Waived: Svechnikov waived amongst others

Gniwder

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Oct 12, 2009
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I don't like sucking eggs for four straight years and still having the fourth oldest team in the NHL.
That's what happens when you fill a team with stop gap veterans.

Flip, Ryan, Gagner, Staal, Biega, and Helm are all gone after this season, the only players over 30 will be DDK, Nielsen (ugh), LGD (if re-signed), and Greiss (plus whatever UFA goalie they sign).

The team will be much younger next year, but still suck.
 

Ghost of Ethan Hunt

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That's what happens when you fill a team with stop gap veterans.

Flip, Ryan, Gagner, Staal, Biega, and Helm are all gone after this season, the only players over 30 will be DDK, Nielsen (ugh), LGD (if re-signed), and Greiss (plus whatever UFA goalie they sign).

The team will be much younger next year, but still suck.

'21-'22 shaping up to look like this, not too bad.

MLB
Ray-Fabbri-Zadina
Brome-Namestnikov-Veleno
Nielsen-Ras-Berggren?
Smith
Svech?

UFA F?


DDK-Hronek
?-Seider
Stech-Lindstrom
?

+ 2? (UFA D/Djoos/Merrill/Nemeth)
 
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ShelbyZ

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Now that he's cleared, I'm hoping Svech can find that same pot of gold that Kopecky did at the end of the "3 years in GR and cleared waivers for a 4th" rainbow.
 
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ShelbyZ

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Similar game in a lot of ways. Similar drawback too.

Similar arc to their ELC years (albeit, without Kopecky missing a whole season due to injury) as well. Kopecky had a decent rookie year in GR, then dropped off for the 2nd and didn't show much better in the 3rd.

IIRC, whoever thought it was a good idea to qualify and bring him back told him to add significant muscle over the summer in anticipation to focus on more of a grinding game.

Can't say the same to Svech since he seems to have those covered. Maybe he just needs a Hudler or Filppula (or both? can't remember) to click with to find his game.
 

jkutswings

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Jul 10, 2014
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Stevie's falling in love with crap players, and that's a bad sign.
Or... and stay with me here...

ALL of these guys are crap players, every team has a couple as the cost of doing business in a salary capped league, and it doesn't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things which ones are here.
 

Gniwder

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Or... and stay with me here...

ALL of these guys are crap players, every team has a couple as the cost of doing business in a salary capped league, and it doesn't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things which ones are here.
I would much rather have the Capitals crap then. Dowd, Sheary, and Sprong are all cheaper than Erne, and TvR, Seigenthaler, and Chara are cheaper than Biega. The cost of doing business in the salary cap era is making every dollar count. There's a reason why some teams are better than others.

The WIngs are crap either way, but re-signing someone as completely useless as Erne is a bad sign. Even 4th liners need to bring something to the table... and I'm sure it's demoralizing to the prospects that aren't getting a fair chance. Smith brings a lot more than Erne does, and I didn't even like that pick.
 

Ghost of Ethan Hunt

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I would much rather have the Capitals crap then. Dowd, Sheary, and Sprong are all cheaper than Erne, and TvR, Seigenthaler, and Chara are cheaper than Biega. The cost of doing business in the salary cap era is making every dollar count. There's a reason why some teams are better than others.

The WIngs are crap either way, but re-signing someone as completely useless as Erne is a bad sign. Even 4th liners need to bring something to the table... and I'm sure it's demoralizing to the prospects that aren't getting a fair chance. Smith brings a lot more than Erne does, and I didn't even like that pick.
Erne is playing for another contract & likely realizes this is his last shot with the Wings, or possibly any NHL team. I expect a better performance from him & a few others this season, like Filppula, Weird Flip etc.

Chara has $730 Bonus; BONUS DETAILS: Games Played Bonus: $230,000 (10 gms) + Playoff Qualification Bonus: $250,000 (club qualifies for the playoffs) + Stanley Cup Bonus: $250,000 (club wins the Stanley Cup)......so add $480 to $795 cap/salary.
 

Gniwder

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Erne is playing for another contract & likely realizes this is his last shot with the Wings, or possibly any NHL team. I expect a better performance from him & a few others this season, like Filppula, Weird Flip etc.

