Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Some serious props to the real reason the U.S. team won: Coach Blais! USA Hockey: PLEASE keep the WJC team in the hands of coaches like Dean-o!
WJC: The Official Dean Blais is "The Man" Thread
- Thread starter Rabid Ranger
- Start date
Anyone hear this guys interview after the game? What a class act, USA is lucky to having such an inspiring coach.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100106/ap_on_sp_ho_ga_su/hko_world_juniors_4
Smart, classy, and tough. What more could you want in a coach?
Bravo, sir. Well done.
Smart, classy, and tough. What more could you want in a coach?
Bravo, sir. Well done.
leaflover
Stanley Cup 2022
He did a great job.
Funny thing is, after the states scored their second goal both of us watching simultaineoulsy said "pull him"(Allen) yet it was Blais who later made the correct choice in regards to his teams goaltending.
Funny thing is, after the states scored their second goal both of us watching simultaineoulsy said "pull him"(Allen) yet it was Blais who later made the correct choice in regards to his teams goaltending.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
if I could do the "we're not worthy, we're not worthy" motion from Wayne's World on here, I would. Dean is the man. Many of us who stood by this team knew from the get go that this would be a different team then previous entries. Not many of us expected Gold, but we definitely believed he could take us there.
I think either William H, or Rabid Ranger said it best, NEVER EVER go back to USNDP coaches for this team. If you want to win, you need to get the best guys possible, and Dean certainly is one of them. I am sure Jack Parker probably would never do this stuff again, but there are plenty of solid D-1 coaches out there that would do a tremendous job with the talent level we bring every year.
I am personally hoping that Dean comes back next year, and with it being on home soil, I think it makes his decision even easier. The guy is a class act, and in a way, he definitely reminds me of Herb Brooks with his respectful yet non fearful approach to any game, player, or situation.
Congrats boys!
I think either William H, or Rabid Ranger said it best, NEVER EVER go back to USNDP coaches for this team. If you want to win, you need to get the best guys possible, and Dean certainly is one of them. I am sure Jack Parker probably would never do this stuff again, but there are plenty of solid D-1 coaches out there that would do a tremendous job with the talent level we bring every year.
I am personally hoping that Dean comes back next year, and with it being on home soil, I think it makes his decision even easier. The guy is a class act, and in a way, he definitely reminds me of Herb Brooks with his respectful yet non fearful approach to any game, player, or situation.
Congrats boys!
After last year's debacle with Ron Rolston, I was thoroughly disgusted with USA Hockey.
They more than made amends for it by choosing Dean Blais this year. Calm, experienced, focused ... there couldn't have been a better choice. Kudos to USA Hockey for finally getting it right.
They more than made amends for it by choosing Dean Blais this year. Calm, experienced, focused ... there couldn't have been a better choice. Kudos to USA Hockey for finally getting it right.
Blind Gardien
nexus of the crisis
He created a Team. I wasn't sure what to expect from USA this year, on paper I looked at some names I'm familiar with from the OHL in, say, Lashoff and Jenks, and wondered a bit, since they have been rather ordinary OHLers and, for example, would never get a sniff at a Team Canada camp based on their OHL personas. If they were among the best USA had... yikes, etc. Well, with Blais' Team, I could finally see EVERYBODY buying into their roles, doing their jobs. Execution was consistent and as flawless as you can get in hockey, really. A lot of USA teams in the past seemed to have some individuals or passengers. Or guys who weren't quite on the same wavelength. Or who were their own shows. But whatever Blais did, it was indeed like an optimal Team Canada from the past, where everybody bought into their roles, did their jobs, and executed consistently. Actually, they totally out-Canada'ed Canada this time. They were ferocious with their shotblocking, I didn't see anybody's feet dragging or anybody coast on a shift, feet were moving, the forecheck was always there to create turnovers, they were always getting into the shooting lanes. When a team does that, it transcends minor differences in individual player skill levels. Whether there even were differences or not. Kudos to Blais. I had no problem cheering for that Team USA relative to some of the previous Team USAs.
BillyShoe1721
Terriers
William H Bonney
Registered User
A lot of things already said here that I couldn't agree with more.
