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Columbus Blue Jackets (Official Thread)

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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS
Norrena?s first win in the NHL a memorable one
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



Fredrik Norrena kicked aside the pats on the back like a slap shot from the blue line.
Sure, the Blue Jackets goaltender was excited to get his first NHL victory last night in a 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in Nationwide Arena.
And he was delighted to help the Blue Jackets snap an eightgame losing streak and win their first game under new coach Ken Hitchcock.
But let?s not get carried away, he said.
"This is how it should be," Norrena said, meaning the Blue Jackets should win games, and he should be part of it
"A lot of people are congratulating me. I worked hard enough to get this win, but I?m excited for the team, the management here and, of course, for the fans.
"For the fans, they can see some good ice hockey, finally."
Norrena, 32, waited a long time for this moment, not just in terms of his career but also this season.
In his first four starts, all losses, the Blue Jackets scored four goals, including two shutouts and another game in which they scored their lone goal with only 15 seconds left.
Last night, Norrena must have felt like he hit the jackpot.
"This is a guy who?s been to the Olympics, he?s won championships," left winger Jody Shelley said. "He comes in here and we?ve been in a drought, and I?m sure he was looking to the sky wondering, ?What?s going on here??
"For us to go out there and battle like a team and for him to get a win out of it, it?s just really encouraging for all of us."
Norrena stopped 19 of 22 shots, including two notably nifty saves on Wild winger Brian Rolston. One was a wickedly quick save with his glove (second period), the other a sprawling save with his stick (third period).
Other than that, he could mostly breathe easy.
"It?s been a long time coming for us," Norrena said. "Minnesota is not a club that panics or plays desperate. They don?t chase for the next goal, so it was not an easy win for us."
Norrena was handed the puck by captain Adam Foote after the final horn.
It?s a keeper, he said, destined for a spot at home beside other memories, like his 37-save shutout win over Canada for a bronze medal in the 2006 world championships.
"Very nice memories to have," Norrena said. "This is definitely one of them."
Hitchcock, who has faced Norrena in international competition as coach for Team Canada, spoke glowingly about Norrena earlier this week.
"This guy can really play," Hitchcock said. "I?ve got a lot of confidence in him."
So, too, does the rest of the dressing room.
"It?s not easy being a second goalie, getting on-ice time," center Sergei Fedorov said. "It was excellent to get this one off his shoulders. I?m just happy for him. It?s great to see that."
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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Modin?s status unknown after he exits with injury

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

20061126-Pc-E6-0700.jpg
</IMG> NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Fredrik Modin, left, shown with Alexander Svitov in an Oct. 9 game, has increased his productivity the past week.


Blue Jackets winger Fredrik Modin limped off the ice in the second period and did not play in the third last night in Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 to break an eight-game losing streak.
Modin?s status for an upcoming trip is up in the air. He has been feeling the effects of a foot injury that occurred when he was hit with a puck during a game this month. He has a discernable limp when he walks, but his skating has been largely unaffected ? until last night.
Modin has been one of the better Blue Jackets players during the past week.
The Blue Jackets play the Vancouver Canucks in General Motors Place on Tuesday, the first game of a four-game, 10-day trip that will wend through Calgary, Edmonton and Colorado.
The team will need some preventative roster padding for the trip, and it?s likely that forward Alexandre Picard and defenseman Filip Novak will be recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
Bigger can work

The average size of a Blue Jackets forward is 6 feet 2, 209 pounds. Put another way: The average Jackets forward is about 3 inches taller and 23 pounds heavier than the average Jackets forward was during the inaugural season. He?s also, on most nights, bigger and heavier than the opponents? forwards.
New coach Ken Hitchcock noticed that when he was watching tapes of the team last week. He was asked whether bigger forwards might be a disadvantage because the league has trended toward smaller and faster in the post-lockout era.
"The ideal is big guys who can skate and are competitive," Hitchcock said. "Small and quick is of no use if you?re not competitive. ? Carolina, Buffalo, they are teams that have smaller people, quick people ? but they?re all very competitive. Quickness combined with competitiveness is difficult to beat now."
Hitchcock said his new team is not only big but has "decent to good speed." Once the system is in place and competitive demands are made clear, he believes the combination will be potent.
"We have a very big hockey club, and we have to use that size properly to create more scoring opportunities," he said. "We can create havoc with our size, but the core elements have to be in place five-on-five and on the power play to score. As soon as we get to Vancouver (on Tuesday), we?ll implement things very quickly."
Hitch on scouting

In the days between his Philadelphia firing and his Columbus hiring, Hitchcock stayed on the Flyers? staff as a scout.
Suffice it to say he couldn?t wait to get back behind the bench.
"Scouting stinks," Hitchcock said. "I mean ? You go in the wrong door (and) the guy won?t let you in the rink because you don?t have the right ID. You miss the train back. You get lost trying to find the hotel, all that screwy stuff.
"Whatever those guys make, they ought to get a raise."
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Dispatch

