Hockey Hearsay compiles stories from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, 12 months a year.
JETS’ SCHEIFELE ELEVATES GAME
The Winnipeg Sun describes how the whole point of sending 20-year-old Jets prospect Mark Scheifele back to Barrie was for him to learn. How to deal with the other team’s best defenders, night after night. About the price you have to pay to get this close to a championship.
“Every aspect of my game — my shot’s gotten better, my strength, my skating,” the Ontario Hockey League’s top playoff scorer told The Sun via phone Tuesday. I’m more confident with my skill and willing to try more things and be more creative. Being dominant at this level is really helping me be confident in what I can do, and that’s really contributing to my success.
“I’m not going to let anything rattle me. Look at the future, how to get better. How can I regroup from this? That’s the whole thing. Instead of wondering why, it’s the how. And that’s what I’ve really focused on this year.”
Those who follow the Colts say Scheifele is doing everything: leading, scoring, even blocking shots.
“Everything’s falling together and going the way I’d hoped,” he said.
CARLYLE CREATES LEAFS’ IDENTITY
The Boston Herald appreciates how the Toronto Maple Leafs have evolved, pretty quickly, from being directionless pushovers to a strong, focused and physical club. Former Providence (AHL) coach Scott Gordon, now an assistant coach of Toronto under Randy Carlyle, credits Carlyle for changing the culture around their team.
“A lot of the credit goes to Randy,” Gordon said. “Between the end of the draft last summer and when the lockout ended, we probably sat down and spent 200 hours talking about everything from personnel and line combinations, to systems and the style of play he wanted to have. It didn’t happen overnight. But what he wanted to create here was an identity. We didn’t have it before, but we do now. It’s always there to fall back on; the guys know exactly what the expectations are. Last year when we’d go into Boston it was no contest. They pushed us around. Now that’s not the case.
“You realize you have to play a certain way to have success against physical teams. Obviously you have to have the personnel. Randy looked at the (AHL Toronto) Marlies and some free agents we signed, and he made (physical play) contagious. Look at a guy like (Leafs center Mikhail) Grabovski. By our charts, in Game 2 (a 4-2 Toronto win) he had 10 hits. That’s something we never saw last year. That’s an identity Randy put in place by having the right people in the lineup — including a lot of big, tough guys.”
HABS’ THERRIEN PRAISES SUBBAN’S DEVELOPMENT
The Montreal Gazette shares how on Tuesday, Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien happily praised the career progression of Norris Trophy finalist P.K. Subban this season. Therrien pointed to Subban’s increased dependability, focus and strength.
Then things turned a bit lighter. Did banning Subban’s triple-low-five celebratory “handshake” with goalie Carey Price have any impact?
“I don’t know that it was the triple-low-five that made the difference,” Therrien joked Tuesday of Subban’s emergence as an elite defenceman. “We wanted him to be a humble player, a mature player. But the credit goes to him.
“We try to teach him a lot of things on the ice, to become a good professional. And if a player wants to listen and buy what we’re trying to accomplish with him, the credit goes to him.
“It’s not like he’s a guy who’s 28, 29 years old. That’s the fun part of it. We’ve got a young man who’s got a great talent, he’s a force out there. He’s powerful and he wants to get better.”
ISLES GROOMED CAPUANO, BYLSMA
Newday recalls how both current Islanders coach Jack Capuano and Penguins bench boss Dan Bylsma began as assistant coaches behind Steve Stirling on Long Island in 2005.
“I have always heard that if you’re a person in authority, you should always hire people who are smarter than you,” said Stirling. Neither of his hires had ever had NHL coaching jobs before.
Stirling on Bylsma: “I remember the interview with Dan down in Raleigh, at the draft. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what a bright, articulate, good hockey mind he was. He had played the game on the highest level. He wasn’t a star, but sometimes those are the best coaches because they know how hard it is.”
Stirling on Capuano: “He was like me, more practical. He knew the Xs and Os, but I liked the fact he had a good sense of humor and good way about him,” Stirling said. “Just spending the day with him and his family, it was obvious that he was going to be a coach of the future.”
SWISS NHL PRESENCE GROWS
The New York Times reflects on how the Game 4 fates of the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks came down to two players, Damien Brunner and Jonas Hiller, who grew up 29 miles apart in Switzerland.
Hockey is growing in Switzerland because of its popular professional league and an increase in Swiss players reaching the N.H.L. There were eight Swiss in the N.H.L. this season, six of whom are in the playoffs: Brunner; Hiller and his Ducks teammate Luca Sbisa; Mark Streit of the Islanders; and Rafael Diaz and Yannick Weber of the Montreal Canadiens.
“I looked up to David Aebischer when he made it, and that showed we could make it here from Switzerland,” Hiller said, referring to a goalie who played in the N.H.L. from 2001 to 2008. “Younger players at home can see us playing and know they can make it, too. There are going to be more of us coming, as I think it is a good time for Swiss hockey.”
Brunner offered this: “We do hear a lot from people at home who are watching us; we can tell they are excited for us. I see how people are talking about Swiss hockey and how the national team beat Canada. It’s a fantastic thing for all of us.”
SABRES’ ROLSTON WINS OVER REGIER
The Buffalo News points out that as Sabres GM Darcy Regier watched Ron Rolston coach the Sabres to a 15-11-5 record, the GM decided the interim tag was no longer necessary. A trip back to the Amerks was out of the question, too.
“I was very impressed with the work he did individually and with the players,” Regier said. “I look forward to him continuing that.”
Regier saw enough positives to scrap his original plan of an open search.
“When we first brought Ron in as the interim coach, that was the intention, to interview other candidates,” Regier said. “As it progressed and seeing Ron’s interaction with the team, both as a teacher and a motivator, as we moved through the season for me personally it became more and more evident that he was a very good fit, not only for the present but for the future.”
WINGS’ BERTUZZI ADJUSTS TO DEPTH ROLE
Michigan Live notes Todd Bertuzzi has been thrust into an unfamiliar fourth line role for the Detroit Red Wings in their playoff series with the Anaheim Ducks.
That’s a big change for a guy who has been a top-six forward throughout his 17-year NHL career.
“You have to change your game,” said Bertuzzi, the Red Wings’ oldest player at 38. “It’s a little bit different. You can’t afford to make those high-risk plays in our end. You’ve got to keep it simple and go from there.
“I had been out for three months so (I) kind of understand what it takes in order to come in. The other lines have been pretty much playing pretty well so it’s just something you got to adapt to.”