Chara has $730 Bonus; BONUS DETAILS: Games Played Bonus: $230,000 (10 gms) + Playoff Qualification Bonus: $250,000 (club qualifies for the playoffs) + Stanley Cup Bonus: $250,000 (club wins the Stanley Cup)......so add $480 to $795 cap/salary.
You'd think Erne would have played harder last season then.... along with Perlini. Ehn played hard, but he just had no offensive talent at all. But I too expect a ton of effort from all of these stop gap players on expiring contracts.

CHara really isn't a good example, he just wants another shot at the Cup without having to play too far from home. But I threw him in there anyways because his base salary is low. Even at $1.3M, that's a better deal than Biega at 800k or Erne at $1M. The point is made with or without Chara, certainly no other team has players as bad as Biega and Erne on their roster, which is just yet another reason why this team is finsihing last (or maybe 2nd).
 

ChrisReevesLegs

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Nov 5, 2018
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Maybe.
But think it's important to use rebuilds to give youngsters a shot to pass or fail.
There's nothing to lose.

I would give somewhat of a pass to Svech. Seeing as he hasn't had more than 20 games with the big club. But jeez, he really hasn't impressed in GR at all either recently. Not a good sign. He's 24 now... not like this is a 19/20 year old we're talking about. I get that injuries have derailed him... but it's really approaching the end of the line for him.

My opinion on Cholo may rub some the wrong way. I think he's beyond awful. He's like Brendan Smith only if you subtract Smith's foolhardy confidence. I have never seen a Dman so panicky with the puck. I think he's more mistake prone than Smith, which is saying something. He'll be 23 soon. IMHO he would be the prospect I trade ASAP. I have very little confidence in his NHL future and would be willing take a draft pick in return for him before he gets any older and other teams get wise.
 

MBH

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I would give somewhat of a pass to Svech. Seeing as he hasn't had more than 20 games with the big club. But jeez, he really hasn't impressed in GR at all either recently. Not a good sign. He's 24 now... not like this is a 19/20 year old we're talking about. I get that injuries have derailed him... but it's really approaching the end of the line for him.

My opinion on Cholo may rub some the wrong way. I think he's beyond awful. He's like Brendan Smith only if you subtract Smith's foolhardy confidence. I have never seen a Dman so panicky with the puck. I think he's more mistake prone than Smith, which is saying something. He'll be 23 soon. IMHO he would be the prospect I trade ASAP. I have very little confidence in his NHL future and would be willing take a draft pick in return for him before he gets any older and other teams get wise.

I don;t think Svech/Cholo have much trade value.
Svech just went through waivers, obviously. And Cholo probably doesn't have a ton of suiters in the league.
Cholo might be an expansion draft pick though. Might be a decent gamble for Seattle.

I've never been a big fan of Cholowski. Didn't like the pick. Didn't like the way he progressed.
But then he comes to the NHL and goes 4-8-12 in 22 games to start his career and was terrific on the PP with 2-5-7.

Of course the rest of the way he went 3-1-4 in 30 games with 2-0-2 on the PP.
And last year...2-6-8 in 36 games, including 1-4-5 on the PP.

So in his last 66 games, 2-3-5 at even strength. Oy.

But I do like the way he works the powerplay. He showed it in the scrimmage the other night, too.

Yeah, he's probably going to continue sucking.
But maybe not. Maybe there's a 2nd or 3rd pairing guy who can work a PP here. Probably always going to be soft.

I'd rather explore that than play Staal or Daley/Ericsson last year.

Still, that feature on Dennis Cholowski and his "stylish" collection of running shoes almost made me want him to fail.
 
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Pavels Dog

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I'm sure it's demoralizing to the prospects that aren't getting a fair chance. Smith brings a lot more than Erne does, and I didn't even like that pick.
Even though we as fans can mostly judge players in games, the coaching staff is judging these players in practice also. If Smith brings a lot more than Erne, he is likely showing that in practice. At that point it's only a matter of time before Smith is getting games ahead of Erne.
I think the uncomfortable truth sometimes is that the prospects aren't bringing a lot more than the guys in the lineup. In our situation we should be moving in youth as much as possible, but we shouldn't force it either and not make them earn (Erne) it. Time and time again we see that the legit young players are not denied. It's a learning process for them also to f*cking BRING IT if they want to play.
 

