About Hakstol

[VoiceOfTheFlyers]

Ok, first of all, I've had quite a few mojitos so bear with me. I have, like most of you, many questions regarding coach.

Before I get into that, however, I have to get this off my chest. Here it is...

He bothers me. He bothers me like no other coach in our entire history. Many of his decisions seem illogical.

From his stupid stoic facial expressions to his illogical and confounding benchings to his seemingly favoritism of certain players over others.

Let me explain. With other coaches, we knew what they were and what they were about. For example, we all knew Berube was a moron. A modern day Frankenstein. A man who needed a brain but didn't have one.

However, we, as a fan base, were led to believe that this guy was a solid x's and o's type of coach whose teams were well organised, prepared, and structurally sound.

I feel like were we absolutely lied to at this point. To me, this guy looks clueless. As an example, we get a new coach to run the power play.

We start the preseason. We go 0 for 9 on the power play vs. Boston.

This moron gets asked about it after the game and he nonchalantly says we haven't practiced the power play yet.

When he gets questioned about his seemingly odd decisions about ridiculous and unwarranted benchings by the beat writers last year, he arrogantly said he watches the film he knows exactly what's going on. Implying of course that the beats and fans are idiots and he knows better.

Meanwhile, he plays favorites among players absolutely insisting on playing trash like Manning and Amac. Not only does he see fit to play them but he puts them in crucial situations as well. Meanwhile, he'll bench guys like Ghost and Konecny who give their all on every shift for some abstract and ridiculous reason.

Guys.....this guy REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME.

At this point, if he sends anyone of Morin, Hagg, or Sanheim back to LV in favor of Amac or Manning then I won't know what to think.

And I have to admit this also. Watching this assclown work the bench for the last couple seasons, there's a seed of pure hatred in me that's starting to form for this guy. Right now, it's only a tiny seed but it has the potential to sprout and grow, admittedly.

Also, does it bother anyone else that not one living person, among the entire fan base in the whole world, does not logically understand their coach?

As I said... he REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME.

Click to read more...

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Not a fan of the Hakstok.

 

[VoiceOfTheFlyers]

Not a fan of the Hakstok.

Thanks for the reply, brother. I was starting to worry I was the only one who noticed these things and was maybe going nuts.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

i thought we had a Hakstol/Hakstok thread on here somewhere. Maybe it got eaten? who the hell knows.
Hakstol doesnt bother me as much as Berube did. I f***ing hated Berube.
I really am not a fan of Hakstol. There is a difference. for me anyway.

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

Thanks for the reply, brother. I was starting to worry I was the only one who noticed these things and was maybe going nuts.

You are definitely not the only one. While I have the most hate and the hardest-working hate furnace, possibly ever, Rebel is the one you want to see this. He will tee off on our fine feather(hair)ed friend. I don't know if you ever saw it on here, but before you joined someone posted Diamond Dave's special room that they built for him up at North Dakota - it gave off this creepy green glow like my salmon death farts, and presumably that's where his brain got addled, like the Green Goblin in that attic where he built that sit-down skateboard thing he used to chase Spidey all over the ****ing place.

 

[VoiceOfTheFlyers]

i thought we had a Hakstol/Hakstok thread on here somewhere. Maybe it got eaten? who the hell knows.
Hakstol doesnt bother me as much as Berube did. I ****ing hated Berube.
I really am not a fan of Hakstol. There is a difference. for me anyway.

Sure. Berube was a moron, no doubt. The difference between him and Hakstol was supposed to be that Hakjob was supposed to be a very competent coach who brought structure and preparedness. With Berube, he was a first time head coach who was in over his head and was an absolute moron, which we all knew he was. Hakjob was supposed to be the anti-Berube. That's why Hakjob bothers me way more than the moron Berube.

