15.8.2020
Heute:
Da hat wer wohl Insiderwissen
Und wir wissen, wie wir unsere Linien voll bekommen, zumindest am Anfang.
It was very widespread news within the camp...I would say mostly because of the consternation young Austrians feel, that every stage of their career from U18AKA to AlpsHL they've been hounded by superstar Germans and just when they thought it might end in the EBEL...surprise surprise!!
I feel like those who were going to succeed will succeed anyways. The thing to watch about the Akademie boys is that they all have roughly the same shortcoming, and it's not their fault. But Teemu did not believe in the cycle, he really did not institute system hockey whatsoever. Whether it was Olli Nordberg the year before, or Tim now, players who succeed under his lack of system typically are just those who are most capable of solo efforts in transition. But the tangible result of this is that players don't know where to be on the ice when they get up to the senior level. They don't anticipate where the puck is going to be, where their teammates are going to be. For example, if the opposing defenseman wins the puck behind the net, his outlet is typically to move the puck along the boards. He expects a teammate, usually a winger, to be there, and the forwards counteract that by moving to the boards usually. That split second reactionary delay between moving to the spot when he wins the puck and moving to the spot once you see the puck moving along the boards is huge. Often it is the difference between being able to keep the puck in and losing possession as soon as you got it. And also offensive cycling. Veteran players know that another player is going to come behind them along the boards, so if they need an outlet, they can throw the puck along the boards to a spot. The youngsters don't know, so they hold onto the puck too long. And if their teammate has the puck and needs an outlet, they don't know where to be. They'll just be standing up around in the slot area or in front of the net. I really loved the quote from Oskar Maier in the Akademie article. „Beim Spielsystem der beiden Profiteams haben wir gelernt und gesehen, wie wichtig es ist, viel zu laufen. Es wird viel Druck erzeugt und ohne hier ständig in Bewegung zu sein, klappt das nicht.“ So some people may think "why does Coach Matt sometimes seem to prefer the older guys like Balti or Hochi." It's a reasonable question. Take a player like Tim or a player like Filip. Way faster skaters than players like Balti or Hochi. Just as good at stickhandling, maybe better. Just as good at shooting. Good hands. Not even necessarily physically weaker. And it's confusing to some how this player can score 37 points in like 32 games in the Alps, and 18 points in 13 games in the Alps, and suddenly come to the EBEL and be completely invisible. But the older players know the system much better. They know that they should always be moving and they generally know where to go. And every system is different. The Salzburg one won't be exactly the one NHL teams use because the rink size is different. I trust whatever system Coach Matt uses will be good. But the concept of knowing where to be and being on the move is important.
The kids who succeed this year are going to be the ones who best learn and adapt to the system of play that Coach Matt institutes. I believe a lot in the boys. And I feel like the organization does too. I mean letting Schiechl, Herburger, Hari, Holloway, and Brickley go, they got Schofield maybe they get one more legio but overall I think it shows the organization believes in these kids and will give them a chance, and I think that's great. And I think they have the skills to be big time players in the IceHL even as soon as this season, but it comes down to being willing to be coachable and if Coach Matt, who I respect a lot and who knows a lot about hockey, says "go here, go there", do they go here and there or do they have other ideas of where they should be.
