Krueger.....is he actually that good of a coach?

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I always thought Krueger would make a good motivational coach. As a hockey coach, I'd rather have Gallante, Boudreau or anyone who has a good NHL or AHL track record. It is foolish of the Pegulas to keep picking these people, like themselves, without much background. I'm done with leadership without experience. DONE.
 

joshjull

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Aug 2, 2005
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I always thought Krueger would make a good motivational coach. As a hockey coach, I'd rather have Gallante, Boudreau or anyone who has a good NHL or AHL track record. It is foolish of the Pegulas to keep picking these people, like themselves, without much background. I'm done with leadership without experience. DONE.

Would love to get Gallant or Boudreau.
 
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CrazyPsycho

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Sep 25, 2003
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Am I wrong in saying that alot of their 5v5 success is them just circling the perimeter of the zone with the puck forever and taking bad shots?
 

sabremike

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At best he is a significantly below average coach. The only way you can win with a coach like him is having the type of talent capable of winning in spite of him. Unfortunately we have nowhere near enough of that level of talent on our current roster and due to the incompetence and mismanagement of our GM our prospect pool is poor with only 2 prospects worth anything in the entire organization (Cozens and UPL).
 

jc17

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At best he is a significantly below average coach. The only way you can win with a coach like him is having the type of talent capable of winning in spite of him. Unfortunately we have nowhere near enough of that level of talent on our current roster and due to the incompetence and mismanagement of our GM our prospect pool is poor with only 2 prospects worth anything in the entire organization (Cozens and UPL).
I think saying at his best he's way below average is a little harsh.

While I think Ralph has a lot to improve on, every coach makes decisions that drives their fans crazy. At this point there's probably only a few guys I would take over Ralph, no questions asked.
 

Doug Prishpreed

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I think saying at his best he's way below average is a little harsh.

While I think Ralph has a lot to improve on, every coach makes decisions that drives their fans crazy. At this point there's probably only a few guys I would take over Ralph, no questions asked.

Also, fans get to see about 10% of what a coach does, at most. And for that 10% we see, we don't know the reasons why he makes any of the decisions he does. He might have a reason for not playing Larsson with Skinner that we don't know about, for instance.

It's a results-driven business, but a coach is limited in what he can do to impact results. That's why I don't get into the coach evaluation game. You have to trust your GM...if he's not good, I don't think it matters as much who the coach is.
 

Buffaloed

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This is good article on Krueger's philosophy. It has a Chauncey Gardner feel to it. :laugh:
What GM Jason Botterill's firing could mean for Sabres coach Ralph Krueger

"The first violinist will be much more present than the kettle drummer and it’s also getting guys to be proud of the instrument they’re playing on our team and understanding that one will have the bigger presence than the other. Explaining to them the role they have and why they have the role of making each and every moment for the instrument you play important. That’s something that I thought the guys really understood and bought into and took a lot of pride in."

"The reason I mention that is I know I have a certain gift as a leader and that’s to sense when somebody is not playing the music, even if it’s not visible for everybody to see and I’m very quick to pounce when anybody drifts from the music we’ve selected as a group. It’s not my music, but it’s what the team needs. Right now, the Buffalo Sabres have a certain style we need to play and if somebody is off I’m quick to react to that. You also saw a reaction to people who didn’t buy into the music we want to play and how we dealt with that. It takes time in a club situation to make those changes, but we were able to."


Comments from his former assistant Jakob Kolliker:
"He takes hard positions. He doesn’t take the best players, he takes the players he knows they’ll do the job he wants. He doesn’t take the best scorers. Ralph likes the good character guys in the team and the hard workers for the team. Not necessarily the best players but the best working, hard-working players. That’s Ralph. He’s good to reach these people."
 

Chainshot

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This is good article on Krueger's philosophy. It has a Chauncey Gardner feel to it. :laugh:
What GM Jason Botterill's firing could mean for Sabres coach Ralph Krueger

"The first violinist will be much more present than the kettle drummer and it’s also getting guys to be proud of the instrument they’re playing on our team and understanding that one will have the bigger presence than the other. Explaining to them the role they have and why they have the role of making each and every moment for the instrument you play important. That’s something that I thought the guys really understood and bought into and took a lot of pride in."