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

Sure. Berube was a moron, no doubt. The difference between him and Hakstol was supposed to be that Hakjob was supposed to be a very competent coach who brought structure and preparedness. With Berube, he was a first time head coach who was in over his head and was an absolute moron, which we all knew he was. Hakjob was supposed to be the anti-Berube. That's why Hakjob bothers me way more than the moron Berube.

I guess. There is a difference between the college and pro game. Both coaches love those 4th line grinders and play them too much. which drives us all effin nuts

 

[VoiceOfTheFlyers]

You are definitely not the only one. While I have the most hate and the hardest-working hate furnace, possibly ever, Rebel is the one you want to see this. He will tee off on our fine feather(hair)ed friend. I don't know if you ever saw it on here, but before you joined someone posted Diamond Dave's special room that they built for him up at North Dakota - it gave off this creepy green glow like my salmon death farts, and presumably that's where his brain got addled, like the Green Goblin in that attic where he built that sit-down skateboard thing he used to chase Spidey all over the ****ing place.

Wow! First I've ever heard of this.

 

[Magua]

he arrogantly said he watches the film he knows exactly what's going on. Implying of course that the beats and fans are idiots and he knows better.

The beats are idiots.

 

[Tripod]

I wanted to believe in him. He has let us all down.

 

[Embiid]

I have my concerns about Hakstok. This season to me should be the one where he is evaluated with a fine tooth comb. If the team is mediocre/inconsistent and he continues to baffle with bench management....Hak gets the sack. We have too many prospects to mess with by having a college coach.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

Dave Halstok receives nourishment from the sorrow of young skilled hockey players. It's how he survives.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Lets look at the positives.

• PK units as constructed are awesome and he hasn't decided to change them.
• Moronic use of Weise in scoring role on Couts line not only appears to be over, but he finds himself on the bubble as his talents should dictate.
• Lehtera hasn't received any preferential vet treatment what so ever and that's good because he sucks.
• Scaled back his Amac on top pairing fetish, even though it still remains to be seen how much.
• Quite contrary to our worries Ghost seems to have been given a green light on the offense.
• Low to high, what low to high?

 

[Chuck Downie]

I was pretty happy with the Hakstol hiring after the mess Berube was. But since then, he has baffled me constantly with his personnel usage to the point that I have grown to resent him and want him gone.

 

[WIP CALLER]

I've been on the Hakstol needs to go train since last November. His decision making directly cost us points multiple times last year. Becoming the first team in history to miss the playoffs after a 10 game win streak should have sealed his fate. Also the fact that pretty much every player besides Simmonds regressed last year point wise should have raised a flag. I really really hope if the same things as last year plague the team this year that he is gone. I can understand mistakes by a young coach but I can't understand making the same mistakes over and over and failing to learn from them as hak has done.

 

[deadhead]

Fans need a scapegoat to explain why a mediocre team isn't skating around with the Cup.

Most of what Hakstol does makes sense, people just don't like that goofy look (and the new guy, the junior genius, has the same look).

Benching the young players was for a reason, Hakstol wants to drill in fundamentals - and I suspect Hextall is 110% behind that - which is why he keeps guys in the AHL to learn defense. Hextall was a goalie, and I'll bet he has bitter memories of defensive breakdowns leaving him out to dry! Guys like Ghost like to freelance, they've been doing that their whole lives, becaue they were talented enough to get away with it and at the junior and college levels, coaches didn't want to restrain those tendencies because they helped their teams win. At the NHL level, those bad habits lead to goals for the other team.

Hakstol has a scheme, and it takes time to get a veteran team to buy in, some players have more than others, just watching last year and pre-season, Filppula has an innate sense when to cycle, and Weal is very aware of the cycle, Voracek not so much. Hakstol doesn't try to keep his young defensemen from being aggressive, but it's supposed to be controlled aggression, and it requires the whole team on the same page - when a defenseman attacks in the O-zone, check the forwards, one should be cycling back to the blue line to prevent 2 on 1 breakaways off a turnover or blocked shot. But we've seen Sanheim, Ghost, Morin, Provorov and Manning attack deep in the O-zone, that certainly would look like it's the scheme and not a player free lancing.

