2018-19 Toronto Maple Leafs - General Discussion

[Nik]

It's 90% mental is such a cop-out of a cliche, too. Obviously the higher up we get in sports, the smaller the gap in the physical side, but to suggest it's down to 10% is just silly to me.

Whenever I hear something like that I just read it as complete and total self-aggrandisement. The reason that these guys succeed isn't that they're better athletes than the other guys, no indeed, it's that they're better people.

[herman]

It's 90% mental is such a cop-out of a cliche, too. Obviously the higher up we get in sports, the smaller the gap in the physical side, but to suggest it's down to 10% is just silly to me.

Whenever I hear something like that I just read it as complete and total self-aggrandisement. The reason that these guys succeed isn't that they're better athletes than the other guys, no indeed, it's that they're better people.

Doesn't that come from their hearts?

[Frank E]

It's 90% mental is such a cop-out of a cliche, too. Obviously the higher up we get in sports, the smaller the gap in the physical side, but to suggest it's down to 10% is just silly to me.

Whenever I hear something like that I just read it as complete and total self-aggrandisement. The reason that these guys succeed isn't that they're better athletes than the other guys, no indeed, it's that they're better people.

Doesn't that come from their hearts?

No no, you guys have it all wrong. It's all about motivation. Anybody can be like Crosby, they just need to be motivated.

[herman]

It's 90% mental is such a cop-out of a cliche, too. Obviously the higher up we get in sports, the smaller the gap in the physical side, but to suggest it's down to 10% is just silly to me.

Whenever I hear something like that I just read it as complete and total self-aggrandisement. The reason that these guys succeed isn't that they're better athletes than the other guys, no indeed, it's that they're better people.

Doesn't that come from their hearts?

No no, you guys have it all wrong. It's all about motivation. Anybody can be like Crosby, they just need to be motivated.

Gall bladder?

[Bullfrog]

It's proven; the more you give to charity, the faster you can skate.

[herman]

https://www.pensionplanpuppets.com/2018/7/23/17595564/toronto-maple-leafs-auston-matthews-goals-nhl-debut-elite-nhl-stats-toronto-maple-leafs-analysis

What’s incredibly unique about Matthews is exactly how he does it. Broadly speaking, there are three ways to excel as a scorer.

• Shoot more than average (shot generation)
• Shoot proportionally more from great locations / positions (shot selection)
• Convert more shots to goals, independent of location / positions (shot efficiency)

Matthews does all of them.

Not really highlighted in the above article is how Matthews scores. Elite scorers often largely rely on one or two well-honed shots (Ovi/Laine/Stamkos one-timer from the circle off a Royal Road pass, for example). He can fling a catch and release wrister, slip a five-hole with a quick angle change, dangle through traffic, put in a one-handed high-slot tip pass, bulldoze through a maze of legs to shelf a puck backhand, the list goes on.

In an injury shortened season, Matthews produced at a better rate than his Calder Trophy season. This year, with the shelter of Kadri at home and Tavares on the road, we could see ridiculous numbers at, once again, paltry ice time relative to traditional 1C deployment.

Tavares and Kadri are also similar in that they also make the majority of their shots (and goals) from the slot.

[princedpw]

It's 90% mental is such a cop-out of a cliche, too. Obviously the higher up we get in sports, the smaller the gap in the physical side, but to suggest it's down to 10% is just silly to me.

Whenever I hear something like that I just read it as complete and total self-aggrandisement. The reason that these guys succeed isn't that they're better athletes than the other guys, no indeed, it's that they're better people.

Doesn't that come from their hearts?

No no, you guys have it all wrong. It's all about motivation. Anybody can be like Crosby, they just need to be motivated.

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

[herman]

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

There's also stuff about how goalies tend to be coached in the feeder leagues, where they are basically... not. The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

[OldTimeHockey]

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

There's also stuff about how goalies tend to be coached in the feeder leagues, where they are basically... not. The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

What are we referring to when mentioning "Feeder Leagues"?

