Confirmed with Link: Ducks hire Greg Cronin as head coach

[Leonardo87]

Lisa Dillman, who has her account locked.

Bit of news: Brent Thompson to join the Ducks coaching staff. Should be announced shortly

 

[SI90]

Thompson is a well respected guy who was close to Cronin when he was with the isles. Thompson is a defensive/PK coach. I’d imagine that’s going to be his role with the ducks.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Thompson is a well respected guy who was close to Cronin when he was with the isles. Thompson is a defensive/PK coach. I’d imagine that’s going to be his role with the ducks.

Good.. Lord know we need to teach the guys how to defend as a unit.

 

[70sSanO]

Hopefully one of Cronin’s strengths is recognizing when a player is ready to jump to the NHL.

He should have the knowledge and experience to assess who is ready from all his years of developing talent.

Verbeek’s desire not to rush a prospect needs to be countered by someone who has seen it many times.

We don’t want a repeat of how Bobby Ryan was handled early on.

John

 

[zot]

 

[Mr Rogers]

it seems like he's got an unbelievable memory/ability to recall. would be a good lawyer probably. nobody is gonna slide with this guy

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

it seems like he's got an unbelievable memory/ability to recall. would be a good lawyer probably. nobody is gonna slide with this guy

he'll need our prayers then if the season is anything like the last one.

 

[70sSanO]

he'll need our prayers then if the season is anything like the last one.

If nothing else we will finally be able to complete passes.

Occasionally there would be a glimmer of competency, but for the most part we were horrible. I think Cronin will get our fundamentals up to speed. That alone will be an improvement over last year.

John

 

[nbducksfan19]

Really like the guy, seems like a great player development and culture builder, what I am not sure is if is a great hockey mind/tactician.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Watching the interview.. Cronin is not going to take crap from anyone.. And he will put responsibility on the veterans to kind of side coach the younger players.. He will stick his nose in the analytics of Special teams as he should.. He will hold lazy players responsible.. Make no mistake.. He is a hard-nosed coach.. And I for one am happy to see it. I have no doubt this team will be at least more harder to play against next year.. Im not saying they make the playoffs.. This will be a different team.. Cronins job will be to get this team to be Pissed off about losing and being a laughing stock of the league.. That anger will translate to a more enthusiastic and up temp style of hockey.. I can see why PV hired Cronin.. It all makes sense now.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

Money shot from Cronin, who I'm not gonna lie has grown on me a lot since his hiring. His ideas are likely going to revolve around maximizing Cam and Jamie and natural progression from Z and Mac, because this man should be anointed for sainthood if he can get any offense out of this bottom-6, it's pretty barren down there (assuming Carlsson doesn't break camp).

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Money shot from Cronin, who I'm not gonna lie has grown on me a lot since his hiring. His ideas are likely going to revolve around maximizing Cam and Jamie and natural progression from Z and Mac, because this man should be anointed for sainthood if he can get any offense out of this bottom-6, it's pretty barren down there (assuming Carlsson doesn't break camp).

We have a fair amount of east-west players, so maybe some east-west hockey is in order.

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

Max Jones about to pot 40 under Cronin

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Max Jones about to pot 40 under Cronin

Would not complain about that.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Money shot from Cronin, who I'm not gonna lie has grown on me a lot since his hiring. His ideas are likely going to revolve around maximizing Cam and Jamie and natural progression from Z and Mac, because this man should be anointed for sainthood if he can get any offense out of this bottom-6, it's pretty barren down there (assuming Carlsson doesn't break camp).

Spoiler: Ducks top-12 ES goal scorers, 2022-23

2022-23
ES Goals Rank	Player	Games	Total Goals	ES Goals	PP Goals		ESG/game	PPG/game	Comment
1​	Zegras	81​	23​	19​	4​		0.235​	0.049​
2​	Terry	70​	23​	18​	5​		0.257​	0.071​
3​	Rico	62​	22​	18​	4​		0.290​	0.065​
4​	Vatrano	81​	22​	17​	5​		0.210​	0.062​
5​	Strome	82​	15​	14​	1​		0.171​	0.012​
6​	McTavish	80​	17​	10​	7​		0.125​	0.088​
7​	Comtois	64​	9​	9​	0​		0.141​	0.000​	No longer with team
8​	Jones	69​	9​	9​	0​		0.130​	0.000​
9​	Klingberg	50​	8​	7​	1​		0.140​	0.020​	No longer with team
10​	Fowler	82​	10​	6​	4​		0.073​	0.049​
11​	Silf	81​	10​	6​	4​		0.074​	0.049​
12​	Leason	54​	6​	6​	0​		0.111​	0.000​
TB	KIllorn	82​	27​	23​	3​		0.280​	0.037​	New to team
Fla	Gudas	72​	2​	2​	0​		0.028​	0.000​	New to team

2022-23
Our top goal scorers are Terry and Zegras with 23 goals.
Our top ES goal scorer is Zegras with 19 ES goals.
Our top PP goal scorer is McTavish with 7 PP goals.

