Sunday, January 24, 2010

Paging Dr.Boucher



















DB said...

One other item that I like about Boucher is that he will identify a successful NHL player that each of his players should study. The message to the players is here's a guy with a similar skill set to yours, and if you want to be as good as him you better learn what he does and how he practices.

I read somewhere he took this approach with Sergei and had him watch video of how Datsyuk plays and practices. This might explain why Sergei now kills penalties.

Patrick said...

I think that after PK Subban, Boucher is the guy that I'm the most looking forward to in Hamilton. Can't wait to have him up with the Habs, but I'm really satisfied now to have him actually make something with our future players too. Darche's comments make me interested in his 'System' too! Because I'm not all that trilled about The System right now.

If he can save MaxPac (who showed that he has the tools to be a good player, just doesn't know how to use them), I'll be all the more happy to have him there!

Anonymous said...

Boucher is certanly the best pickup Gainey has done for the Habs. One day, Gainey will probably be siting in is living room, watchin Boucher and the club win there 25 stanley cup ! He will smile and say to himself. At least i didn't do all things badly =)

Number31 said...

I love Boucher's system. It's basically "attack, attack, attack, and when you got nothing left attack some more". Also he's constantly coaching on the bench. During the ad break, the team gathers around him. He never backs down, he's always animated. Hell, he hates losing to a simple card game with his kids.

pfhabs said...

from one of his detractors I have to say it's one of Gainey's good moves in getting Boucher along with (cross-fingers that he continues) Pouliot

RS said...

Not everyone agrees that Red Berenson is a great coach. Kings' GM Lombardi was ripping Berenson and the U of Michigan program the other day for not doing much to prepare Jack Johnson. Basically he said that there wasn't any coaching at all at Michigan.

Raphaël said...

interesting post. would like to read more about Boucher.

Still I'm always worried that we (fans, commentators, journalists, bloggers) will over-hype him and once at an other level he hit's a wall. For his sake I hope he delivers....

J.T. said...

@RS: I suspect the problem with Jack Johnson, if there is one, may have actually been Jack Johnson. I think Mike Cammalleri, Andrew Cogliano, Marty Turco, Brendan Morrison, John Madden and lots of others would say they received good coaching at Michigan. And Johnson himself was quite upset with the Lombardi remarks, which the GM is now backtracking on.

RS said...

Well, Lombardi should be backpedalling, you shouldn't attack your own players or repected college coaches (even if what you say might be true)!

No doubt some good players have come through Michigan, I'm just pointing to the similarity between Johnson and MaxPac. Both talented, but very raw. Of course, Berenson himself pointed out that MaxPac wasn't ready for the NHL!

Most of these guys you mention (but not Cogliano) did stay in Michigan for four years, unlike Max . And most (again not Cogs) also worked their way (and learned and developed) through the minor leagues after college. Madden and Morrison also had the benefit of joining the Devils organization, a pretty good organization at developing their young players.

Maybe the bottom line is that MaxPac (like Gui) was rushed a bit.

DB said...

Boucher straightened-out Pouliot in only 3 games, so it will be interesting to see what he can do with Dags in 2 weeks and MaxPac for the rest of the season.

Okay, I really have no idea what influence, if any, Boucher had on Pouliot, but why shouldn't a Habs' fan build up a coaching prospect the way we build up other prospects. It's not like we'll jump all over him if he doesn't live up to our lofty expectations - just ask Lats or Price.

Anonymous said...

If Mr. Boucher has NHL ambitions, it would be hard to hold him back when the opportunity arrives but I don't think we should be in a big hurry to get him with the big club. If he is so good at developing young players, why not leave him with the farm team and compensate him accordingly? Dealing with seasoned, accomplished veterans with big egos is a different dynamic than dealing with young and hungry learning sponges who want to soak up instruction, so his skills may not necessarily transfer well to the next level without some adjustment.

The value of a having a guy like Boucher on the farm team seems important. In fact, I would argue that developing prospects is more important than drafting good raw material. This is certainly how Detroit keeps fielding strong teams without top five draft picks.

J.T. said...

@anon: Ironically, the person with least stated ambition for Boucher to coach at the NHL level is Boucher himself. I agree it's good for him and the players to learn the pro game together, and for him to have some time away from the pressure of the big league to try some things and develop his own strategies further. Ideally, you'd like to have him arrive in Montreal in the company of young players he's already helped mold and who respect him from their AHL or junior days.

As for Detroit, I disagree with the idea that they've done such a great job developing prospects. They lucked into drafting incredible talent in Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the later rounds of the draft. They brought in some good supporting players from Sweden, many of whom actually developed in the Swedish leagues, and they traded their draft picks for playoff help at the deadline for years. Now, when they have a couple of key injuries and they need help from the farm, it isn't there for them. Their young players aren't looking a whole lot better than Montreal's these days. Detroit is actually a bubble team this year and has as much chance of missing the playoffs as the Habs do.

Anonymous said...

@JT: Having Boucher arrive with a team of players he developed, as you suggest, would definitely work as they would be very loyal to him and he would certainly know their strengths and weaknesses. In 4-5 years he will probably be ready for a new challenge.
The Detroit debate: development or drafting? Drafting Datsyuk and Zetterberg was probably some luck, but also good European scouting. They also left Datsyuk and Zetterberg in their respective development leagues until they were 22. The Habs have already thrown Latendresse on the trash heap by 22, and they just might do the same with Carey Price. If they do, let's hope it works out as well as the Pouliot deal.