Rumor: Gary Roberts under consideration for HC?

[Navin R Slavin]

Hearing some rumblings from folks around the org that they're talking about Gary Roberts as one of the potential candidates for HC.

At first I was like "whu?" but then it started making sense. He won a Masterson, he's pretty much the go-to guy for hockey training at this point, and if the problem is less "system" and more "working hard", then setting that tone at the top isn't crazy. Especially if the assistant coaches can be relied upon to drive the system.

Discuss!

--hank

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[Anton Dubinchuk]

Been hearing this from a couple of sources as well, seems like he's right up there. Would love a guy with a little more experience, but honestly I think this makes the most sense...

 

[spockBokk]

Surely, he'd be all about a "work ethic", but at the beginning Muller was always stressing "accountability" blah blah blah...

He'd be an interesting hire no doubt, but I hope RF is looking for more seasoned guys in coaching. Has Roberts ever coached? All I've heard is that he's a decent off-season trainer since his retirement...

 

[raynman]

Look what he did for Stamkos. Now imagine what he could do with Skinner. I like it. Make it happen Ronnie.

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

Discuss!

--hank

Confirmed: hank = bluedevil58.

Could be an interesting hire, although I'd much rather see him as an assistant because he has no coaching experience. Or we could just give him Pete Friesen's job.

Also, some other rumblings I've been hearing seem to support this rumor.

 

[thom]

Going to Gym getting muscled up-okay but Im more interested if my key players give 100 percent on game night.Ex-Nash is big and skilled and in great shape but he does not show up when you want him-he is a coach killer.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Surely, he'd be all about a "work ethic", but at the beginning Muller was always stressing "accountability" blah blah blah...

He'd be an interesting hire no doubt, but I hope RF is looking for more seasoned guys in coaching. Has Roberts ever coached? All I've heard is that he's a decent off-season trainer since his retirement...

No, I don't think he's coached, but he's always been respected for his leadership abilities and his understanding of the game. He's also been best friends with Joe Nieuwendyk for years, and there were pretty substantive rumors that he was trying to get Roberts a position on the Stars staff when he was with Dallas, but he wouldn't take an assistant role because he didn't want to give up his training practice, especially given Nieuwendyk's tenuous position with the team at the time.

Things change. I think everyone agrees that Roberts would be pretty incredible as a coach. Maybe HC first time out isn't that likely -- but is he any worse that your typical replacement-level coach? Can we really say that Muller's one year of "coaching" experience in the AHL was any more substantive?

--hank

 

[Ole Gil]

Roberts would be an interesting assistant coach. When your dirtiest player is Jeff Skinner, there may be room to add a bit of an edge to the hockey team's game.

To clarify, when you guys say '"heard", do you mean read on internet, or talked to someone associated with the hockey world?

If the Dineen rumors pan out, there must be some overlap with Kevin and Gary.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Roberts would be an interesting assistant coach. When your dirtiest player is Jeff Skinner, there may be room to add a bit of an edge to the hockey team's game.

To clarify, when you guys say "heard", do you mean read on the internet, or talked to someone associated with the hockey world?

Connected folks. And I wasn't hearing "assistant".

--hank

 

[Navin R Slavin]

So let's imagine:

Roberts HC
Dineen Offense
Ulfie Defense

Imagine the kind of pressure system we could put together if training is essentially year-round. Could be pretty mindblowing.

--hank

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Look what he did for Stamkos. Now imagine what he could do with Skinner. I like it. Make it happen Ronnie.

He *does* do that with Skinner. Skinner regularly goes to the Gary Roberts High Performance Center

On motivation:

“At times I have to put the hammer down. But for the most part, these guys, once they see the guys around them, how hard they work, they get it. It’s been so good to have guys in the program like Stephen Weiss, Jeff Skinner and Stamkos. Stamkos will be out doing sled pulls with some 17-year-olds who are watching him train. When the guys see that, it’s not hard to keep them motivated.â€

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2011/07/29/feschuk_roberts_shares_his_secrets_for_hockey_longevity.html

Head Coach? Heck, let's make him Head Coach and Trainer and give Pete his walking papers.

 

[Novacane]

That would be pretty hilarious.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

He *does* do that with Skinner. Skinner regularly goes to the Gary Roberts High Performance Center



http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2011/07/29/feschuk_roberts_shares_his_secrets_for_hockey_longevity.html

Head Coach? Heck, let's make him Head Coach and Trainer and give Pete his walking papers.

Seems pretty clear that he'd be instituting his own training regimen. No way a HC is going to double as head trainer -- it's too much work -- but he'd certainly want his own philosophy, and very likely his own guy. Honestly, I could see Brindy in this role.

--hank

 

[A Star is Burns]

I'm not the least bit excited by this rumor or really any of the supposed candidates so far. Hopefully whoever they choose, crazy gamble like this or not, it works out.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Seems pretty clear that he'd be instituting his own training regimen. No way a HC is going to double as head trainer -- it's too much work -- but he'd certainly want his own philosophy, and very likely his own guy. Honestly, I could see Brindy in this role.

--hank

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I'm not the least bit excited by this rumor or really any of the supposed candidates so far. Hopefully whoever they choose, crazy gamble like this or not, it works out.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

I don't know that Einstein ever coached hockey, but he's not wrong.