Confidence building by leaps and bounds

Sunday, November 26, 2006


BOB HUNTER

20061126-Pc-E1-0600.jpg
</IMG>


When Gary Agnew was asked whether he had a good Thanksgiving, a sunny smile answered before he did.
"Awesome," he said. "I got to spend it with Ken Hitchcock."
This could be read as an alltoo-transparent attempt to ingratiate himself with his new boss. Trust me when I say that this was different. Agnew, a first-year NHL assistant who only a few days ago was the Blue Jackets? interim coach and a candidate for the job Hitchcock eventually got, practically giggled that out.
A few minutes later, while listening to Sergei Fedorov praise Hitchcock?s two days of instruction, it occurred to me that this might be a good time for Blue Jackets fans unhappy about five years of failure to call a timeout on all that anger and embrace the product again.
"I personally think the way Ken explain things is so simple, there?s no misunderstanding," Fedorov said. "The way he coaches, I love it."
Fedorov smiled. He didn?t have that kid-at-an-amusement-park smile of Agnew?s, but his was just as telling. The gloom that permeated the locker room a few days ago is gone.
The Blue Jackets played a strong game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Hitchcock?s coaching debut Friday and lost 3-2. Last night, they beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 in Hitchcock?s home debut and even the empty seats seemed excited. The Nikolai Zherdev-Fedorov-Anson Carter line put on a dazzling offensive show ? Fedorov had two goals and two assists ? that deserved a bigger live audience than the announced crowd of 15,493.
It?s only one win, but even if victories don?t come in bunches in the next few weeks, there is now a shared belief that they eventually will. There?s a confidence in the coaching staff that didn?t exist before, not because they didn?t love Gerard Gallant or Agnew, but because Hitchcock has a track record that feeds it. He has been there, done that. There is no reason to doubt him.
Blue Jackets players see Hitchcock?s hiring as a fresh start, and the fans should, too. There are reasons to be positive. As recently as a few weeks ago, the thought of a guy with Hitchcock?s reputation coaching the Blue Jackets was a pipe dream. He wasn?t available, and the Jackets weren?t looking for a coach. They were still in a state of denial.
After hitting bottom, they are a lot like an alcoholic who realizes he has a problem and has resolved to correct it. Hitchcock is preaching and the players are quick to buy in.
And why not? The goods he is selling are tantalizing to a team that was desperately searching for answers, one that has never had much of an identity.
"Everybody tells you all the time what you?re not," Hitchcock said. "What we are is a big hockey club that can skate and bang people and we?ve got some good skill players. And if we play that game, we?re really hard to play against, we?ve very effective and we wear teams out. If we play that way, we can win a lot of hockey games.
"Is it hard work? Yeah, you bet. But if the work is in there and then they see the result with it, then there?s an enthusiasm to want to do it, and that?s where our team is going to right now. We want to put the work in because we can see the results."
It makes for an intriguing situation, at the least. Although the playoff possibilities that team officials and players once spoke so glibly of now seem remote at best, there are reasons for fans to give this team another look.
What once looked like just another dreary season could still turn out to be a lot of fun.

Bob Hunter is a sports co lumnist for The Dispatch
.
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some random stuff

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=3829
Klesla, Hitch and the Leaders in Columbus
Friday @ 2:29 PM ET | Comments (10)
Hey from the Flyers press box.

We are currently midway through a 1-1 game between Columbus and Philly and it does indeed look very odd to see coach Hitchcock in this building behind the visitors bench. But the one thing that has really struck me so far is the play of Rostislav Klesla. The guy can flat out crush people. Actually, I have to say that I haven't witnessed a better hitting D than Columbus.

Word is that Hitch has picked his core leadership group.

The names include some of the obvious.

Adam Foote and Rick Nash, and the always under-rated Fred Modin,

But then you have a couple of suprise picks in Fedorov and Jody Shelley.

In Fedorov, this is obviously a case of Hitch trying some reverse psychology out to motivate the one time Russian sniper. In Shelley, you have a tough guy who can help sell the system. Hitch's success has always been tied to getting the right players to sell the system. In Philly, that guy was Primeau, and once he was done, the team never fully bought in.
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http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=3837
a little on the real hitch
The Hitch Switch
Saturday @ 10:40 AM ET | Comments (21)
As coach John Stevens was giving his post game press conference following yesterday’s Flyers 3-2 victory over the Blue Jackets, reporters started to rudely leave one by one. It started out as 30 writers, and in the end I was left standing with about five people, when I uncomfortably left myself. It reminded me of sneaking out of church early. Usually no one leaves the coach’s PC, but today everyone had someone else to talk to. Stevens knew what was going on.

BJ Coach Ken Hitchcock would soon be addressing the media after coaching the opposing team a mere two days after he was scouting for the Flyers. When you walked out into the hallway you could barely move. Normally the opposing coaches address the two or three media guys. Today it was a swarm waiting for the coach. Hitch is one of those guys that is a rock star in this world. And like the song says, “You don’t know what you got til it’s gone.”


It took Hitch a longer time than usual to get out there, and as it turned out we all could have stay with Stevens to the end. Here you saw for the first time that Hitch was being treated as the enemy. With a big comfy press room 10 feet behind me we all stood crowded in a hallway. One of the Flyers beat writers got whacked by a camera.

Eventually out came Hitch and he could barely get in through the crowd. The same basic questions were asked of Hitch. “Did it feel weird?” “Did you keep looking at the Flyers team.”

As Hitch talked he kept saying "we" played a solid game and I really thought "they" played well. Except "we" meant the Blue Jackets and "they" meant the Flyers. Same building, same reporters, but everything reversed. It is moments like this that you realize how much of a crazy business this is.

