WC: So can Canada STOP picking Ken Hitchcock as a coach now?

Big Phil

Registered User
Nov 2, 2003
31,703
4,144
I don't get the love affair with this guy. I went sour on him back in 2008 when Canada blew a 2 goal third period lead in the Gold Medal game on home ice at the Worlds. This is when they had a stellar team who were giving the business to a very good Russian team through two periods. Then they took their foot off the bas and Hitchcock had them "protect" the lead. End result? A 5-4 overtime loss.

So has Canada learned what happens with this guy now? He doesn't win. Can they come to terms with that now? I mean why don't they just invite Dave Cameron to coach the World Junior Team next year?
 

jore

Registered User
Dec 26, 2007
370
4
Seen that happen over and over again on Jackets games when Jabba the Hitch was behind the bench. Try to protect the 1-0 lead, and fail. If the other team is even somewhat equally talented they'll eventually score if they're given 20 or more minutes. Oh well, better chance for Finns to win silver now :D
 
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Your old Jofa helmet

Registered User
Oct 2, 2006
1,701
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Toronto
Why is he in charge? This is a tournament where so many young players participate and Hitch is known as a coach who does not work well with youngsters
 

NyQuil

Big F$&*in Q
Jan 5, 2005
95,348
59,259
Ottawa, ON
Here we go with the blame (.......) game :sarcasm:

It's our national sport.

If this was the Olympics, we'd be blaming everything about hockey in Canada.

As it is, we're just going to blame Hitchcock and some of the players.

What's interesting is that, when Canada is really dominant in a tournament, the PP is clicking.

This time, it certainly wasn't, and they couldn't do anything with their opportunities.

Coaching? Or the kinds of players they selected?
 
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slovakiasnextone

Registered User
Jul 7, 2008
5,741
254
Slovakia
It's our national sport.

If this was the Olympics, we'd be blaming everything about hockey in Canada.

As it is, we're just going to blame Hitchcock and some of the players.

Don´t worry, I know the game very well, it´s been going on for over a week over here and when I saw this it just seemed so familiar....you see Canada is not the only place where hockey is the national sport....:laugh: though we manage to play the blame (....) and complain about (.....) game pretty much all year around....:D
 

HockeyThoughts

Delivering The Truth
Jul 23, 2007
12,542
275
Mississauga
Why is he in charge? This is a tournament where so many young players participate and Hitch is known as a coach who does not work well with youngsters

Here we go with the blame (.......) game :sarcasm:

This is one of those times when blame needs to be given to the coach.

For gods sake the tournaments leading scorer(Tavares) was being given ~13TOI/G because he was considered "too young" ..

:shakehead
 

Trollmark*

Guest
Eberle is a pretty terrible player when there is one minute left in a losing game.
I'm glad Hitchcock also believes in that.
 

jore

Registered User
Dec 26, 2007
370
4
It was interesting to see that during the timeout that Canada took at the end Hitch was back there scratching his belly while Arniel was giving instructions to the players. Maybe Hitch should have sticked to the burgers and let someone with a grasp of today's hockey do the coaching. Dinosaurs, grabbing, clutching and 1-0 wins in (big) ice are long gone.
 

Fulcrum

Guest
I think Canada should put more time and effort into getting their players to stop declining the invitations.
 

Fulcrum

Guest
What's interesting is that, when Canada is really dominant in a tournament, the PP is clicking.

This time, it certainly wasn't, and they couldn't do anything with their opportunities.

Coaching? Or the kinds of players they selected?

Russian PP was WAY WAY worse...
 

NyQuil

Big F$&*in Q
Jan 5, 2005
95,348
59,259
Ottawa, ON
Russian PP was WAY WAY worse...

That's not a good sign.

But it wasn't just in this game, Canada's PP sucked all tournament long.

I think it's indicative of the coaching, chemistry and skill of a team.

Even-strength play can be more about hard work.
 

TollefsenFan

Registered User
Apr 29, 2010
2,180
0
K-town
Relax! Dnt blame the coach for this. It was a close game between two great teams! There is no shame in loosing against Russia on european ice! The Canadien style is best in NA, because alot of the russian players come from the KHL. So i would rather blame the rink size then the coach. Leave the old man alone :D
 

Frank the Tank

The Godfather
Aug 15, 2005
15,809
12,163
Chicago, IL
Like last year in Vancouver, Hitch's role for Team Canada should be pre-game scouting & game planning. During the game he should be the eye in the press box. Let the modern NHL-style coaches handle the lines, ice time, and bench management.

Hopefully this was his last chance as head coach. The next two years will be time for Canada to focus on finding the best assistants for Babcock, assuming the NHL heads to Sochi 2014.
 

NyQuil

Big F$&*in Q
Jan 5, 2005
95,348
59,259
Ottawa, ON
The next two years will be time for Canada to focus on finding the best assistants for Babcock, assuming the NHL heads to Sochi 2014.

Personally, I almost think they should go with a totally new GM and coaching staff.

I remember in 2006, when Gretzky had already promised Bertuzzi a spot, and other weird shenanigans, that it might be better to start fresh every tournament.

Coaches and GMs wouldn't feel obligated to pick the same guys that played for them last time.

Babcock is great though, tough call.
 

Frank the Tank

The Godfather
Aug 15, 2005
15,809
12,163
Chicago, IL
Personally, I almost think they should go with a totally new GM and coaching staff.

I remember in 2006, when Gretzky had already promised Bertuzzi a spot, and other weird shenanigans, that it might be better to start fresh every tournament.

Coaches and GMs wouldn't feel obligated to pick the same guys that played for them last time.

Babcock is great though, tough call.

A new GM I would be fine with as you would have someone trying to prove themselves. I also hope it is someone who is not an active NHL GM so they can focus full time on scouting players and assembling the best team. Both these factors have to be balanced against the fact that you would need someone who can handle immense pressure the job entails. Perhaps with 2 years experience inside the Avs organization Sakic may be ready for the job in 2014, following a similar path as Yzerman.

I agree that Babcock would be hard to turn away. The guy has proven himself everywhere and he has the proper demeanor for handling Team Canada at the highest level. As I posted previously, I think a new set of assistants for him would add enough of a change so that the returning players do not rest on their 2010 laurels.
 

JackSlater

Registered User
Apr 27, 2010
18,042
12,664
It never made sense to go with Hitchcock as coach if we are going to be sending a really young team. That said, Canada had a decent tournament and even in this past game outplayed Russia for the most part. Sometimes the chances just don't go in. Hitchcock won't be in the running to coach any Canadian best on best teams in the future, so there's no real ned to worry about him.
 

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