News Article: A look into Coach Krueger's 2019 plan

[CrazyPsycho]

This is an actual excellent article put out by the Sabres. I see lots of mentions of aggressiveness, hopefully no more easy zone entries for the opponents.

If you saw any of the prospect tourney, there was alot of pressure put on the opposition by our DMen on opposing forwards. Thought Jokiharju and Fitzgerald excelled at this.

Click to read more...

 

[joshjull]

Really liked what I read. Now show us it can work.

 

[old kummelweck]

Take away time and space, play on your toes, keep your feet moving, compete for every puck. One of the prospects commented that what they were being told was being called by a different name, but was basic hockey. May have been Hickey.

Coaching by committee sounds kind of new, but any good management strategy tells you to surround yourself with people smarter than you and encourage them to challenge your thinking.

 

[Montag DP]

This is an actual excellent article put out by the Sabres. I see lots of mentions of aggressiveness, hopefully no more easy zone entries for the opponents.

If you saw any of the prospect tourney, there was alot of pressure put on the opposition by our DMen on opposing forwards. Thought Jokiharju and Fitzgerald excelled at this.

Well, that's already more specifics than we ever heard about Housley's so-called system. The most we ever found out was that it involved "going fast," "puck support," (which they never actually did), and "checking detail." I really like what I'm reading. Can't wait to see some action.

 

[flashsabre]

Krueger is the best hire this team has made in a long time. Will it lead to playoffs this season, who knows, but I think you will see players that are much more engaged, organized and motivated then we have seen in the past decade. I'm hoping to see a big step forward this year as a team.

 

[SabresSharks]

Krueger is the best hire this team has made in a long time. Will it lead to playoffs this season, who knows, but I think you will see players that are much more engaged, organized and motivated then we have seen in the past decade. I'm hoping to see a big step forward this year as a team.

Hopefully "accountable" will be emphasized as well.

 

[Tatanka]

Sounds like a lot of Silicon valley new age bs. Talent trumps systems. Is he willing to put the best, most talented, most effective players on the ice or are we going to see Vlad and Tage lead us to another lottery pick.

I hope this was pablum for the media and he has a concrete plan he is planning to execute. I crave a competitive squad. I will withold judgement on him til the new year as I think it will take that long to assess the impact of any changes. But I fear we did not do enough roster wise to compete within the division or conference. But that is not on hcrk.

I pray he is the miracle worker, but suspect he is a mere mortal. Good luck Ralph, gitter done.

 

[Matt Ress]

Proven people management system. He won't be a failure, yet his success will depend on the effectiveness of his players in their system.

 

[Matt Ress]

Sounds like a lot of Silicon valley new age bs. Talent trumps systems. Is he willing to put the best, most talented, most effective players on the ice or are we going to see Vlad and Tage lead us to another lottery pick.

I hope this was pablum for the media and he has a concrete plan he is planning to execute. I crave a competitive squad. I will withold judgement on him til the new year as I think it will take that long to assess the impact of any changes. But I fear we did not do enough roster wise to compete within the division or conference. But that is not on hcrk.

I pray he is the miracle worker, but suspect he is a mere mortal. Good luck Ralph, gitter done.

It's really not bs. When people know they are valued and have a say in operations, they work for each other and their own pride. It's a proven, humane philosophy. If you haven't worked for or overseen others with this philosophy, quit.

 

[BuzzKillington90]

Sounds like a lot of Silicon valley new age bs. Talent trumps systems. Is he willing to put the best, most talented, most effective players on the ice or are we going to see Vlad and Tage lead us to another lottery pick.

I hope this was pablum for the media and he has a concrete plan he is planning to execute. I crave a competitive squad. I will withold judgement on him til the new year as I think it will take that long to assess the impact of any changes. But I fear we did not do enough roster wise to compete within the division or conference. But that is not on hcrk.

I pray he is the miracle worker, but suspect he is a mere mortal. Good luck Ralph, gitter done.

The other post was deleted otherwise I would have responded to that pointing out the obvious flaws in your logic.

