Excerpts from "Gabby - Confessions of a Hockey Lifer," Part IV
by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 11:30 AM EDT
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[Every day this week at Japers' Rink, we'll be sharing a new excerpt from Bruce Boudreau's forthcoming autobiography "Gabby - Confessions of a Hockey Lifer" (co-written by Tim Leone). The book, published by the good folks over at Potomac Books, Inc., hits book store shelves in October, 2009, but you can (and should) pre-order it now via Amazon.com or BN.com.
Today's excerpt gives you a little taste of some of the coaching philosophy that runs through the book...]
You never hear about a coach’s style until he gets to the NHL. Nobody talked about my style in the AHL. All of a sudden, when I took over the Caps, the mantra was that Bruce Boudreau had brought his offensive-minded, aggressive-attack style to the NHL.
I guess this was easy to say because my style contrasted with Glen Hanlon’s conservative approach. But that’s a false analysis—a bad analysis. I’ve been labeled as an offensive coach because I was an offensive player, but my teams play defense. Our goal as a team is to be proactive. If we’re going to make a mistake, we want the mistake on our terms. We want to make the mistake playing our game rather than make the mistake while reacting to the other team’s game. Our game is applying pressure in every zone.
Because we attack and don’t sit back, critics think we’re ignoring defense. Not true. It’s really about taking time and space away from everybody anywhere on the ice so they can’t make a play and creating a turnover. Pressure defense is what I call it. We apply pressure to create turnovers and then attack when we get the puck.
Once you adapt to the style, you’re able to attack and defend. I’ve always been confused by teams that try to do one or the other. You can do both. When you do both, they feed off each other. Attacking well helps defensively; defending well helps offensively.
If an opposing team has puck possession in their defensive zone, my philosophy is that it’s stupid to retreat and let them come to the blue line or red line and gain a head of steam when we can check them in their zone. By checking them in their zone, any potential turnover comes in a spot where we’re able to score. We’re close to their goal and they’re far from our goal. That’s simple geography that even I can understand. Letting them clear their zone and dump the puck puts us in our defensive zone; a mistake by us there puts them in a position to score. Why give it up?
How do we do it? We’ve got to work hard and take short shifts. That means we have to be sharp at recognizing when to come off and when to go on. I don’t know if I was a selfish player or not. Usually, offensive players in the minors like me are tagged as selfish players. I hope I wasn’t, but I’m sure ten out of ten people will tell you I was. We preach team, team, team. Out of that players will find individual success. Look at the numbers. I’ve had league-scoring champions. Guys tend to set personal career highs playing for me. But that individual success evolves from the team concept.
Our style in the offensive zone puts pressure on our defensemen and the forward with high responsibility. I call it a triangle offense. That third forward has to be responsible, and the responsibility rotates among all three forwards depending on where the puck goes. There is freedom for a defenseman to go down deep for a puck too, but somebody else has to make the read and go support the position he vacated so we’re not vulnerable to an odd-man rush.
Everything is about support. We can be as aggressive as we want offensively as long as five guys are working together. If you have three guys forechecking and a defenseman goes down low and they chip it by for a two-on-one, that’s stupid hockey. That’s not being aggressive; that’s being stupid. But if a forward cycles to the point when a defenseman goes deep and it gets chipped by for a two-on-two, that’s okay.
When players are learning the system, it might look like firewagon hockey. Because the concepts are fairly complicated, they take time to learn. But once the players learn the system and do it right, it’s great defensive hockey. The result is you score more goals, but you also allow fewer goals.
[Tomorrow: The end of a dream season.]
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I know the idea isn’t to give the shop away in the book, but doesn’t it seem like either this excerpt was written awhile ago or it’s just a superficial visage altogether?
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by Bald Pollack on Aug 20, 2009 11:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I’m not sure I follow what you mean.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe BP isn’t buying “We’ve got to work hard and take short shifts.”
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can buy that. I just wasn’t sure which part he was questioning. The talk of the system is simplified but I don’t think that makes it superficial visage.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe BP isn’t buying "We’ve got to work hard and take short shifts."
Yeah, that’s part of it, the other part was that last paragraph, because at times the team play seemed to run counterproductive to that at times.
I can’t put my finger on it, chalk it up to overanalyzing something that isn’t meant to be.
