The young v. old culture clash, hockey style

I stumbled across a very interesting piece on the youth movement taking place in the Edmonton Oilers locker room, and how former Oiler captain and now Columbus Blue Jacket third-liner Ethan Moreau fit into the mix last season.

Ethan Moreau's success in Columbus will largely be decided based upon the
attitude and resilience of the younger players.  Can he look past his frustration
with the Edmonton Oilers and help the Blue Jackets over the hump?

Here are the money lines, excerpted from an email sent to this blogger by a person who was in contact with Moreau back in early 2009:

Moreau’s quite fed up actually and has been for most of the year. Says the locker room is full of players that are extremely difficult to motivate and that basically just don’t give a [deleted]. 

... 

Moreau would have had no problem with a trade either. Says he’s sick and tired of trying to get this bunch going. I think you and I can agree that despite the guys foibles and propensity for inopportune penalties, he is a good leader type and a blood and guts sort that every team would love to have one of.

And it sounds like nothing really changed for Moreau for the duration of his time in Edmonton.

19 impressions while catching up

As my last post demonstrated, I'm back from Doug MacLean's undisclosed location and am ready to get blogging again.  I'm not going to be as manic in my frequency of posting this fall due to a rough quarter's workload in school, but don't delete those bookmarks because I'm certain to be around.

Having been out of internet contact since Saturday, here are my thoughts on the Columbus Blue Jackets and hockey related to news that occured in my absence:

1. The biggest CBJ news, by far, is that Kris Russell is out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee.  I tagged Russell as one of the players with the most to gain from the new Scott Arniel "puck-possession" defensive system, and his loss hurts not just his progress in picking up the system but also affects his chemistry with his goalie, defensive partner and forwards.

2. The second-biggest CBJ news, in my opinion, is that the CBJ's AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, are not looking very viable from an economic perspective.  "Hundreds" less than 1,700 season ticket holders is downright scary.  It's sad to see a 75-year-old tradition in a great community like Springfield, Massachusetts be called into question, but the article suggests that the Falcons may have to consider non-local ownership with no restrictions on relocating the franchise.  If that's the case, let's put our "sad for Springfield" faces aside and have an Ohio buyer move the team to Toledo or Akron.  Then my dream of a Blue Jackets farm system that includes a northern Ohio AHL team, a southern Ohio ECHL team (Cincinnati Cyclones?) and the NHL team in Columbus that much closer to reality without having to screw around with the Lake Erie Monsters' deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

3. I have not seen young Oliver Gabriel yet, but it sure sounds like he's worth serious consideration for a contract.  Talk about making the most of your opportunity.

4. Jake Voracek is having a breakout training camp.  Go figure.

5. I'm getting a chuckle out of the many folks using variations on the phrase "time to step up" in relation to the Columbus Blue Jackets this year.  Perhaps it should be the team slogan, not "hardcore hockey"?

6. I'm not going to wet the bed over Steve Mason letting two goals past in his preseason opener, especially when one was apparently Jan Hejda's fault.  Regardless of last night's performance, I'm still not entirely sure I like his two-year contract extension.

DBJ's Top 10 possible "internal conversations" about Souray-Commodore

Seeing as the Dispatch is pushing a hypothetical Mike Commodore for Sheldon Souray trade that has no basis in reality (and has been rightfully excoriated for their journalistic - ummm - flight of fancy by The Cannon and Ten Minute Misconduct), I thought it would be worthwhile to mull over what would constitute an "internal conversation".

Aw, heck, let's do it Letterman-style:  The Top 10 possible Columbus Blue Jackets "internal conversations" about a Sheldon Souray for Mike Commodore trade, from the home office in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta:

...or...

10. "Sheldon Souray's agent called.  Said that Sheldon would love to play for a team like Columbus."

9. "Souray for Commodore?  Who came up with that crazy idea?  Don Cherry or Pierre MacGuire?"

8. "It's Friday, so let's break out the table and play 'trade a vet roulette.'  Today's Blue Jacket is Mike Commodore.  Spin the wheel....and....Sheldon Souray?  Eww...that sucks.  Spin again!  Hey, Boyd landed on Duncan Keith!  Let's get Bowman on the line, you know, for giggles."

7. "No, MacFarland, I wanted a viable candidate for Commodore.  Not Sheldon Souray..."

