Avalanche coach Joe Sacco has taken a lot of flack for his coaching style, most notably his demotions and benchings of star players.
A lot of Avalanche fans were hoping that the coach would not be back, hopes that would be dashed when the coach was signed to a two year extension, still the only extension the Avs have signed.
Even though he is not the best coach (Dave Tippett anyone?) he probably deserves more credit than he is given. Ken Hitchcock and Dale Hunter have both demoted or benched star players who weren't performing well. Hitchcock did it to Chris Stewart and Hunter to the great Alexander Ovechkin.
After his benching, Stewart came back with more fire than he played with all season and got his first two goal game since Dec. 26. Ovechkin was benched for much of the third period of Game 3 and since has put up two goals, three points and 12 shots on net, much like Ovechkin was when he was an offensive superstar.
Whenever Sacco has demoted and benched players, it has been for good reason. Fans won't want to admit it but when Matt Duchene was struggling, he did not deserve more than fourth line minutes. It isn't just about scoring, it is about how the player is playing. If all Duchene is doing is a spin-o-rama that results in a turnover, then he doesn't deserve to play top line minutes.
Over his three years, Sacco has learned how to adjust in game and has done a better job at matching lineups to help his team out. He struggles at getting the team fired up to start a game on time and getting his team to play consistently well but that could be the mark of a young team as much as an inexperienced coach.
Like it or not, Sacco is not alone in his benching of star players. Most coaches will do if they feel the player is harming their team.
Next year will be key for Sacco. On his checklist of things to do should be the following:
1. Learn how to manage star player. Don't resort to benching them every time. Learn to work with them to allow them to work themselves out of it.
2. Create and in-zone offensive system. The Avs' offense and powerplay still are struggling. Defense, goaltending and penalty killing have all improved in Sacco's time but now he needs to create something more than a cycle down low with shots from the perimeter. Use Steve Downie, use Gabriel Landeskog and any other Avalanche player with tenacity to go to the net.
3. Learn to fire up the troops. Sacco will never be a fiery in-your-face coach but he will need to learn to go into the room and fire them up. Something like this:
4. Keep improving. Every coach has flaws but they work hard on their strengths, harder on their flaws. Few men are great coaches at the start but many coaches make themselves great by continuing to grow.
Too often, fans blame the coach for the team's problem because that is the easiest. Most the time it is not entirely the coach's fault. That doesn't stop a lot of fans from blaming him. We have all fallen into that, especially yours truly.
However, maybe this time, it isn't all the fault of one man and perhaps that one man is better than we give him credit. Next year will be the telling year whether Sacco can become a good NHL coach or whether the Avs will have to move on.
Avs sign goaltenders
With the Avs' NHL goaltending tandem set for next year, the Avs started moving on signing their goaltending prospects. Kieran Millan from Boston University, Sami Aittokallio out of Finland and Kent Patterson have all been signed to entry level contracts.
They will join Calvin Pickard in what will surely be an interesting camp from a goaltending pespective. It is clear that the Avs are building their new team the way Nashville has with a number of goaltending and defensive prospects filling out the ranks with a helping of offensive skill over the top.
All four will battle for what two or three spots on the Lake Erie Monsters roster. With their depth, the Avs might not bring back Cedrick Desjardins, the Monster's goaltender last season.
Press release regarding the signings
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed goaltenders Sami Aittokallio (ay-toh-KAHL-ee-oh), Kieran Millan (KEER-uhn MIH-lan) and Kent Patterson each to an entry-level contract.
“Our organization is excited to be signing three of our top goaltending prospects,” said Avalanche General Manager/ Executive Vice President Greg Sherman. “All three players had success at the college or international level and we look forward to seeing them at training camp.”
A native of Tampere, Finland, Aittokallio backstopped his country to a fourth-place finish at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta. The 19-year-old posted a 3-2-0 record with a 2.52 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout in five games during the tournament. Colorado’s fifth pick (fourth round, 107th overall) in the 2010 Entry Draft, Aittokallio saw action in 11 games for Ilves in Finland’s top professional ice hockey league (SM-liiga) this past season.
Millan, 22, just completed a four-year career at Boston University, where he compiled an 81-42-12 record in 138 games (.644 winning percentage). He departed as the school’s all-time leader in victories, games played and saves (3,768). As a senior in 2011-12, Millan posted a 20-14-1 record with a 2.60 GAA, .923 Sv% and three shutouts in 35 appearances. The Edmonton native was named BU’s team MVP for the second straight year and was an honorable mention Hockey East All Star.
Colorado’s fifth selection (fifth round, 124th overall) in the 2009 Entry Draft, Millan backstopped the Terriers to the 2009 NCAA championship as a freshman. He was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Year that season after fashioning a 29-2-3 record with a 1.94 GAA in 35 contests. He was named a Hockey East Second Team All-Star as a junior in 2010-11.
Patterson, 22, was named to the 2011-12 All-WCHA First Team and the AHCA/CCM All-American West Second Team as a senior at the University of Minnesota. The St. Louis Park, Minn., native started all 43 games for the Gophers, leading his team to the WCHA regular season championship and a berth in the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four. Patterson compiled a 28-14-1 record with a 2.32 GAA, .907 Sv% and seven shutouts. His seven shutouts were a single-season school record and tied for the NCAA lead. Patterson’s 28 wins ranked second in the nation and were the most by a Gopher since Robb Stauber won 34 games in 1987-88. Patterson won the WCHA Goaltending Champion title with a 2.06 GAA in 28 league games and also led all WCHA netminders with 20 wins (20-8-0) in conference action.
Colorado’s sixth selection (fourth round, 113th overall) in the 2007 Entry Draft, Patterson finished his career ranked first in school history in save percentage (.912) and tied for first in goals-against average (2.46). Patterson's seven shutouts place him tied for third all-time in that category. He started the final 64 games of his career at Minnesota and finished with a 44-29-9 record.
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