As a USA Hockey fanatic, the best thing about this win is it will force the head honchos to admit they were wrong and this new process, "borrowed" from the Canadians is the only way to go. A lot of us had be calling for these type of changes for years and from what I've read, it was Blais that spearheaded this movement. With the Gold Medal coming home from a team that almost everyone wrote off as having a shot on the Bronze Medal Game at best - including Americans - they can't deny these changes again. The Gold Medal and the results etched in stone are great, but the confirmation of this process, the Canadian process, is the real golden nugget for USA Hockey from this tournament.
It pains me to look back at the talent we wasted in this tournament on coaches like Ron Rolston and with an inferior process that essentially stopped the summer before the tournament. Of course it's hindsight and nothing is for sure, but I'd imagine had these changes taken place earlier, we'd have more than just a bronze in between our two gold medals.
Bravo to Dean Blais, his staff, and this team!
As a USA Hockey fanatic, the best thing about this win is it will force the head honchos to admit they were wrong and this new process, "borrowed" from the Canadians is the only way to go. A lot of us had be calling for these type of changes for years and from what I've read, it was Blais that spearheaded this movement. With the Gold Medal coming home from a team that almost everyone wrote off as having a shot on the Bronze Medal Game at best - including Americans - they can't deny these changes again. The Gold Medal and the results etched in stone are great, but the confirmation of this process, the Canadian process, is the real golden nugget for USA Hockey from this tournament.
It pains me to look back at the talent we wasted in this tournament on coaches like Ron Rolston and with an inferior process that essentially stopped the summer before the tournament. Of course it's hindsight and nothing is for sure, but I'd imagine had these changes taken place earlier, we'd have more than just a bronze in between our two gold medals.
Bravo to Dean Blais, his staff, and this team!
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
I find it kind of weird that Ron Rolston coached our under 17 boys to Gold earlier in the week!!! 
Not sure how he did that, but that is another team that wasn't expected to win, yet did. I am not saying Ron Rolston wasn't the problem, but he is still a huge part of USA Hockey as he is the one guiding our under 17 boys. That scares me a little bit, but he did just coach them to Gold, so if that is where he can handle it best, then keep him there and never move him up.
Not sure how he did that, but that is another team that wasn't expected to win, yet did. I am not saying Ron Rolston wasn't the problem, but he is still a huge part of USA Hockey as he is the one guiding our under 17 boys. That scares me a little bit, but he did just coach them to Gold, so if that is where he can handle it best, then keep him there and never move him up.
William H Bonney
Registered User
I find it kind of weird that Ron Rolston coached our under 17 boys to Gold earlier in the week!!!
Not sure how he did that, but that is another team that wasn't expected to win, yet did. I am not saying Ron Rolston wasn't the problem, but he is still a huge part of USA Hockey as he is the one guiding our under 17 boys. That scares me a little bit, but he did just coach them to Gold, so if that is where he can handle it best, then keep him there and never move him up.
That's a whole different animal though. Those kids for the most part are 16. The US has always done well in that tournament, as sending a team already playing together is a big help at that level. He deserves credit and he even coached the Under 18 team to the World Championship after leading his disaster at the WJC last year, but the WJC is on a whole other elevated level.
I don't like to hate on Ron Rolston but watching him implode in the last WJC was infuriating to watch. And then he wonders why the teenagers following his lead did the same....There's a reason he's sitll with the NTDP and IIRC is the longest tenured coach in the program's history. Maybe he really loves it there and is loyal - which would be nice - but I'm guessing he hasn't received a better opportunity, unlike every other NTDP coach before him.
AmericanDream
Thank you Elon!
did he ever make a team, ive never seen USA play as a team like this, no individuals.. canada had a full line of individulas late in the game, hall and kadri both trying to be a hero and turning the puck over.
I cant think of one selfish player on USA this year, and that is probably the first time ever.
Not only that, but they were modest in winning, and humble in defeat, shockingly un-american.
when I think USA juniors I think jack johnsons elbow after downies goal, hopefully this new team is the way things are heading fo USA
I cant think of one selfish player on USA this year, and that is probably the first time ever.
Not only that, but they were modest in winning, and humble in defeat, shockingly un-american.
when I think USA juniors I think jack johnsons elbow after downies goal, hopefully this new team is the way things are heading fo USA
William H Bonney
Registered User
Nice, stereotyping at its finest!!
Wow. Have you even seen all the **** some Canadian juniors have pulled in recent times?