• ES Goals
  • Goals For = 206 goals
  • Goals For rank = 31st

• PP Goals
  • PP Goals = 36 goals
  • PP Goals rank = 30th

2021-22

• ES Goals
  • Goals For = 228 goals
  • Goals For rank = 24th

• PP Goals
  • PP Goals = 48 goals
  • PP Goals rank = Tied-17th

Spoiler: 2021-22 TDL ESG and PPG splits

2021-22	TDL Splits
Game Set	Games	GF	PPG
63 to 82	20​	52​	6​
1 to 62	62​	176​	42​
Total	82​	228​	48​
Game Set	Games	GF/game	PPG/game
63 to 82	20​	2.60​	0.30​
1 to 62	62​	2.84​	0.68​

From these past two seasons, there are two things to fix to improve goal scoring: the PP and better defense that can win pucks as well as quickly transition from defense to offense.

I don't know if our defense can improve if we don't add another top-6 shutdown D. We're going to rely on all newbies in 2023-24 in Gudas, LaCombe, and Drysdale (since he missed most of last season). If two of three can win pucks in the DZ, then we improve our chances of scoring more goals on ES.

As for the PP, it's odd. Two seasons ago, assistant coaches Ward & Johnson had our PP in the top-5 before the TDL. (See the 2021-22 TDL splits.) Last year, it was only Johnson and we sucked! Surprisingly, Johnson has returned again as assistant coach. SMH. What's the definition of insanity again?

 

[TesseracT]

Oh man now I'm excited for the season...and the interviews.

Cronin was in the middle of really turning Northeastern around when the dumb Athletic Director used a recruitment "scandal" to oust him. Our AD back then hated the popularity of the hockey program because he was a basketball guy. Cronin made a ton of progress in the recruitment department in the short time he was coach. Was a sad day when he left.

Not sure how he's been since he was ousted but I do know we're all going to get an unfiltered analysis of the team each night.

 

[AngelDuck]

I’m very excited about this season and coming seasons. Possibly irrationally so

 

[TesseracT]

Here's a decent article that paints a picture of what he accomplished at NU. It's pay-walled since it's NYT so I'll post a few excerpts that stand out.

Then Greg Cronin arrived four seasons ago. Brash, aggressive, intelligent and bursting with self-confidence, Cronin has transformed Northeastern into a Hockey East power and a national title contender.

“What he’s done over there is fabulous,” Jack Parker, the longtime Boston University coach, said.

Since Cronin’s arrival, Northeastern has seen a renewed sense of enthusiasm and pride for the hockey program that he could not have envisioned before he was hired.

THIS!!!!:

He moved into an apartment within walking distance of the arena and began agitating. He fired people, pushed some players off the team and created minor mayhem as he sought to have things done his way.

“I think some people thought I was extremely aggressive,” he said. “People told me I had to slow down, but I wanted it done right now.”

Cronin said he was a little “thorny” at times. But Mike Milbury, his former boss with the Islanders, said, “Greg is a guy you want in a foxhole with you.”

“He’s very, very intense, but we respond well to it,” Vitale, the Huskies’ captain, said. “Kids this age need discipline. I know I do, and he definitely provides that. Guys fear him a little bit, which I think is good.”

As an interim coach at the University of Maine in 1995-96, Cronin stunned his players when he broke his hand slamming it on a training table between periods, a mistake he called “childish and adolescent.”

“Back then I wasn’t a great coach,” he said. “I was all emotion and no poise.”

Coach Greg Cronin Transforms Hockey at Northeastern (Published 2009)

Brash, aggressive, intelligent and bursting with self-confidence, Cronin has transformed Northeastern into a Hockey East power and a national title contender.

www.nytimes.com

 

[TesseracT]

Not sure if it was mentioned here yet, but Johnny Hockey was committed to NU but decommitted when Cronin left. We lost a ton of great players when they found out they weren't going to play for him. I have a good feeling he'll be great with our young Ducklings crew.

Since Greg Cronin left for an NHL job after the 2010-11 season, the Huskies have seen a wave of talented players decommit from the program.

Most notably, Johnny Gaudreau backed out in the summer of 2011, decided on Boston College instead, and has become arguably the best player in the country. Garrett Haar and Justin Kovacs both rescinded around the same time and opted for Western Michigan. This past spring, it was Jon Gillies, who has emerged as one of Hockey East's top goalies at Providence. Earlier this season, Cam Darcy left after nine games and Cam Askew decommitted in favor of BU.

Roy's Decision Pays Off for Northeastern

BOSTON When it comes to high-end recruits, Northeastern hasn't had much luck over the past couple years. Since Greg Cronin left for an NHL job after the 2010-11 season, the Huskies have seen...

www.collegehockeynews.com