At the cost of a club-school playoff course

We haven’t asked in a long time because, surely, the Canadian club-school hasn’t known this kind of flight since Jack Layton’s breakthrough, political that one, in Quebec.

It was in 2011. A loss in seven games in the semi-finals at the time. A setback the same as last year: as many battles, same stages of competition. Three years before, in 2007, it was the Hamilton Bulldogs ’Calder trophy conquest, then Habs subsidiary in the American League (AHL) led by Carey Price.

At that time, it was customary for the farm club to participate in the playoffs. This will not be repeated between 2012 and 2021.

Sometimes we talk about the lack of talent in the lower ranks, the fact that it is impossible to perform at this level without the highest expectations. Others are more focused on developmental disabilities. Anyway, the wheel is spinning, but it is quickly descending the hill towards the wall.

Coincidentally or not, many players emerged from this prolific streak of the school club from 2007 to 2011 and grew the ranks of the parent company. Following this, the talent seems to have dried up at the source. He has finally exhausted it anywhere and CH has gone through the worst five -year term in its history.

If raw talent is needed to reach the NHL, the importance of success should not be underestimated, according to speakers we spoke to, all members of the Bulldogs in their glory days.

The most important thing is to get into the playoffs [dans la Ligue américaine]. This is by far, by far, the closest thing to the National League. This is the closest you can get to the reality of the National League. Here you will have the best indications and best benchmarks for your progress.argument by Guy Boucher.

The coach piloted the Canadian school club in 2010. David Desharnais and other Max Pacioretty formed the part under his custody. In total, at least 11 skaters from this 2009-2010 edition of the Bulldogs have played in the National League.

We really felt like we had done everything we couldrecalls Boucher.

Expectations were high at the time, but veterans were taking up a lot of space. Desharnais took the lead in the charge, of course, and history has not given pride to the exploits of Brock Trotter, Mike Glumac or André Benoit, but its impact has made a difference according to Boucher.

An important alloy for development elsewhere, according to the former coach of the Senators and the Lightning.

” When we segment that into discussions, I get nervous. It’s all connected. Same thing with the National League. If you just have kids who aren’t surrounded by leaders and people who can handle pressure, ice time and so on, you won’t develop them. “

Success, somewhat like virtue, is hard to resist. And while all CEOs generally tell the public they want to build while winning, some actions don’t lie.

When Marc Bergevin decided to trade Matthew Peca at the 2020 trade deadline as the Rocket struggled to survive, he sent a signal that a seventh-round pick was more important than his contribution to the farm club and possible playoff experience for to a whole bunch of young nuggets.

Conversely, when Kent Hughes gets his hands on Nate Schnarr, no one cries out for genius, but he gives his AHL coach the bullets.

There is a different mentality, says Yann Danis. The goaltender was beaten by the Bulldogs on the eve of the playoffs in 2007 to give space to Carey Price. He speaks about it without bitterness, knowing now that the young goalkeeper is ready to face adversity.

For some organizations, it is more or less important for the school club to be successful, as long as the young people play. For my part, I think it’s important to have young people play, but also have veterans who will coach them and try to put a winning mentality into your team. Tampa Bay did well. It helped all the players. It was a positive experience. The American League is a good league. It’s not easy to win the Calder Cup. You grow up doing it, you teach young people how to winadded the former doorman who converted to real estate.

What can we really learn from a winning environment?

Let’s try David Desharnais first.

Sometimes, you come to a team, the guys are so used to beating, they’re not bothered anymore. When you win, it’s like you won again. Learn to do righthe explains.

But still? Guy Boucher came to the rescue. He launches into a happy diatribe, here refined to facilitate understanding.

The clock. You lead 1-0, with two minutes left in the game, it’s not yet time to beat someone on the blue line. That is maturity. When is there a game to play and when not? It’s huge. When people say: youth will develop because somehow he can try and it doesn’t matter because it is a developmental context ”, they are mistaken.Learning, that includes.said Boucher.

” Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, you see them, they learned how to win. It lasted years and series after series, same thing with Alex Ovechkin. They went on and replied: “I get paid to score goals.” There, you don’t understand yet. You get goals, but you don’t win. Same thing for Steve Yzerman. He scored 50 goals, but he didn’t get it until Scotty Bowman showed up. “

There is a part of it all that inspires the rest of your team. You don’t inspire talent, ever. People admire talent, fear talent. To inspire, it must be things that everyone can do. Courage, blocking pitches, defensive retreat when you’re tired, returning to the bench at 100 miles per hour even when tired. Your role when you lose the face-off. This is a thousand details that I call winner details.said Boucher.

It all starts with meritocracy, according to him. Guy Boucher praises Julien BriseBois and Bob Gainey, then his bosses in the Montreal organization, for giving him complete freedom in managing his staff. Nothing imposed: no timetable, no first choice that really should get more ice than others, no fun reminders to justify questionable choices from the wrong recruiters.

A healthy context where everyone is on the same starting line. A philosophy that allows David Desharnais, for example, to establish himself in the NHL.

I shouldn’t be there because I’m not a first, second, third or fourth round pick. If you draft these people, you’ll see them on your team, but not the one you signed up for as a free agent. It’s always the men who draft the team who get the chances. But when you win, it gives the other world a chance to shine.

Rocket was pulled by veterans. Danick Martel, Sami Niku, Jean-Sébastien Dea and Louie Belpedio presented the best statistics. Jesse Ylönen was the first hope of the Habs to appear in the range of pointers in the 9th-level average. Nothing embarrassing about that. In other words, it wasn’t the next generation of Canadian players who lifted the team to the semi-finals, except for Cayden Primeau. It’s more learning to win, in this generation, and there’s nothing to worry about if we rely on the comments above.

For example, Primeau started the playoffs as a back-up to Kevin Poulin, where coach Jean-Francois Houle said the priority was to win. Keith’s son finally snatched the net from Quebecer’s hand.

Guy Boucher reiterated the philosophy. The one with the Red Wings in the 1990s. Yzerman imported from Tampa Bay. The one that the coach imbibed.

We don’t give you up, you force our hand. When you give something, like kids, they don’t know what is needed. When things get lost, they play, they give up, they get frustrated instead of resting on their bases. When you collect your money in two years to pay for your car, it’s not the same as when your parents paid for it. This is the American League.