Stony Curtis

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Sep 21, 2018
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Even though we as fans can mostly judge players in games, the coaching staff is judging these players in practice also. If Smith brings a lot more than Erne, he is likely showing that in practice. At that point it's only a matter of time before Smith is getting games ahead of Erne.
I think the uncomfortable truth sometimes is that the prospects aren't bringing a lot more than the guys in the lineup. In our situation we should be moving in youth as much as possible, but we shouldn't force it either and not make them earn (Erne) it. Time and time again we see that the legit young players are not denied. It's a learning process for them also to f*cking BRING IT if they want to play.

Dead nuts on. If there's one thing we can learn from what SY has said in his time as a GM, it's how highly he values perseverance. Guys that have to overcome obstacles tend to view the process of achieving success a little differently than those who haven't.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

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I would much rather have the Capitals crap then. Dowd, Sheary, and Sprong are all cheaper than Erne, and TvR, Seigenthaler, and Chara are cheaper than Biega. The cost of doing business in the salary cap era is making every dollar count. There's a reason why some teams are better than others.

The WIngs are crap either way, but re-signing someone as completely useless as Erne is a bad sign. Even 4th liners need to bring something to the table... and I'm sure it's demoralizing to the prospects that aren't getting a fair chance. Smith brings a lot more than Erne does, and I didn't even like that pick.

I'm sorry, but if you're a prospect and your reaction to a guy like Erne playing is "Man, I'm getting a raw deal.." I don't want you on my f***ing team.

Excerpt from Sean Avery's book

LAST CHANCE

I’ve wanted this since I was five years old. I’m now twenty-one, and time is running out.

Of course, looking back I realize I had lots of time, but in September 2001, all I knew was that playing the game I loved more than anything in the NHL was the only option. There was no Plan B.


My heart is pounding. I am here to earn a spot on the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. The fact that people are already talking about this as one of the best teams in history isn’t going to make things any easier. I am going to have to take a job away from someone the Red Wings actually want on the roster. And they’ve already told me in several ways that they don’t want me. This is my third crack at making the NHL—I’ve already played two seasons in the minors. Every year, a new bunch of rookies shows up, diminishing my odds. When I look around at the guys in camp, or when lying awake in bed last night, I have to ask whether I am good enough. I’m not an idiot. I know most people would say no. The Red Wings already said no.

I had been good enough once. As a kid, I played for an All-Ontario rep team. (By the way, that’s a big deal.) In my last year of junior hockey, I had twenty-eight goals and fifty-six assists for eighty-five points in fifty-five games. To put it in perspective, my fellow OHL player, Jason Spezza, had thirty-six goals and fifty assists and eighty-six points for the Windsor Spitfires in his best junior season. Spezza was chosen second overall in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He was beaten out by Ilya Kovalchuk, who was drafted first, and tore up the NHL for a while before walking away from $77 million and twelve years on his contract with New Jersey to play in Russia. Being drafted by the NHL doesn’t guarantee anything.

I know this too well as I wasn’t drafted at all. On draft day in 2001, part of me believed that there was at least one NHL general manager out there who would see what I could bring to a team, and another part of me believed that getting drafted was too good to be true. I wasn’t going to sit by the phone—I spent draft day at a pool party. When I came home, neither of my parents even mentioned the draft, and I didn’t ask if anyone had called. It was as if we had all moved on to the next plan of attack. I’d go to training camp as a free agent.

But still, it hurt. No one wanted me. Nearly 300 guys were taken, and not one GM wanted to use a ninth-round pick on me.

Well, I know why. The knock on me was that I was a “bad teammate.” Did this mean that I stole other players’ girlfriends? That I was an arrogant puck hog? That I put Tiger Balm in guys’ jockstraps and thought it was the funniest thing ever when they tried to extinguish the three-alarm fire burning up the family jewels?

No, none of the above. What it meant was that I played to win on every shift, and some other players don’t see the game that way. So I would let them know that they could do better. Since no one likes to be called out for dogging it, the rap landed on me that I was “bad in the room,” which in hockey-speak means you’re not one of the guys. Maybe it’s the same in other sports, but in hockey being one of the guys goes a long way. What it won’t do, though, is win you a puck battle in the corner. And it’s certainly not going to win you a fight.

So if I wasn’t going to make it as everyone’s best friend and all-round good guy, well, I’d have to make it as the opposite.


