Post by NHLJets2point0 on Sept 25, 2013 17:25:53 GMT -5
www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Peter-Tessier/The-more-I-think/161/54262#.UkNi1I29LCS
...I know, the more I don't know much about the Winnipeg Jets.
It sounds pretty plausible when you consider what I write about and the frustration that comes with hearing from so many Winnipeg Jets fans. Day in and day out there is a new question, a new theory and in the end a new joke in the age of Twitter drive-by one-liners. To answer your question I am guilty of more than a few failed attempts of the latter and am fully aware of it.
Twitter is a fun place though and it allows for an interesting 30,000’ perspective on the hockey world. The links that fly by through your time line act like targets to pursue should you find them interesting enough. Right now I see a lot of commentary on coaches around the league. There are a new ones, recycled ones, refurbished ones, and those who are under some pressure.
Because there has been enough coach and player movement I see in my time line many comments quoting coaches on their players usage or describing it based on scrimmage, drills, and games. Where this gets interesting is that I see so little coming from the Winnipeg Jets. But be clear, I don’t expect the team to tweet about coach’s moves, I do however expect some to tweet about it and it’s not happening.
There is no ‘book’ on how Claude Noel uses his players. There is no fact based history to suggest he does things a ‘certain’ way. Well there is but we’ll talk about that later. What I’m trying to get at is even those in Winnipeg who are seeing the team almost every day do not seem to have a read on what Noel is doing or aiming for.
In Vancouver we hear about shot blocking, situation usage, and more. In Edmonton we’re learning about structure, discipline and evaluation. Toronto…well we hear about everything including bathroom noises but that’s a poor comparison. Chicago media talk about how Quennville uses players who play both ways on the ice. In St. Louis we learn about players who can play Hitchcock’s complex systems. The observations can continue but I think you get the point.
Yesterday in Elliote Friedman’s excellent 30 Thoughts this appeared.
24. Andrew Ladd on the Jets: "We need to find an identity and a way we need to play every single night. I think too many times in the past couple of years, we've been inconsistent in the way we played...some games run-and-gun, some games strong defensively...You just can't have that variance...Too many times we were too loose, and we just don't have the firepower up front to run-and-gun with teams."
Today while the stalwart Patrick Williams tweeted from Noel’s post practice scrimmage that the coach said “not a lot of time for teaching so far. Will be able to do that after Boston games. Need to do that.â€Â
I would think so as this team, as the captain even acknowledges, has been woefully inconsistent for too long. My thinking would be that consistency seems to start at the top and work it’s way down. The Jets players, as my observations go, are too concerned on individual efforts on the ice far too often. Many players want to individually shoulder the load to improve the fortunes of the club but I think, only by anecdotal evidence, the best games are played when there’s a complete team effort.
With these thoughts from Ladd and Noel and the reporting of the latter being rather frustrated with the players at practice today, the result a expletive-laced rant, I have to wonder if he is part of the inconsistency problem.
We have heard so much of the individual work various Jets coaches have done with players, most notable being Charlie Huddy. However we rarely hear about what the coach is working with on the team as a whole, what he is teaching them to do, what he wants them to be. Almost every coach has a style, a system, or identity to which they conform and I challenge anyone to isolate and explain Claude Noel’s.
More often than not when Noel describes what he wants his teams to be he says “difficult to play against’ or ‘a two hundred foot team’ but then we never here anymore about how the team gets to that description. After two seasons there’s no one saying that the Jets have been either of the above-mentioned, even for a short stretch of games.
I know people like to say Noel ‘plays things close to the vest’ but I’m starting to believe that’s inaccurate. The captain of the team can articulate and explain the challenges, as can other players, but it’s the coach’s job to fix them. Thus far there is scant evidence that Noel is doing anything to develop a team that plays a game with some form of consistent style or system.
We’ve seen the discipline come down on players such as Alex Burmistrov but that iron-fisted approach to adhere to a system for one player needs to be applied across the board- is it? Moreover, is there actually a consistent end point for the player to strive for?
I don’t know what there is at the end of the tunnel but the more I see the same answers to questions and the same player usage the more I’m waiting to see if anything really changes after 20 regular season games for the Winnipeg Jets.
My response to the tweet by Patrick Williams was “That seems odd to meâ€Â.
He replied in kind “Same hereâ€Â.
I imagine there are others who feel the same way and we can’t be the only paid observers to notice this either. It’s a curious situation as the Jets enter their third season in Winnipeg, almost a curious as the coach and person who is Claude Noel. Unfortunately curiosity is not a game plan for 82 contests and fans should hope they see something more concrete from the team in the coming weeks.
