Welcome Max McCormick

[henchman21]

Tampa gets their talent by great scouting... probably the best business (up there with Anaheim). They also heavily rely on great AHL vets that are high character guys. You're simply not going to find a better young leadership group to groom kids than Conacher, Dumont, and Andreoff. Before them they had Mike Angelidis. The great AHL teams need those types of players and they need to be rewarded by the organization. I know people hate Agozzino around here, but he is that level of guy. A couple more vets like that could really help. Then find a great coach that can connect with young players. A guy who should have been hired here, but is killing with Tampas org comes to min. Then be able to scout and get those steals... the most underrated signing last spring was that of Alex Barre-Boulet. Nobody really picked up on it.. I said this:



Today... you could poll AHL coaches and find that Barre-Boulet is the rookie brought up the most as most impressive. The kid is legit and it comes from them being able to find high end talent that is being overlooked. Their scouts understand what tools are needed to make it in the NHL and how to develop those tools.

TLDR... find the AHL vets to set your culture. Surround it with a great coaching staff. Then find the talent. Within this thread McCormick is the type of leader you want around an AHL team. I could see him in the Agozzino, Alt, and McCormick leadership group next year.

 

[Pokecheque]

Tampa gets their talent by great scouting... probably the best business (up there with Anaheim). They also heavily rely on great AHL vets that are high character guys. You're simply not going to find a better young leadership group to groom kids than Conacher, Dumont, and Andreoff. Before them they had Mike Angelidis. The great AHL teams need those types of players and they need to be rewarded by the organization. I know people hate Agozzino around here, but he is that level of guy. A couple more vets like that could really help. Then find a great coach that can connect with young players. A guy who should have been hired here, but is killing with Tampas org comes to min. Then be able to scout and get those steals... the most underrated signing last spring was that of Alex Barre-Boulet. Nobody really picked up on it.. I said this:



Today... you could poll AHL coaches and find that Barre-Boulet is the rookie brought up the most as most impressive. The kid is legit and it comes from them being able to find high end talent that is being overlooked. Their scouts understand what tools are needed to make it in the NHL and how to develop those tools.

TLDR... find the AHL vets to set your culture. Surround it with a great coaching staff. Then find the talent.

I agree that you need guys like Aggz (and I think to a lesser extent, Joly will be another one of those guys) to make not only the affiliate be successful in its own right, but to bolster the development of the actual prospects passing through.

I've always wondered why the Avs have missed so horribly when it comes to AHL vets. The last time they went heavy on them to try and bolster the then-Lake Erie Monsters' fortunes, they went out and got probably the best AHL player available in Darren Haydar. And he promptly led a mutiny in the locker room. Other guys like Vogelhuber and others whose names I forget were pretty terrible. And they still can't seem to find anyone outside of Aggz and Greer to put the puck in the net.

I also don't know what to think of Greg Cronin. His track record prior to his arrival in Loveland wasn't exactly stellar.

 

[Pokecheque]

Also, I wonder how much of an understanding there is between the Avalanche and Eagles organizations that while the minor-league affiliate is there to develop talent for the big club, there should be a premium on keeping the team competitive and entertaining for a fanbase that has come to expect championship-level hockey. The ECHL isn't really a developmental league, and the AHL is. But there are clubs like the Wolves and Bears in the AHL who operate fairly independently and demand that a winning product is iced every season. The Amerks were the same way until Pegula up and bought them himself. I wonder what Eagles ownership negotiated for when they entered into this affiliation...they can't have gone into this without getting some kind of understanding with Sakic and his staff. In fact they may have overdone it with signings this offseason since they could have, and probably should have, had Brandon Saigeon on the Eagles.

 

[Bender]

Sounds like a culture problem if we're in that area. Younger players (and people in general) need to see a vision that has their role in it and how they'll contribute. They need to be a part of a bigger story. And then they need help getting there with clear guidance, steps to be taken and strong peer mentorship. If their peers are journey AHLers that's only going to go so far. And if their peers are beat young prospects with no future they're not getting the high-end talent leaching they need that prospects in systems like Tampa Bay get.

But ultimately that's something that can be fixed with the right leadership, since the Avs have never changed their talent development leadership I can see why people point to Billington.

To be fair, it's merely a guess on my part.