[herman]

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

There's also stuff about how goalies tend to be coached in the feeder leagues, where they are basically... not. The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

What are we referring to when mentioning "Feeder Leagues"?

There was a specific anecdote referring to a GTHL practice. Feeder leagues is just a catch-all term I chose.

[OldTimeHockey]

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

There's also stuff about how goalies tend to be coached in the feeder leagues, where they are basically... not. The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

What are we referring to when mentioning "Feeder Leagues"?

There was a specific anecdote referring to a GTHL practice. Feeder leagues is just a catch-all term I chose.

I really should go back a bit further in the thread.

[OldTimeHockey]

The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

I think this is changing quickly.

When I played net 25 years ago, there was next to no coaching during practices for us goalies. We basically had to search out the local goalie coach and pay for tutoring out of our own pocket.

5-10 years after I left, I saw an increase in demand for coaches that knew how to work with goalies. This was coming more now from teams as opposed to parents. Today, on rep teams, a goalie coach is almost expected. We also put aside hundreds of dollars from our budget that goes towards our goalie training as well. Entire organizations also work out plans with local training facilities to once again work on the goalies.

In a typical practice I run for my daughter's competitive team, I allow 30 minutes for our goalie coach to work specifically with the goalies. The coach then stays on the ice for the remaining hour to continue to help out with only the goalies.

Coaches certainly do expect results from their goalies. Finally most of them have realized that proper coaching is what is needed.

[herman]

The way I read this is that a lot of a goalie's skill set is fixed already (genetics; age 5-20 development), their physical work habits at this level are typically pretty good or they wouldn't be here, but they have been exposed to no mental training and it makes a bigger difference than you'd expect.  It would be cool if they could actually measure the difference (eg: a decrease in "bad goals"/game?) ... I haven't read the article ...

There's also stuff about how goalies tend to be coached in the feeder leagues, where they are basically... not. The line rushes and skills and systems work that the teams do as a whole are pretty much not applicable to replicating game situations for goalies, so most coaches just kind of leave them off to do their own thing, but also have high expectations for them.

Briere is of the mind that "a confident goaltender is better than a good one any day of the week" so his development plans are designed to support building that confidence and mindset in his goalies. Like a lot of business/management seminars, it is predicated on determining the player's personality profile, establishing positive perspectives techniques, building up a foundation of achievable 'wins' in terms of daily goals. Briere culls a lot of these methodologies from non-hockey sources.

This article was written largely off of Briere's recent presentation he delivered at a conference, as the Leafs currently do not allow direct media access to support staff.

[herman]

https://theathletic.com/442342/2018/07/23/bourne-on-band-aid-players-and-why-thell-make-the-maple-leafs-forwards-even-better-than-you-think/

[Some] coaches are lucky enough to have what I call “Band-Aid Players.” When you’re not a super deep team, not every line can be great. But if you have a Band-Aid player, you can put him with two guys who are the equivalent of open wounds, and that line will suddenly look a whole lot better. There were plenty of times discussions involved the phrase “Well, should we give those two [Band-Aid Player]?” As in, “They need a boost, maybe they should get some help in the form of [Band-Aid Player].”

Guess which three forwards are Band-Aid Players.

[cabber24]

https://theathletic.com/442342/2018/07/23/bourne-on-band-aid-players-and-why-thell-make-the-maple-leafs-forwards-even-better-than-you-think/

[Some] coaches are lucky enough to have what I call “Band-Aid Players.” When you’re not a super deep team, not every line can be great. But if you have a Band-Aid player, you can put him with two guys who are the equivalent of open wounds, and that line will suddenly look a whole lot better. There were plenty of times discussions involved the phrase “Well, should we give those two [Band-Aid Player]?” As in, “They need a boost, maybe they should get some help in the form of [Band-Aid Player].”

Guess which three forwards are Band-Aid Players.

Marner, Marleau, and Kapanen?