--hank

 

[Navin R Slavin]

LOL.

I'm pretty excited by the prospect, so maybe my humor meter is a bit off.

--hank

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

My concerns are that we'd have another year or two of a guy learning on the job. Maybe even more-so since, as far as I can tell, he' never had any sort of head coaching job. I guess it depends on who the assistants are.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

My concerns are that we'd have another year or two of a guy learning on the job. Maybe even more-so since, as far as I can tell, he' never had any sort of head coaching job. I guess it depends on who the assistants are.

Yep. That should be everybody's concern. Which is why the assistants are so key (and I'm hearing that some of the slowness is because they need to wait for the right assistants to come free, which makes sense if they're waiting on Ulfie.)

But again: is Muller's one year of AHL experience more substantive that Roberts' many years of coaching individuals?

There's one thing that makes me think this is more than just a smokescreen: Ronnie's statement that he wants a "teacher". Roberts has demonstrated an *unparalleled* ability to coach up individuals. He's literally the best hockey trainer on the planet right now.

And those people skills are (a) highly transferrable and (b) rare. The Xs-and-Os? There's dozens of guys who can help with that. It's about setting the tone and culture of the organization, and that may require a big (and unorthodox) step.

--hank

 

[bleedgreen]

I think it's a horrible idea, for the obvious reasons already mentioned. A HC with no HC experience? In the NHL? I'd like to be less "creative". Assistant coach or consultant....hell yes.

I don't want another Muller. I want someone who has been a coach for at least a few years, even at the AHL level. I'd prefer someone with obvious clout. Roberts would likely be a step down from muller. Takes a hell of a lot more than a work ethic to coach.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Yep. That should be everybody's concern. Which is why the assistants are so key.

But again: is Muller's one year of AHL experience more substantive that Roberts' many years of coaching individuals?

True, but Muller had coaching/Assistant coaching experience other than his partial year in the AHL. He coached college, Team Canada, and Montreal before becoming an AHL coach. So he's been behind an NHL bench in a coaching capacity. AFAIK, Roberts has zero coaching experience in any way shape or form. That doesn't mean he can't do it though, just a concern (and more of a concern than I had with Muller who was considered green).

There's one thing that makes me think this is more than just a smokescreen: Ronnie's statement that he wants a "teacher". Roberts has demonstrated an *unparalleled* ability to coach up individuals. He's literally the best hockey trainer on the planet right now.

And those people skills are (a) highly transferrable and (b) rare. The Xs-and-Os? There's dozens of guys who can help with that. It's about setting the tone and culture of the organization, and that may require a big (and unorthodox) step.

--hank

Very good points..but I still would be surprised to hire a HC with zero coaching experience. Maybe as an assistant?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I think it's a horrible idea, for the obvious reasons already mentioned. A HC with no HC experience? In the NHL? I'd like to be less "creative". Assistant coach or consultant....hell yes.

I don't want another Muller. I want someone who has been a coach for at least a few years, even at the AHL level. I'd prefer someone with obvious clout.

Well, someone in the org disagrees with you, apparently.

--hank

 

[DaleCooper]

I wouldn't mind at all if the team goes for another unproven. I know everyone wants a veteran, but I like the swing for the fences hires. There's more of a risk of getting someone who is in over their head and won't succeed as a head coach, but there's also that chance of getting a real gem that you may never have gotten otherwise.

Ultimately, I think they will hire a veteran, though.

I'd like to imagine Roberts would have a kind of (sorry, soccer reference coming here) Arsene Wenger-like influence:

Training was different, to say the least. Wenger looked like a professor and worked according to the stopwatch. Sessions were shorter, sharper and timed to the second - unlike the sweaty, physical tests of endurance more common in traditional English regimes.

Wenger's attention to detail is legendary. He turned up the temperature on the team bus to keep players' muscles supple. He encouraged a period of silence at half time so the players relaxed and calmed themselves properly instead of ranting about the game. 'To work hard the whole week and then spoil it by not preparing properly is silly,' he says.

Ian Wright spends his time nowadays trying to help Britain's obese children to get fit. But when Wenger initially changed the menu at Arsenal, Wright turned up his nose and tutted about broccoli. The players' taste buds changed remarkably quickly. Vitamin supplements were gobbled. Alcohol was not banned but was discouraged - a brave move considering its perceived importance in team bonding in English dressing rooms. Wenger grew up above a pub in the Alsace and had seen enough to know alcohol was not an athlete's best friend.

 

[bleedgreen]

Well, someone in the org disagrees with you, apparently.

--hank

I find that unsurprising. I have trouble agreeing with myself some days. Still, just hire an F'ing coach. This seems to be one of those neat ideas that rarely work.

 

[PaulProteus]

Obviously this is rumor level stuff, but my first question/concern is...

Why in the world would Roberts want to give up the good (and likely pretty lucrative and stress-free) training gig that he enjoys during the "short" off-seasons of hockey to be a HC?

Sure, sure, competitive guy and such. But making good money doing what you love while sleeping in your own bed every night seems like a tough sell to whip this bunch into a playoff contending hockey team.

And I'm not saying it wouldn't work. I just have a hard time understanding why he would even want this particular HC job.