CBC-Sports

Guy Carbonneau: Five Questions

October 19, 2009 03:45 PM | Posted by   Guy Carbonneau  

Here's how it works. You submit a question and Guy will provide the answer to five of them every Monday. It's that simple. That means your question may not make the final list, but there is nothing stopping you from submitting more than one!

Here are today's questions.

1) What is it like for a coach when his team is on a long losing streak?

Well its definitely not fun or easy. The important thing is to stay focused and calm, to show your team that you are in control and that together we will get out of it. You certainly get to know more about your team. It gives you a chance to see what kind of players you have and their character under pressure.

Generally when this happens the coaching staff uses the time to go back to a more basic game. Short passes, simple break-out plays, lots of shots and traffic in front of the net. The things they all know how to do.

2) What player has surprised you the most so far this year?

It would have to be Michael Del Zotto from the Rangers, so far this season
he has been the best of the young players.

And the Colorado Avalanche as a team has surprised me. The acquisition of Craig Anderson has obviously given them more stability in net.


3) Why are the Rangers playing so well?

The first thing is that John Tortorella has that team in better shape this year.
It means they can play a more up-tempo game and create more turnovers in the offensive zone and that gets you many more scoring opportunities

Then you have the play of goalie Henrik Lundqvist. He’s playing really well.

4) Your former teammate Stephane Richer is skating in CBC's Battle of the Blades. What would it take to get you on that show?

It would take a lot, but I respect what they're doing. My wife and I watched the show last night, they're really good. It takes lots of courage and confidence in yourself to be on shows like that. With my two new hips I don’t think I would be able to do half of what they're doing.

5) The Canadiens started the season with a long road trip. What does that do for a team, especially in a city like Montreal.

Well, its extremely hard to start with five games on the road. Because training camps are shorter now, it’s hard for a coach to implement all the elements of his system in that short period of time. When you start on the road for that many games it takes away a lot of good practice time. Plus some of the players have been in a hotel since the start of training camp, I'm sure that they can't wait to get back to their family and a home cooked meal!

You have a question for Guy? Send it to CBCHockeyOnline@cbc.ca


" Previous Post | Main
  •