I did have one friend in Detroit, though. I knew Kris Draper from growing up in the same town that he did, Scarborough, Ontario, which is part of Toronto but so far from the city center that it’s known as “Scarberia.” In 1997–98, when Draper was then in his fifth season with the Red Wings (the one in which he’d win the second of his four Stanley Cups), we worked out at the same gym. I was playing for the Ontario under-17 team, which fell under the umbrella of the Canadian national hockey program, so as “elite players” we trained at the same facility as pros like Drapes.

He had success, money, and a lovely wife, he was a good husband, and he took care of everyone around him. He was close with his dad, he had friends, and when he let loose he could put any frat boy to shame. He was the best guy. Drapes also had the Red Wing workout gear, which was sponsored by Nike and which was very foreign to a Canadian kid—we had Bauer and that was it. Draper would show up in this gear and hand it out to guys like me. I saw how organized and disciplined and dedicated he was, and at that moment, I was the most in awe of anyone that I had ever been.

Draper was physically a specimen. He was not big, and that was important because neither was I. He was five-nine—and some days when he was feeling supreme he was five-ten—and 180 pounds of lean, cut muscle. He was one of the first guys to make being in top shape a cool thing. Spend any time in the gym with a guy like Drapes, and all you want is to be as chiseled as he is.

Drapes liked me because I pushed him hard and wanted to beat him at everything. So every day he showed up at the gym he had a hungry dog on his ass who reminded him that I wanted to take his job. He later told me that I added years onto his career, but at that point I was just working as hard as I could to keep up with him.

One of Detroit’s scouts, Joe McDonnell, helped me, too. McDonnell had been a minor-league defenseman who played a few games in the NHL for Vancouver and Pittsburgh. He’d moved on to coaching in the Ontario Hockey League, and he knew I could play. Mac was not a suit-and-tie guy, he was a players’ guy, a real hockey man—he loved the game and wasn’t interested in playing politics, so when he said that I had a shot in Detroit, I believed him. He wasn’t the kind of guy to flatter a no-hoper. I had a reputation as bad as they come and Mac’s job was to have good judgment. In my mind, he’d put his job on the line by taking a chance on me, and I wouldn’t let him down.

But even with Drapes and McDonnell in my corner at that training camp in September 2001, I needed to do more than just play. Everyone in camp could play hockey at an elite level, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. And they all know me, because I’d played against most of them in junior. There will be times later in my career when I will most definitely wish I could take a break from my reputation, but now it’s the thing that makes me stand out and I am going to use it to my advantage. I’m here to get noticed, and a bad reputation makes that a lot easier.

Basically, Avery knew he had to make a HUGE splash to make the team. It was his third shot and he had to beat out a guy currently on the roster. Yeah, yeah, I know you'll say that year was the greatest hockey team ever and this past year was the worst hockey team ever... That is the point. This is the drive you should want from your prospects. "You said I'm not good enough and you're gonna play Adam Erne over me? Well, f*** you, I'm gonna make my mark and make you take notice of me." This is also why you might want a veteran who is "shitty at hockey" around. Draper was not shitty at hockey, but he was certainly no superstar. But he instilled a work ethic in everyone because he was a red ass. Brendan Shanahan once said the biggest help to him in his career was some nobody, Doug Sulliman. He helped refine Shanny's shot. He was a complete non-entity in the history of the league, but he took under his wing one of the premier goal scorers of the 90s and 2000s.

I sometimes see fans who question certain signings or the addition of certain players who maybe don’t measure up based on some metrics. And I think what they overlook is that it’s not necessarily the superstar on the team that imparts the most knowledge to young players who are developing. There are guys who can make a huge, franchise-changing difference with the leadership they provide off the ice.
For example, people will always ask me, “Who taught you how to shoot? Brett Hull?” And I’ll tell them, “No actually, it was Doug Sulliman.” Doug was a veteran guy when I joined the Devils early in my career. Playingwise he was in and out of the lineup, but he impacted my career because he had the time and the interest to pay it forward to us young guys and help us learn how to be pros. You can learn from superstars by watching them, but those guys have so much pressure on them that they need to put all their focus into doing their job. So it’s hard for them to spend a lot of time dissecting the game of a young player who’s coming up, and explaining to them how to improve. Also, sometimes a guy with that level of talent is just so naturally gifted that they can’t really fully explain it to others.
And that’s why healthy organizations need guys like Doug Sulliman. He transformed the way I shot the puck at a young age and that made me a much better player. And then when I went to St. Louis, I learned from Brett Hull by watching him.
I think people want to assume that you learn everything from NHL All-Stars, but when you look at the Matthews, the Marners and the Nylanders, you don’t really know who’s going to say the right thing at the right moment or provide an example that will put your young players on the right course. So our job sometimes is identifying those veteran players who can impart the right values and tasking them with sharing their wisdom so that our young players can get the most out of their careers.


