The Great Michal Kempny Debate (& other ex-Hawks) Volume 4
- Thread starter BobbyJet
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BK
"Goalie Apologist"
Rick C137
Registered User
- Jun 5, 2018
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JaegerDice
The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
- Dec 26, 2014
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I actually agree with PVR that the Blackhawks have more uni-directional players on their roster now than they have had in a long while. The roster used to have a lot of guys that were solid to great two-ways. Now, we have a lot of offensive talent, relatively little high-end 2-way talent.
Even Toews, right now, is being deployed with a heavy skew towards offense, moreso than Toews has ever had in the past. Q is leaning really hard on Kruger and his line to milk as much offense out of the top 6 as possible.
Even Toews, right now, is being deployed with a heavy skew towards offense, moreso than Toews has ever had in the past. Q is leaning really hard on Kruger and his line to milk as much offense out of the top 6 as possible.
pvr
Leather Skates
- Jan 22, 2008
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Likely the first time. The apocalypse must be upon us.
Cat seems somewhat adequate defensively, Kahun I’m not sure about. Deployment follows functional capabilities of the line. It’s constructed as an offensive line.
BK
"Goalie Apologist"
Jeffrey Lebowski
The Chicago Little Lebowski Urban Achievers
Honestly, we have a solid 5-7 forwards that are at the very least average in all 3 zones. But that's way less than you want for the entire lineup
Two-way play is mostly about effort. You aren't born poor defensively as a forward. You are ALLOWED to play that way by the coaching staff and the system. There is no teaching going on here. I am not even sure Q knows what their defensive responsibility SHOULD be. I think the team defense is a system problem more than anything.
pvr
Leather Skates
- Jan 22, 2008
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If it were that easy, then everyone would be Hossa or Toews. Every player is different. I do agree that somewhere along the way these players weren’t taught and that the lack of defensive awareness and effort is obvious. Makes trying to do it as a pro all the more difficult. The current system does nobody any favors, however, and the smurfs are getting pushed around.
Drafting defensively responsible two way forwards like Wise and maybe Kurashev helps, and will offset the picks like Nordgren, Sikura, and Kahun et al., who just aren’t as good as Sharp, Bolland or even Versteeg defensively, let alone offensively.
Hawkaholic
Registered User
JaegerDice
The mark of my dignity shall scar thy DNA
- Dec 26, 2014
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I agree.
A lot of people talk about hockey IQ, but they mean it almost entirely in terms of offense, of seeing plays develop and knowing where to go, or having vision of the ice, etc.
But there's just as much hockey IQ involved in seeing plays develop the other way and knowing where to go to interrupt them and cut them off, knowing when to push for offense vs when to stay conservative and make sure you're giving yourself the opportunity to get back to the right side of the puck in time.
If defense was as teachable as people sometimes like to think, then every coach would ensure their roster was filled with Patrice Bergerons. But there's still only one of him.
BK
"Goalie Apologist"
Being able to be taught and natural hockey IQ are different. It is all about how quickly the player reads and processes data. Toews, Hossa, PB, etc read and process data much more quickly than others then you add in their compete levels.
Kevin Musto
Hard for Bedard
- Feb 16, 2018
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Yeah Martin Kaut would've been a good add but we were drafting just a tad too high for him. Would've taken him at #10 where I ranked him. Really good 2 way winger. Not sure if the 2019 draft has anyone like that. All the high end forwards seem to be very offensive minded.
BobbyJet
watch the game, everything else is noise
/\ Of course hockey IQ involves defense as much as offense, probably moreso ....but to say it is not teachable is a laugh. The trick is for a player to always be aware on the ice and the abaility to pick your spots as to when to be aggressive on either side of the puck. It's not rocket science but if a player isn't taught to play both sides of the puck as a kid it is much tougher to teach as a pro, but it doesn't mean it can't be done. In my view, this is a big failure of Chicago's coaching staff. The team often looks like the keystone cops without the puck.
ChiHawk21
Registered User
- Jan 15, 2011
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Q's major problem is his failure to adapt to the current level of the team talent.
analogy >>>> forcing a square in the round hole.
analogy >>>> forcing a square in the round hole.
I guess it is just a coincidence that guys like Trotz can go to a team, and suddenly their team defense is excellent, where previously it sucked? With the same roster?
The Caps went from a bottom 10 team in goals against to a top 10 team when he arrived, with almost no change in the roster. Ovechkin even came out and credited him with changing his approach to the game.
Defense in hockey is not rocket science. Again, it is mostly effort...
The Caps went from a bottom 10 team in goals against to a top 10 team when he arrived, with almost no change in the roster. Ovechkin even came out and credited him with changing his approach to the game.
Defense in hockey is not rocket science. Again, it is mostly effort...
true but the problem with the Bhawks is the anchor of a contract that Q is signed to.
ChiHawks10
Registered User
A head coach(and his systems) have a lot to do with how a team plays defensively... and offensively... and pretty much how they play in general.
Hawkaholic
Registered User
I would say Holtby becoming a top goalie that year had more to do with it than Trotz. Sure, Trotz probably had an impact being a defensive minded coach, but he isn't the sole reason, and Ovechkin still sucks/sucked at defense.
I guess Lehner and Greiss both became much better goalies for the Islanders this year too.
Hawkaholic
Registered User
IMO, Lehner is a better goalie than anything they had last year, but let's wait more than 8 games before declaring they are a better defensive team.
It's besides the point, as a team, a coach can do wonders for defensive play, but each individual player isn't suddenly going to become a selke contender just because a coach taught him to play D, or he started working harder on the ice. Some may, but most don't have the ability.
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excellent pov and with that pov comes that Q is not using the right system for this team as it stand from last season to this season.
hence my analogy of a square peg in a round hole comment.
Holtby also had nothing to do with the Capitals giving up 5 less shots per game.... And the difference between Ovechkin pre and post Trotz is significant.
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