Guy Boucher is a man who values work ethic. If you don't fight hard enough to get even close to that tying goal, your level of talent (or lack thereof) immediately becomes void. He wouldn't shy away from telling letting the media know what he felt was lacking, either. In a single press conference, he can be asked just one question, "What went wrong tonight?" and be able to leave everyone with soundbytes worth an entire newscast. But he's not a man that singles out a particular player. When he's ashamed of a loss, it's because he knows his team could do better.
It's that kind of mentality that the Canadiens need on their farm club, to not only promote the worth of their prospects, but to band them all together so that if one guy makes it to the Habs ahead of another, it won't be so much every-man-for-himself but more like "that's awesome for him. Now I know what I've got to do to join him."
Result? The Canadiens' call-ups have all been different this season. Weber. Belle. Carle. White. Pyatt. You try and tell me I'm making this up.Go read the whole thing - it's a strong piece.
Kathy's post has me thinking that CBJ General Manager Scott Howson is perfectly reasonable in waiting to talk to Boucher before making a decision. Remember, the Jackets are one of the NHL's youngest teams and could definitely use a "band of brothers" mentality to keep the team's young (and fragile) egos moving in the same direction over the course of a long season. Think about Mason's 11-round shootout tantrum in Chicago, Brassard and Voracek's periodic on-ice frustrations or Filatov's giving up on the team (or was it just Hitchcock?) so early in the season. If I was Scott Howson and had those memories fresh in my mind, I sure would be looking for the type of coach that Kathy suggests Boucher appears to be.
So what else do we know about Kevin Dineen, Scott Arniel, Boucher or even Claude Noel that we didn't know before?
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