Re: MN vs. MN State Mankato: Where Exactly Are The Speed Traps On 169?
1. Lucia didn't have Guentzel and Motzko at CC where he took a team with a record of 8-28 to 23-11-5 in one year , following 13 losing seasons, or when he won coach of the year at Fairbanks. So you can't deny he has coaching ability. (That isn't to say that having less effective assistants isn't going to hurt, not that I am in a position to judge that.)
2. I have not been impressed with Motzko as far as his ability to achieve consistency.
3. Has Lucia lost something, I am starting to think that could be the case. I thought Woog was a great coach too, and a bounce here or a bounce there, and there were a few years it could have resulted in a NC given some of the teams he had. But something went wrong at the end.
4. I think the players are definitely an issue, more their mental condition than ability. The coach is definitely partially responsible, but each player has a responsibility too. A coach can only do so much to help a players confidence, and confidence (individual and team) is the issue here. Each individual player needs to figure out how to play themselves back into being confident. Anyone who has played, knows just how much confidence affects how well you can play. And once again, the coach can only take you so far. And I think it is more complicated than the "team of prima donas who won't work" sentiment expressed by a number of people here. A lot of these players are tentative going into the corner, not because they are afraid their hair will be messed up or they think that is someone else's job on the team, but because they don't trust themselves to come out with the puck. So they go in tentatively and take a defensive posture rather than just taking the **** puck. Confidence doesn't return with one win. When it is this bad, a win just feels like you got a little lucky for a change. It is not until a team starts to string together wins and has some strong wins and some come from behind ones when a team like this will start to believe in itself. Right now, this is one of the most fragile teams I remember watching. A 180 from the Wild who played before. The Wild has less relative talent for their league than the Gophs, but you are starting to see (in the limited games I've seen) a belief in themselves that they can come back against almost anyone. When things get tough, they pick it up a notch. None of the Gopher players seem to have the attitude of "get on my shoulders and I'll start moving us". I don't know if this can be turned around at this point.
So I guess what I am saying is that Lucia's record indicates he is a quality coach so let's not say he just got lucky with assistants. However, Is very good coaching record can only balance out so much mediocrity. There is plenty of blame to go around, but I have to admit, with each week, I lose a little more confidence in Lucia and am starting to wonder if he has lost something.
On another note, there seems to be a Catch-22 here. On one hand, with all the players underperforming, it would seem to reduce the odds of each individual potential early departure. On the other hand, they are performing so poorly, NHL teams might start to buy into the "lack of development" arguement Garth Snow used for pulling players early.
Has the sky fallen, or is that just my perception?
1. Lucia didn't have Guentzel and Motzko at CC where he took a team with a record of 8-28 to 23-11-5 in one year , following 13 losing seasons, or when he won coach of the year at Fairbanks. So you can't deny he has coaching ability. (That isn't to say that having less effective assistants isn't going to hurt, not that I am in a position to judge that.)
2. I have not been impressed with Motzko as far as his ability to achieve consistency.
3. Has Lucia lost something, I am starting to think that could be the case. I thought Woog was a great coach too, and a bounce here or a bounce there, and there were a few years it could have resulted in a NC given some of the teams he had. But something went wrong at the end.
4. I think the players are definitely an issue, more their mental condition than ability. The coach is definitely partially responsible, but each player has a responsibility too. A coach can only do so much to help a players confidence, and confidence (individual and team) is the issue here. Each individual player needs to figure out how to play themselves back into being confident. Anyone who has played, knows just how much confidence affects how well you can play. And once again, the coach can only take you so far. And I think it is more complicated than the "team of prima donas who won't work" sentiment expressed by a number of people here. A lot of these players are tentative going into the corner, not because they are afraid their hair will be messed up or they think that is someone else's job on the team, but because they don't trust themselves to come out with the puck. So they go in tentatively and take a defensive posture rather than just taking the **** puck. Confidence doesn't return with one win. When it is this bad, a win just feels like you got a little lucky for a change. It is not until a team starts to string together wins and has some strong wins and some come from behind ones when a team like this will start to believe in itself. Right now, this is one of the most fragile teams I remember watching. A 180 from the Wild who played before. The Wild has less relative talent for their league than the Gophs, but you are starting to see (in the limited games I've seen) a belief in themselves that they can come back against almost anyone. When things get tough, they pick it up a notch. None of the Gopher players seem to have the attitude of "get on my shoulders and I'll start moving us". I don't know if this can be turned around at this point.
So I guess what I am saying is that Lucia's record indicates he is a quality coach so let's not say he just got lucky with assistants. However, Is very good coaching record can only balance out so much mediocrity. There is plenty of blame to go around, but I have to admit, with each week, I lose a little more confidence in Lucia and am starting to wonder if he has lost something.
On another note, there seems to be a Catch-22 here. On one hand, with all the players underperforming, it would seem to reduce the odds of each individual potential early departure. On the other hand, they are performing so poorly, NHL teams might start to buy into the "lack of development" arguement Garth Snow used for pulling players early.
Has the sky fallen, or is that just my perception?
..