"The reason I mention that is I know I have a certain gift as a leader and that’s to sense when somebody is not playing the music, even if it’s not visible for everybody to see and I’m very quick to pounce when anybody drifts from the music we’ve selected as a group. It’s not my music, but it’s what the team needs. Right now, the Buffalo Sabres have a certain style we need to play and if somebody is off I’m quick to react to that. You also saw a reaction to people who didn’t buy into the music we want to play and how we dealt with that. It takes time in a club situation to make those changes, but we were able to."


Comments from his former assistant Jakob Kolliker:
"He takes hard positions. He doesn’t take the best players, he takes the players he knows they’ll do the job he wants. He doesn’t take the best scorers. Ralph likes the good character guys in the team and the hard workers for the team. Not necessarily the best players but the best working, hard-working players. That’s Ralph. He’s good to reach these people."

To paraphrase... with the Sabres, I don’t like to watch.
 
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itwasaforwardpass

I'll be the hyena
Mar 4, 2017
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This is good article on Krueger's philosophy. It has a Chauncey Gardner feel to it. :laugh:
What GM Jason Botterill's firing could mean for Sabres coach Ralph Krueger

"The first violinist will be much more present than the kettle drummer and it’s also getting guys to be proud of the instrument they’re playing on our team and understanding that one will have the bigger presence than the other. Explaining to them the role they have and why they have the role of making each and every moment for the instrument you play important. That’s something that I thought the guys really understood and bought into and took a lot of pride in."

"The reason I mention that is I know I have a certain gift as a leader and that’s to sense when somebody is not playing the music, even if it’s not visible for everybody to see and I’m very quick to pounce when anybody drifts from the music we’ve selected as a group. It’s not my music, but it’s what the team needs. Right now, the Buffalo Sabres have a certain style we need to play and if somebody is off I’m quick to react to that. You also saw a reaction to people who didn’t buy into the music we want to play and how we dealt with that. It takes time in a club situation to make those changes, but we were able to."


Comments from his former assistant Jakob Kolliker:
"He takes hard positions. He doesn’t take the best players, he takes the players he knows they’ll do the job he wants. He doesn’t take the best scorers. Ralph likes the good character guys in the team and the hard workers for the team. Not necessarily the best players but the best working, hard-working players. That’s Ralph. He’s good to reach these people."

Ristolainen is the cowbell and Ralph's symphony always wants more of him.
 

itwasaforwardpass

I'll be the hyena
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The article also gave me visions of Ralph throwing a drum set at Erod.

AnxiousBrownAchillestang-size_restricted.gif
 

The Winter Soldier

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Apr 4, 2011
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The jury is out to me. In fairness to him, his results were basically the same in 12-13 for the Oilers when he took over from Renney. He's better than Housely, not that was hard to achieve. He hasn't had a good enough team behind him to judge fairly. When a coach takes over, you want to see a big bump for the positive. Last year was only a small bump.
 

Buffaloed

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The jury is out to me. In fairness to him, his results were basically the same in 12-13 for the Oilers when he took over from Renney. He's better than Housely, not that was hard to achieve. He hasn't had a good enough team behind him to judge fairly. When a coach takes over, you want to see a big bump for the positive. Last year was only a small bump.
Botterill never got him the players he needed to construct a team the way he wanted them to play the game and hampered him by keeping too many dmen on the roster. He did a great job of getting some of the players to buy into his system. He's got to find a way to get through to Skinner.
 

struckbyaparkedcar

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Botterill never got him the players he needed to construct a team the way he wanted them to play the game and hampered him by keeping too many dmen on the roster. He did a great job of getting some of the players to buy into his system. He's got to find a way to get through to Skinner.
I’m still not sure what a “Kruger player” looks like, beyond the two way forwards and mobile defensive defensemen the league universally values.

Overall, he was a zero-sum transition from Phil in the same way that Housley failed to maintain Bylsma’s limited competence.

Team defense got better, at the expense of offense from a blueline they had just finished investing in (and was effectively offset by the atrocious PK). Giving Larry more balanced deployments turned his shot impacts to goals, but also cut into offensive faceoffs for a slumping Skinner. He broke up the top line, but OER was worse than 53-9 by the end of the season, and Skinner was useless on an island (especially with a shackled defense unable to offset limited linemate talent). Player selection was still an exercise in unpredictable hockey-man bias.
 

Buffaloed

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I’m still not sure what a “Kruger player” looks like, beyond the two way forwards and mobile defensive defensemen the league universally values.

Overall, he was a zero-sum transition from Phil in the same way that Housley failed to maintain Bylsma’s limited competence.