But Hitch was the pro and said all the right things. There was a legitimate excitement about his new team. He joked about leaving the twenty or so people who cover the Flyers behind for the 2 writers that cover the Jackets. In typical Hitch fashion when asked how he thought the Jackets played, he said he was pleased and he turned to one of the beat writers for Columbus and said, “I though this was as strong of a game that they have played all year, you’ve seen them play a lot, didn’t you think so?”

And there was Hitch. Unpretentious and at the same time forging a new relationship with his media by showing respect. The great thing about the guy is that he REALLY answers questions. And when the team sucks, he won’t throw out the clich? excuse. He may not say it on the record, but off he will tell you how he also thinks they suck.

Hitch’s comments on what he liked about the BJs was also a list of what we all knew he didn’t love about this current Flyers team. When asked about the Flyers he said he noticed a few things, like how Pitkanen and Timonen looked like a good pair, and how there were some juicy rebounds left by the goalie.

As he walked past me e shook my hand and said, “Good luck Ek. Thanks.”

We will truly miss him.
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http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=3792

A Brave New World for Hitchcock
Wednesday @ 6:56 PM ET | Comments (5)
All Ken Hitchcock wanted to do was coach.

He dabbled in the scouting world for a month for the Flyers, and frankly he hopes he never has to do it again.

I checked in with him several times since he was fired on Oct. 21 and every time he was on a scouting trip he would remind me just how demanding of a job it was.

And inevitably, every time we talk he would say, "Anth, I just want to coach. That's all."

Well, he got his wish.

Hired Wednesday by the last place Columbus Blue Jackets, Hitchcock will have to do something he's never done before - take over a youthful, last place squad, and make them a legitimate contender in the NHL.

"I'm excited by the opportunity. I never did this before," Hitchcock told me not 20 minutes after signing his new three year deal.


Speaking of the deal, Hitchcock said it took less than an hour to come to a contract agreement.

"I told them to just give me the same deal I had in Philadelphia," he said.

That means, he'll be in Columbus for three years and make approximately $1.1 million per season.

When Hitch said he "had never done this before" he menat take a team going nowhere fast and try to build it in his image and make it a good hockey team.

In Dallas and in Philadelphia, he took over veteran teams that were in messy situations and quickly built a Stanley Cup winner in one town and a legitimate Cup contender in another town.

But, starting from the ashes, he's had no experience. "It's going to be a new world for me. I don't know a lot of the guys on this team and I'll have to see what I have to work with starting tomorrow."

There are players he is familiar with. He coached against guys like Sergei Fedorov and Adam Foote while he was in Dallas and Fredrik Modin when the Flyers and Lightning had their rivalry brewing a few years back.

And he has coached Rick Nash with Team Canada internationally and spent time with rookie Gilbert Brule during the lockout when he made a tour of junior hockey practices in Canada.

Of course, the big story is, his first game will be against the team that just fired him - the Flyers - Friday afternoon at the Wachovia Center.

Hitchcock was apprehensive about having his first game be against the Flyers, wanting to show a little loyalty to his former team. However he received the blessing of Flyers chairman Ed Snider, and now it's time to leave the past behind.

Still, Hitchcock is going to be a bit on edge come Friday.

I said, "Hitch, we're really looking forward to Friday now."

His reply?

"I'm not."

All good feelings about Hitchcock being back in the game aside, the Blue Jackets players are in for a rude awakening.

Any lollygagging that has taken place in their practices and their games will no longer be tolerated. Hitchcock will be a task master and the players better adapt to it quick or be prepared to look for a new job somewhere else.

See, Hitch is like Mr. Wolf from "Pulp Fiction." He's called in to solve problems. And if you are a problem in Columbus right now, you are going to be out of town soon.

The other interesting item will be to see how the relationship between Hitchcock and Columbus General Manager Doug MacLean develops.

Hitch told me he didn't know MacLean "other than to say hello," prior to his interview, so he wasn't sure how they would work together.

However, Someone from Columbus told me Hitchcock will have a very strong say in personnel decisions, meaning MacLean will have to pick the coach's brain before any transactions are consummated.

This may be MacLean's last chance to turn the Jackets into a winner, and if so, he's hitched himself to the right coach, no pun intended.

Tonight's Flyers-Sens game is now an afterthought. The two teams can set a record for most combined goals in the history of the league tonight and the first question every player is going to hear afterwards is - "What's it going to be like to play against Hitch on Friday?"

I excpect the most anticipated answer will come from Mike Richards, who really has no love lost for his former coach.

There'll be more on this in a lot of newspapers tomorrow, but I'll shamelessly plug my own.

