Hockey Night in Canada’s Kelly Hrudey takes a look at hockey from beyond the crease.
Keen scouting the key in these days of parity
Friday, March 28, 2008 | 12:20 PM ET
Hey Kelly, what’s wrong with my _ _ _ _ ?
Insert any team name you want, Flames, Canucks, Senators or Avalanche.
It’s a league-wide epidemic and it’s called “parity.”
Literally, within three minutes while waiting to board my flight in the Vancouver Airport this past Wednesday, I had two fans say the same thing to me, except one wanted to know about their Flames, the other, their Canucks.
Plain and simple, other than the Detroit Red Wings, and surprisingly, the Edmonton Oilers, most nights, the fans have no idea how their favourite team will perform.
The league wanted a salary cap for a number of various reasons, one of which was parity. Their wish has been fulfilled.
Parity and a salary cap also means most teams have some ordinary players filling roster spots.
It’s not the players fault; they are trying their very best.
It’s just easy to see, on a fairly regular basis they become overwhelmed with the game, whether it’s the tempo or another reason, and it’s very difficult for them.
This puts more pressure on the top players to not only perform but to also lead.
Not all players can pull double duty
The problem is not all great players have the ability to lead. It’s even more difficult to lead, and, at the same time, make the players around them better.
There is only about five per cent of the top players that do both.
Furthermore, what happens if the star player has that rare combination, skill and leadership, but his supporting cast just can’t raise their game under most circumstances?
Is that the star player's fault?
I say no!
It’s the system's fault and there’s probably only one way to fix the problem - better scouting.
Teams need to spend the money scouring the landscape for the perfect complimentary players.
Sometimes it falls into your lap, like it did for the Red Wings with Dan Cleary.
Dan’s career had taken a wrong path at one point but through his determination to get back on track, and the Detroit organization being a winning environment, the two made a great fit.
It’s a great story for the both of them, but in fairness when Cleary went to the Wings training camp in September of 2005, I bet not too many people would have projected his game would have reached the level it is today.
We may or may not like it, but parity is just another aspect that we as hockey fans will have to get used to, not unlike fans of the NHL did years ago.
This discussion is now Open. Submit your Comment.
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Behind the Mask »
About Kelly Hrudey
Former NHL goaltender turned hockey broadcaster Kelly Hrudey returns for his ninth straight season as an analyst with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, where he works alongside host Scott Oake for the western broadcasts of the Saturday night doubleheaders.
His segment Behind the Mask has been a regular feature on HNIC since the 1999 Stanley Cup playoffs. Hrudey, who played 15 years in the NHL with the Islanders, Kings and Sharks, also offers his insight and analysis during HNIC’s post-game show, After Hours.
In 2007, Kelly captured his first Gemini Award in the Best Studio Analyst category.
Hrudey lives in Calgary with his wife and three daughters. Viewers can watch the video version of Behind the Mask Saturday nights during the second game on HNIC. His blog appears every Friday on CBCSports.ca.
Recent Posts
- Keen scouting the key in these days of parity
- Friday, March 28, 2008
- Are you "hurt" or are you "injured?"
- Friday, March 21, 2008
- Today's goalies owe a lot to Vladislav Tretiak
- Friday, March 7, 2008
- Darren McCarty still digging
- Wednesday, February 27, 2008
- Teams need to respect, honour no-trade clauses
- Friday, February 22, 2008
- Subscribe to Behind the Mask
Archives
- March 2008 (3)
- February 2008 (3)
- January 2008 (4)
- December 2007 (2)
Comments
Andrew B.
Kelly
The video of Scott playing hockey... looking stiff as a poker...that was classic. Keep it up! Good work guys. Always look forward to your input.
And
Posted April 5, 2008 11:04 PM
brian
the main man is the coach. he has to motivate the players to use their talents collectively to win any game.
picking the right talent is only part of success.
Posted April 5, 2008 10:09 PM
chris geml
although im from detroit, I am a big montreal canadian fan, i think they have done a fantastic job this year,i like there style of hockey,bob gainey has done a great job.
Posted April 3, 2008 08:24 PM
Gleason Gallinger
In these days of parity maybe there should be consideration for changing the way points are awarded for wins and losses in OT or shoot outs. Currently points are not awarded for goals in the shootout, why then are points awarded for a loss? I can understand using the shootout to eliminate a tie on a teams record. If you are eliminating a tie by using OT or the shoot out then why are you awarding points for the tie(or OT/shoot out loss) The playoff picture today would be vastly different with out points awarded for the OT loss. Several teams would have 5 - 10 points and the races would be even closer. I believe that having the play off races being closer would be better for the leauge, the game and most of importantly the fans.
Posted April 2, 2008 09:28 PM
Vincent Kennie
I agree that the draft seems to help build a contender. Therefore, teams must have a real
good scouting staff to bring this into place.
It does appear(my opinion) that some if not
most good draft picks are now coming from
outside North America. Of the top five scorers
in the NHL at least are from the Soviet Union?
A lot of top players are drafted from Sweden also. It appears that a lot of the better
players for the Detroit Red Wings are from
Sweden(correct me if I am wrong)
Looking forward to a real competitive run
for the conference winners and hope the
Stanley Cup final goes the full seven games.
Although they are a long shot I was hoping that the Vancouver Canucks were in!!!
Maybe next year.
Nimrod66
Posted April 2, 2008 03:24 PM
Hannah
Attention all Scouts!
Look up north! Come & check out the tournaments this spring when families travel by snowmobile to play hockey in other communities, (less adventuresome people travel by air)Man, there is a lot of Talent out there!
We need a Nunavut Hockey League!
Posted April 2, 2008 01:57 PM
Billy
I love the fact that Kelly mentions the Oilers the way he does.
Hopefully they win their last 2 and fans can see this exciting team upset the Wings (Detriot wants nothing to do with the red hot OIL).
BK
Posted March 30, 2008 08:57 AM
Maples
Michigan
Well said!! It is in the scouting and for those prospects to shine that make the GM and coaches look like a genius organization. One of the best examples this season are the Montreal Canadiens. The Draft and a couple of key signings later and the Habs are winning,this year!
Posted March 29, 2008 09:51 AM