TBN: How Don Granato's career path might fit what the Sabres need in a coach

Buffaloed

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This article is a mini bio of Don Granato. It follows his path from player to coaching to scout back to coaching. It attempts to show how he thinks the game. The quotes give you an idea, but you have to read the article for the details that put it into context.

I wasn't aware of this:
Granato then led the Worcester IceCats to the AHL regular-season title in 2000-01, compiling franchise records in wins (48) and points (108). He received the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as AHL coach of the year that season, his first in the league. He beat out Mike Babcock and Bruce Boudreau.

How Don Granato's career path might fit what the Sabres need in a coach

Nick Fohr (10th year as an assistant coach at NTDP:
“I’ve told many people this over the years: he’s the smartest hockey guy I’ve ever been around A very, very good teacher. I remember having the conversation about we’ve learned how to develop these young kids, what they can handle, where we need to focus on. I remember him saying, ‘How can we develop them faster? We know how to develop them. We know the things we need to do, but can we accelerate that process?' From year one to year five, we got much better at accelerating that process and moving those kids along much quicker. I think that was the biggest evolution.”

Scott Monaghan, assistant executive director of NTDP:
“I think he brought us forward a little bit on how we play, being a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more offensive-minded. I don’t even want to say that necessarily, but he had us play based on our personnel and talent. Letting kids play, giving them basic concepts of what they need to do within a team, but also letting them, you know, make mistakes. … You have to let kids make mistakes at our level. He allowed them to make those mistakes and did not let those mistakes become habits. For most of us, as we get older, it’s harder to understand what it takes to connect to these 16- and 17-year-old kids. But Donnie was really good at it. … He also did a great, great job of interacting with parents. That was unique. I hadn’t seen one of our coaches run through video with a parent. It was never confrontational. It was more like, ‘Hey, if you’re concerned about what’s going on, here’s why we’re doing this.’ ”

Joel Quenneville:
Donnie was very smart as far as his involvement with players, his relationship with the players and getting guys to play the right way. Donnie had a good idea of a neutral-zone possession game, how to attack, how to keep pucks, how to be a threat to score. He had some really special players there when he was with the development program, as well and he was at every different level, so he got a different flavor of what’s necessary to be a coach and to be a coach at our level.”

Tage Thompson:
“I think he challenges everyone. I think that’s what we need. I think that says a lot about him. Obviously, he sees a lot in us and knows what we’re capable of and holds us to a higher standard.”

Jason Christie, a former teammate, player, and assistant of Granato:
“He’s ahead of his time as far as reading the game and reading players. He lives it. He absolutely takes pride in everything he does. We all say we do, but he’s beyond that. He takes it to the next level.”

Kevyn Adams:
“You know his track record. He has an experience of working with young players. What I think he did very well was crystal-clear communication on expectations of how each individual was going to play and what the expectations are from how the team was going to play. Certainly, we have a lot of young players, so the development was critical.”

Don Granato:
“Older players used to dominate the league. You didn’t have clout in the NHL until you were 28 or 30 years old. But there has been a complete transformation in the NHL. There’s been a complete power shift to the young player. … So, for me, it was really important, really key, to be around that. It’s hard to understand that change if you’ve only been in the NHL. What young players expect. There’s a certain level of expectations. How practices should be run, how players should be coached. If you’re basing it on just the what the NHL used to be like historically, it’s not going to hold water to the new group of influential players coming in.

Obviously, I coached to the situation this season and tried to maximize what we could maximize, work with what we had to work with. You saw some of my coaching, but you obviously haven’t seen it all.”
 
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SharkInABoloTie

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At this point I expect Don to be coach next year and I've accepted that he will be the coach next year. I have not once felt good about a coach going into their first off-season, going back to Ted Nolan. For once, the heir apparent has brought me a feeling of promise. Whether Jack and Samson leave or not, I think we will see growth. A first in a long line of regression
 
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Zman5778

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For the love of God,please hire a coach with a track record of winning in the NHL.