You can read it at www.delcotimes.com
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Dispatch

Jackets are buying into Hitchcock?s teachings
New coach has team playing hockey his way with results

Monday, November 27, 2006

Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Ken Hitchcock was hired Wednesday. The Blue Jackets played laudably in his debut, a 3-2 loss Friday in Philadelphia. Then they came right back and played their best game of the season, a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in Nationwide Arena.
For the first time this season, they beat a team with a winning record, and they snapped an eight-game losing streak in the process.
As far as Blue Jackets generalship goes, it might be the best three days since Gettysburg. The Jackets are suddenly a different team. They have the puck, they?re poised, they?re attacking and they?re not panicked. They?re suddenly using their size to grind down teams. What has Hitchcock done?
"He explained our roles individually and as a group," center Sergei Fedorov said. "(Saturday night), everyone really understood what we were trying to do as a group. The group speed is better. We played patient hockey. It?s only one game, and we will see where it goes from here, but it?s a good start."
Fedorov and his linemates, Anson Carter and Nikolai Zherdev, combined for four goals and five assists against the Wild. They represent what Hitchcock wanted to do right off the bat, and why it has worked.
"In 20 games before Hitchcock, we were stressing work, work, work ? all three guys on the puck, pressure, pressure, pressure," Carter said. "What was happening is ... I don?t have enough fingers and toes to count how many odd-man rushes were coming back against us. We were working hard but not smart enough."
There?s that Hitchcockian expression: Work smart. What does it mean?
Take the forecheck, first of all. The Blue Jackets, as Carter said, had a full-bore, all-out pressure game. They rimmed or dumped the puck in and chased it with abandon. They were easy to read. Every team knew what was coming, read the dump-in, made one good pass and knew that they had a numbers advantage going back in the other direction. With three forecheckers deep, the Jackets had to scramble to reorganize.
The Blue Jackets now send in one forechecker. The second forechecker reads the play. If the first guy in can tie up the puck, the second guy comes in for support. If the first guy can?t tie up the puck, the second guy reads the opponent?s pass and goes to where the pass is directed.
The third forechecker stays high, a la the old left-wing lock of Scotty Bowman or the traps of Jacques Lemaire. If the opponent?s pass beats the first two forecheckers, the job of the third guy is to slow the rush by angling to one side or the other. This buys time for the other forecheckers to get back, and it gives defensemen time to set themselves. So the Blue Jackets are less prone to odd-man rushes.
They?re also using their superior size to greater effect, producing turnovers on the forecheck or in the neutral zone. Once they have the puck, their skill is coming to the fore. They have scored seven goals in the past two games, and many were gorgeous.
"Nobody rims the puck anymore," Carter said. "You?ve got to make plays. If you can?t make plays, you shouldn?t be in this league."
Now, for the backcheck. Again, their pre-Hitchcock bent was to get possession, rim the puck around the walls and try to break out from the area of the half-boards. That?s not the case any more.
"I hate, I mean I hate rimming the puck on breakouts," Hitchcock said. "That?s the area we have to improve in. I hate it, I hate it. We?ve gotten better at it the last two games, but we?ve got to get even better."
Once the defensemen have the puck, Hitchcock wants their heads up, and he wants them passing stick to stick, if possible. This takes extreme attention to detail. Positioning and trust are key elements.
"I think you have to be able to direct plays if you want to be a full transition team," he said. "There?s a thing about getting the puck deep, and that?s fine if you want to do that stuff. But if you rim the puck, you can?t come up with numbers. So we?ll work every day at trying to make more and more direct passes."
Carter said, "Now you?re seeing the mobility of our defense. You?re seeing guys go back there, pass D to D ? and we?re out of the zone. It makes a big difference."
Zherdev, the enigmatic but supremely talented winger, has made the biggest leap through two games. He probably had the biggest leap to make. Where last week he was cutting through the middle and trying to beat three guys in the neutral zone, this week he has made smart, short passes, making himself available for return passes and making plays along the walls and in front of the net.
He threw a check that resulted in a turnover and a transition goal in the first period against the Wild. He dumped the puck in, read Carter?s forecheck, crashed the slot and wound up scoring a bang-bang goal in the third period.
"Stop thinking and just go," Hitchcock said of Zherdev. "All the other stuff a guy like Fedorov does naturally, a guy like (David) Vyborny does naturally ? that takes time. He has just got to play, challenge people, use his skill and speed. The only thing I talked to him about was just attack the net all the time. The rest of the stuff, we?ll teach him."
If Zherdev is buying into the system, then everyone is. Hitchcock has admitted that he?s pleasantly surprised by the way the Blue Jackets have soaked up and then executed what he has told them. But he?s not totally shocked.
"They were sick of losing," he said. "They were sick of losing, so they were a captive audience."
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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Jackets leave Modin in Columbus
Injured winger receives treatment on his foot
Monday, November 27, 2006
Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
20061127-Pc-C4-0700.jpg
</IMG> ADAM CAIRNS DISPATCH Anson Carter, left, of the Jackets receives congratulations from teammates after scoring the first goal of the game against the Wild on Saturday night. Carter also had two assists.


Blue Jackets left winger Fredrik Modin, arguably the team?s most consistent player this season, aggravated a foot injury Saturday and will stay in Columbus for treatment until further notice.
He was not with the team when it left to begin a road trip yesterday.
Modin took a puck on a foot during a game 10 days ago. Although he has been walking with a limp, skating was not been a discernable problem until Saturday night, when he left the ice in the second period of the Blue Jackets? 5-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in Nationwide Arena.
"It?s a lower-body injury," Blue Jackets spokesman Todd Sharrock said. "He?s day to day. He?s not flying with us (Sunday). He?ll stay behind for treatment, and we?ll see what happens. Apparently, he felt a lot better (Sunday morning) than he did (Saturday night)."
The Blue Jackets recalled forward Alexandre Picard and defenseman Filip Novak from Syracuse. The two were with the team when it flew to Vancouver.
The Blue Jackets will play the Canucks on Tuesday night in GM Place. After that, they will have two days of practice before playing back-to-back games in Calgary (Friday) and Edmonton (Saturday). The 10-day trip concludes with a game in Colorado a week from Tuesday.
It?s the Jackets? first prolonged trip of the season, and new coach Ken Hitchcock intends to use the time to clarify his systems and acclimate himself to his personnel.
Modin has two goals and an assist in the past three games. He has six goals and six assists and is minus-1 in 22 games this season. He was acquired last summer, with goaltender Fredrik Norrena, in a trade that sent Marc Denis to Tampa Bay.
When Modin was asked about the foot injury Friday, he waved off the question.
"It?s nothing," he said. "These things happen every night in the league. It?s nothing."
One that went in