TL;DR

This isn't to give guys like Erne and Biega and otherwise a pass. Just that if you want to be in the NHL? It's on you. It's never anyone else. If the Red Wings sign Adam Erne over promoting Givani Smith? Givani Smith didn't do enough to impress them to force the issue. That's how you improve. That's how you get better. Detroit got too fat on its own hype and kept guys around long after their usefulness had waned. Dennis Cholowski wants to make the roster? He needs to be better than Alex Biega. By your standards, that shouldn't be a difficult task.

You aren't owed a shot... if you're drafted? That's your shot. Don't throw it away by pissing and moaning. I personally feel bad for Svech because every time it looked like they were going to invest in him, he went down with a long term injury. But sadly, that is the way the cookie crumbled. He's still got an opportunity because he's still on the roster, but he's got to make it impossible to let him go if he wants to stick.
 

Gniwder

Registered User
Oct 12, 2009
14,130
7,492
Bellingham, WA
Even though we as fans can mostly judge players in games, the coaching staff is judging these players in practice also. If Smith brings a lot more than Erne, he is likely showing that in practice. At that point it's only a matter of time before Smith is getting games ahead of Erne.
I think the uncomfortable truth sometimes is that the prospects aren't bringing a lot more than the guys in the lineup. In our situation we should be moving in youth as much as possible, but we shouldn't force it either and not make them earn (Erne) it. Time and time again we see that the legit young players are not denied. It's a learning process for them also to f*cking BRING IT if they want to play.
SMith plays a heavy game, and I don't really think you want Smith getting physical in practice against our own players.

If the end goal is to give Smith another season in GR to work on his offensive game, then I get it but he's already shown more in games than Erne has all of last season.

I also think there's about a 50/50 chance Smith gets picked by Seattle. He fills a need, whereas the rest of the players the WIngs will expose are dime a dozen players that can be picked up in free agency.
 

Lil Sebastian Cossa

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Jul 6, 2012
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SMith plays a heavy game, and I don't really think you want Smith getting physical in practice against our own players.

If the end goal is to give Smith another season in GR to work on his offensive game, then I get it but he's already shown more in games than Erne has all of last season.

I also think there's about a 50/50 chance Smith gets picked by Seattle. He fills a need, whereas the rest of the players the WIngs will expose are dime a dozen players that can be picked up in free agency.

Yes, I f***ing do. I want Givani Smith to go hard in practice, because why should I just assume that he can "bring it", come game time if he doesn't in practice? He doesn't have to go cheapshotting guys or whatever... but yes, I absolutely want him to be physical in practice.
 

MBH

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Yes, I f***ing do. I want Givani Smith to go hard in practice, because why should I just assume that he can "bring it", come game time if he doesn't in practice? He doesn't have to go cheapshotting guys or whatever... but yes, I absolutely want him to be physical in practice.

Smith won't enjoy a long career in the NHL if he's running good players like Larkin or Hronek in practice, are hitting veterans like Filppula/Nielsen in practice.
I'm sorry, but if you're a prospect and your reaction to a guy like Erne playing is "Man, I'm getting a raw deal.." I don't want you on my f***ing team.

Excerpt from Sean Avery's book

LAST CHANCE

I’ve wanted this since I was five years old. I’m now twenty-one, and time is running out.

Of course, looking back I realize I had lots of time, but in September 2001, all I knew was that playing the game I loved more than anything in the NHL was the only option. There was no Plan B.


My heart is pounding. I am here to earn a spot on the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. The fact that people are already talking about this as one of the best teams in history isn’t going to make things any easier. I am going to have to take a job away from someone the Red Wings actually want on the roster. And they’ve already told me in several ways that they don’t want me. This is my third crack at making the NHL—I’ve already played two seasons in the minors. Every year, a new bunch of rookies shows up, diminishing my odds. When I look around at the guys in camp, or when lying awake in bed last night, I have to ask whether I am good enough. I’m not an idiot. I know most people would say no. The Red Wings already said no.