I dunno. Donnie seemed to connect to these guys in a way that other coaches hadn't/couldn't. For the most part, everyone played much much better under Granato. And he identified the guys that needed to be benched and did so accordingly.

It's POSSIBLE that we might have stumbled into something good. I'm more than willing to give him a shot as the permanent coach.


That said, if we don't go Granato.................I totally agree we need a HC with a track record.
 
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Buffaloed

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The Sabres can easily screw up by hiring someone with a track record. Remember Dan Bylsma?

How about Bob Hartley? He has a track record including winning a cup and getting the Thrashers to the playoffs. He's been coaching in Europe since 2016 and won the Gagarin Cup this season with Avangard Omsk. He wants to come back to the NHL. There's some similarities to Krueger, but Hartley has actually won at this level.

Bob Hartley
BornSeptember 9, 1960 (age 60)
Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada
PositionHead coach
TeamAvangard Omsk, Latvia men's national ice hockey team
Previous team(s)Colorado Avalanche
Atlanta Thrashers
ZSC Lions
Calgary Flames
Stanley Cup wins1 (2000–01)
Years as a coach1990s–present
Years as an NHL coach1998–2007
2012–2016
Years with current team2018–present
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 
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debaser66

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I think Granato really seem to get to the young guys & the first coach who actually played Reinhart as center.
I am afraid they won't hire BB or Gallant (we would have heard them asking for permission and they already had 2 months time)
if they go with a "proven" coach it might be someone like Hartley and we might find ourselves in a blysmaesque situation again.
 

explore

I was wrong about Don Granato and TNT
Jun 28, 2011
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The Sabres can easily screw up by hiring someone with a track record. Remember Dan Bylsma?

How about Bob Hartley? He has a track record including winning a cup and getting the Thrashers to the playoffs. He's been coaching in Europe since 2016 and won the Gagarin Cup this season with Avangard Omsk. He wants to come back to the NHL. There's some similarities to Krueger, but Hartley has actually won at this level.

Bob Hartley
BornSeptember 9, 1960 (age 60)
Hawkesbury, Ontario, Canada
PositionHead coach
TeamAvangard Omsk, Latvia men's national ice hockey team
Previous team(s)Colorado Avalanche
Atlanta Thrashers
ZSC Lions
Calgary Flames
Stanley Cup wins1 (2000–01)
Years as a coach1990s–present
Years as an NHL coach1998–2007
2012–2016
Years with current team2018–present
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

No one wanted Dan Bylsma to be the Sabres head coach, everyone wanted Babcock and when he chose Toronto, Buffalo was left holding the bag and went with whoever was left over. Even Pens fan said Bylsma was a bad coach when it was announced he was the hire

And just like with Bylsma, no one wants Hartley either

Either way, the coach isn't going to matter a lick when Eichel (and to a lesser extent, Reinhart) are traded. This roster without Eichel is finishing last in the league, with or without whatever bums they get in return for him. Granato can make everyone feel good about finishing last again and people can read tea leaves into Tage Thompson's improvement from 0 point forward to 30 point forward
 
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Buffaloed

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No one wanted Dan Bylsma to be the Sabres head coach, everyone wanted Babcock and when he chose Toronto, Buffalo was left holding the bag and went with whoever was left over. Even Pens fan said Bylsma was a bad coach when it was announced he was the hire

And just like with Bylsma, no one wants Hartley either

Either way, the coach isn't going to matter a lick when Eichel (and to a lesser extent, Reinhart) are traded. This roster without Eichel is finishing last in the league, with or without whatever bums they get in return for him. Granato can make everyone feel good about finishing last again and people can read tea leaves into Tage Thompson's improvement from 0 point forward to 30 point forward

To say that no one wanted Bylsma is false. Plenty of people wanted Bylsma including some that are now urging the hiring of a coach with NHL experience. Please don't make sweeping generalizations.