Team defense got better, at the expense of offense from a blueline they had just finished investing in (and was effectively offset by the atrocious PK). Giving Larry more balanced deployments turned his shot impacts to goals, but also cut into offensive faceoffs for a slumping Skinner. He broke up the top line, but OER was worse than 53-9 by the end of the season, and Skinner was useless on an island (especially with a shackled defense unable to offset limited linemate talent). Player selection was still an exercise in unpredictable hockey-man bias.

He wants players that know their role and don't deviate. It's similar to Bill Belichick's "do your job" mantra. Girgensons, Larsson, and Lazar embraced their roles. If you're a winger like Skinner, you stay on your wing, get back on defense, don't leave the zone too early and cover the point. Skinner did none of those. He was all over the ice doing whatever he pleased most of the time. Eichel accepted his role, became a complete center and found out that by playing sound defense he was getting more scoring chances.
 

Aladyyn

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He wants players that know their role and don't deviate. It's similar to Bill Belichick's "do your job" mantra. Girgensons, Larsson, and Lazar embraced their roles. If you're a winger like Skinner, you stay on your wing, get back on defense, don't leave the zone too early and cover the point. Skinner did none of those. He was all over the ice doing whatever he pleased most of the time. Eichel accepted his role, became a complete center and found out that by playing sound defense he was getting more scoring chances.
If you ignore the part where he wasn't...
 

struckbyaparkedcar

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He wants players that know their role and don't deviate. It's similar to Bill Belichick's "do your job" mantra. Girgensons, Larsson, and Lazar embraced their roles. If you're a winger like Skinner, you stay on your wing, get back on defense, don't leave the zone too early and cover the point. Skinner did none of those. He was all over the ice doing whatever he pleased most of the time. Eichel accepted his role, became a complete center and found out that by playing sound defense he was getting more scoring chances.
Two of those guys were already very good role players, and it took Sobotka’s injury for Lazar to earn a spot. Retaining them will be a big win for the new management structure.

That analysis does not bode well for Skinner. He probably thinks he needs to cheat in order to get his shots up, given how he’s not playing with good transition forwards and a shackled defense, and Ralph is never going to play him with those guys if he doesn’t shape up.

As for Jack, it’ll be interesting to see how he does in year 2. There’s some very positive stuff, but also some red flags if his shooting% regresses and the on-ice volumes don’t get back to where they were under Housley.
 
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Sabre Dance

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I just don't think Krueger is coaching the Sabres next year. Something will happen.
 

Buffaloed

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I just don't think Krueger is coaching the Sabres next year. Something will happen.
Previously I wasn't expecting him back, but I think he's chomping at the bit to get back now. Adams is basically a younger version of Krueger. They're both outgoing and very cerebral.
Sabres GM Kevyn Adams 'part of the process' before Jason Botterill's firing
Adams also joined the Sabres on a four-game road trip from Feb. 26 through March 3 and, behind the scenes, he was developing a relationship with coach Ralph Krueger. The two dined together and, although Adams said the conversation centered around the business world, a foundation was laid for a management team that Terry Pegula said Tuesday is the "answer" to the team's nine-year playoff drought. When asked about potentially being more involved in personnel decisions, Krueger said he's primarily focused on his job as head coach. But when broached with topics such as hiring assistant general managers or potential roster moves this offseason, Adams mentioned he will consult Krueger and the Pegulas.
 

Buffaloed

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Which NHL coach(es) do you think Krueger is most similar to?

I don't think he's a new age coach at all. I see him as a cross between Roger Nielson and Jacques Martin. He relates to the players like Nielson and makes them feel like they're part of the process but once they put in their system he turns into Jacques Martin. Either play within the system the way we agreed on or you don't play. I think a lot last season was spent whipping the housley out of them.
 
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OkimLom

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May 3, 2010
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Which NHL coach(es) do you think Krueger is most similar to?

I don't think he's a new age coach at all. I see him as a cross between Roger Nielson and Jacques Martin. He relates to the players like Nielson and makes them feel like they're part of the process but once they put in their system he turns into Jacques Martin. Either play within the system the way we agreed on or you don't play. I think a lot last season was spent whipping the housley out of them.

Ted Nolan is easily the most similar to me. He’s more of a coach to get acclimated to players at personable level which drives the motivation for players to play for him. Maybe Torts could be similar (without the Media scrums).
 
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