Blue Jackets right winger Anson Carter scored the first goal on a deft move Saturday night. He took a pass from Sergei Fedorov, flew up the slot and was stick-handling when it appeared he lost control of the puck. Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom was stretched open and wholly fooled, and the puck slipped past him.
"That was planned," Carter said. "I just let it go. I try that move in practice once in a while. I?ve fooled around with it."
One that didn?t go in

Left winger Jody Shelley had a prime scoring opportunity at 12 minutes of the second period, with the Blue Jackets clinging to a 2-1 lead.
He was fed in the middle of the slot and was wide open. He tried to go high glove on Manny Fernandez, who replaced Backstrom in the Wild?s net. Fernandez made the save.
"I?ve already replayed it in my head about a thousand times," Shelley said. "I should have went low blocker. I looked at the net and all I saw was net. I went for it ? and he just snapped it up and licked his chops like he was waiting for it."
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IMO, this (two posts up) is one of the best hockey articles I've seen in the Dispatch. It is rare to see a writer really get into the nuts and bolts of the game. I really enjoyed it. I wish I could get this kind of depth out of the rag every morning.

Jackets are buying into Hitchcock?s teachings
New coach has team playing hockey his way with results

Monday, November 27, 2006

Michael Arace
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




Ken Hitchcock was hired Wednesday. The Blue Jackets played laudably in his debut, a 3-2 loss Friday in Philadelphia. Then they came right back and played their best game of the season, a 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday in Nationwide Arena.
For the first time this season, they beat a team with a winning record, and they snapped an eight-game losing streak in the process.
As far as Blue Jackets generalship goes, it might be the best three days since Gettysburg. The Jackets are suddenly a different team. They have the puck, they?re poised, they?re attacking and they?re not panicked. They?re suddenly using their size to grind down teams. What has Hitchcock done?
"He explained our roles individually and as a group," center Sergei Fedorov said. "(Saturday night), everyone really understood what we were trying to do as a group. The group speed is better. We played patient hockey. It?s only one game, and we will see where it goes from here, but it?s a good start."
Fedorov and his linemates, Anson Carter and Nikolai Zherdev, combined for four goals and five assists against the Wild. They represent what Hitchcock wanted to do right off the bat, and why it has worked.
"In 20 games before Hitchcock, we were stressing work, work, work ? all three guys on the puck, pressure, pressure, pressure," Carter said. "What was happening is ... I don?t have enough fingers and toes to count how many odd-man rushes were coming back against us. We were working hard but not smart enough."
There?s that Hitchcockian expression: Work smart. What does it mean?
Take the forecheck, first of all. The Blue Jackets, as Carter said, had a full-bore, all-out pressure game. They rimmed or dumped the puck in and chased it with abandon. They were easy to read. Every team knew what was coming, read the dump-in, made one good pass and knew that they had a numbers advantage going back in the other direction. With three forecheckers deep, the Jackets had to scramble to reorganize.
The Blue Jackets now send in one forechecker. The second forechecker reads the play. If the first guy in can tie up the puck, the second guy comes in for support. If the first guy can?t tie up the puck, the second guy reads the opponent?s pass and goes to where the pass is directed.
The third forechecker stays high, a la the old left-wing lock of Scotty Bowman or the traps of Jacques Lemaire. If the opponent?s pass beats the first two forecheckers, the job of the third guy is to slow the rush by angling to one side or the other. This buys time for the other forecheckers to get back, and it gives defensemen time to set themselves. So the Blue Jackets are less prone to odd-man rushes.
They?re also using their superior size to greater effect, producing turnovers on the forecheck or in the neutral zone. Once they have the puck, their skill is coming to the fore. They have scored seven goals in the past two games, and many were gorgeous.
"Nobody rims the puck anymore," Carter said. "You?ve got to make plays. If you can?t make plays, you shouldn?t be in this league."
Now, for the backcheck. Again, their pre-Hitchcock bent was to get possession, rim the puck around the walls and try to break out from the area of the half-boards. That?s not the case any more.
"I hate, I mean I hate rimming the puck on breakouts," Hitchcock said. "That?s the area we have to improve in. I hate it, I hate it. We?ve gotten better at it the last two games, but we?ve got to get even better."
Once the defensemen have the puck, Hitchcock wants their heads up, and he wants them passing stick to stick, if possible. This takes extreme attention to detail. Positioning and trust are key elements.
"I think you have to be able to direct plays if you want to be a full transition team," he said. "There?s a thing about getting the puck deep, and that?s fine if you want to do that stuff. But if you rim the puck, you can?t come up with numbers. So we?ll work every day at trying to make more and more direct passes."
Carter said, "Now you?re seeing the mobility of our defense. You?re seeing guys go back there, pass D to D ? and we?re out of the zone. It makes a big difference."
Zherdev, the enigmatic but supremely talented winger, has made the biggest leap through two games. He probably had the biggest leap to make. Where last week he was cutting through the middle and trying to beat three guys in the neutral zone, this week he has made smart, short passes, making himself available for return passes and making plays along the walls and in front of the net.
He threw a check that resulted in a turnover and a transition goal in the first period against the Wild. He dumped the puck in, read Carter?s forecheck, crashed the slot and wound up scoring a bang-bang goal in the third period.
"Stop thinking and just go," Hitchcock said of Zherdev. "All the other stuff a guy like Fedorov does naturally, a guy like (David) Vyborny does naturally ? that takes time. He has just got to play, challenge people, use his skill and speed. The only thing I talked to him about was just attack the net all the time. The rest of the stuff, we?ll teach him."
If Zherdev is buying into the system, then everyone is. Hitchcock has admitted that he?s pleasantly surprised by the way the Blue Jackets have soaked up and then executed what he has told them. But he?s not totally shocked.
"They were sick of losing," he said. "They were sick of losing, so they were a captive audience."
[email protected]
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Bucky Katt said:
IMO, this (two posts up) is one of the best hockey articles I've seen in the Dispatch. It is rare to see a writer really get into the nuts and bolts of the game. I really enjoyed it. I wish I could get this kind of depth out of the rag every morning.
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i sent him an email... essentially saying i thought it was good for the person new to the sport and the guy who knows it all. they break down the strategy good stuff. maybe a few more of you guys shot something his way and well see some more of it?
 