Confirmed with Link: - The Coaching Search is Over! Sabres Hire Bylsma, Presser at 4PM
Speculation: - Coaching Search - Part III: Dan Bylsma deal "imminent"
 

explore

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To say that no one wanted Bylsma is false. Plenty of people wanted Bylsma including some that are now urging the hiring of a coach with NHL experience. Please don't make sweeping generalizations.

Confirmed with Link: - The Coaching Search is Over! Sabres Hire Bylsma, Presser at 4PM
Speculation: - Coaching Search - Part III: Dan Bylsma deal "imminent"

Both links you provided were after it became clear Babcock was signing with Toronto (it was officially announced by Toronto on May 20, 2015 but was reported as a done deal a few days before then)

Most fans are going to root for the coach their team hired even if they didn't think it was a good idea at the time. Heck, I rooted for Krueger even though I didn't want him as coach, same for Housely, and same for Byslma. It'll be the same when Granato gets the job as well

There's also going to be a lot of rationalizing the decision by the fanbase/media after the fact (similar to ROR's character assassination, and articles about Krueger's worldliness sprouting everywhere and how much all the players bought into his message) The same thing has already started with Granato with all the flowery articles talking about his origin story and how he was destined to become an NHL head coach

It happens. People rationalize decisions they make to justify it afterwards, especially if it wasn't what they originally wanted

And just to be clear, rationalization is a human trait, all of us do it, including me
 
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Buffaloed

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Both links you provided were after it became clear Babcock was signing with Toronto (it was officially announced by Toronto on May 20, 2015 but was reported as a done deal a few days before then)

Most fans are going to root for the coach their team hired even if they didn't think it was a good idea at the time. Heck, I rooted for Krueger even though I didn't want him as coach, same for Housely, and same for Byslma. It'll be the same when Granato gets the job as well

There's also going to be a lot of rationalizing the decision by the fanbase/media after the fact (similar to ROR's character assassination, and articles about Krueger's worldliness sprouting everywhere and how much all the players bought into his message) The same thing has already started with Granato with all the flowery articles talking about his origin story and how he was destined to become an NHL head coach

It happens. People rationalize decisions they make to justify it afterwards, especially if it wasn't what they originally wanted

And just to be clear, rationalization is a human trait, all of us do it, including me
So why all the fuss over trading Eichel? No one wanted him. We wanted McDavid. :laugh:
 

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I was wrong about Don Granato and TNT
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So why all the fuss over trading Eichel? No one wanted him. We wanted McDavid. :laugh:

People/analysts were openly saying Eichel would've been a first overall in his own right in any draft not counting Crosby/McDavid/maybe Tavares. People here were also focused on finishing last so they could secure #1 or #2 because even if they missed out on McDavid, they would've gotten another franchise center

Not the same as people pumping up Byslma when he was hired after missing out on Babcock because Bylsma wasn't on people's radar until Babcock signed with Toronto, while Eichel was on everyone's radar because they/we were aware that the odds were against the Sabres winning the lottery
 

Buffaloed

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People/analysts were openly saying Eichel would've been a first overall in his own right in any draft not counting Crosby/McDavid/maybe Tavares. People here were also focused on finishing last so they could secure #1 or #2 because even if they missed out on McDavid, they would've gotten another franchise center

Not the same as people pumping up Byslma when he was hired after missing out on Babcock because Bylsma wasn't on people's radar until Babcock signed with Toronto, while Eichel was on everyone's radar because they/we were aware that the odds were against the Sabres winning the lottery

You proved my point about why you shouldn't generalize about other people. Post your own thoughts. No more people this and people that. There is an explicit rule addressing it.

2) Trolling: Do not make posts that could be interpreted as though they were made to cause an argument or provoke others. Making generalizations about other posters is a common form of trolling. Posting questionable content on team boards, particularly those of rivals, is likely to be seen as trolling.
 

beerme1

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For the love of God,please hire a coach with a track record of winning in the NHL.

