by Jes

As you might have noticed, the volume of posts on this site has slowed in the past month. Besides the lack of good hockey news, I'm still feeling under the cloud of Blogger Burnout. Even if there is a good story to be had, I just don't have the spark.

Remember the story of young Steven Legein? He's the Columbus Dinner Jackets prospect that quit the game simply because he grew tired of it. All of the practices, training camps, video sessions ... it just wasn't worth it for the young prospect.

This type of burnout seems to be happening more these days among our nation's youth, and most of it can be traced to those parents that push their children so hard in a usually-futile attempt to land a lucrative spot in the NHL.

From The Province:

But the seeds of hockey burnout are now being planted long before a player reaches the junior level, and [Canadian Hockey Head Bob] Nicholson agrees it is becoming a problem.

"It's a big concern of ours that players aren't playing soccer, baseball, lacrosse like they used to (in the summer)," he said. "We're in board meetings now looking at ways to try to make sure that they're not playing competitive hockey 12 months of the year."

Part of the problem is overzealous hockey parents with dreams of their son becoming the next Sidney Crosby. They're the ones forking out the cash for the summer hockey programs, which aren't cheap.

"I think a lot of it comes right from the parents," Nicholson agreed. "It almost seems like it's worse now with the 9-, 10- and 11-year-olds. The message doesn't seem to be getting down to the parents right now."

It's not that the kids don't like playing hockey, it's that they don't like playing it ALL THE TIME, and they don't like the constant work involved. Most kids don't like practices, and most kids certainly don't want to feel pushed into training year round. It just saps the fun out of the game entirely, doesn't it?

Think of how many kids play at the highest level of junior hockey in Canada. It's a very small percentage of the total population of hockey players in that age group. Now, think of how many of those kids will ever make the NHL. It's a very small percentage.

The fact is that if your kid can't possibly be one of the elite players during the course of a regular season, those few extra months are not going to make him the next superstar. That extra training might help the very best young players, but it's not going to help the mass majority become THAT much better.

Again, we must look over to Europe to see how they do things right.

In the summer, even the pro teams never set a foot out on to the ice. In Europe, the players play soccer and tennis ... they go mountain biking, they go jogging, they have fun doing other stuff that isn't even related to hockey.

The result? The players are happier because they get a break from the game, and the players are better trained.

Better trained?

Yes. Soccer and tennis, especially, develop athletic traits that aren't always worked on so well in hockey. Both sports are great for developing agility and stamina, allowing players to develop quickness on a different surface. Biking is obviously great for developing stamina and vitality, something short-burst hockey training doesn't always do.

Having a kid play hockey 12 months a year will leave them rather 1-dimensional in terms of their athletic training, not to mention bored to tears. It's hard for any mind to develop creativity and creatively when it is constantly focusing on one type of task.

Edit: OK, I totally mis-read the Cherry quote. Woops. What do you make of this, anyway? sheesh

Last March, on the Grapeline radio show, host Brian Williams asked Don Cherry what he thought about hockey parents whose kids missed games during spring break to go on a family vacation.

"What do I think of them?" Cherry roared. "You want to know what I think of them? I think they're selfish rats that can't be counted on. The parents that take the kids out of the team and go on vacation are rats that can't be counted on. Can I say it any clearer?

"That's not only my opinion," Cherry added, "but real hockey people think they're selfish rats who can't be counted on."

Labels: burnout, Don Cherry, junior hockey, Steven Legein

Don Cherry must be crying into his loud polyester pajamas this morning. Not only did his beloved Gary Roberts not skate off into the sunset with a Stanley Cup, but the Detroit Red Wings are, by far, the most Euro-laden team to ever win the big prize.

It is true that in the past, you'd want Canadian grit and heart on your roster, given how most Stanley Cup winners were very much filled with a majority of Canucks (and a few Americans). The Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes, and Anaheim Ducks had very few Europeans on their roster, and gave fuel to the fire about European players sucking trash when it counts most.

Then came this year's Red Wings... just look at the European influence on their roster.