I had been good enough once. As a kid, I played for an All-Ontario rep team. (By the way, that’s a big deal.) In my last year of junior hockey, I had twenty-eight goals and fifty-six assists for eighty-five points in fifty-five games. To put it in perspective, my fellow OHL player, Jason Spezza, had thirty-six goals and fifty assists and eighty-six points for the Windsor Spitfires in his best junior season. Spezza was chosen second overall in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He was beaten out by Ilya Kovalchuk, who was drafted first, and tore up the NHL for a while before walking away from $77 million and twelve years on his contract with New Jersey to play in Russia. Being drafted by the NHL doesn’t guarantee anything.

I know this too well as I wasn’t drafted at all. On draft day in 2001, part of me believed that there was at least one NHL general manager out there who would see what I could bring to a team, and another part of me believed that getting drafted was too good to be true. I wasn’t going to sit by the phone—I spent draft day at a pool party. When I came home, neither of my parents even mentioned the draft, and I didn’t ask if anyone had called. It was as if we had all moved on to the next plan of attack. I’d go to training camp as a free agent.

But still, it hurt. No one wanted me. Nearly 300 guys were taken, and not one GM wanted to use a ninth-round pick on me.

Well, I know why. The knock on me was that I was a “bad teammate.” Did this mean that I stole other players’ girlfriends? That I was an arrogant puck hog? That I put Tiger Balm in guys’ jockstraps and thought it was the funniest thing ever when they tried to extinguish the three-alarm fire burning up the family jewels?

No, none of the above. What it meant was that I played to win on every shift, and some other players don’t see the game that way. So I would let them know that they could do better. Since no one likes to be called out for dogging it, the rap landed on me that I was “bad in the room,” which in hockey-speak means you’re not one of the guys. Maybe it’s the same in other sports, but in hockey being one of the guys goes a long way. What it won’t do, though, is win you a puck battle in the corner. And it’s certainly not going to win you a fight.

So if I wasn’t going to make it as everyone’s best friend and all-round good guy, well, I’d have to make it as the opposite.


I did have one friend in Detroit, though. I knew Kris Draper from growing up in the same town that he did, Scarborough, Ontario, which is part of Toronto but so far from the city center that it’s known as “Scarberia.” In 1997–98, when Draper was then in his fifth season with the Red Wings (the one in which he’d win the second of his four Stanley Cups), we worked out at the same gym. I was playing for the Ontario under-17 team, which fell under the umbrella of the Canadian national hockey program, so as “elite players” we trained at the same facility as pros like Drapes.

He had success, money, and a lovely wife, he was a good husband, and he took care of everyone around him. He was close with his dad, he had friends, and when he let loose he could put any frat boy to shame. He was the best guy. Drapes also had the Red Wing workout gear, which was sponsored by Nike and which was very foreign to a Canadian kid—we had Bauer and that was it. Draper would show up in this gear and hand it out to guys like me. I saw how organized and disciplined and dedicated he was, and at that moment, I was the most in awe of anyone that I had ever been.

Draper was physically a specimen. He was not big, and that was important because neither was I. He was five-nine—and some days when he was feeling supreme he was five-ten—and 180 pounds of lean, cut muscle. He was one of the first guys to make being in top shape a cool thing. Spend any time in the gym with a guy like Drapes, and all you want is to be as chiseled as he is.

Drapes liked me because I pushed him hard and wanted to beat him at everything. So every day he showed up at the gym he had a hungry dog on his ass who reminded him that I wanted to take his job. He later told me that I added years onto his career, but at that point I was just working as hard as I could to keep up with him.

One of Detroit’s scouts, Joe McDonnell, helped me, too. McDonnell had been a minor-league defenseman who played a few games in the NHL for Vancouver and Pittsburgh. He’d moved on to coaching in the Ontario Hockey League, and he knew I could play. Mac was not a suit-and-tie guy, he was a players’ guy, a real hockey man—he loved the game and wasn’t interested in playing politics, so when he said that I had a shot in Detroit, I believed him. He wasn’t the kind of guy to flatter a no-hoper. I had a reputation as bad as they come and Mac’s job was to have good judgment. In my mind, he’d put his job on the line by taking a chance on me, and I wouldn’t let him down.

