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Coach Mike Babcock

there was a picture of Nylander at the Jays game 3. He appeared to have some facial hair on his chinny chin chin. Does this mean the team hair policy is not applied to the kidz on the Marlies?
 
Couldnt find the thread on that topic plus the postings have been very slow these days. I guess that will change when the Jays go bottoms up!
 
Babcock on injuries, Saturday in Montreal and more

When you look at tape is it a matter of isolating mistakes?

What we did is we went through the mistakes today, any reoccurring theme, that's what we've done every day is try to build our structure and we're going to keep doing that. While you're also building your structure you've got to build your belief system. I'm not coaching players, I'm coaching people. So, when you're not rewarded, sometimes you get discouraged. To me, that's crazy, why would you let that get in the way? We know where we're going, we know we're going to be a good team, just keep on plugging and, don't get me wrong, in my heart and my mind I knew we were winning last night in Montreal and we didn't. So, then you've got to regroup and get yourself back in order. My job is to lead the group and you've got to look after yourself first. The bottom line is I've got to do a better job with the team so we don't make mistakes.

Did you feel like your power play was close to breaking through?

We had unbelievable opportunities but it didn't go in the net whereas they had two and it went in the net. That's the way it goes. You can look at it any way you want. I've always chosen to look at it like it's going to happen, it's going to happen, it's going to happen and if you stay determined it works out. That's how I've lived my whole life and that's how I'm living now. We'll have an optional skate tomorrow, we tried to get our energy back up and work on a few simple things here today to get some focus. Work on our penalty kill, our forecheck, we basically walked through it to get ready for tomorrow.

[...]

Is there merit to chemistry in pairs of players on lines or is that something we blow out of proportion?

I think chemistry is good but I also think having a couple of guys together, you can move people around to spark them once in a while. But, you guys have to write stories too right? So you've got to make some stuff up every once in a while. Nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...
 
Anyone else getting a little tired of the usage of Marincin, Polak and Froese?

Not that I'm drawing any conclusions, but seeing them out there and at times hearing them get shout-outs from the coach just rubs me the wrong way a little.

Babcock also said the other day he thought Dion might have been out best player this year, points aside I wouldn't have had him in the top five.

I suppose you just have to accept that every coach is going to have blinders when it comes to some players.
 
Patrick said:
Anyone else getting a little tired of the usage of Marincin, Polak and Froese?

Not that I'm drawing any conclusions, but seeing them out there and at times hearing them get shout-outs from the coach just rubs me the wrong way a little.

Babcock also said the other day he thought Dion might have been out best player this year, points aside I wouldn't have had him in the top five.

I suppose you just have to accept that every coach is going to have blinders when it comes to some players.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the Dion stuff is more about protecting his player from the media than anything else. That, or he's seeing stuff from his perspective as coach that we might not be seeing as fans.

The use of Froese bothers me a little. He probably shouldn't be in the NHL. I'm willing to give Marincin some rope - he's still young, and is a worthwhile experiment. As for Polak . . . well, gotta do something to try to maintain his trade value, right?
 
Patrick said:
Anyone else getting a little tired of the usage of Marincin, Polak and Froese?

Not that I'm drawing any conclusions, but seeing them out there and at times hearing them get shout-outs from the coach just rubs me the wrong way a little.

Babcock also said the other day he thought Dion might have been out best player this year, points aside I wouldn't have had him in the top five.

I suppose you just have to accept that every coach is going to have blinders when it comes to some players.
Click to expand...

I'm okay with his usage of Marincin. Polak is only there because he's a right-handed shot and trade bait (I'd take a 5th at this point); I'm expecting Corrado to supplant him shortly.

Froese is interesting. I don't think Babcock is blind about his shortcomings. I suspect his praise for Froese is in line with his perceived potential, because it sure looks like Froese is playing to his max potential at this level, whereas others don't seem to be pushing their envelopes (e.g. Holland).
 