I know people hate Agozzino around here, but he is that level of guy. A couple more vets like that could really help. Then find a great coach that can connect with young players. A guy who should have been hired here, but is killing with Tampas org comes to min. Then be able to scout and get those steals... the most underrated signing last spring was that of Alex Barre-Boulet. Nobody really picked up on it..

Who hates Agozzino? I haven't seen much of that at all.

As far as Barré-Boulet goes, it was a good signing by the Lightning but he was leading the Q in scoring when they signed him, so it's hardly a 'where on earth did they get this guy' type of situation. If he hadn't signed with TB, he would have signed with another organization. Would he have had as much success elsewhere? It's hard to say but he's for sure playing with very good players in that deep TB organization.

I agree that you need guys like Aggz (and I think to a lesser extent, Joly will be another one of those guys) to make not only the affiliate be successful in its own right, but to bolster the development of the actual prospects passing through.

I've always wondered why the Avs have missed so horribly when it comes to AHL vets. The last time they went heavy on them to try and bolster the then-Lake Erie Monsters' fortunes, they went out and got probably the best AHL player available in Darren Haydar. And he promptly led a mutiny in the locker room. Other guys like Vogelhuber and others whose names I forget were pretty terrible. And they still can't seem to find anyone outside of Aggz and Greer to put the puck in the net.

I also don't know what to think of Greg Cronin. His track record prior to his arrival in Loveland wasn't exactly stellar.

I remember having this discussion a few years ago when this was a huge issue. For me, I believe it was because the 'vets' they signed for the AHL club clearly had hopes of being the guys getting called-up to the big club. Whether that was their impression when they signed or if someone had directly told them that - I believe that was a big part of the problem. When you're signing 26-30 year old vets to show the kids 'the ropes and how to be a good pro'; there shouldn't be any kind of misinterpretations as to who is getting called-up; when and if that time comes. It should be clear. If the kids are ready or you want to get a look, they are the priority...if not, then it can be the vet as 'a reward' type situation. [Though nowadays, the 'reward' part of being a solid vet in the role I just described is that the AHL contract the guy signed for is in the hundreds of thousands instead of being under 100k]

That's why I mentioned that if I had to guess, to me as an outsider it seems like better communication would help quite a bit. I think the Avs as an organization have learned from that time and have done a better job. Agozzino is a good example and I think Alt is too, just to name a few...those guys are good mentors and understand their roles.

 

[klozge]

Is Max related to Cody McCormick in some way?

 

[henchman21]

Who hates Agozzino? I haven't seen much of that at all.

As far as Barré-Boulet goes, it was a good signing by the Lightning but he was leading the Q in scoring when they signed him, so it's hardly a 'where on earth did they get this guy' type of situation. If he hadn't signed with TB, he would have signed with another organization. Would he have had as much success elsewhere? It's hard to say but he's for sure playing with very good players in that deep TB organization.

Stems from last year and his previous stint. The posts are out there on Agz

ABB had 3 offers from teams, and one was an AHL only offer. He was not highly sought after.. in fact he would have signed with Montreal immediately if he had been offered by them...

 

[Bender]

Stems from last year and his previous stint. The posts are out there on Agz

ABB had 3 offers from teams, and one was an AHL only offer. He was not highly sought after.. in fact he would have signed with Montreal immediately if he had been offered by them...

His agent had talks with 6 or so clubs and he signed the very first day he was eligible...the TBL really wanted him and didn't want to give the opportunity to other teams. His teammate last year and Armada captain, Alexandre Alain billoted with my neighbour who lives directly across the street from me.

 

[henchman21]

His agent had talks with 6 or so clubs and he signed the very first day he was eligible...the TBL really wanted him and didn't want to give the opportunity to other teams. His teammate last year and Armada captain, Alexandre Alain billoted with my neighbour who lives directly across the street from me.

Talks do not equate to offers, and I know Tampa really wanted him. ABB was smart to sign with them too.

 

[Bender]

Talks do not equate to offers, and I know Tampa really wanted him. ABB was smart to sign with them too.

Agreed. Still, it's a moot point until he does something at the NHL level. T.J. Hensick was awesome in the AHL. (how 'bout that blast from the past!?)

 

[Pokecheque]

Is Max related to Cody McCormick in some way?

Doesn't appear that way. Cody is Canadian with some First Nations heritage. Max is from Wisconsin.

 

[Bender]

Is Max related to Cody McCormick in some way?

He is Cody's son [is the funner answer even though it's not true]