But even with Drapes and McDonnell in my corner at that training camp in September 2001, I needed to do more than just play. Everyone in camp could play hockey at an elite level, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. And they all know me, because I’d played against most of them in junior. There will be times later in my career when I will most definitely wish I could take a break from my reputation, but now it’s the thing that makes me stand out and I am going to use it to my advantage. I’m here to get noticed, and a bad reputation makes that a lot easier.

Basically, Avery knew he had to make a HUGE splash to make the team. It was his third shot and he had to beat out a guy currently on the roster. Yeah, yeah, I know you'll say that year was the greatest hockey team ever and this past year was the worst hockey team ever... That is the point. This is the drive you should want from your prospects. "You said I'm not good enough and you're gonna play Adam Erne over me? Well, f*** you, I'm gonna make my mark and make you take notice of me." This is also why you might want a veteran who is "shitty at hockey" around. Draper was not shitty at hockey, but he was certainly no superstar. But he instilled a work ethic in everyone because he was a red ass. Brendan Shanahan once said the biggest help to him in his career was some nobody, Doug Sulliman. He helped refine Shanny's shot. He was a complete non-entity in the history of the league, but he took under his wing one of the premier goal scorers of the 90s and 2000s.

I sometimes see fans who question certain signings or the addition of certain players who maybe don’t measure up based on some metrics. And I think what they overlook is that it’s not necessarily the superstar on the team that imparts the most knowledge to young players who are developing. There are guys who can make a huge, franchise-changing difference with the leadership they provide off the ice.
For example, people will always ask me, “Who taught you how to shoot? Brett Hull?” And I’ll tell them, “No actually, it was Doug Sulliman.” Doug was a veteran guy when I joined the Devils early in my career. Playingwise he was in and out of the lineup, but he impacted my career because he had the time and the interest to pay it forward to us young guys and help us learn how to be pros. You can learn from superstars by watching them, but those guys have so much pressure on them that they need to put all their focus into doing their job. So it’s hard for them to spend a lot of time dissecting the game of a young player who’s coming up, and explaining to them how to improve. Also, sometimes a guy with that level of talent is just so naturally gifted that they can’t really fully explain it to others.
And that’s why healthy organizations need guys like Doug Sulliman. He transformed the way I shot the puck at a young age and that made me a much better player. And then when I went to St. Louis, I learned from Brett Hull by watching him.
I think people want to assume that you learn everything from NHL All-Stars, but when you look at the Matthews, the Marners and the Nylanders, you don’t really know who’s going to say the right thing at the right moment or provide an example that will put your young players on the right course. So our job sometimes is identifying those veteran players who can impart the right values and tasking them with sharing their wisdom so that our young players can get the most out of their careers.


TL;DR

This isn't to give guys like Erne and Biega and otherwise a pass. Just that if you want to be in the NHL? It's on you. It's never anyone else. If the Red Wings sign Adam Erne over promoting Givani Smith? Givani Smith didn't do enough to impress them to force the issue. That's how you improve. That's how you get better. Detroit got too fat on its own hype and kept guys around long after their usefulness had waned. Dennis Cholowski wants to make the roster? He needs to be better than Alex Biega. By your standards, that shouldn't be a difficult task.

You aren't owed a shot... if you're drafted? That's your shot. Don't throw it away by pissing and moaning. I personally feel bad for Svech because every time it looked like they were going to invest in him, he went down with a long term injury. But sadly, that is the way the cookie crumbled. He's still got an opportunity because he's still on the roster, but he's got to make it impossible to let him go if he wants to stick.

Don't act like the regular NHL player is in any way like Avery.
Few players have a chip on their shoulder the way he does.
 
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Jul 20, 2019
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Even though we as fans can mostly judge players in games, the coaching staff is judging these players in practice also. If Smith brings a lot more than Erne, he is likely showing that in practice. At that point it's only a matter of time before Smith is getting games ahead of Erne.
I think the uncomfortable truth sometimes is that the prospects aren't bringing a lot more than the guys in the lineup. In our situation we should be moving in youth as much as possible, but we shouldn't force it either and not make them earn (Erne) it. Time and time again we see that the legit young players are not denied. It's a learning process for them also to f*cking BRING IT if they want to play.

This idea that a 21-year-old needs to be better than a 35-year-old is crazy and short-sighted.
If you waited for this, only extremely talented players would ever unseat guys.
 

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