Practice Day | Huska – 13.03.24
Maybe just um you know come Circle back to some of the newer defenseman um if we could and just looking at you know guys and integrating them in Nikita maybe got a few more minutes as the third period weree on I mean just about trying to
Maybe a game for him to kind of get in there and get get a get a sense of it but trying to work him into the mix here moving forward yeah and we weren’t expecting him to play um that was very last minute where he got thrown in so we
Often dress extra guys for a warmup and he was the guy that we wanted to have around the team for really the first time uh and then look to maybe get him in for our next game but um things happen sometimes so I thought he did a
Good job in a situation where he wasn’t expecting to play but um not a ton of minutes the first few periods but I know he played more in the third period and uh we’ll look forward to seeing him uh more regularly moving forward really just the one horning skate for him and
Now and now a game I mean that’s that’s kind of part of the challenge I guess is to find him some ice time here and get him on with some teammates well I mean that’s it’s not so much challenge it’s it’s a matter of him trying to pick up
How we’re trying to play the game so that’s why wanted to have them into a sort of a pregame skate at least around some of our meetings just to give them an idea as to what we’re looking for out of them I don’t know what you can share
But we should ask I guess about St Conor’s area out there AJ Greer and some others just if there’s any updates um no updates they’re getting closer that’s all I can give you last um as far as Conor’s area you guys originally expected nothing serious is there has
There been a change in that scenario because it seems as though it’s been a little bit longer anticipated probably I would say I would agree with you on that it has been a little bit longer but you want to make sure in in certain situations and if the player is is
Feeling like there’s he’s not totally 100% we’re you know we’re not going to put him in a situation where he’s 100% not ready so very close is what I would say and um we’ll look forward to having him back here soon you’re all professionals I think that uh you know
When you talked about last night though what kind of challenges did last night provide when you had some seemingly uh last minute changes and that type of uh game plan that has to be kind of reworked yeah that’s one of the things that I mean it happens over the course
Of the day like from the goal tender to late scratches to guys getting sick that’s part of it um and that’s about being professional so when guys come to the rink there’s expectation that you’re prepared and you’re ready to play um that’s as we mentioned last night the
One area over the last couple games we have to get back to is the hard Team game um and I think we’ve gotten away from that a little bit over the last little while and we have to we have to get that back for tomorrow against
Another very good team can you can you speak to having to teach more maybe over this stretch than you would have earlier in this seon just because of the new new phases um than we would have earlier in the season yeah just it seemed like systems wise and having to adapt to a
Ton of new phases as opposed to before I think you teaches the over the course of the whole year all the time because there’s always things that creep into your game that either the players uh forget or they’re starting to get a little confusion as to what they’re
Going to do in certain situations so I think that’s an ongoing process um now with some new bodies in the lineup you have to find different spaces to um whether it’s individual or as like let’s say the defense as a as a whole um do a little bit more but not too much
Because the danger that you come into here is getting them to a position where they start overthinking as to what I’m supposed to do or I don’t know if I should go there and that’s not how we want the players to play so you find little bits of time where you can slip
That stuff in and you mentioned veterans were a little flat uh I don’t know if it was a game or two in your estimation but in your messaging to them are they understanding you know what you’re saying obviously they’re going to look to B back but the idea of the areas that
You want them to uh improve upon as veter sure absolutely like they they’ve been around and and they’re all understanding of where we’re at right now um and the importance of making sure that we dig in and put our best product on the ice so um the way Michael and
Blake and the rest of our leadership group is um they will accept nothing um other than you know the Calgary Flames away from their teammates talked about teaching but for you as a coach I mean you you obviously your players and these newcomers coming in but then you actually get to watch
Them and really dig in are you learning about oh hey that guy looks good in that situation how how you can use them as we sort of on the Fly here sure I mean you you watch we watch a lot of video I mean the video only shows you a little bit so
Mir man off for for example um you know he’s got very good boys with the puck sometimes that comes out on video sometimes it doesn’t um but what I’ve seen in his few games that he’s played for us is is there’s most definitely ability there um and we see the areas
That we think we can help push him along to make him a real good NHL player I know that’s his goal and that’s what we need him to become so um you see some of the strengths that he has and you also see some of the areas where we feel that
We can help him we talk to Joel just what what have you seen from he arrived um steady the same as he he showed in Dallas all the time like he was I know a guy that kind of came in and out of the lineup there always ready to play and
And was always responsible in his own Zone and I feel like we’ve seen the same here so how do you balance process versus results and and being able to live with some of those Growing Pains versus the urgency to to win games your your results will never be there if your
Process isn’t there so that’s first and foremost if you look to results then you’re in the wrong business right now I know we’re we’re gauged as coaches on wins and losses uh and that’s what it comes down to but if you focus your team on wins and losses then you’re in for a
Long year a long couple years whatever the case may be it’s always about process and always will be any feel on if the three who missed last night would be available tomorrow um think they’re one for sure um the others will be probably questionable for tomorrow as
Well we asked what AJ G and he’s had close we do anticipate seeing him before the end of the season oh yeah with do Yeah
“That’s the one area over the last couple games we have to get back to, is the hard team game”
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