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Q: What about Ken Hitchcock in Columbus?
A: I think it's a great fit and I don't think he went there just to coach. Why would he give up millions to wait and pick his spot and go to a team going nowhere unless he had player personnel say? I have no knowledge of this, but I believe he has a lot more to say than just coach.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=buccigross_john&id=2677731

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Monday, November 27, 2006
FANTASY POOL LOOK: FINDING A SPARK
by Darryl Dobbs

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There are many different forms of motivation to get a skilled hockey player to produce, with varying degrees of success. Fantasy owners desperately scan newspapers, the Internet and scoring summaries in an attempt to find that one signal that a certain player is about to turn his game around.

There are two methods that are my favorites – shocking healthy scratches and the introduction of a new coach.

For the latter, the best (and only current) example of this is Ken Hitchcock taking over the coaching duties for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Fedorov had seven points in 14 pre-Hitchcock games, but has five points in two games since.

Fedorov still has another 65-point season in him and his hot play under a new coach indicates that he should get there this year.

Anson Carter, another underachiever for the Blue Jackets, has three points in the two games. He had four points in 20 before that.

A coaching change often helps slumping players turn things around, but by the same token it could hurt players who were on hot streaks or playing up to expectations. The Jackets’ leading scorer, David Vyborny, has yet to collect a point since Hitchcock’s debut
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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS
Hitchcock?s words give Brule extra motivation
19-year-old right winger receives more playing time under new coach
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? Ken Hitchcock said the words Gilbert Brule has longed to hear, and the new Blue Jackets coach couldn?t have delivered them at a better time.
The Blue Jackets play the Vancouver Canucks at 10 tonight in General Motors Place, which should be filled with Brule fans from his junior hockey days with the Vancouver Giants.
Just two weeks ago, Brule might have feared this trip, wondering if he would return home not as a conquering hero in the NHL but as a rarely used player, or worse yet, a healthy scratch by one of the worst teams in the NHL.
Speculation was rampant that Brule was going to be shipped back to juniors, a major tumble for a player who came into the season as a rookie-of-the-year candidate.
Brule?s situation under Hitchcock has changed, that much is clear.
"I don?t really have a say on (whether Brule goes back to juniors) or not," Hitchcock said. "But right now, we need Gilbert on the ice more, not less.
"Our goal is to play him more and more. I don?t know where he was before with playing time, but we want to get him to a point where he can play key minutes every night and contribute."
Brule, a soft-spoken 19-year-old with a flat-line face, broke into a wide grin when asked about the recent turn of events.
In two games under Hitchcock, he has played 23 minutes, 47 seconds ? roughly a month?s worth of ice time under previous coach Gerard Gallant.
"It?s nice to get a chance to show what I have to offer this team," Brule said. "Obviously, it was hard not playing. It?s hard to sit on the bench and try to cheer the team on when it?s hard to stay motivated."
Brule said he never complained to coaches about his playing time, even when he was scratched in three straight games Nov. 9 to Nov. 12.
"I talked to a lot of the veteran guys and I just took their advice," Brule said. "Jody Shelley told me to keep my head up and keep a good attitude. Manny Malhotra told me pretty much the same thing, that I shouldn?t mope around.
"They kept telling me it would get better. I just had to wait for my time to come."
Enter Hitchcock, who arrived with a reputation for being tough on young players in previous stops with veteranladen clubs in Dallas and Philadelphia.
To his credit, Hitchcock seems genuinely excited about the chance to teach the Blue Jackets? many young players.
After Saturday?s win over Minnesota, he put forth his philosophy on working young players, such as Brule and winger Nikolai Zherdev, into the lineup:
"You can punish them because they don?t do things right for you," Hitchcock said. "Or you can understand that the things they don?t do well are things that will take years for them to do right.
"The key with younger players is, whatever they do well, get them to do it. And the rest of the stuff you?re going to have to teach them. It?ll take time, but you?ll get there."
And what, in Hitchcock?s mind, does Brule do well?
"He?s a unique player, because he?s got skill with tenacity," Hitchcock said. "He can finish. He?s got good vision on the ice, but he?s a battler, too. And the kid is relentless.