Right now the lineup is in flux, we've had a lot of player turnover and Hextall probably wants to see different combinations before he makes his final personnel decisions (which probably won't be final until the end of October) and hopefully makes a couple trades. This team will be in flux next year as well when they bring up Vorobyev, MV, AK, Myers and Friedman, before the flow of new players becomes a stready trickle, not a stream.

As far as judging Hakstol, let's wait until January or so? This is the first team where he can do what he was hired to do, coach up young players. The last two years were a holding pattern while Hextall took out the trash.

It's like judging Gordon, everyone here hates him, why is he coaching the Phantoms - then people start realizing that all those players that were sent down to be coached by him seemed to have made significant strides in their development (Laughton, Hagg, Morin, Sanheim) - isn't that his real job? Wouldn't we trade the Calder Trophy for the Stanley Cup?

 

[Hiesenberg]

Where did Hakstok come from?

 

[BernieParent]

One thing to point out in your generally on-point (even while drunk) rant: Hakstol doesn't make the personnel decisions to send anyone down; that is Hextall's job. Hakstol probably has huge influence on these moves but the buck stops at the GM.

I don't hate Hakstol. Then again, I don't hate anyone. My teeth are nearly ground down to the gums but I can hold on for a season or so more to hopefully watch the Hakstol allure come to fruition with a new, young, hypertalented roster.

 

[Unstable]

I have awoken from my offseason slumber! I too find his line combinations baffling, but I am excited for this years team with all the rookies. So I am willing to give him one more shot.

 

[Rebels57]

Ok, first of all, I've had quite a few mojitos so bear with me. I have, like most of you, many questions regarding coach.

Before I get into that, however, I have to get this off my chest. Here it is...

He bothers me. He bothers me like no other coach in our entire history. Many of his decisions seem illogical.

From his stupid stoic facial expressions to his illogical and confounding benchings to his seemingly favoritism of certain players over others.

Let me explain. With other coaches, we knew what they were and what they were about. For example, we all knew Berube was a moron. A modern day Frankenstein. A man who needed a brain but didn't have one.

However, we, as a fan base, were led to believe that this guy was a solid x's and o's type of coach whose teams were well organised, prepared, and structurally sound.

I feel like were we absolutely lied to at this point. To me, this guy looks clueless. As an example, we get a new coach to run the power play.

We start the preseason. We go 0 for 9 on the power play vs. Boston.

This moron gets asked about it after the game and he nonchalantly says we haven't practiced the power play yet.

When he gets questioned about his seemingly odd decisions about ridiculous and unwarranted benchings by the beat writers last year, he arrogantly said he watches the film he knows exactly what's going on. Implying of course that the beats and fans are idiots and he knows better.

Meanwhile, he plays favorites among players absolutely insisting on playing trash like Manning and Amac. Not only does he see fit to play them but he puts them in crucial situations as well. Meanwhile, he'll bench guys like Ghost and Konecny who give their all on every shift for some abstract and ridiculous reason.

Guys.....this guy REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME.

At this point, if he sends anyone of Morin, Hagg, or Sanheim back to LV in favor of Amac or Manning then I won't know what to think.

And I have to admit this also. Watching this assclown work the bench for the last couple seasons, there's a seed of pure hatred in me that's starting to form for this guy. Right now, it's only a tiny seed but it has the potential to sprout and grow, admittedly.

Also, does it bother anyone else that not one living person, among the entire fan base in the whole world, does not logically understand their coach?

As I said... he REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME.

You are speaking my language brother.

He is ass.

 

[Rebels57]

Where did Hakstok come from?

I believe a thread was started with his name mis-spelled. I think it was "Fire Hakstok" and then it caught on from there.

 

[deadhead]

I feel like were we absolutely lied to at this point. To me, this guy looks clueless. As an example, we get a new coach to run the power play.

