Canadiens Development Process

[Sterling Archer]

Just curious so I thought I’d start a thread to discuss how and what the Canadiens do to develop their prospects.

Given the premium on skating, speed and skill, I’m surprised the Habs don’t have more dedicated skating coach like Underwood to help prospects skating, scoring, defence etc.

I’m thinking of the soccer academy’s they have in Europe and South America where they develop their talent from very young ages. Now we wouldn’t be able to do that because of the draft but we could do it with players we have drafted. Have longer clinics or academy’s for them where they can work on their shortfalls and shore up their strengths in the off season. Don’t just assess them and send them away with a list of what to do. They could also make sure the players nutrition, medical conditions and injuries are addressed before they become an issue.

Seems to me that with the millions of dollars at stake and having the deep pockets they can get a competitive advantage over less financially secure teams by having a suped up development team over and above what they’re doing now. In the competitive nature of this league, this would give us a huge advantage.

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[Sorinth]

Just curious so I thought I’d start a thread to discuss how and what the Canadiens do to develop their prospects.

Given the premium on skating, speed and skill, I’m surprised the Habs don’t have more dedicated skating coach like Underwood to help prospects skating, scoring, defence etc.

I’m thinking of the soccer academy’s they have in Europe and South America where they develop their talent from very young ages. Now we wouldn’t be able to do that because of the draft but we could do it with players we have drafted. Have longer clinics or academy’s for them where they can work on their shortfalls and shore up their strengths in the off season. Don’t just assess them and send them away with a list of what to do. They could also make sure the players nutrition, medical conditions and injuries are addressed before they become an issue.

Seems to me that with the millions of dollars at stake and having the deep pockets they can get a competitive advantage over less financially secure teams by having a suped up development team over and above what they’re doing now. In the competitive nature of this league, this would give us a huge advantage.

I think there are CBA constraints on how much they can do.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I think there are CBA constraints on how much they can do.

Officially the might not be able to mandate it. But if they had clinics on power skating, work outs, on ice stick handling etc during the summer when players are conditioning anyways it makes sense they do it under team supervision. The players could attend at their own discretion.

 

[Sorinth]

Officially the might not be able to mandate it. But if they had clinics on power skating, work outs, on ice stick handling etc during the summer when players are conditioning anyways it makes sense they do it under team supervision. The players could attend at their own discretion.

I think that's exactly what the NHLPA wants to avoid because it's very easy for optional things to be optional in name only.

 

[Lshap]

A skating coach would be a great idea. I've read some impressive testimonials from players who've been trained by them.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Maybe Habs don't have a skating coach employed. But I'm sure some of the players already have one and if not and they need to work on it, I'm sure Habs refer them to someone. It's not like they let these guys go into the off-season with a good-bye and a "take care." The training staff gives them exit meetings and tells them what they need to work on to come to camp improved.

As for the Habs supervising something in the off-season. I'm sure there are guys who keep tabs on the players and get in touch with them. But they can't do anything in terms of running any off-season training. The CBA has a specific date when the team and players can do things in an official capacity in September. Anything before that and they break the rule and can be penalized for it.