Steve Yzerman doesn't have to look very far if he needs a blueprint for Canada's 2010 hockey team.
As a player, arguably as good a player as you would ever want to see in the National Hockey League, Steve Yzerman never said a whole heck of a lot.
He would simply lace up his skates, pull that glorious winged-wheel sweater over his head and do everything he possibly could to help the Detroit Red Wings win a hockey game.
As a management type, more specifically the head of Canada's 2010 Olympic hockey effort, not much has changed. Stevie Y can't put on skates or a sweater for his country any longer, but with the Olympics literally one year away, he presided over a conference call for reporters Thursday afternoon and made it clear he still has the same approach he did as a player.
This time he did speak, a lot, but as is his nature, he didn't say much, at least not regarding who makes the team, who will coach it or what kind of approach it will take with the on-ice effort.
But there were tea leaves -- or perhaps a better description would be "ice shavings" -- regarding the direction Yzerman wants to go and the kind of team he intends to build. One gets the distinct impression it will be the kind of team he's always been associated with in Detroit.
A team of skill, but with the necessary desire and commitment to win no matter what the opponent throws at you. It would also be a team full of smart players, players who may be best noted for their skills, especially their offensive skills, but smart enough to know how to do all the other little things that help win hockey games. He also wants those smart players to be selfless, dedicated, and capable of recognizing pressure and adjusting accordingly and, above all else, committed to winning.
If that sounds a lot like the team he now works for as an assistant general manager, the Detroit Red Wings, is that such a bad thing?
Yzerman doesn't think so. It would be hard to argue that anyone else does either.
In a conference call long on probing questions, Yzerman politely and effectively muted his answers. He has ideas about what he wants in a coaching staff, but he's not willing to name names, not for awhile yet. He has very firm ideas about what kind of players he wants as well, but again, names will not be forthcoming.
He's got a pretty good idea of how he wants his three-man goalie allotment to be structured but he made a point of saying that players who are playing well now might not be doing the same when it comes time to head to the August evaluation camp or even Vancouver. He was quick to mention that players who aren't maybe at the top of their game right now might well be once the time comes to fill out the final list and he will respect that: Again, no names, not in a definitive way at least.
What we did learn is that the leader of the Canadian expedition, the one that hopes to mine gold on Canadian soil, has spent a lot of time looking at players and a lot of time discussing the merits of players and strategy and the way the coaching staff needs to come together with members of his executive team.
We also know that much like he did when he was a player, he has a talent for aiding his mates, going to great lengths to mention the contributions of management team members Doug Armstrong, Kevin Lowe and his immediate boss in Detroit, Ken Holland.
He also noted that while things are still a year away, it's a short year what with the decisions that still have to be made and the time frame in which to make them.
It's all very interesting but also somewhat insightful in that one gets the sense that Yzerman, who spent his entire career in the Detroit organization, wants a team just like the Red Wings.
With that in mind it's hard to imagine the Canadian Olympic team won't be headed by Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, an even-handed, level-headed coach with a mind for detail and an eye for every little thing that happens in a hockey game.
It's hard to believe that his forwards won't just be skilled, but skilled at every aspect of the game, especially in light of the fact that he mentioned how important it was to watch players around the league with an eye toward noting whether or not they do everything well.
"It's really important (and that's a phrase he used a lot), that we assemble lines that are made up of real smart offensive players," he said in discussing why he tilts away from having dedicated shutdown lines or dedicated tempo-changing lines. “Smart offensive players can be good defensive players; they just have to apply themselves to doing it in both ends of the rink. My idea (of a good line) is to have three guys on a line who can play in both ends of the rink."
To that end, like the Red Wings, Yzerman leaves no detail unchecked. He had a scheduled meeting in late October or early November to set the ground rules for what the management team needs to lock in on. He had another one in December where a watch list was created and players who were on were to be looked at intensely. There's another meeting coming up in March when that list will be pared down, but perhaps also added to and then the meeting to select the coaching staff and then a post-season finalizing of the likely player list, notification to the players and the evaluation camp in August.
There's always something that comes along, but it's hard to imagine that this guy and his management team won't be prepared to deal with it.
By way of example, Yzerman said he had a plan for his goaltending and liked the idea of the third man being a young player perhaps more likely to be exposed to the intensity of the competition with an eye toward 2014 (an event in question, but one he definitely wants to see NHL players be a part of).
He said he was fine with that "exposure" theory, but he also wanted the third man to be capable of being able to step in and play at a high level if called upon due to injury or whatever. He also has a plan for a different scenario where it's possible that the third man might be more of an accomplished veteran given that there might not be participation in 2014 and because, well, an experienced hand might be necessary if the two players in front of him are maybe not quite as experienced as he feels they need to be.
Simply put an option for every possibility with an eye toward making the right choice at the right time.
In that regard, Yzerman said he also leans on Bob Nicholson of Hockey Canada not just in helping to put the team together but because Nicholson is experienced in the ways of international hockey and that experience is vital when it comes to decisions that have to be made in relation to the many issues that crop up along the way.
Seemingly each time he opened his mouth he was saying something that closely paralleled how the Red Wings were built and how they are run.
His team is going to be good, he knows that just from the player pool he has to work with, but his team is also going to be built with an eye toward being capable of handling every circumstance and to be able to play in a way that it is comfortable competing against whatever type of game any opponent can bring: The definition of the Red Wings.
"I like to talk to people, I like to ask questions," he said noting that he also stays in contact with Wayne Gretzky and pretty much anyone who has had a serious role in Canada's Olympic competitions. "There is a danger of having too much advice, but at the end of the day I have to make decisions based on my own ideas of what I want to do and what we've been looking at and discussing."
In other words, Steve Yzerman sees the whole picture, but, much like he was when he was a player, his role is to bring all the elements of both the management and playing team around to his point of view.
Hard to argue that Canada won't be well-served by that approach.
Look what it's done for his Red Wings.