Back in a few

I know, it's the opening of training camp and here I am signing off for a few days.  No excuse will satisfy a rabid Columbus Blue Jackets fan, so suffice to say that I have to go on trophy husband duty for a while.

And besides, you have the entire "Time to step up" series to digest while I'm away.  Not like I've left you in the lurch!

If all goes well, I hope to be mulling around Nationwide Arena at the end of next week.  Tell the team to stay healthy while I'm off the grid.

Training camp opens tomorrow, but get game tickets today

This is the time of year that Columbus Blue Jackets fans have been waiting for...the opening of the 2010-2011 season's training camp!

Click here for all the information you'll need to get to practices and exhibition games.  Don't forget that tomorrow's 9AM practice will feature a training camp t-shirt giveaway to the first 1,000 attendees!

As if that's not enough, single game tickets for the regular season went on sale to the general public today at 10AM.  Click here to scoop up your tickets now...I honestly believe that it's going to be an exciting season in Columbus.  We've got a few years worth of pent up scoring to unleash on the NHL, and the defense is pretty much coming back healthy.  And, of course, Steve Mason is well along on the comeback trail already.

So get your tickets, and get down to the arena starting tomorrow to get a sneak peak at the players who will make up your 10-11 Columbus Blue Jackets!

Time to step up: Concluding thoughts

  

Not including this post, "Time to step up" has encompassed:

• 32 blog posts 
• 26 player profiles
• 6 coach profiles
• 2 front office profiles
• 22,489 words (per Microsoft Word)

In the process, I was able to finally do some long-overdue basic research and better understand the Columbus Blue Jackets roster and organization.  Money and talent began to intersect in my mind.  Players who barely would get a mention during the regular season received appropriate appreciation.  And, while it was a bit hairy to put together with a vacation and the beginning of fall quarter at school, it ended up being a great way to bridge the gap between CannonFest and Saturday's opening of training camp.  Your comments and feedback - both inside and outside the pages of this blog - have been fantastic fuel for the entire series.  It's so gratifying to know that people enjoy your work.

In the end, I acknowledge that this preview series - as drawn-out as it has been - is incomplete.  I've had requests to discuss more of the business side of the house - game operations, marketing, ticketing - and to delve even deeper into the depth chart.  Folks, I have to draw the line somewhere and believe that this series tells a pretty reasonable story about the team...and the challenges that they individually and collectively face.  

This is not going to be an easy season for the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The supposed experts (who sometimes actually pay attention to what's going on in Columbus) are generally suggesting that the CBJ will end the season well out of playoff contention.  Not surprisingly, I disagree.  (Why start agreeing now?)

Much like 2008-2009, I sense that the Blue Jackets will be a team that will be in the hunt for a playoff spot right up to the last weekend of the season.  They might get in, they might not, but it'll be close.  And it will be one incredible run, one that will make the smart people who buy tickets to CBJ home games very, very satisfied with their investments.  

Let's close out this series in the same way that we started - with a quote from Danny Gare on the closing night of the CBJ's only playoff run.

This team will be back, this team in blue, folks. They have plenty of good years ahead of them,  and it's just starting. Danny Gare April 23, 2009

Words to live by.  Enjoy the season, and Carry The Flag!

Time to step up: The front office

THE FRONT OFFICE

First, let's be clear on what I hope to accomplish in this post.  The term "Front Office" is very vague and could include everything from ticketing to marketing to arena negotiations to game operations to National Hockey League relations.  And there is a ton to discuss on those points, as the Columbus Blue Jackets - for all the many things they do so well - have challenges like any organization.  If you read this blog with any regularity, you know that I comment every now and then on these types of issues.

For this post, however, I'm sticking to the hockey side of the house.  Player selection, player allocation, salary cap.  I'll be talking about the work performed by general manager Scott Howson and assistant general manager Chris MacFarland.  The integration of actual sport with business - which these two do on a daily basis - is intricate, and I've received no formal training in this line of work.  Therefore, I again implore my readers to fill in any (likely) gaps with your own thoughts in the comments.  Together, we can get it right - just as the CBJ need to get it right - for this is serious business.

