Re: LSSU Hockey 2012-2013
I didn't get that Bill was arguing that Ravn should be playing. I thought he was pretty clear that he was just saying that he didn't think Ravn was treated very well as a person.
Maybe the kid is a schmuck? I don't hear Roque speaking ill of any players. So you have to really be searching for the backhanded insult. BUt lets say he intended a backhanded insult . . . perhaps it was deserved? Perhaps it was a not-so-subtle motivating tool?
Scotty Bowman was frustrated with Brendan Shanahan at one point -- Shanny was starting to get offensive-happy, starting to avoid the slot (ala Brett Hull) to try to unleash his shot. Bowman's quote in the paper: (roughly recalled): "Shanahan has a great shot. If you're going to be a one-dimensional player, thats a good one dimension to have as a player." Shanahan came out the next night was hit everything that moved, got into a good fight, and crashed the net all night long.
Bowman made a few random remarks over the course of one month during the season about Federov not exactly paying as close attention to detail -- defensively. The he randomly annouces pre-game that he is moving Federov to Defense! Sergei played 3-4 games on the blue-line. You could almost hear Bowman saying, "If you won't willingly play defense, I will put you there."
I played for Bert Templeton in Canada. Bert had a funny way of getting some guys fired up. I had a horse crap week -- just could not, for the life of me, catch a break on the ice. So after three horrible games, we are in Sudbury and I dress, but I never touch the ice. I was on the PK . . . never saw the ice. I sat on the end of the bench all night long. After the game, we are hauling our gear to the bus, and Bert sees me and calls me over and has me stand next to him, and says, "Hey, I want to talk to you for a second, just stay here I need to talk to this other guy first." The other guy was a local reporter, who asked why he went with 5 D, and why I was sitting on the end of the bench. I will never forget Bert's answer, with me standing right there: "We played all the defensemen we dressed tonight. I didn't see any other defensemen on the bench. I would've played him if I saw him."
Then he turns to me and says, "Oh, I forgot what I was going to tell you. Just get on the bus."
And I heard this, and saw this, played out throughout my hockey life. And Bert Templeton was a gentleman of the highest order. And Scotty Bowman is the greatest hockey coach EVER.
If a young man hears the type of quote made by Roque -- and thinks there is ANYTHING personal in that comment, he is a fool. When you're in the doghouse, there are two things you can do: Quit, or bust your tail to get out of that doghouse. And guess what, some guys are in the doghouse because they aren't playing up to an expected level. And they hear the coach's message and wake up, hit the ice hard, hit the weight room, stay on for extra practice, they work 100% harder -- and it still DOES NOT MATTER. Sometimes, you can work as hard as you want -- you just may not be good enough. So the coach tries a few motivation techniques -- and when it becomes obvious that the problem isn't motivation -- its skill and talent -- then the coach usually drops the subject so as not to embarass the kid any more.
In this case, it appears the coach called out the kid on his radio show. The kid, for whatever reason, still hasn't hit the ice for a game. I don't watch the practices. I don't hob-nob with the team except at certain booster functions. I can only tell you that hard work some times only gets you so far.
But I must fully and completely disagree that this young man was treated poorly by the coach because of an offhand remark made on a radio show. If anything, the coach was probably tossing the kid a motivational bone. In hockey, that is how we motivate -- seriously, just tell a high-end hockey player he CAN'T play, and you'll see a very impressive reaction.
If Scotty Bowman can play mind games to motivate Brendan Shanahan and Sergei Federov -- I think its safe to say that the head coach of LSSU can try to motivate his players, too.
