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

[joestevens29]

Seems like Hitch has historically worked with younger players better than TM. Hopefully that translates as we have way too many in the lineup.

 

[ujju2]

Edmonton Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock plans on scratching Ryan Nugent-Hopkins … from practice

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

 

[oobga]

Edmonton Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock plans on scratching Ryan Nugent-Hopkins … from practice

Nuge needs to go full Allen Iverson if any media guys question him on missing practice.

 

[Cloned]

I will say that they ignored Nurse making the same mistake both pre and post-Hitchcock.

 

[Del Preston]

 

[NeverForget06]

1. The background music in this is hilarious.

2. The difference in our puck retrieval/breakout is very impressive. That's something we've struggled with throughout the entirety of the decade of darkness.

 

[oilers'72]

delete

 

[McDNicks17]

That's the big thing I've noticed too.

Teams just can't enter the zone anymore and the transition game is night and day better.


You would have thought McLellan would have maybe clued in on doing something similar.

I believe it was around the 15 game mark where the Oilers offense was leading the league in dump-in % while also being the worst in the league at dump retrieval %. The Oilers are now doing what every other team was doing to them under McLellan

 

[Shathar]

courtesy of @LaGu


And that pretty much sums it up.

 

[nturn06]

Some of you likely have a great eye for spotting subtle changes that Hitch is making that Tmac did not.

I realize it is early and Hitch hasn't had a single practice with the team to this point, but what are you seeing?

The subtle difference I see is that Hitch is winning and Tmac was loosing.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

a lot of it is just a matter of taking the pressure off and better goaltending.

hitch is much better at controlling the media especially in a tense situation..

hopefully the goodness continues

 

[Spawn]

Cool to see this kind of breakdown. Really informative. I wonder where they get their stats.

 

[oobga]

Cool to see this kind of breakdown. Really informative. I wonder where they get their stats.

SportlogIQ. Mike Kelly runs @ThePointHockey on twitter and works for NHL network.

 

[Mr Positive]

I will say that they ignored Nurse making the same mistake both pre and post-Hitchcock.

Lol it is funny to see an outsider lay out that Nurse bad habit. They dont even know he does that that all the freakin time

 

[MessierII]

Zone defence instead of man to man, better puck support in all 3 zones, matching lines more, riding the top players more instead of overusing guys like Benning.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Cool to see this kind of breakdown. Really informative. I wonder where they get their stats.

So it does seem like coaching was holding us back a bit IMO.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Zone defence instead of man to man, better puck support in all 3 zones, matching lines more, riding the top players more instead of overusing guys like Benning.

Actual beneficial usage of timeouts.

 

[Jumptheshark]

energy is different

 

[SK13]

Actual beneficial usage of timeouts.

God... I wasn't the biggest McLellan hater in the world (I'm starting to see the light on that one now, though), but when they'd start to implode and he REFUSED to call a timeout I was always so f***ing furious.

 

[The Batman]

I think what makes Hitchcock a great coach is that along with his hockey smarts he's a tremendous leader. He puts in the work to evolve as a coach, not just the x's and o's, but in leadership. He's the only person in the NHL who attends leadership institutes and apparently attends two every offseason. He doesn't view it as a duty, no one is forcing him to do it. He actually loves studying this stuff.

Imo a great example of his leadership is the way he viewed our goaltending. A lot of fans here quickly soured on Talbot, but not Hitchcock. When he arrived, yeah, Talbot was really struggling to get his 100th career win, but what does Hitchcock do? After nearly every game (including tonight's) he talks about our goaltending and says it's a strength of the team, that we have two good goalies. It's no surprise that Talbot has rebounded and Hitchcock was right.

Puljujarvi is another great example. Sure, he hasn't played as well as someone drafted in his position, but it's hard to excel based on the way he was handled. Imagine being Finnish, playing in a new country, and a bubblegum-chewing koala benches your ass even after a good game. Then here comes Hitch, he requests the AHL call-up so that he could take personal responsibility for your development, says that you're a big part of the team. It's a night and day difference. One guy wanted to get rid of you, the other wants to work with you. As I said in a different thread, if Puljujarvi doesn't take the next step forward with Hitch as his coach, I don't think he ever will.

Having someone who is 100% behind you can make a hell of a difference.

 

[ThePhoenixx]

So it does seem like coaching was holding us back a bit IMO.

a bit?

 

[middletoe]

Haven’t seen any games. I’m wondering if McDavid could become a great 2-way player under Hitchcock?

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Haven’t seen any games. I’m wondering if McDavid could become a great 2-way player under Hitchcock?

He's already playing like a great two way player. One of the most underrated aspects of his game.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

SportlogIQ. Mike Kelly runs @ThePointHockey on twitter and works for NHL network.

Actual possession time and team possession time per zone is something you build on and a useful stat.