McLellan: Coaching is Communication
By Jason Gregor
8 years ago
Todd McLellan did not vow to make sweeping changes during his first press conference as the new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. He was, however, very deliberate, honest and blunt in how he hopes to help his players improve, and ultimately win games.
He and general manager Peter Chiarelli spoke eloquently while seated at the podium, but McLellan’s best answers came later in a smaller scrum on stage.
During that time it became very apparent that McLellan believes communicating and teaching is a must if you want to be a successful head coach. It was a brief seven minute Q and A, but he gave some excellent insight into how he will coach the Oilers.
I asked McLellan specifically about puck possession. It is the new
trendy word in the NHL. I mentioned that part of puck possession is
in fact giving up the puck, and asked him how he viewed it?
trendy word in the NHL. I mentioned that part of puck possession is
in fact giving up the puck, and asked him how he viewed it?
“That is exactly what it is. You have to give up the puck. There’s no way, shape or form of
playing hockey without giving up the puck and going to get it, placing
it in the right spot. Arrive on time. Winning the battle in
that situation is puck possession in my opinion.
playing hockey without giving up the puck and going to get it, placing
it in the right spot. Arrive on time. Winning the battle in
that situation is puck possession in my opinion.
“With the analytics, the trend that we’re going through right now,
there’s mass confusion on what possession really is. You can walk into
the Oilers’ locker room, you can walk into the San Jose locker room, and
ask the players what the definition is, and you get 20 different
answers. And they play the game. They’re the athletes that are involved.
That’s part of our job to clearly define what possession is, to clearly
define what toughness is, and go from there.”
there’s mass confusion on what possession really is. You can walk into
the Oilers’ locker room, you can walk into the San Jose locker room, and
ask the players what the definition is, and you get 20 different
answers. And they play the game. They’re the athletes that are involved.
That’s part of our job to clearly define what possession is, to clearly
define what toughness is, and go from there.”
The Oilers have not been a good puck retrieval team for years. Ryan Smyth is a perfect example of a good puck retriever. If you dumped it in, he could go get it. He wouldn’t just go to the spot where the puck went, he also knew how to position himself to win the battle. He was elusive at fishing for pucks in skates along the boards and coming away with the puck. He rarely hammered guys with a big check to separate them from the puck, but for me he was great at possessing the puck.
Matt Hendricks is good at it too, but the Oilers’ top six forwards are more about handling the puck. Which is fine, that is a great skill, but they need to become better at making smart dumps and then being able to go retrieve the puck. I think Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the best of the skilled forwards right now, and I’m curious to see how much better the rest of them will be after a few practices and video sessions with McLellan. Ultimately it is up to the player to play with the desire to get the puck, but McLellan’s job will be to show them the best way to regain possession.
SIZE AND TOUGHNESS…
If two players are equally willing to battle for a puck, often the player who is stronger will win that battle, not all the time, but most of the time. However, not every battle involves two players who are equally engaged, and often there are different circumstances leading to every battle. Body positioning, the time you arrived to the puck, the angle you were coming from, fatigue and many more.
I still believe the Oilers need to add some skilled, size to their lineup, but the future looks bright with Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Oscar Klefbom, Bodgan Yakimov, Jujhar Khaira and others. It helps having some size in your lineup, especially within your top-nine forwards and your top-four defence.
McLellan was asked about their size and grit.
“What we do in our game right now is we throw out catch words like
‘toughness’, ‘character’, ‘discipline’ and ‘hardness.’ We use them all the time, and we don’t define them any more for the players. They don’t know what it means.
‘toughness’, ‘character’, ‘discipline’ and ‘hardness.’ We use them all the time, and we don’t define them any more for the players. They don’t know what it means.
“So Jordan Eberle, his ability to affect the game with toughness is a
little bit different than Matt Hendricks, yet he has to find a way to
bring his toughness to the rink night in and night out. Size, I don’t know how important it is, but the commitment to use your size is essential. We’ll try and
help them. We’ll try and expose them to techniques that may promote
success in certain areas, corners, hard areas. The ‘how’ part is one
thing. The ‘why’ part is the most important. If they understand why
they’re doing things and why they have to sacrifice and what the rewards
are, they’ll often get it done.”
little bit different than Matt Hendricks, yet he has to find a way to
bring his toughness to the rink night in and night out. Size, I don’t know how important it is, but the commitment to use your size is essential. We’ll try and
help them. We’ll try and expose them to techniques that may promote
success in certain areas, corners, hard areas. The ‘how’ part is one
thing. The ‘why’ part is the most important. If they understand why
they’re doing things and why they have to sacrifice and what the rewards
are, they’ll often get it done.”
No one should expect Eberle to suddenly become a physical player. He wasn’t drafted as one, but there are other ways to illustrate toughness and grit. Pavel Datsyuk demonstrates it all the time with his ability to strip pucks from opponents. He can pick the pocket of a player much bigger and stronger, and he does it regularly.
I loved McLellan’s statement on the commitment to use your size. Hall’s most dangerous asset his is speed. He can get in on the forecheck quicker and get better body positioning while entering a battle. He doesn’t need to run over the puck carrier, and it sounds like McLellan will spend a lot of time explaining to his players why they need to do it.
BE COMPETITIVE
The money quote for me was when McLellan answered how he saw the Oilers through the eyes of an opposing coach.
“One, they scared you because they could beat you 7-2 on any given night, and there were other nights where we had our way. And that’s the consistency (or lack thereof) that we will try and fix here. I think there were games where if you could get off to a good start and push them out of games, and the mental aspect of them not being in it for the whole night, you thought you had a chance to succeed.
“That is something we will have to change.
“There are going to be games where it is not going your way, but you are not out of it, you have to fight through it. You have to keep going. They haven’t had a lot of success, as far as wins go, so we will have to find other ways to build that mental strength. That comes before the games are even played. That comes in practice, in meetings, being good teammates. We have some things to work on.”
McLellan said a lot in these two paragraphs.
He saw the same thing that I, and many of you, have seen during the past few seasons. The Oilers were mentally weak. Too often they didn’t battle as hard as their opponents. This must change before they can win, and it was nice to see McLellan address that right away.
He also recognized that part of that is due to all the losing. I don’t care how much money you make, losing all the time will beat you down. The great part about confidence, however, is how quickly it can change. The players will arrive at training camp with a new GM, a new coaching staff, a generational player in Connor McDavid and renewed attitudes. They will be sponges, willing to absorb everything that McLellan has to say, and they will begin the season in a better mental state.
Once the season begins and they lose a game or two, the challenge to maintain their positive attitude will be more difficult. McLellan said there will be some tough nights next season, and that is when we will see how they deal with adversity.
PARTING SHOTS…
- If your child plays minor hockey, or any sport for that matter, I recommend reading this article. Parents and coaches need to recognize what is most important.
- Big news. Former NHLer, Matt Kassian and TSN’s Ryan Rishaug are teaming up as a duo and will be participating in our 3rd annual Karaoke contest. These two love boy bands, so I can only imagine what song they will choose. The best singer this Friday night will win $1,000. It is a fun night and 100% of money from tickets goes towards the MS Bike Tour. Buy your tickets here, and support a great cause. I guarantee you will have a fun time.
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