However the point is; listening and crowdsourcing plans and ideas is not “Silicon Valley BS.” It’s a proven method to boost morale and show confidence in your workforce therefore giving them pride in what they do and how they accomplish it. It’s management 101. I hope he’s successful with it, but it’s nothing new

 

[jc17]

Yes, since talent trumps systems his only responsibility is to sit vlad and tage. Sounds like an easy gig for a few million dollars. Systems alone don't win games, but you might as well try to have good ones.

I also fail to see the silicon valley point. In what world is surrounding yourself with a good staff and getting input from as many information sources as possible a bad thing.

 

[DolanPlsGoSabres]

Take away time and space, play on your toes, keep your feet moving, compete for every puck. One of the prospects commented that what they were being told was being called by a different name, but was basic hockey. May have been Hickey.

Coaching by committee sounds kind of new, but any good management strategy tells you to surround yourself with people smarter than you and encourage them to challenge your thinking.

Well, that's already more specifics than we ever heard about Housley's so-called system. The most we ever found out was that it involved "going fast," "puck support," (which they never actually did), and "checking detail." I really like what I'm reading. Can't wait to see some action.

Not at the camp but Borgen I think during his callup commented how much different Housley's 'system' or lackthereof, was compared to what he was asked for in Rochester. Hopefully all the players feel like they have some structure in Krueger's gameplan.

 

[Jim Bob]

I really liked what I read in the article.

But, there are so many factors that go into a team being successful. I hope that the coaching staff can get the players to buy in and stay within the structure the coaches want to see, even if the results aren't what they want.

Having the mental strength to stay within the system when things aren't going well has been a problem for the Sabres of late. Hopefully that changes.

 

[Jim Bob]

31 Thoughts: Tense RFA waiting game hits final stages - Sportsnet.ca

27. There’ve been rumblings that Sabres players have been pleasantly surprised by their meetings with new coach Ralph Krueger. Eichel confirmed that in Chicago.

“I’ll tell you, I went to meet him for a cup of coffee in Slovakia (World Championships) and ended up going to dinner for three hours,” the captain said. “I was extremely blown away by my meeting with him. If he says that he does something, it makes you want to do it. He started talking to me about Bikram Yoga and how much he loved it, so I went and tried Bikram Yoga.”

Eichel joked that he sweats a lot, so he fit in nicely.

“He brings the best out of people. I don’t think we had one negative conversation the whole summer. He’s very calculated. He knows what he wants to do and has a plan for it. Nothing’s spur of the moment. Nothing emotional for him, he’s very thought out. I think it will be very good for us.”

Eichel said their conversations spanned more than just hockey, with topics including “rock and roll, cars, travelling, everything.”

Does Krueger have good taste in music? “He likes ’70s rock,” so yes.

So, are people going to be looking for Ralph at Bikram Yoga classes instead of at bars, now?

 

[Sansbacon]

He’s very calculated. He knows what he wants to do and has a plan for it. Nothing’s spur of the moment. Nothing emotional for him, he’s very thought out.

Out of all the comments about Krueger from players/former players, this trait of his is the most promising to me. Hopefully he has some fire in him when it’s necessary, but with his resume of making things work with everything he touches, it’s abundantly clear that he’s an inside and out kinda guy. No stone left unturned.

If he can get every single guy in that locker room to buy into a specific role, we could be looking at a pretty fun year ahead. Sure, there are holes, but we have enough solid pieces to at least be competitive.

I’m still cautiously optimistic though.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

Please, for the love of all that's good in this world, please let Krueger be a good HC. I am tired of the revolving door of coaching.

 

[old kummelweck]

I like that they are doing some reporting on this, but frankly, it's kind of just PR. Just because they didn't cover how Housley approached coaching or what 'system' he was using, doesn't mean there wasn't the same type of work, design, and philosophy at work. The issue could just have been execution.

The Sabres know that buffalo fans are sophisticated and were questioning the coaching methodology. I think this is more of an effort to address that, rather than some innovative approach. Kruger is also known to be a big draw when it comes to speaking engagements, so perhaps he could also just be better at communicating his vision than Housley.