"Gilbert is not going to become a good player if we don?t put him on the ice."
This is not Brule?s first interaction with Hitchcock.
Don Hay, Brule?s coach with the Giants, has been a very close friend of Hitchcock?s for more than 20 years.
During the NHL lockout in 2004-05, Hitchcock traveled to Vancouver and spoke to Giants players about what it takes to get to the NHL.
"I remember a lot of what he said, and I?ve thought about it a lot, actually," Brule said. "When he left, the guys (on the team) were pretty fired up about it."
Hitchcock said he can see a lot of Hay?s coaching in Brule?s game.
"You can see the work ethic," Hitchcock said. "The second effort on loose pucks. The way he battles.
"It?s pretty tough on a 19-year-old to play in the NHL, but his minutes are increasing. He?s only going to get better."
Brule, playing right wing on a line with left winger Jason Chimera and center Alexander Svitov, can?t wait to take the ice tonight.
He was a Los Angeles Kings fan growing up ? the Gretzky years, mostly ? but, growing up in Vancouver, he attended lots of Canucks games, concerts and other events in General Motors Place.
"I?ve even played in that building before, like for world junior camps," Brule said. "But this is going to be so much better.
"I think once I get on the ice I?ll be nervous, but also happy to play there in my hometown, in front of my parents."
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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Top line combination clicks for Hitchcock
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? For the first six weeks of the season, the Blue Jackets searched for forward-line combinations that would work.
It was a fruitless endeavor, mostly, with one line getting warm one night, only to fall apart the next. And so the shuffle continued.
Now the Jackets appear to have struck gold with left winger Nikolai Zherdev, center Sergei Fedorov and right winger Anson Carter.
The trio combined for four goals, five assists and a combined plus-9 rating in Saturday?s 5-3 win over Minnesota. They totaled 17 shots on goal, 10 by Fedorov.
"It?s only been a couple of games together," Carter said. "But it feels really comfortable, like it could really work.
"The three of us feel pretty good together."
The Blue Jackets play the Vancouver Canucks at 10 tonight in General Motors Place.
Fedorov, looking reborn under new coach Ken Hitchcock, had two goals and two assists Saturday, his best night as a Blue Jacket. He also had a plus-4 rating, matching Manny Malhotra?s club record for a game. He won 12 of 16 faceoffs and is 26 of 36 the past two games.
Carter, playing with two skillful linemates, is beginning to thrive, too.
He scored 31 goals last season with Vancouver on a line with the highly skilled Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, but was used mostly on the third and fourth lines under previous Jackets coach Gerard Gallant.
"I?m glad to be playing with those guys," Carter said. "Obviously, playing next to Sergei Fedorov and Zherdev is a good situation for anybody to be in."
Zherdev has been, well, Zherdev. When he?s given room to maneuver on the ice and puck support from his teammates, he can dominate a game with his unusual set of skills.
Hitchcock has taken notice. The line will be kept intact for tonight?s game, probably beyond.
"The line was very good (on Friday against Philadelphia), and it grew as it went on and then they were excellent every shift on Saturday," Hitchcock said.
"They do things at top speed and they give us a real opportunity (to score) every time out. It?s a very good line."
Positive ID

When Hitchcock was hired, a muchneeded identity was born for a club that seemed to wander in terms of style and philosophy since joining the NHL in 2000.
"We?re really hard to play against," Hitchcock said. "We?re very effective and we wear teams out. If we play that way, we can win a lot of hockey games.
"I think our players have bought in. Is it hard work? Yeah, you bet. But if the work is there and they see results for it, then there?s an enthusiasm to want to do it. That?s where we?re going right now."
The Blue Jackets? continued supersizing in the post-lockout NHL raised more than a few eyebrows.
The emphasis now is on speed and skill (think Buffalo), not bulk and brawn. Yet the Blue Jackets have one of the biggest groups of forwards in the NHL.
Hitchcock doesn?t seem too worried.
"You can still play physical in this game, you just can?t play lazy," he said. "You can?t hook and hold, but you can still play physical.
"And it?s not just hounding people, it?s protecting the puck, it?s using our foot speed and our size. We?ve got some size, but we can move, too."
In Hitchcock?s debut, a 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Friday, the Blue Jackets outhit the Flyers 19-11.
In Saturday?s 5-3 win over Minnesota, the Jackets outhit the Wild 18-8.
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Dispatch

