Last Updated on Thursday, 15 January 2015 09:45
By Kevin Hartzell
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
I have to admit that I am now really starting to miss coaching. I know this because I am finding myself being more watchful, appreciating and even critical of the various hockey games I am watching. A few observations from the past couple of weeks include:
I have watched my son Eric play a number of games the past couple of weeks. One observation is that Eric is the best version of himself I have ever seen. I am happy that he has found happiness in simply competing every day. He is not happy to be stuck behind other goalies who are performing well … the Penguins have Marc-Andre Fleury in the NHL and Jeff Zatkoff in the AHL both having career-type years. He has, however, learned to be happy in his everyday settings and compete and understand that his performance is not measured just by the Penguins but by every NHL team that may be looking for quality at the goaltending position. He has been fun to watch though his game cooled just a bit this past weekend.
His ECHL team, the Wheeling Nailers, have been playing a bit shorthanded this past couple of weeks. Their head coach, Clark Donatelli, has implemented a system I have rarely seen and maybe never on a pro team. They are leaving a forward in the neutral zone and playing 4-on-4 in the zone. Some call this leaving a “cherry picker” out in the neutral zone. Back in my playground days we called this a “suck-hole.” Whatever you call it, it creates a unique style of game.
In these games, I think Eric and his goaltender counterpart have been getting near 40 shots per game. But they are seeing most of the pucks. The percentages of quality shots against are high. But the shots are generally not through traffic, so the goalies do see most of them. On the offensive side, Wheeling has done a nice job of creating offense by clearing the puck to their neutral zone forward and then finding speed coming in the second wave of attackers who are racing out of the defensive zone.
I have watched these uniquely played games as a student. I am still trying to figure out what I think of the system. Watching these games has motivated me to look at some stats. The question I was trying to answer was, “How much more scoring is actually realized playing 4-on-4 versus 5-on-5?” In looking up this year’s NHL stats, I found that 4-on-4 play increases scoring only slightly. Maybe Wheeling isn’t giving up very much by playing 4-on-4 in their defensive zone and they are also gaining in the speed they are creating through the neutral zone. It is the surprising ability to create speed in the neutral zone within this system that has me intrigued to watch more.
I think if anyone might benefit from such a system in the NHL it might be the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are a mobile and somewhat smaller team that could benefit from such a style to open the ice up for their skilled game. It would take a courageous coach and NHL organization to implement such a non-traditional system of play. But in this unique system of playing a forward “out,” the speed created in the neutral zone and the less physical play throughout has me intrigued to watch more.
Speaking of neutral zone, I watched what turned out to be a lopsided high school game on Thursday night. I was really looking forward to the game, when Mahtomedi visited St. Thomas Academy. I love both coaching staffs. I want success for both groups. Both are very good teams in the midst of very good seasons.
If I have grown to appreciate any aspect of the game above others, it is the importance of the neutral zone, especially when teams are evenly matched. The transition game is most important when teams are relatively equal, and the neutral zone is all about transition. Transition can create speed. Great speed can create not just a superior attack structure and foundation, but also a superior forecheck. This was a game where the sometimes over-excited Mahtomedi team got themselves out of position in the neutral zone and the skilled St. Thomas Academy Cadets took advantage of it, creating speed and scoring chances.
These two teams could play 10 times and I don’t think either team would again win by such a lopsided score (St. Thomas won the game 8-1). But it was a good learning experience for anyone watching the game. Playing sound and disciplined defense in the neutral zone is extremely important in big games with two evenly-matched teams. Sometimes it just takes patience, and in big games where high energy is abundant, patience can be hard. This time around, I think the Zephyrs were a little over-excited and it was St. Thomas who won the battle.
Kevin Hartzell was most recently the head coach of Lillehammer in Norway’s GET-Ligaen. A St. Paul native and forward for the University of Minnesota from 1978-82, Hartzell coached in the USHL from 1983-89 with the St. Paul Vulcans and from 2005-12 with the Sioux Falls Stampede. His columns have appeared in Let’s Play Hockey since the late 1980s. His new book “Leading From the Ice” is now available at amazon.com.
Photo: Wheeling Nailers
