Tmac vs Hitch (what is Hitch doing different than Tmac)

[Pointteen]

While I believe you, depending on how this goes I hope we can keep him and still dump Chia. I've loved most of the things he's talked about so far

I think less than a full season where the Oilers are somehow "underdogs" to make the playoffs is precisely the amount of time to let Hitchcock coach. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he crushes it and turns this roster into an angry bull. I just want wins.

 

[Cypress]

Hitchcock: I have all the answers
McLellan: I don't have any answers

 

[elmeroil]

You think he'll never come into contact with the great hockey minds of the Edmonton Oilers?

I think he's too strong to fall into their garbage dumpster.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

@Bryanbryoil usually handles these, I think?

He PM'd me, any Mod here can vouch for or shoot down rumors. Based on the PM, I would lean towards giving him the benefit of the doubt. That said if things go well I would hope that he could be persuaded to come back for anther season or two.

 

[rboomercat90]

If you didn’t mention TMac, first blurb actually sounds eerily like Eakins

They had a very similar approach. Where I think it was the biggest is that they both expected their players to be a finished product by the time they got them. They weren’t interested in doing any teaching. I don’t think that’s realistic anymore.

 

[WigWam]

Hitch is making players play for each other instead or competing against their own teammates.

 

[PaPaDee]

My enthusiasm for Hitch is much more tempered than most. Yes, he's saying a lot of the "right" things, but Todd has also said a lot of the right things in the past as well. One thing I'm excited to see is better line matching, why Todd never pursued this is beyond me.

I'm hopefully Hitch can have a positive impact, but not feeling very confident yet.

 

[McDNicks17]

“Our team, before, sometimes all the lines wanted to play like Connor’s line,” assessed Kassian, looking at a suddenly changing culture and trying to make sense of it all. “Connor’s line is going to have its own way to play, and the other lines need to find an identity."

This is exactly what I was talking about earlier in the thread.

The bottom six(and even the second line sometimes) were doomed to fail under McLellan because they were either being told to play like Connor(or trying to play like Connor and not being told not to) with about 1/100th of the skill he has.

I was getting so tired of McLellan just rolling lines like every line was equal.

 

[missinthejets]

The big thing is Mclellan was slow to adjust, I don't think Hitchcock is like that, if something isn't working he won't stick with it stubbornly just waiting for it to click.

 

[ManofSteel55]

It's the first game after a big change up. I'll reserve any thoughts on Hitch's coaching style until at least game 5.

I will say though, I loved how Lucic immediately woke up.

I love how Hitch basically said that Lucic needs to stop disengaging while on the ice.

 

[snipes]

Hitch is giving this team an identity outside of McDavid.

I love it, I bet we see Lucic play his best hockey in nearly two years under Hitch. That third line could wreck havoc on other teams D.

Hockey is a game of intimidation and when you can intimidate with your skilled lines and with your smash everything grinding lines it makes for a formidable team.

 

[nightfighter]

Prime example of how they're different was the morning scrum today and they asked Hitch which goalie was starting. Where Tmac would have given the standard non-answer, Hitch disarms everybody with a sarcastic joke. Love it.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Dinosaur Hitch puts Lucic out in the final seconds
McLellan is laughing somewhere

 

[YEGman]

Lucic on for the last minute. Sad

 

[JordanGalhanth]

That was fun while it lasted.

 

[syz]

McLellan used Lucic in the last minute to try and score a goal because his team was losing.
Hitchcock uses Lucic in the last minute to try and defend a 1 goal lead while his team is winning.

Totally different.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

McLellan used Lucic in the last minute to try and score a goal because his team was losing.
Hitchcock uses Lucic in the last minute to try and defend a 1 goal lead while his team is winning.

Totally different.

Same result.

 

[CycloneSweep]

Same result.

Lucic wasn't at fault for the goal against though. Another goal against cause by Klerbom not getting the puck deep

 

[Bank Shot]

Lucic wasn't at fault for the goal against though. Another goal against cause by Klerbom not getting the puck deep

Why does there always have to be blame?

That goal was pure fluke. Hits Koskinen's blocker, bounces off the chest of the Duck and falls right onto his stick with a wide open net.

You could redo that shot 19 times out of 20 and likely nothing happens and the Oilers win.

 

[Del Preston]

I like the new forecheck. Lucic's line was the best at it today, the others had some issues on where to be at times.

 

[tiger_80]

As long as the Oilers have Rattie, Spooner, Caggiula on the second line and AHL defensemen on the bottom pairing, with no real top pairing d, it does not matter what the coach does. The team is not going to be competitive.
The year they made playoffs, they had Eberle, Maroon in the top 6. Letestu was playing well. Helathy Sekera. Insert those players in the line-up and this team would be close to the top of Western conference. Part of it is bad contracts and losing trades, part of it is failure to draft and develop talent.

 

[TheNumber4]

I like the new forecheck. Lucic's line was the best at it today, the others had some issues on where to be at times.

Me too. Execution is a mixed bag. But when the forecheck is executed, it really does smother the opposition good. Maybe our first forward doesn't get the puck back, maybe the 2nd doesn't get it, but by the time the 3rd forward is doing his job in tandem with our D there's definitely some high turnover potential there.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Nearly every zone entry and zone exit today was played along the wall any time there was pressure, felt very much like late 90's hockey. I understand the rational if you feel your d aren't upto the task of moving the puck, but I think that style of play has gone out of fashion for a reason, it won't take coaches long to pick up on this and I suspect inside of 2 weeks we will see aggressive pinches on our boards and might become more prone to being hemmed in the d-zone.

 

[TheNumber4]

Nearly every zone entry and zone exit today was played along the wall any time there was pressure, felt very much like late 90's hockey. I understand the rational if you feel your d aren't upto the task of moving the puck, but I think that style of play has gone out of fashion for a reason, it won't take coaches long to pick up on this and I suspect inside of 2 weeks we will see aggressive pinches on our boards and might become more prone to being hemmed in the d-zone.

We were already prone to being hemmed in our D zone though. It just depended on if the other team turned it up a notch and execute a good forecheck that funnels the puck naturally to the boards near our blue line. At that point a forward and D pinches our winger who's tasked with making a play and breaking the puck out (this is the Lucic Turnover Spot).

From my listening to Hitch the goal would be for 4 players to be in a support position when that Lucic Turnover Position happens. Any losses of the puck can be quickly fought for and covered while proving even more options for the Winger needing to make a play.

 

[Rafters]

Wonder how Long Tii there are media leaks that Todd didn’t like Hall or Eberle.. that Todd wanted them traded and Chia Just made the deals to please Todd and give him a more physical veteran team ....usual Oilers Media thing to do