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by Bald Pollack on Aug 20, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t know about BP, but I’m sure not buying that comment. I wish it was true. Maybe he’ll finally implement that portion this year. :-)
by CP2Devil on Aug 21, 2009 8:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It sounds to me like it’s something he might have had trouble implementing with Leach as the D coach, and that’s why it hasn’t shown through at all really in that respect.
by brs03 on Aug 20, 2009 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
When I watch the Caps play I see them working within the system he outlined. When Green goes in deep a forward is almost always in the correct defensive position. The dmen also step up as much as possible in the ozone and neutral zone.
Way more compared to pre-Bruce and a lot of other teams that slow down and allow the puck carrier to close the gap.
by zephyr on Aug 20, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well a lot of what BB described is very generic. Third man high, cover your points, take away time and space. That’s stuff you get taught from youth. The difficult details are how to read the play. Which guy is the high man? Which guy is the first on the forecheck? When does the D need to cycle down to pinch? That is the system that the players need to understand, and he really didn’t get into detail about it.
OT, that’s why I place such a heavy emphasis on skating and hockey sense. A guy that can think and skate the game at speed is going to be able to make the necessary reads better than a guy that can’t.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah it’s all simple to outline but hard to execute perfectly. I was just clarifying since it seemed a few people were questioning if this system was even in effect.
by zephyr on Aug 20, 2009 12:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
F&B is right. He hasn’t really described a system, just sound hockey principles.
“We play an aggressive, forechecking style of hockey that relies on guys being positionally sound. Forwards should cover the point of the pinching defenseman, Forwards need to backcheck. Two guys attacking the puck on the forecheck, the third guy high to pick up the loose change. "
by Sct112 on Aug 20, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The backcheck is absolutely critical. My teams have won games where we were drastically outskilled by virtue of a tenacious backcheck lifting the sticks of many a potential shot.
I always told my kids (used to coach high school inline) , the rink’s not tilted and you’re not carrying the puck, so you ought to be able to skate back faster than you skate out.
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by winterion on Aug 20, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
These excerpts are killing me! I want to read the whole book. FedEx it to me JP =D
by zephyr on Aug 20, 2009 12:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You buy it yet?
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I have it on Amazon pre-order. I’ll probably end up gifting it to a lot of people. This looks like one of the better hockey books already.
by zephyr on Aug 20, 2009 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes. Pre-ordered through Amazon.
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by winterion on Aug 20, 2009 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t know. Call me old school, but I’d rather Bruce didn’t describe in detail how his system works and why. I know every team has tons of video and can break down how the Caps play, but I see no reason to give them the Cliff Notes version straight from the coach’s mouth. Maybe it’s just my paranoia. but there’s a reason why NFL coaches barely acknowledge they use 11 guys at a time. Could you ever imagine Belichick or Parcells going into that kind of detail?
by b.orr4 on Aug 20, 2009 12:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Football systems are completely different. Hockey is way more free flow. There is no whistle every 5 seconds for a chess game to happen with a 10,000 page playbook.
As you said, anyone with two eyes and some video can see what type of system a coach is executing. The coaches job is picking the right one for his team, making the players believe in it and stick with it even when things aren’t going well…etc…
It’s not like he went into extreme detail either, just a rough idea of his philosophy.
by zephyr on Aug 20, 2009 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Bruce isn’t dumb, and he won’t go into that much detail, but a hockey playbook and an NHL playbook are very different things.
I would also bet, that to much more detail and the average reader gets lost. A casual fan that picks up this book can understand the simple principles discussed here, but a real technical discussion will eliminate a lot of potential readers.
by Sct112 on Aug 20, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Damn
but a hockey playbook and an NHL NFL playbook are very different things
by Sct112 on Aug 20, 2009 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah, just ask Al Saunders…
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by winterion on Aug 20, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Or Chris Cooley.
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Flag for the memory?
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by Bald Pollack on Aug 20, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
In football terms all BB really said was “we’re gonna control the line of scrimmage, stop the run, pressure the QB, and maintain ball possession.” Great, now how are you going to do that? BB didn’t get into the how at all.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
“Watch for the run or the pass”
Actually had our middle linebacker call that out in the middle of a highschool game. To his credit, he was right.
by Sct112 on Aug 20, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Itd be embarassing if it was a punt…
by MetalCap on Aug 20, 2009 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The style he describes is the style the Pens just used to win the Cup. During the playoffs, I thought what really stood out was how the Pens were able to get on the other team and actually take away that time and space. We really were not able to do that, at least not near that level. Why? Personnel? I suspect that’s a lot of it. We have many skilled players who do not commit to that style. Ovie actually does, despite his shift lengths. But Kozlov, Semin, Flash, and even Gordon don’t do that. Stecks and Fehr often seem to be too slow to get to where they can apply that pressure. I don’t think Matt Cooke won Pittsburgh the Cup, but if you want to play the style BB is talking about, you need more players like that.
by Kirg on Aug 20, 2009 1:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I’m going to read this as an endorsement for Chris Bourque. =)
I do think, though, the number of hits the waddle-birds had over the span of the 09 playoffs gets overlooked.