I love the way he incorperated USA's speed into their game plan, and made sure his player's stuck to the game plan
Much, much better coach than Desjardins
Much, much better coach than Desjardins
puck swami
Registered User
- Apr 29, 2004
- 267
- 44
Blais is coach at Nebraska-Omaha now, not North Dakota. He left North Dakota in 2004 and was associate head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets for a while until he got fired. He spent a year with the Fargo Force in the USHL and then went to UNO last year when Mike Kemp was fired.
I think the American assistant coaches were also a huge reason they won. Mark Osiecki was the best shotblocker in college hockey history as a player at Wisconsin, and he;s a Badger assistant coach now and he really was responsible for getting the USA to block as many shots as they did.
I think that was a huge difference maker in the gold medal game.
I think the American assistant coaches were also a huge reason they won. Mark Osiecki was the best shotblocker in college hockey history as a player at Wisconsin, and he;s a Badger assistant coach now and he really was responsible for getting the USA to block as many shots as they did.
I think that was a huge difference maker in the gold medal game.
LTIR Trickery
Plz stop pucks
They're all perfect little angels.
I really loved seeing this team work as a cohesive unit. Fantastic.
I had the privilege of being a season ticket holder at University of North Dakota during Blais' tenure, and was blessed to see what great coaching can produce.
A few highlights that epitomize his time there:
First, its no accident that Landon Wilson - a fabulously-talented player - but who didn't fit in with the Blais philosophy which included 100% class attendance (or you're running), 100% on-time to practices (or you're running), no dorm violations (or you're running) ... and so on. Blais sets high standards, and insists on players meeting them; more than a few players got left home for a road trip, and that included star players like Jason Blake and Ryan Johnson. This is very much in the Herb Brooks mold, but it created tangible chemistry as the year(s) passed.
Second, he won the 1997 national title with a team that was undersized and undertalented (one draft choice on the roster, Brad DeFauw). One of Blais' walkons, Matt Henderson, was the MVP of the Frozen Four.
Third, his relationship with Ralph Engelstad and the resulting conversations helped put in place Engelstad's $100 million gift that turned into a fabulous facility, which in turn has brought recruits to town like Parise and Toews, World Curling, and the 2005 WJC. Visionary.
Fourth, he set the standard for what was a good game and what wasn't. One night, after the Sioux clinched another WCHA Conference title, he was on the radio talking about how much room for improvement there was, that he and the staff and team would be watching game films and weren't happy with the performance (after winning by multiple goals).
Humble on the outside, driven on the inside, and always thinking three steps ahead. When he says USA had to out-Canada the Canadians, its a sincere comment and reflects his genuine respect for an outstanding opponent.
Hockey breeds great character, and its been a privilege to be a fan of Dean's teams for over 20 years.
A few highlights that epitomize his time there:
First, its no accident that Landon Wilson - a fabulously-talented player - but who didn't fit in with the Blais philosophy which included 100% class attendance (or you're running), 100% on-time to practices (or you're running), no dorm violations (or you're running) ... and so on. Blais sets high standards, and insists on players meeting them; more than a few players got left home for a road trip, and that included star players like Jason Blake and Ryan Johnson. This is very much in the Herb Brooks mold, but it created tangible chemistry as the year(s) passed.
Second, he won the 1997 national title with a team that was undersized and undertalented (one draft choice on the roster, Brad DeFauw). One of Blais' walkons, Matt Henderson, was the MVP of the Frozen Four.
Third, his relationship with Ralph Engelstad and the resulting conversations helped put in place Engelstad's $100 million gift that turned into a fabulous facility, which in turn has brought recruits to town like Parise and Toews, World Curling, and the 2005 WJC. Visionary.
Fourth, he set the standard for what was a good game and what wasn't. One night, after the Sioux clinched another WCHA Conference title, he was on the radio talking about how much room for improvement there was, that he and the staff and team would be watching game films and weren't happy with the performance (after winning by multiple goals).
Humble on the outside, driven on the inside, and always thinking three steps ahead. When he says USA had to out-Canada the Canadians, its a sincere comment and reflects his genuine respect for an outstanding opponent.
Hockey breeds great character, and its been a privilege to be a fan of Dean's teams for over 20 years.
I have to say as a Canadian, it tears me up to lose to our southern neighbours. However, when I watched the game I New Years Eve I thought that team USA was playing far better "Canadian" hockey than was team Canada. So as much as I'm disappointed in the loss, if there was one team I didn't mind losing to it was this one. Congrats to team USA and coach Blais.