Kadri raves of Babcock:

Only 19 games into a season of rebirth and rebuilding, but rather distinctly the effect of coach Mike Babcock is being felt throughout the Leafs dressing room. It?s quite a contrast to what was going down with the team a year ago this week and, suddenly, legitimate optimism has entered the equation.

?We always felt like we were against the ropes and we had a hard time coming off of them,? Kadri said. ?We just didn?t really believe in ourselves. Now it?s a different environment.

?Obviously we are privileged and honoured to put on the jersey and play in the NHL, but times like that make it hard to be an athlete. When you?re not getting things done, it?s no fun.?

When it was pointed out to Kadri that in the first half of the season the team was winning games and in playoff contention, it was difficult to buy in and believe.

?The way we were winning was just like (exchanging) chance for chance,? Kadri said. ?You knew that wasn?t going to keep up. It was mentally exhausting.?

As Kadri says, the attitude adjustment combined with the structure dictated by Babcock have made a massive difference...?It was a huge mess,? Kadri said of the difficulties of a year ago. ?Obviously, last year the tension you could cut with a knife. It was pretty difficult at times. You just didn?t know what was going to happen.

?(Babcock) is a hard ass, it?s a good thing though,? Kadri said on Wednesday. ?That?s something I thrive on. I?m in his office almost daily, trying to understand how I can get better and how I can be a leader. We?ve definitely come a long way in establishing what I need to do.?

Last season if he was summoned into see Randy Carlyle, Kadri said the results were rarely as encouraging.

?Usually if I got called into (Carlyle?s) office, we weren?t going to be talking about dinner plans. I?m in (Babcock?s) office almost daily, trying to understand how I can get better and how I can be a leader. A lot of it is teaching, but if you deserve a pat on the back, he?s going to give it to you.?

Babcock:
?We believe we have a process that will take a long time, but we are confident that if we keep building every day, we can have success over the long haul.?

That process isn?t going to change in the short term, though Babcock will continue to demand improvement. Well aware of the fragile personalities on his team, it appears Babcock has found the mix of motivating players while also being demanding.

?What you try to do is maximize the group,? Babcock said. ?We still have some guys in here who aren?t having their best year. Your job as a coach is to make sure everyone is at their best so we?ve got lots of work to do.?

Story:
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/11/18/hockeys-fun-for-leafs-under-hard-ass-babcock
 
Thanks HF1.  There's no question that Babcock has produced real change, faster I daresay than any of us thought.

But the talk of a playoff spot kind of unnerves me, though.  We'll see how it goes when Reimer comes back to earth.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Thanks HF1.  There's no question that Babcock has produced real change, faster I daresay than any of us thought.

But the talk of a playoff spot kind of unnerves me, though.  We'll see how it goes when Reimer comes back to earth.
Click to expand...

Some things will improve (Leafs PP, Kadri's goal scoring) and others will regress (Reimer's SV%).
You really only need to look at the standings to remind yourself of where the Leafs are.  A very nice stretch of games (5-2-2) and the Leafs are 6 points back of a playoff spot AND have five teams ahead of them.    It's just not likely to happen even if Reimer had a career year.
 
Thanks, hockeyfan1, for the candid Kadri moment (and for saving me a visit to the Sun).

L K said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Thanks HF1.  There's no question that Babcock has produced real change, faster I daresay than any of us thought.

But the talk of a playoff spot kind of unnerves me, though.  We'll see how it goes when Reimer comes back to earth.
Click to expand...

Some things will improve (Leafs PP, Kadri's goal scoring) and others will regress (Reimer's SV%).
You really only need to look at the standings to remind yourself of where the Leafs are.  A very nice stretch of games (5-2-2) and the Leafs are 6 points back of a playoff spot AND have five teams ahead of them.    It's just not likely to happen even if Reimer had a career year.
Click to expand...

Plus, Reimer doesn't have the most sustainable play style (reactionary vs positional). They should be talking about the playoffs and gunning for it because that's what you want to see in a team, even if it is counter to the long-term goals (high draft picks). These early wins only serve to make our trade bait more appealing.
 
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