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by winterion on Aug 20, 2009 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah. Seems to me like it requires a ton of commitment, to skate hard forward and back each shift, and some players weren’t willing to do that.
by red army line on Aug 20, 2009 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why? Personnel? I suspect that’s a lot of it. We have many skilled players who do not commit to that style.
Gets back to accountability, to an extent, no?
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Paging Coach Woods…
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Aug 20, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Accountability is on the head coach.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I said it then and I’ll say it now: I don’t buy the “accountability” meme. I buy the need for shorter shifts, but I don’t think the two are perfectly correlated. It’s hard to ask more of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Green than they’ve given the team the last two years, especially taking their ages into account. Reducing shift lengths is something that needs to happen, but I’m not convinced “greater accountability” is the answer. I do think improving the 2nd line and 2nd pairing will help.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Aug 20, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree with most of your assessment, my reply was just pointing out that Coach Woods isn’t going to be the guy to instill accountability. He also won’t be the guy to instill shorter shifts. Ice time comes from BB. Sure, AO tries hard and produces, but getting his ass off the ice when it needs to be off the ice is part of accountability as well. If BB wants shorter shifts then he needs to demand it from the stars (who, in any event, are the only real offenders anyway).
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
And why not?
Jay Leach was Hanlon’s defensive coach that Boudreau inherited and has worked with the past two seasons. Woods is a former player and assistant under Boudreau who fully buys into Boudreau’s system and has used it himself as a head coach. The idea that for the first time at the NHL level Boudreau has an assistant who’s familiar with him and his philosophy can’t be dismissed out of hand, especially when that assistant will be dealing with one of the areas the Caps struggled with last season. Having a second voice whom many of the younger players have worked for (like Green, Gordon, Schultz, and Fleischmann) and that is experienced in the system will have an affect on their play.
Also, I would assume that Ovechkin is an exception to the rule of short shifts. That’s why both Hanlon and Boudreau have both double-shifted him in the past and run shift changes around him. If you have a player who has the stamina to be out there for a longer-than-normal shift, I would think you would want to use that.
by Forsch31 on Aug 21, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If BB tells Woods to play Mike Green, Mike Green is going on the ice. Woods doesn’t have the authority to single-handedly bench a guy. In the NHL, ice time is the only weapon a coach has to enforce accountability. You can yell and scream so much, but at some point you need to send a message to the players. You can’t cut their paycheck, just their ice. The head coach is the only guy that can do that. If Woods threatens to bench Green (lets forget for the moment that Woods is the D coach and our long shift problems are forwards) and BB tells him to put Green out there then Woods has to listen to BB and loses credibility in the eyes of the players.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 21, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Can we really start our own memes? Isn’t it more just a thought or a theory?
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 6:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Rec-a-roni
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 7:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If you have three guys forechecking and a defenseman goes down low and they chip it by for a two-on-one, that’sstupid hockeyvintage Milan Jurcina.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
by macvechkin on Aug 20, 2009 1:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
He’s not alone. I can remember our “steady veteran hand” being caught on a number of god awful terrible pinches throughout the year. He was also caught on one in Game 7 of ’08 and he ended up taking an OT PIM to compensate for being caught.
by Fehr and Balanced on Aug 20, 2009 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So is there a common thread/plotline through the whole book, or is it just snippets of personal experiences and philosophy?
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by jakeshapiro on Aug 20, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Um, it’s pretty much a chronological walk through his life in hockey so far, with hockey philosophy thrown in and a generally inspirational “you can do it if you try” theme. So ‘yes’ to both.
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by J.P. on Aug 20, 2009 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Washington
|
23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 31 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 23 |
|
Atlanta
|
19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 22 |
|
Florida
|
21 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 22 |
|
Carolina
|
22 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 15 |
(updated 11.22.2009 at 12:47 AM EST)
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