...I know, the more I don't know much about the Winnipeg Jets.
It sounds pretty plausible when you consider what I write about and the frustration that comes with hearing from so many Winnipeg Jets fans. Day in and day out there is a new question, a new theory and in the end a new joke in the age of Twitter drive-by one-liners. To answer your question I am guilty of more than a few failed attempts of the latter and am fully aware of it.
Twitter is a fun place though and it allows for an interesting 30,000’ perspective on the hockey world. The links that fly by through your time line act like targets to pursue should you find them interesting enough. Right now I see a lot of commentary on coaches around the league. There are a new ones, recycled ones, refurbished ones, and those who are under some pressure.
Because there has been enough coach and player movement I see in my time line many comments quoting coaches on their players usage or describing it based on scrimmage, drills, and games. Where this gets interesting is that I see so little coming from the Winnipeg Jets. But be clear, I don’t expect the team to tweet about coach’s moves, I do however expect some to tweet about it and it’s not happening.
There is no ‘book’ on how Claude Noel uses his players. There is no fact based history to suggest he does things a ‘certain’ way. Well there is but we’ll talk about that later. What I’m trying to get at is even those in Winnipeg who are seeing the team almost every day do not seem to have a read on what Noel is doing or aiming for.
In Vancouver we hear about shot blocking, situation usage, and more. In Edmonton we’re learning about structure, discipline and evaluation. Toronto…well we hear about everything including bathroom noises but that’s a poor comparison. Chicago media talk about how Quennville uses players who play both ways on the ice. In St. Louis we learn about players who can play Hitchcock’s complex systems. The observations can continue but I think you get the point.
Yesterday in Elliote Friedman’s excellent 30 Thoughts this appeared.
24. Andrew Ladd on the Jets: "We need to find an identity and a way we need to play every single night. I think too many times in the past couple of years, we've been inconsistent in the way we played...some games run-and-gun, some games strong defensively...You just can't have that variance...Too many times we were too loose, and we just don't have the firepower up front to run-and-gun with teams."
Today while the stalwart Patrick Williams tweeted from Noel’s post practice scrimmage that the coach said “not a lot of time for teaching so far. Will be able to do that after Boston games. Need to do that.â€Â
I would think so as this team, as the captain even acknowledges, has been woefully inconsistent for too long. My thinking would be that consistency seems to start at the top and work it’s way down. The Jets players, as my observations go, are too concerned on individual efforts on the ice far too often. Many players want to individually shoulder the load to improve the fortunes of the club but I think, only by anecdotal evidence, the best games are played when there’s a complete team effort.
With these thoughts from Ladd and Noel and the reporting of the latter being rather frustrated with the players at practice today, the result a expletive-laced rant, I have to wonder if he is part of the inconsistency problem.
We have heard so much of the individual work various Jets coaches have done with players, most notable being Charlie Huddy. However we rarely hear about what the coach is working with on the team as a whole, what he is teaching them to do, what he wants them to be. Almost every coach has a style, a system, or identity to which they conform and I challenge anyone to isolate and explain Claude Noel’s.
More often than not when Noel describes what he wants his teams to be he says “difficult to play against’ or ‘a two hundred foot team’ but then we never here anymore about how the team gets to that description. After two seasons there’s no one saying that the Jets have been either of the above-mentioned, even for a short stretch of games.
I know people like to say Noel ‘plays things close to the vest’ but I’m starting to believe that’s inaccurate. The captain of the team can articulate and explain the challenges, as can other players, but it’s the coach’s job to fix them. Thus far there is scant evidence that Noel is doing anything to develop a team that plays a game with some form of consistent style or system.
We’ve seen the discipline come down on players such as Alex Burmistrov but that iron-fisted approach to adhere to a system for one player needs to be applied across the board- is it? Moreover, is there actually a consistent end point for the player to strive for?
I don’t know what there is at the end of the tunnel but the more I see the same answers to questions and the same player usage the more I’m waiting to see if anything really changes after 20 regular season games for the Winnipeg Jets.
My response to the tweet by Patrick Williams was “That seems odd to meâ€Â.
He replied in kind “Same hereâ€Â.
I imagine there are others who feel the same way and we can’t be the only paid observers to notice this either. It’s a curious situation as the Jets enter their third season in Winnipeg, almost a curious as the coach and person who is Claude Noel. Unfortunately curiosity is not a game plan for 82 contests and fans should hope they see something more concrete from the team in the coming weeks.
