some money out to go get a bite to eat and he said "oh that's OK you don't have to buy me a beer." In fact I got a cheesesteak. I figured we were close enough to Philly that this is what one should eat at the game. The lady asked me American or cheddar cheese, and did I want peppers and onions. I'm thinking, is there any other way? Yeah, bring it on. I give the arena cheesesteak only a 2 out of 10 though. A $5.75 letdown.
Back to my seat neighbor, I knew even prior to asking that he was there to watch the officials. I kept hearing him say "good call." One time he remarked to the guy next to him (tomorrow night's ref, I found out), "that's a helluva call." It was an icing. I guess everyone has their thing.
I took the opportunity to ask if he thought the AHL would go to two refs soon. He shook his head no. Money, I asked? He nodded. But he said that's OK, it's good to learn to stand on their own, not use partner as a crutch. I asked if he thought they would get video replay, a hot topic lately. Again he shook his head no. In turn, he asked me who I thought the Thrashers would get as coach. I told him my best and latest info, because him chattering about it could only help, I thought.
Obligatory postcard photo (Fahey, Pavelec, Kulda, Valabik):
I saw Wolves skating and skills coach Kenny McCudden over in a corner and went and said hello. I thought I could gauge the emotion of the team by chatting a bit with him. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third. Kenny, who while very emotional is never at a loss for words, warned me that he wouldn't be able to talk, he was too wound up. That said a lot right there.
In the Penguins locker room on their white board, they have the Wolves lines and pairings written out, along with about 5 or 6 tendencies of the team. I copied down five of them as I was standing at the back of a scrum. I won't post them today as that's not quite fair, but I'll share them once the series and season are over. They're pretty accurate.
A TV reporter complained about the "closed" locker rooms in the AHL, meaning you have to get coaches first, then players. He said the NHL changed that after the lockout to have locker rooms be open immediately because it makes for better TV. You can get better reaction onto post-game shows. Along with the number of refs and the video replay, this is another area where the AHL is different. But this one doesn't cost money.
First let me say that I was interested in coming this trip partly because although I'm from PA, I've never been to this part of the state. I always wanted to check it out and this was the perfect opportunity. It's a little hillier than I expected. The fans and ushers are tough people. This is a Philly-type crowd for sure.
The press box was cramped, so I found another seat for the second and third periods. I sat next to an NHL supervisor for officials in a chair at the top of the bowl. We were instant buddies. I got some money out to go get a bite to eat and he said "oh that's OK you don't have to buy me a beer." In fact I got a cheesesteak. I figured we were close enough to Philly that this is what one should eat at the game. The lady asked me American or cheddar cheese, and did I want peppers and onions. I'm thinking, is there any other way? Yeah, bring it on. I give the arena cheesesteak only a 2 out of 10 though. A $5.75 letdown.
Back to my seat neighbor, I knew even prior to asking that he was there to watch the officials. I kept hearing him say "good call." One time he remarked to the guy next to him (tomorrow night's ref, I found out), "that's a helluva call." It was an icing. I guess everyone has their thing.
I took the opportunity to ask if he thought the AHL would go to two refs soon. He shook his head no. Money, I asked? He nodded. But he said that's OK, it's good to learn to stand on their own, not use partner as a crutch. I asked if he thought they would get video replay, a hot topic lately. Again he shook his head no. In turn, he asked me who I thought the Thrashers would get as coach. I told him my best and latest info, because him chattering about it could only help, I thought.
Obligatory postcard photo (Fahey, Pavelec, Kulda, Valabik):
I saw Wolves skating and skills coach Kenny McCudden over in a corner and went and said hello. I thought I could gauge the emotion of the team by chatting a bit with him. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third. Kenny, who while very emotional is never at a loss for words, warned me that he wouldn't be able to talk, he was too wound up. That said a lot right there.
In the Penguins locker room on their white board, they have the Wolves lines and pairings written out, along with about 5 or 6 tendencies of the team. I copied down five of them as I was standing at the back of a scrum. I won't post them today as that's not quite fair, but I'll share them once the series and season are over. They're pretty accurate.
A TV reporter complained about the "closed" locker rooms in the AHL, meaning you have to get coaches first, then players. He said the NHL changed that after the lockout to have locker rooms be open immediately because it makes for better TV. You can get better reaction onto post-game shows. Along with the number of refs and the video replay, this is another area where the AHL is different. But this one doesn't cost money.