Henrik Zetterberg
Pavel Datsyuk
Johan Franzen
Niklas Kronwall
Jiri Hudler (look at how many points he scored with so little ice time)
Mikael Samuelsson
Nicklas Lidstrom
Tomas Holmstrom
Valtteri Filppula
Andreas Lilja
Dominik Hasek

Yes, almost half of their playoff roster was European.

The best players on the team? They are European. You have Conn Smythe winner Zetterberg, captain Lidstrom, and slick Datsyuk.

Role players? You have the hard-working Franzen with Holmstrom, plus defensive-minded guys like Filppula and Samuelsson.

Yeah, the evil Swedes can certainly bring it when it counts.

It's not where the players are from, but which players you get. Yes, Zetterberg and Datsyuk were once playoff non-factors, but they obviously matured and learned how to score when the spaces get tighter and the battles get fiercer.

Despite the fact that I still maintain the Wings got lucky not to play a physical opponent other than overmatched Nashville in the playoffs(Anaheim and San Jose would have given the Wings fits), we can't deny that from start to finish, the Wings were just the best team in the league this year.

Record: 54-21-7 (1st)
Goals For: 257 (3rd)
Goals Against: 184 (1st)
Power Play: 20.7% (3rd)
Penalty Kill: 84.0% (8th)

As for the Penguins, this was a great year for them, and, despite the lack of a cup, no Pens fan should look back on this season with much derision.

Labels: Don Cherry, Penguins, Red Wings, stanley cup

by Jes

Some big news in the world of broadcasting this week as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) extended their deal to host Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays.

From the Mother Ship:

The CBC and the NHL announced a new television deal Monday that will keep Hockey Night in Canada on the air until 2014.

The six-year broadcast deal, which includes national English-language broadcast and multimedia rights to NHL games in Canada, will begin when the current agreement between the CBC and the league expires after the 2007-08 season. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

"Can you imagine seven more years of me? How can it get any better?" Don Cherry, co-host of Coach's Corner, told CBC Sports Online.

"I'm very happy. [Hockey Night in Canada ] should be on the CBC. It's been on the CBC [since the 1950s] and this is where it belongs."

Seven more years of Donald S. Cherry? *headdesk*

The Don is right, though, that HNIC does belong on CBC and some traditions should never die.

The best part is now that us non-Leafs lemmings won't have to subjected to seeing Toronto EVERY FRICKIN WEEK!

Bettman said the new deal will feature fewer Toronto Maple Leafs games during the regular season, with more dates being allocated for other Canadian teams.

"The mix is not going to be what it's been in previous years," Bettman said. "We decreased the number of the Leaf games and increased the number of games of the other Canadian teams that can be made available."

Some have complained that the CBC is a dinosaur and wouldn't be missed in hockey broadcasting. Well, phooey to them, because I like the way CBC respects the game of hockey (just see Hockey Day in Canada) and presents a product that is lower on frills than the bombasts at TSN and Sportsnet. I need Pierre McGuire's "Monsters" as much as I need a colon cleansing.

Still, if the CBC is going to make tweaks to HNIC, perhaps Gary Bettman can force the following...

1. Retire Bob Cole and Harry Neale out to pasture. Bob is still catching up from plays made in 2001, and Harry is more concerned about giving the Leafs verbal BJs and telling you how many millimeters Bryan McCabe was away from the goal when he shot the puck wide of the net.

2. Fire Greg Millen. For entertainment value, have Don McLean announce it publicly so that the whole country can celebrate.

3. Bring back Al Strachan vs. Brian Burke. If you want entertainment, this is it! Who doesn't like seeing Al being torn apart like Christmas wrapping?

4. More K-Fed. Always more K-Fed.

Given how much the CBC has lost in the past few years (CFL, Olympics, etc...), the CBC really needed to cement this deal to retain any relevance. What other shows on this network are worth watching? The Mercer Report? This Hour has 22 minutes? ...that's about it...

Labels: CBC, Don Cherry, HNIC, marketing, NHL, tv