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Five questions: Coaching levels, shifts and Olympic vacations

January 11, 2010 01:03 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 week. 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! You can send your questions to CBCHockeyOnline@cbc.ca or post a comment in the field below.

Here are today's questions:

1. How do players know their shift is over and it's time to head to the bench? - Rocket Gal

There’s no rule that tells a player on the ice when to come back to the bench. It comes most of the time from members of the coaching staff who make their recommendation to the players. In the past, players would stay on the ice for longer shifts (about one minute to one minute, 30 seconds and sometimes longer). Now, with the speed of the game, the intensity, the busy schedule and the travelling it’s really hard to stay on the ice that long and keep a high-tempo game going. I would say that after 40-50 seconds of giving it your all, you will feel the urge to go back to the bench by yourself.

2. Can you provide information on the level of formal education reached by coaches in the NHL? I have bet a friend that among coaches in hockey, football, baseball and basketball, the lowest level reached is in Hockey. It certainly seems true in major junior hockey where the coaches are a long way from rocket scientists. I ask the question as I believe the philosophy among hockey coaches on fighting and violence in hockey reflects a lower I.Q. than in other sports. - Carl Burton

I definitely don’t agree with you. I think our coaches in hockey and that includes the one in junior are as intelligent, smart and as educated as any coaches in other sports.

Unfortunately I don’t have statistics on the academics of NHL coaches. But let me tell you what I personally think of the requirements in hockey coaching. Academics and IQ are two different things. One person could be less educated than another and have a higher IQ, so unless you submit someone to the IQ test it is very difficult to make a judgment.

The way you communicate with your players, the ability to see the strengths and weaknesses of your team and elaborate a system that would make that team successful is sometimes more important than coaching levels or IQ. Our coaches need to be extremely quick at processing information and require a strong visual memory since hockey is the fastest game out there. These qualities are innate and the right use of them comes with experience.

3. I know this is a little “out there” for hockey purists, but I've become convinced that the way to open up the game and create more scoring chances is to eliminate all offsides. What do you think hockey would look like if there were no offsides? - Sean and Takako Wurz

You’re right, it’s a little outside the box! I know that six or seven years ago in Toronto, general managers talked about different ways to get the game to another level. Everything that was discussed during those meetings was tried on the ice during a weekend. I’m talking about bigger nets, no red lines, and moving the blue-lines closer to the net in order to create a bigger neutral zone. They also tried having just the red line, creating two big zones. Everything was played on the ice with NHL players to see what the effect would be in our game. The only change adopted was no red line.

4. What will the non-Olympic players and coaches do during the Olympic break? - Sandra

I would imagine they will go on vacation with their families. The last games are played on Feb. 14 and no team can practice or force a player to stay in the city to workout until about Feb. 26. During the 1998 Olympics, my family and I spent about a week in Cabo San Lucas and met the team in Los Angeles, ready to finish the season. I hope every player will take the break to refresh and get ready for the last stretch.

5. Teams seem to be hiring new coaches who have only coached in the American League. Do you think that is a good thing? - Frankie D

I think it’s a trend right now. Last year the Pittsburgh Penguins fired their coach in February and hired their AHL coach and went on to win the Stanley Cup. So I think every GM is now thinking they can be that team. It could also be a way to reward a coach to give him the chance to upgrade to the NHL.

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