 

[Montag DP]

I like that they are doing some reporting on this, but frankly, it's kind of just PR. Just because they didn't cover how Housley approached coaching or what 'system' he was using, doesn't mean there wasn't the same type of work, design, and philosophy at work. The issue could just have been execution.

The Sabres know that buffalo fans are sophisticated and were questioning the coaching methodology. I think this is more of an effort to address that, rather than some innovative approach. Kruger is also known to be a big draw when it comes to speaking engagements, so perhaps he could also just be better at communicating his vision than Housley.

If Housley had a coherent system, it should have been apparent after two seasons on the job. All the stuff he talked about doing during the summer after he was hired never happened, and I can't give a clear description of the system they ended up trying to play, other than that it was disorganized and undisciplined. Housley either never worked out the details of the system he allegedly wanted to implement, or he was unable to communicate and coach it. If the issue was execution, as you say could have been the case, that's also on him in large part since he had two years to make adjustments.

No games have been played yet, so Krueger could end up being all smoke and mirrors like Housley was. But on the other hand, if his reputation of being a great communicator and able to get organizational buy-in is even somewhat true, he will already be a huge improvement over what we've had.

 

[Dingo44]

At this point it's all on the players. But I'm excited because I've been a Krueger fan for a long time.

 

[jc17]

The Sabres know that buffalo fans are sophisticated

so perhaps he could also just be better at communicating his vision than Housley.

I mean that's a pretty big part of coaching

 

[Aladyyn]

At this point it's all on the players. But I'm excited because I've been a Kruger fan for a long time.

No, it's still on the coach too. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, let's actually see what Krueger does.

 

[old kummelweck]

I mean that's a pretty big part of coaching

I'm talking outside of the org.

And you laugh about my sophistication comment, but fans are deep into analytics and there was universal criticism of Housley's methods or 'system'. If I'm the Sabres, they need to do everything they can to protect their brand, so any evaluation of the missteps of the last two years would produce more visibility into how the org is operating. This year they are selling Kruger as part of the brand.

 

[slip]

Sounds like a lot of Silicon valley new age bs. Talent trumps systems. Is he willing to put the best, most talented, most effective players on the ice or are we going to see Vlad and Tage lead us to another lottery pick.

I hope this was pablum for the media and he has a concrete plan he is planning to execute. I crave a competitive squad. I will withold judgement on him til the new year as I think it will take that long to assess the impact of any changes. But I fear we did not do enough roster wise to compete within the division or conference. But that is not on hcrk.

I pray he is the miracle worker, but suspect he is a mere mortal. Good luck Ralph, gitter done.

You got to coach what you got. I get Kreuger's plan of attack, but I do question if the tools are really there for him to properly execute the vision. Not sure how guys like Mittelstadt, Thompson, Sheary, Okposo, Vesey, or Sobotka will fare in an "aggressive" system that relies heavily on puck pursuit and puck control. I mean, Housley wanted a team of mobile defenders making sharp breakout passes, which is fine in theory, but not so much in practice when you're tossing Tennyson, McCabe, Risto, and Bogosian out on the ice.

 

[old kummelweck]

If Housley had a coherent system, it should have been apparent after two seasons on the job. All the stuff he talked about doing during the summer after he was hired never happened, and I can't give a clear description of the system they ended up trying to play, other than that it was disorganized and undisciplined. Housley either never worked out the details of the system he allegedly wanted to implement, or he was unable to communicate and coach it. If the issue was execution, as you say could have been the case, that's also on him in large part since he had two years to make adjustments.

No games have been played yet, so Krueger could end up being all smoke and mirrors like Housley was. But on the other hand, if his reputation of being a great communicator and able to get organizational buy-in is even somewhat true, he will already be a huge improvement over what we've had.

I wont be caught dead defending Housley, but all I see here is more visibility that is probably as much about PR as Kruger's brand. Seems like good stuff, but a lot of it seems like window dressing on some pretty fundamental hockey concepts.

Looking forward to the preseason.

 

[Chainshot]

Getting them to play basic hockey well would benefit the win-loss column. If it is called by other things, so be it.