Thrashers asked Stamkos four questions at Combine
Dan Marr, Thrashers Director of Scouting and Player Development, was kind enough to chat with me during the entire first intermission of the Wolves game tonight in Wilkes-Barre. He said a lot of interesting things -- most of which will find their way into my upcoming draft preview -- but I'll share a couple of items now.
Marr joked that Steve Stamkos, the presumed No. 1 pick in the draft, was going around last week's NHL Combine saying he felt slighted by the Thrashers because they only asked him four questions in their interview. The Thrashers hold the No. 3 pick and are virtually certain to hold steady at that position. So they covered only the basics with Stamkos for their files.
What were the four questions? Marr listed three of them:
1. You were born Feb. 7, 1990?
2. You were born in (such-and-such) Ontario?
3. You've always played center?
"OK thanks," they said to Stamkos.
Stamkos was surprised by this, but caught on (that they thought he'd be gone by their pick). Marr thinks about 12-15 teams interviewed the player, as teams often think they can move up to the top.
I remarked how busy Marr has been lately. He said yeah, eight days of scouting meetings in Atlanta, then the Memorial Cup and the Combine, and now back at the Calder Cup finals. He said his dog forgets what he looks like.
As far as Russian players go, because of the new formation of this Continental League, all previous Super League contracts were null and void. All players have to sign new contracts for the new league. This means that there will be a new wave of 18-year-olds coming to the CHL, NHL and even AHL. I asked how this ties in with the Ilya Nikulin possibility (lack of contract providing an opening?). As expected, he was non-plussed. Marr said the Russian press is always after both him and Zubarev. Every year we hear stuff, but bottom line if he really wanted to be here, he'd be here. This is what I expected was the case, but had to ask the question.
We got on the topic of (draft-eligible) Kyle Beach somehow. I asked if he thought Beach had as many (character) issues as people thought. "He's an 18-year-old," Marr said. He learns, and he's not a repeat offender.
I also asked about David Toews, brother of Jonathan, with him in mind for the Thrashers' late first-rounder. (I'm in a staff mock draft and I like to get it right.) Marr made some comments but overall didn't seem jazzed about him. I asked if Toews would go in the first round. He said it was always a possibility, maybe to a team that had two picks. I pointed out that his team has two picks. "Today," he said, laughing. "We have a GM who likes to work the phones."
Marr joked that Steve Stamkos, the presumed No. 1 pick in the draft, was going around last week's NHL Combine saying he felt slighted by the Thrashers because they only asked him four questions in their interview. The Thrashers hold the No. 3 pick and are virtually certain to hold steady at that position. So they covered only the basics with Stamkos for their files.
What were the four questions? Marr listed three of them:
1. You were born Feb. 7, 1990?
2. You were born in (such-and-such) Ontario?
3. You've always played center?
"OK thanks," they said to Stamkos.
Stamkos was surprised by this, but caught on (that they thought he'd be gone by their pick). Marr thinks about 12-15 teams interviewed the player, as teams often think they can move up to the top.
I remarked how busy Marr has been lately. He said yeah, eight days of scouting meetings in Atlanta, then the Memorial Cup and the Combine, and now back at the Calder Cup finals. He said his dog forgets what he looks like.
As far as Russian players go, because of the new formation of this Continental League, all previous Super League contracts were null and void. All players have to sign new contracts for the new league. This means that there will be a new wave of 18-year-olds coming to the CHL, NHL and even AHL. I asked how this ties in with the Ilya Nikulin possibility (lack of contract providing an opening?). As expected, he was non-plussed. Marr said the Russian press is always after both him and Zubarev. Every year we hear stuff, but bottom line if he really wanted to be here, he'd be here. This is what I expected was the case, but had to ask the question.
We got on the topic of (draft-eligible) Kyle Beach somehow. I asked if he thought Beach had as many (character) issues as people thought. "He's an 18-year-old," Marr said. He learns, and he's not a repeat offender.
I also asked about David Toews, brother of Jonathan, with him in mind for the Thrashers' late first-rounder. (I'm in a staff mock draft and I like to get it right.) Marr made some comments but overall didn't seem jazzed about him. I asked if Toews would go in the first round. He said it was always a possibility, maybe to a team that had two picks. I pointed out that his team has two picks. "Today," he said, laughing. "We have a GM who likes to work the phones."
