Gniwder
Registered User
That only works with an established team with talent, like how Disco won the Cup with Malkin and Sid or Trotz in DC. Meanwhile, the players on this team struggle with basic hockey skills like shooting and passing. We know Seider needs some work with his slapper, the team needs someone that can demonstrate and teach. Zadina and Raz need some work as well.Some of the best coaches in all of sports were some of the worst players though. All it takes is a sharp mind to understand why certain things work or identify gaps in the opposition.
One of the (obvious) things I've noticed about this team is they don't have good puck skills. Watch any other team and players will kick the puck to their stick if a pass winds up at their feet instead of the stick. With this team, the play dies right there. You can't fix stuff like that without some skill. If I was coaching, I think I'd make the whole team play in practice without sticks.
I kind of hope Houda is gone as well. The PK wasn't as bad as our PP but it still was far from good.
I'd like to get a defense/PK coach that is a little less "when in doubt chip it off the glass!" than Houda is. We have some prospects coming up with good wheels and good offensive instincts. I'd love the kind of coach that could come in and help improve that aspect of their games to activate the attack better for us. Someone that's better at structuring breakouts, as well.
PK was actually near the top of the league latter in the season starting around late March.
2020-21 Detroit Red Wings Team Gamelog | Hockey-Reference.com
Houda changed the PK strategy, there was way too much puck chasing the first half of the season leading to a lot of back door goals. The thing that bothers me is there's too much puck chasing ES, there needs to be more structure to the defense, but PK isn't really an issue any more.
Agree that the transition game still needs work. It was improving mid-season until everyone got injured. The problem is that there's nobody to pass to when the team plays in a shell. I think it's a strategy issue, and Blash is probably more to blame than Houda.