Entering his fourth season as general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, it's time for Howson's team to shine.  And lest anyone suggest otherwise, this IS Howson's team.  Comparing the roster at the start of the 2006-2007 season to the anticipated roster (as predicted by The Cannon) to start the 2010-2011 season, we see the following:

Old-fashioned marketing

Clearly, the Columbus Blue Jackets appreciate that they have to take some extraordinary steps to demonstrate appreciation for their season ticket holder base.  They've dressed up the actual packaging significantly, but this might be perhaps the best idea yet:



Any intro to marketing class would suggest that the best way to sell your product is to make a personal connection.  It's great to see the CBJ captain (and I've heard other players are doing this, too) stepping out  in such a gracious way.  The simple "Thank you for your support" goes a long, long way.

Time to step up: The coaches

THE COACHES

So your professional hockey team endures perhaps the most disappointing season in its ten-year history.  Forwards aren't scoring as anticipated, defenders are falling like flies, goalies can't hold serve for longer than a game or two.  But despite all the disappointment, it's still the third-highest point total in that same period of time.  What's a general manager to do?

If you're Scott Howson and your team is the Columbus Blue Jackets, you keep the team together and wipe the slate clean in the coaching suite.

Yup, Ken Hitchcock and his band of long-time CBJ assistants all were shown the door over the course of a few months.  Howson then went out and looked for a new head coach, interviewing established assistants and rising stars alike.  After conducting that wild and wooly coaching search, Howson's preferred choice, Guy Boucher, was poached by Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning at the last second.  Which leads us to...

What a curious situation to be in, the second choice in a coaching search.  Clearly you're qualified for the job, having made it to the final round of interviews, but you're not THE guy that the boss wanted.  Honestly, I'm not sure how I'd handle that if I was in Scott Arniel's shoes.  I suppose I'd just saddle up and do my best - as if I was the top pick - and hope that time proves my selection to be the right one.  Still, there's no getting around the fact that it's awkward.

Is Scott Arniel ready to have his name in lights?

Until you win.

Luckily for Arniel, he has won quite a bit, with a 181-106-33 record over four seasons with the Manitoba Moose, the AHL farm team of the Vancouver Canucks.  He took the Moose to the Calder Cup finals once and, perhaps more importantly, never missed the playoffs in any season where he was head coach.  That's saying something considering the talent level on a farm team can drastically change from season to season - heck, from day to day - depending on the whims of the NHL club.  So that he has won consistently with a less-than-consistent roster...that's important.

But now he's stepping up into the big leagues, and it's a whole new game.  Sure, Arniel has the pedigree - longtime player, assistant under longtime Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, head coach in Manitoba - but being a head coach at the top level requires a level of creativity and skill that comes from trying to motivate players who make multiples of your salary and probably could have you fired with a couple of phone calls.  Does Arniel have the deft touch to massage the egos, install his system and actually win games at the NHL level?  Knowing that Scott Howson doesn't make any move (let alone select a head coach) without a ridiculous level of due diligence, I'd tend to think that he does.  But time will tell.

Wanna see the Blue Jackets in Pittsburgh?

Just got this from Julie Mauer, president of the Jacket Backers (the official fan club of the Columbus Blue Jackets):

This was my work computer wallpaper for the longest time...

JACKET BACKERS URGENT ROAD TRIP NOTIFICATION - IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, PLEASE RESPOND IMMEDIATELY

Sorry for the short notice, all - at the request of many, our Travel Committee has been trying to get a tickets-only trip together to Pittsburgh. We have learned that there are no tickets available for group purchase for the preseason game, but have just been offered the opportunity to purchase a block of tickets for the Tuesday, February 8th game in Pittsburgh at new-this-season CONSOL Energy Center at 7 pm ET. We need to act fast to be able to retain these tickets and need to hear from you immediately if interested.

The only available seats that the Pens have available for us are in section 120 at $135 per ticket not including any possible fees. We realize this is quite expensive and don't have the funds to front these seats. Therefore, if you are interested in traveling with the Jacket Backers for this game and are able to purchase your seats today, please contact Anne and Jeff Little at travel@jacketbackers.org with your name, email, and best way to reach you by telephone, to reserve your seats and make payment arrangements. Trip will hinge upon number of interested participants, so let us know IMMEDIATELY if you would like to go! Also, please email Anne and Jeff if you would like to be included in the next Travel Committee Meeting, date and time to be announced following our general planning meeting this Thursday.

Quite an offer, to get to see the Blue Jackets and the Penguins in the new arena in some pretty sweet seats.  Act now if you're interested!