Friday, June 6, 2008
Former player talks about Todd McLellan as head coach
Tonight I had a chance to talk to a player who once played for Todd McLellan, to find out what to expect if the Thrashers hire the current Detroit Red Wings assistant. Nathan Smith played for McLellan in Swift Current of the WHL from 1998-2000. Smith, currently captain of the AHL Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, has played 17 NHL games. He was quite effusive in his praise.
Me: What kind of guy is McLellan?
Smith: Oh, he's a very intelligent coach, he reads people very well. He presses just the right buttons of certain players. I only had him for two years in Swift Current and he was definitely a big part of my progress as a player. He's a great coach -- nothing but good things to say about him.
Me: What would you say about him as a person? Did you get to know him off the ice?
Smith: As a junior kid you don't get to know coaches that well. From what I remember, he was a very fair coach, obviously very well respected amongst the team and his peers.
Me: What kind of system did you run back then?
Smith: Oh boy (laughs). We played a high-tempo -- I wouldn't say offensive game -- but he stressed to the players to make plays, and like most coaches, play well defensively. So I think pretty standard, but he does a good job of managing personalities.
Me: You also played against teams he coached when you were with Manitoba and he was with Houston. What were his teams like to play against?
Smith: His team in Houston was very good defensively. If I recall correctly, he took a team to the Calder Cup.
Me: Do you think he'd make a good NHL head coach?
Smith: Oh he'd make a very good coach, yeah. It would not surprise me one bit to see him as a head coach next year or a couple years down the road.
.
(Here's a photo of McLellan with the Stanley Cup)
Me: What kind of guy is McLellan?
Smith: Oh, he's a very intelligent coach, he reads people very well. He presses just the right buttons of certain players. I only had him for two years in Swift Current and he was definitely a big part of my progress as a player. He's a great coach -- nothing but good things to say about him.
Me: What would you say about him as a person? Did you get to know him off the ice?
Smith: As a junior kid you don't get to know coaches that well. From what I remember, he was a very fair coach, obviously very well respected amongst the team and his peers.
Me: What kind of system did you run back then?
Smith: Oh boy (laughs). We played a high-tempo -- I wouldn't say offensive game -- but he stressed to the players to make plays, and like most coaches, play well defensively. So I think pretty standard, but he does a good job of managing personalities.
Me: You also played against teams he coached when you were with Manitoba and he was with Houston. What were his teams like to play against?
Smith: His team in Houston was very good defensively. If I recall correctly, he took a team to the Calder Cup.
Me: Do you think he'd make a good NHL head coach?
Smith: Oh he'd make a very good coach, yeah. It would not surprise me one bit to see him as a head coach next year or a couple years down the road.
.
(Here's a photo of McLellan with the Stanley Cup)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Todd McLellan emerges for coaching spot
There were several references around the net today about Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan being a candidate for the Thrashers coaching job.
He was previously mentioned for the Colorado job before they rehired Tony Granato. But good thing he was in that mix because it caused the Denver Post's Terry Frei to do some legwork on him. Here's an interesting interview with McLellan in which he talks about his influences. The most revealing quote was his game plan:
McLellan is in charge of the Wings power play and forwards, with obvious success. He's another tactician, another thinking-man's coach. In his playing days, he was a center. McLellan, who hails from Saskatchewan, is now 41.
And from Kevin Allen of USA Today on May 22:
Also interesting is this blog post by a radio broadcaster who remembers a young McLellan coaching in Swift Current. Good to hear McLellan is friendly to the media. That's important in this city and important for this job as the team continues to sell the sport.
As with all good candidates, he could get other offers, the Sharks among them. From the Mercury News a few days ago:
(Edit to add: my interview with a former player of McLellan's).
He was previously mentioned for the Colorado job before they rehired Tony Granato. But good thing he was in that mix because it caused the Denver Post's Terry Frei to do some legwork on him. Here's an interesting interview with McLellan in which he talks about his influences. The most revealing quote was his game plan:
"I'd like to coach a high-tempo, fast, puck-possession type team."
McLellan is in charge of the Wings power play and forwards, with obvious success. He's another tactician, another thinking-man's coach. In his playing days, he was a center. McLellan, who hails from Saskatchewan, is now 41.
And from Kevin Allen of USA Today on May 22:
McLellan’s name has been linked by the Denver Post to the Colorado job, and it’s presumed that he will also be a candidate in Atlanta....The Red Wings are considered among the NHL’s prepared teams, and McLellan plays a significant role in that.Here is McLellan's bio from the Red Wings website. An excerpt:
He has quickly earned a reputation as a great offensive mind, leading the Red Wings' very successful power-play unit....Before joining the Red Wings, McLellan spent four seasons as head coach of the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros. He led the Aeros to the 2003 Calder Cup championship...