We start the preseason. We go 0 for 9 on the power play vs. Boston.

This moron gets asked about it after the game and he nonchalantly says we haven't practiced the power play yet.

Take a look at the practice schedule, he only had a few days to install his basic scheme with a full roster of rookies and veterans (and you want the rookies, especially the ones going to Allentown, to get a taste of the scheme in case of callups or end of season additions). Obviously, you work on the basic ES scheme before you spend a lot of time on special teams. And the new ST coach has to see his players in action, which is why I don't fret about personnel decisions on STs right now, it's a long season, adjustments will be made.

When he gets questioned about his seemingly odd decisions about ridiculous and unwarranted benchings by the beat writers last year, he arrogantly said he watches the film he knows exactly what's going on. Implying of course that the beats and fans are idiots and he knows better.

Meanwhile, he plays favorites among players absolutely insisting on playing trash like Manning and Amac. Not only does he see fit to play them but he puts them in crucial situations as well. Meanwhile, he'll bench guys like Ghost and Konecny who give their all on every shift for some abstract and ridiculous reason.

Gee, a coach watches film and makes decisions, instead of listening to inebriated fans or clueless media? What a concept!

His benchings were not unwarranted, they were focused on young players who had never been required to play in a highly structured environment, junior and college hockey are very different from the NHL (and even someone like Lindblom will have to adjust to smaller ice, different angles, different risk assessments). We saw that with Sanheim to start TC, he was out of control, when Hakstol talks about him being steady, he's not trying to take away the flashy plays, he wants those plays in the context of the scheme, not free lancing. Sanheim was solid on defense, which is just as important as his offensive game (since he is, uh, a defenseman?).

It's not about playing favorites, it's about not putting young players in position to fail. Ghost is the worst player to have out there in situations where other teams are going to be aggressive in the O-zone late in games because physically he's overmatched when the ice gets crowded - that's an advantage Sanheim has as he learns to use his frame, at 6'4 205 he can be a "defensive" defenseman when needed - Ghost can't add 20 lbs in the last 5 minutes of a game to anchor in front of the net! And Konency as a rookie lacked strength and hockey IQ, he's improved but still can be over aggressive.

Manning actually was solid on the PK, his problem comes when he tries to do too much on offense and his athletic limitations get exposed.
MacDonald is a limited but wily veteran, he's lousy at preventing entry but good at taking away shooting angles.
I doubt they'd be Hakstol's first choice, and as he gets confidence in the younger defensemen, they'll be history.
Provocop had the most minutes of any defenseman last year, was he a "favorite?" or just a young player who has off the charts hockey IQ and quickly learned from his mistakes and engendered confidence in his HC?

 

[Rebels57]

You are definitely not the only one. While I have the most hate and the hardest-working hate furnace, possibly ever, Rebel is the one you want to see this. He will tee off on our fine feather(hair)ed friend. I don't know if you ever saw it on here, but before you joined someone posted Diamond Dave's special room that they built for him up at North Dakota - it gave off this creepy green glow like my salmon death farts, and presumably that's where his brain got addled, like the Green Goblin in that attic where he built that sit-down skateboard thing he used to chase Spidey all over the ****ing place.

You know me too well my friend.

That being said, i'm saving my rants for when his decision-making costs us regular season games.

The season is long enough as it is

 

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

You know me too well my friend.

That being said, i'm saving my rants for when his decision-making costs us regular season games.

The season is long enough as it is

you are one of the more angry posters on here when you decide to pop off on someone. doesnt matter who it is.

I am trying to figure out tho. who hates their coach more right now. Flyer or Ranger fans.
it may be a coin flip

 

[Rebels57]

you are one of the more angry posters on here when you decide to pop off on someone. doesnt matter who it is.

I am trying to figure out tho. who hates their coach more right now. Flyer or Ranger fans.
it may be a coin flip

Haha it's the Italian in me.

I did try and tone it down the 2nd half of last season after several violations and privilege restrictions