Player Discussion Teddy Blueger and Pius Suter

[petterdaddy]

I like almost everything he's done so far.

I expected him to be a very blunt instrument type but he's more intelligent than I gave him credit for, and it's so nice to actually have people talking about standards and accountability for the first time in a decade.

Arizona had really good defensive/PK records with him there but couldn't score. But was their personnel ever going to score much with any coach?

Yeah that’s been my feeling too. He’s shocked me to be a much more cerebral coach than I thought he would have been. I was a little hesitant on Foote given his not great coaching resume, but hearing from players how he’s helped them along with Gonchar is great.

 

[MS]

Yeah that’s been my feeling too. He’s shocked me to be a much more cerebral coach than I thought he would have been. I was a little hesitant on Foote given his not great coaching resume, but hearing from players how he’s helped them along with Gonchar is great.

Yeah, same on Foote. His stint in Kelowna wasn't great ... but then maybe he's just one of those guys who is better suited as an assistant. It's interesting that this is his first assistant coaching job at any significant level of hockey - he held a bunch of jobs in the Avalanche organization for several years and then went straight to being a WHL head coach.

 

[Vector]

Yeah, same on Foote. His stint in Kelowna wasn't great ... but then maybe he's just one of those guys who is better suited as an assistant. It's interesting that this is his first assistant coaching job at any significant level of hockey - he held a bunch of jobs in the Avalanche organization for several years and then went straight to being a WHL head coach.

Had typed out the exact same thing. I said this earlier with Boudreau but a hugely underrated part of team cohesion is the assistant coaches. Having a coaching unit that compliments and works well together instead of the patchwork that we've seen for years is huge. Defined roles and focuses for everyone. There's no confusion for players over who they can turn to for help or advice.

 

[MS]

Had typed out the exact same thing. I said this earlier with Boudreau but a hugely underrated part of team cohesion is the assistant coaches. Having a coaching unit that compliments and works well together instead of the patchwork that we've seen for years is huge. Defined roles and focuses for everyone. There's no confusion for players over who they can turn to for help or advice.

Yeah, I think back to a guy like Rick Ley who was a great assistant coach here and then absolutely lost as the head coach. Dave Lewis in Detroit is another one.

It's a totally different thing being 'the guy' making the decisions than it is to be the good cop working with the players behind the scenes and being a guy leaned on for advice by the head coach. Maybe it just took Foote some time to find his niche.

And yeah, seems like the most cohesive coaching group we've had here since the AV years. But almost everything right now about the organization is 'best since 2013'.

 

[petterdaddy]

Yeah, I think back to a guy like Rick Ley who was a great assistant coach here and then absolutely lost as the head coach. Dave Lewis in Detroit is another one.

It's a totally different thing being 'the guy' making the decisions than it is to be the good cop working with the players behind the scenes and being a guy leaned on for advice by the head coach. Maybe it just took Foote some time to find his niche.

And yeah, seems like the most cohesive coaching group we've had here since the AV years. But almost everything right now about the organization is 'best since 2013'.

Honestly I thought I was going to be a lot more annoyed at Yeo sticking around given my irrational dislike of him from his previous jobs, but I think even he’s doing well with the PK..

 

[VanJack]

Maybe the most impressive thing is that three of Rutherford-Allvin's most important UFA signings weren't even in the lineup last night--Blueger, Mikheyev and Soucy.

And as far as Canuck coaching is concerned, it isn't all on Tocchet. Gonchar, Foote and Yeo might be one of the most experienced and solid assistant coaching groups in team history. You can already see the impact Foot-Gonchar are having on the Canuck blueline.

 

[F A N]

Suter has dominated the Oilers in the faceoff circle in the two games: 18W-5L.

 

[Vector]

Suter has dominated the Oilers in the faceoff circle in the two games: 18W-5L.

It’s strange because he’s never been particularly good at face-offs, yet to start the season he’s over 78%.

 

[F A N]

It’s strange because he’s never been particularly good at face-offs, yet to start the season he’s over 78%.

It's obviously not sustainable. I think Dickinson started last year winning over 50% of his faceoffs for while. But generally faceoffs is something players improve on. Bonino was like that too. Got to Nashville and started winning more of his faceoffs.

 

[Vector]

It's obviously not sustainable. I think Dickinson started last year winning over 50% of his faceoffs for while. But generally faceoffs is something players improve on. Bonino was like that too. Got to Nashville and started winning more of his faceoffs.

It was talked a lot this off-season, I think in a bunch of Crosby and Bedard pieces, how face-offs is pretty much the only skill that doesn’t erode but improves.

 

[F A N]

It was talked a lot this off-season, I think in a bunch of Crosby and Bedard pieces, how face-offs is pretty much the only skill that doesn’t erode but improves.

Ya it's why I don't get how some Cs can be below 46% for years and years. I'm hoping Petey can make the jump in faceoff proficiency.

 

[alternate]

If Suter keeps playing well, and Bluegers returns strong, who knows they might even each get their own thread.

 

[logan5]

It's good to hear Suter is playing well, but the first 2 games I don't recall the announcer mentioning his name once.

Blueger misses a lot of games. Not sure how much we can count on him this season.