Also interesting is this blog post by a radio broadcaster who remembers a young McLellan coaching in Swift Current. Good to hear McLellan is friendly to the media. That's important in this city and important for this job as the team continues to sell the sport.
As with all good candidates, he could get other offers, the Sharks among them. From the Mercury News a few days ago:
Detroit assistant coach Todd McLellan has let some folks know that he’s scheduled to talk with Doug Wilson once the series with the Penguins has been settled.
(Edit to add: my interview with a former player of McLellan's).
Monday, June 2, 2008
Draft hindsight five years later
The five-year retrospective on the draft that we do at HF every year is my favorite article on the schedule. It's both very useful to see what went wrong and right in a draft class, and it puts all of my otherwise rather esoteric knowledge to work. It provides closure on prospects who have left or are about to leave the system. It's also a bit of a trip down memory lane. In typing out Guillaume Desbiens' particulars, I had another chuckle over some of the funny things he's said, often accidentally, over the years.
That's not to say there's no research though. I had to consult the CBA for a minor point tonight. (Any day where I have to read lawyer language is a bad day.)
When I first started covering prospects, I noticed that people would call a draft year by the city it took place in -- "the Detroit draft" for example. Same with the World Juniors. That seemed to me hard to place it in time. But these days I find myself doing the same thing, because all of the drafts become such a blur over time. You need a city as a hook to hang everything on or it gets lost.
Well, 2003 was the Nashville draft, a short jaunt up I-75. I stayed at a hotel that had a bunch of draftees in it. I remember riding in the elevator with goaltender Jimmy Howard in the morning and him looking very nervous. Sure, he was going to be picked, but by whom? He didn't know. Nor did Braydon Coburn the day before. Another reporter and I were talking to him, I told him I thought Atlanta was very interested. He seemed glad to hear it from someone else.
(Speaking of Coburn, one thing I noticed but couldn't work into the article is that Coburn's penalty minute rate has gone way down in the pros. Physical play is not his preferred style. He'll do it if he needs to, but it's really not his nature.)
Before the lockout and the format change of the draft, agents always used to tell their players not to go to the draft in person unless they would be taken on the first day, meaning in the first three rounds. It was too agonizing to sit through two days of other people's names. These words of wisdom were generally followed. So on Day 2, guys who were still there, you knew they had fallen off of expectations. Well, in 2003, Jimmy Sharrow and Guillaume Desbiens were both taken in the fourth round -- meaning the second day -- and they were both there in Nashville. But their emotions after their selections couldn't have been more different. Desbiens was as happy as a clam, while Sharrow was clearly upset to have fallen. He didn't really endear himself as the years went on either, which was a story that never really got told. Once, pretty sure of the answer ahead of time, I asked a player I knew well if Sharrow was injured, and the player laughed. On another occasion, I saw a player roll his eyes at something Sharrow had just done. And coach Jeff Pyle didn't want Sharrow back in Gwinnett, period. When he was traded it was no surprise.
All in all, the Thrashers found two NHL players in the 2003 draft, which is the number that teams aim for. Add up the games played by them and divide by the number of picks, and 25.7 NHL games per pick for the year is a rather good number, especially when the team had no second or third rounder.
The Thrashers made no embarrassing picks, meaning guys who couldn't play pro hockey at all. All of them play, have played, or will play in the case of Kaip, pro hockey. Mike Vannelli has the talent to continue playing, but not enough desire to stomach playing in the lower minors.
The Thrashers found value at the end of the draft, which begs the question: If you were to reorder Atlanta's picks in 2003, how would you do it? The toughest call is Toby Enstrom vs. Coburn. This is such an interesting question that I've made a poll about it over in the right-hand column (final tally 55% said Enstrom had more potential, 45% Coburn).
Here's how I would reorder them, based on their NHL potential today. I've noted the round they were taken in beside their names.
Enstrom 8th
Coburn 1st
Sterling 5th
-------------(dropoff here)
Kaip 9th
Desbiens 4th
Vannelli 4th
Sharrow 4th
Hamilton 6th
Loginov 7th
That's not to say there's no research though. I had to consult the CBA for a minor point tonight. (Any day where I have to read lawyer language is a bad day.)