Canucks? Luongo shuts out Jackets
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? If numbers don?t lie, then the Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks should have seen this coming.
In a game between two of the NHL?s lowest-scoring clubs, the Canucks scored a precious goal midway through the second period and ended up with a 1-0 victory in front of 18,630 in General Motors Place.
"Two teams, similar situations," Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire said. "We knew it was going to be a tight game. We both need wins really badly right now."
It?s the sixth time in 23 games this season that the Blue Jackets have been shutout.
Canucks winger Markus Naslund scored the game?s only goal at 9:49 of the second period.
The Blue Jackets, playing without injured winger Fredrik Modin, had trouble generating much offense. When they created scoring chances, Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo snuffed them out, mostly with that lightning-quick glove.
Luongo made 24 saves for his 29 th career shutout.
"It?s frustrating because we know we should be a team that?s able to score a lot of goals," winger Anson Carter said.
On the other end of the ice, Leclaire deserved a better fate.
He had 32 saves, including 14 in the first period. It wasn?t easy. On at least four occasions in the period, Leclaire could be seen looking behind him for the puck.
The Blue Jackets were 0 of 8 on the power play, including a man-advantage with 58.3 seconds left in the game that grew to 6-on-4 when Leclaire was pulled with 30 seconds to play.
The Jackets pressed and scrambled for a goal but managed only one shot on Luongo ? a blast from the high slot by defenseman Aaron Johnson.
The game was marked on the calendar in Vancouver when the schedule was released this past summer. It marked the return of Carter, who left the Canucks for the Blue Jackets via free agency, and Gilbert Brule, who became a star here during a tremendous career in junior hockey, with the Vancouver Giants.
Brule was cheered; Carter was jeered, with loud boos every time he touched the puck.
Neither had much effect on the outcome.
The Canucks went ahead 1-0 on a fast-developing plays that they?ve been known for through the years.
Henrik Sedin fed Naslund in the neutral zone just as Naslund was building speed. Naslund split Blue Jackets defensemen Anders Eriksson and Ron Hainsey and closed in on Leclaire, with a fake to the forehand and back to the forehand that put Leclaire down, his pads extended. Naslund then backhanded the puck over Leclaire?s left pad, sounding the horn.
"He made a nice move," Leclaire said. "He?s a proven scorer. I don?t have to explain who he is or what he does to anybody."
The Blue Jackets have heard that horn too many times because of Naslund?s doing. In 21 games against the Jackets, Naslund has 17 goals.
The Blue Jackets scored what appeared to the tying goal with 5:23 left in the second period.
Sergei Fedorov, set up behind the Canucks? net, sent a pass into the slot intended for linemate Carter.
Instead, the puck bounced off the butt-end of Luongo?s stick, trickling along the goal line and coming to rest at the far post, as Luongo dived to cover it.
The play was reviewed for more than two minutes before officials declared it no goal.
"I thought it went over the line," Carter said. "I was in front of the net, creating havoc, trying to make sure Luongo stayed deep in his net.
"It all happens so quick out there, but I thought it went over the line."
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Dispatch

BLUE JACKETS NOTEBOOK
Meetings help Hitchcock, players get on same page
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Aaron Portzline
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



VANCOUVER, British Columbia ? Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock sat down for one-on-one interviews with each of his players Monday, a marathon session that took nearly six hours.
It?s part of the bonding process that Hitchcock hopes occurs on this 14-day, five-game trip, the longest of the season.
"We wanted to see if the page the player thought he was on matched the page we, as a coaching staff, thought the player was on," Hitchcock said. "We needed to know if the player felt the same way about himself as we felt about him, and if there was a conflict, we needed to talk him through it."
Each player interview took between 10 and 15 minutes.
"It was good," Hitchcock said. "Actually, it was really good. And it was more than just about hockey. I wanted to know how the player thought he was being treated by the organization. I needed some background on where some of these guys are from, and it was really interesting. We just talked and got to know each other."
The players, who might have enjoyed an afternoon off in this picturesque portside city, seemed to enjoy the back-and-forth.
"It?s always good to hear from the coach?s perspective, what your role is and what he expects form you," left winger Jason Chimera said. "Plus, it?s been fast-paced, kind of hectic since (Hitchcock was hired), so it was good to sit down and meet him one on one."
Hitchcock stressed to the players one of his favorite words: accountability.
"He placed a lot of responsibility on guys? shoulders, making us individual leaders," right winger Anson Carter said. "Just because you don?t wear a ?C? or an ?A?, or just because you?ve only been in the league two or three years, you can still be a leader."
Buckeyes in Canada ?

Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Morrison sported an Ohio State hockey helmet after practice, even while he did TV interviews.
Morrison, who attended Michigan in the early 1990s, placed a friendly wager with former Ohio State player Ryan Kesler on the Ohio State--Michigan football game earlier this month. The Buckeyes won, and so did Kesler.
"I?m a man of my word," Morrison said. "I said I?d do an interview with an Ohio State football helmet on. We couldn?t find a (football) helmet, so we went with a hockey helmet."
Morrison said the bet will be placed again if the Buckeyes and Wolverines meet for the national championship Jan. 8.
"I look like a goof right now," Morrison said. "I would love to get him in a Wolverines helmet and make him look like a goof."
Slap shots

With left winger Fredrik Modin (foot) out of the lineup, the Blue Jackets switched Rick Nash from right wing to left wing beside center David Vyborny. Jaroslav Balastik, a healthy scratch the past two games, went into the lineup at right wing. ? Defenseman Filip Novak, called up from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Sunday, will wear No. 46. He was not in uniform last night.
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