Like Bylsma? Babcock? There's more to it than that. I want Bruce Boudreau but I also think that Granato has the room. They listen to him and saw some results.
Part of me really feels we'll be sorry if we don't let Granato drive for the next two years and see what we really have with him.
 

MarkusKetterer

Shoulda got one game in
No one wanted Dan Bylsma to be the Sabres head coach, everyone wanted Babcock and when he chose Toronto, Buffalo was left holding the bag and went with whoever was left over. Even Pens fan said Bylsma was a bad coach when it was announced he was the hire

And just like with Bylsma, no one wants Hartley either

Either way, the coach isn't going to matter a lick when Eichel (and to a lesser extent, Reinhart) are traded. This roster without Eichel is finishing last in the league, with or without whatever bums they get in return for him. Granato can make everyone feel good about finishing last again and people can read tea leaves into Tage Thompson's improvement from 0 point forward to 30 point forward

Tage is actually pretty decent of a forward. He’s not a 1RW or 2RW, but Jesus. He’s defensively responsible and either steals the puck or disrupts the opposition’s breakout a lot. You’re obviously one of the fans that will hate him even if he becomes a consistent 35 goals a year player.

I hate the return from the ROR trade, but I’m not gonna hold that against Tage or Ryan Johnson. That trade isn’t their fault.
 

Sabre Dance

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This definitely reminds me of Ron Rolston but obviously every situation is different. Granato could succeed.

IMO who I want as coach depends on the Eichel and Reinhart situations. If they trade them then you're likely getting futures. I would go with Granato if we're going with that type of lineup. If Eichel and Reinhart stay then I want someone that has experience winning with multiple franchises. It's always been a simple criteria for me. It seems to be a the most successful strategy for winning in the NHL.
 
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UnleashRasmus

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I'm fine with Granato, under the context that we at least have a meeting with a head coach of Bruce Boudreau's quality. I can only hope. If it's Granato, that's fine, we might have a completely different shape at the start of next season.
 
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sabremike

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Tage is actually pretty decent of a forward. He’s not a 1RW or 2RW, but Jesus. He’s defensively responsible and either steals the puck or disrupts the opposition’s breakout a lot. You’re obviously one of the fans that will hate him even if he becomes a consistent 35 goals a year player.

I hate the return from the ROR trade, but I’m not gonna hold that against Tage or Ryan Johnson. That trade isn’t their fault.
 

KiwiGriff

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I’d give Granato a year. We know he has an approach that focuses on developing young players ... and we have a young team.

As far as I’m concerned, someone having coached at the NHL level doesn’t trump that.

For the first time in a long time we had a coach that didn’t have us all shaking our heads in confusion at their decisions and the kids got better.
 

Sabre Dance

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Like Bylsma? Babcock? There's more to it than that. I want Bruce Boudreau but I also think that Granato has the room. They listen to him and saw some results.
Part of me really feels we'll be sorry if we don't let Granato drive for the next two years and see what we really have with him.
What exactly was Bylsma's track record?

Also it's not a perfect science. Not every experienced hiring works out, it's just more likely to work than a first time hire.
 

Sabre Dance

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I’d give Granato a year. We know he has an approach that focuses on developing young players ... and we have a young team.

As far as I’m concerned, someone having coached at the NHL level doesn’t trump that.

For the first time in a long time we had a coach that didn’t have us all shaking our heads in confusion at their decisions and the kids got better.
It's a very short sample size but I do agree that Granato seems to be good for the young players. Let's be honest though, they were still a terrible hockey team after he took over. Competition was likely part of that. Very tough schedule.

There are a lot of coaches out there. They have to at least explore those options.
 

Sabre Dance

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Nothing other than t pegs maybe who said oohhh he's won a cup crowd.
I got suckered. There was a stretch of games without Crosby where the Pens still were great. Everyone I talked to or heard talk about Bylsma felt he was a terrible coach.

He was also probably the worst possible coach for a team lacking veteran leadership because he really didn't interact with players.
 
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