When I first started covering prospects, I noticed that people would call a draft year by the city it took place in -- "the Detroit draft" for example. Same with the World Juniors. That seemed to me hard to place it in time. But these days I find myself doing the same thing, because all of the drafts become such a blur over time. You need a city as a hook to hang everything on or it gets lost.
Well, 2003 was the Nashville draft, a short jaunt up I-75. I stayed at a hotel that had a bunch of draftees in it. I remember riding in the elevator with goaltender Jimmy Howard in the morning and him looking very nervous. Sure, he was going to be picked, but by whom? He didn't know. Nor did Braydon Coburn the day before. Another reporter and I were talking to him, I told him I thought Atlanta was very interested. He seemed glad to hear it from someone else.
(Speaking of Coburn, one thing I noticed but couldn't work into the article is that Coburn's penalty minute rate has gone way down in the pros. Physical play is not his preferred style. He'll do it if he needs to, but it's really not his nature.)
Before the lockout and the format change of the draft, agents always used to tell their players not to go to the draft in person unless they would be taken on the first day, meaning in the first three rounds. It was too agonizing to sit through two days of other people's names. These words of wisdom were generally followed. So on Day 2, guys who were still there, you knew they had fallen off of expectations. Well, in 2003, Jimmy Sharrow and Guillaume Desbiens were both taken in the fourth round -- meaning the second day -- and they were both there in Nashville. But their emotions after their selections couldn't have been more different. Desbiens was as happy as a clam, while Sharrow was clearly upset to have fallen. He didn't really endear himself as the years went on either, which was a story that never really got told. Once, pretty sure of the answer ahead of time, I asked a player I knew well if Sharrow was injured, and the player laughed. On another occasion, I saw a player roll his eyes at something Sharrow had just done. And coach Jeff Pyle didn't want Sharrow back in Gwinnett, period. When he was traded it was no surprise.
All in all, the Thrashers found two NHL players in the 2003 draft, which is the number that teams aim for. Add up the games played by them and divide by the number of picks, and 25.7 NHL games per pick for the year is a rather good number, especially when the team had no second or third rounder.
The Thrashers made no embarrassing picks, meaning guys who couldn't play pro hockey at all. All of them play, have played, or will play in the case of Kaip, pro hockey. Mike Vannelli has the talent to continue playing, but not enough desire to stomach playing in the lower minors.
The Thrashers found value at the end of the draft, which begs the question: If you were to reorder Atlanta's picks in 2003, how would you do it? The toughest call is Toby Enstrom vs. Coburn. This is such an interesting question that I've made a poll about it over in the right-hand column (final tally 55% said Enstrom had more potential, 45% Coburn).
Here's how I would reorder them, based on their NHL potential today. I've noted the round they were taken in beside their names.
Enstrom 8th
Coburn 1st
Sterling 5th
-------------(dropoff here)
Kaip 9th
Desbiens 4th
Vannelli 4th
Sharrow 4th
Hamilton 6th
Loginov 7th
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Mike Sullivan's name reemerges for Thrashers coach
Tampa Bay assistant coach (and former Boston Bruins head coach) Mike Sullivan's name came up immediately for the Thrashers job when Bob Hartley was fired. It was brought up again this weekend by the Boston Globe.
Add this to two small items I know about the case for him and this opening, and I do think there's some actual fire here. The new Tampa owners are reportedly going to make a coaching change when they take over, so Sullivan will likely be looking for any kind of job soon.
Sullivan is said to be a thinking man's coach, and thus the type of guy who would be a good replacement to taskmaster Hartley. He was a checking center during his playing days, and is 40 years old.
Here are links to the AP stories from when he was hired and fired in Boston.
One NHL agent said ex-Bruins coach Mike Sullivan, John Tortorella's right-hand man in Tampa Bay, could be in the mix for the Atlanta job. Sullivan has USA Hockey ties to GM Don Waddell. Sullivan coached the Yanks in the 2007 World Championships. Waddell is a member of USA Hockey's National Team Advisory Group. If Sullivan lands with the Thrashers, he could lure Providence coach Scott Gordon, once his assistant with the P-Bruins, to Atlanta as his assistant.
Add this to two small items I know about the case for him and this opening, and I do think there's some actual fire here. The new Tampa owners are reportedly going to make a coaching change when they take over, so Sullivan will likely be looking for any kind of job soon.
Sullivan is said to be a thinking man's coach, and thus the type of guy who would be a good replacement to taskmaster Hartley. He was a checking center during his playing days, and is 40 years old.
Here are links to the AP stories from when he was hired and fired in Boston.
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