BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT - As the Hartford Wolf Pack gets set for their first three-games-in-three-days this weekend with the Laval Rocket coming to Hartford on Friday night at the XL Center. Then the Pack plays a home-and-home with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Saturday and then on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm at the Webster Bank Arena.
Pack Associate Head Coach, Gord Murphy’s hiring in the off-season, where he was accompanying his last year's fellow Philadelphia Flyers assistant, Kris Knoblauch, who were both relieved at the end of last season, coming to the AHL was a new interesting option.
“I really like it so far. When I was researching the position, I talked to a number of former and current AHL coachers, and the one thing they all said was, 'You will like the time you have to really teach and develop.' In the NHL you don’t have all the time to practice. In fact, you're manufacturing time to talk to a player about certain things.
"I really appreciate the time so far where a player can learn, process, and prepare for a game at the American (Hockey) League level,” Murphy, who spent 17 years as an assistant coach after retiring from playing, said.
Murphy recognizes there's a learning curve.
“I know this isn’t going to happen overnight. It takes time to set up and implement procedures and the structure the organization is looking for. We're all new (the coaching staff) and many new players with a lot of skills with leadership and veterans added to the mix.”
One of the big mantras is defense-first.
“I don’t care what level of hockey you're at, you have defense first, and that’s just not your defensemen. The goal is to keep the puck out of the net. That gives you a chance to win the game. If you don’t have the defense, it's not a recipe for success.”
The team saw its shootout loss last Sunday against Rochester in which the Americans scored late to force overtime, and then the team defensive core held against the Springfield Thunderbirds in a 1-0 shutout win. The six-on-five is a part of a defensive strategy that all teams work at as the season starts to progress especially with the Wolf Pack heading into its first heavy dose of games with six games over the next eleven days.
“It’s a learning experience. It’s an area we haven’t really touched on yet, only briefly. We obviously have had talks now about what our setups should be. We have been practicing this, and like everything else, it takes time.”
The changes in defensive combinations last weekend is all part of the plan to build a stronger team defensively.
“Changes are inevitable in this game, especially on defense. There will be injuries and call ups at some point, so it's better we learn, so we'll know how the players work together, finding the strengths and weaknesses will make the team and the player better.”
The sport that he mastered playing in 735 NHL games has changed, especially from his early days with the Hershey Bears back in 1987-88.
“There weren’t the skills coaches, the nutrition aspect, or the systems that we have today. Back then, we were taught certain positioning, but we were left on our own to use our skills all that we had. The dynamics now is the players are simply so much faster than in our day. We might have had three or four really top skaters, today is like closer to 15. The skill sets are far different today in what goes into making a 'player.'”
Among Murphy's teammates were ex-Hartford Whalers, Kevin Maxwell, Don Nachbaur, Ray Allison, Kevin McCarthy, Nick Kypreos, and John Stevens. He also played with ex-New Haven Nighthawks, Brian Dobbin, and Mark Lofthouse, and former Wolf Pack assistant coach, JJ Daigneault.
Teaching the new generation trust is an important component.
“I’m trying to help them, and I can relate my experiences. The kids can Google about my past and that’s what is the past. Now I can share my knowledge. The kids have been very receptive and have worked very hard, but at the end of the day I have to earn their trust and respect.”
For Murphy, the relationship with his troops now is akin to a parent-child relationship, in some ways.
“Its like when they’re riding a bike learning that they’ll fall and skin their knee, but you get right back at it. We're helping to shape them, not only as players but as young men. Many are out on their own for the first time and learning to make good decisions on-and-off ice is a part of the equation of their professional growth and development.”
Murphy’s experience is hopefully going to produce up top in New York for the Rangers and hopefully for Hartford when next April rolls around.
NOTES:
The Rangers recalled Ty Ronning to Hartford from the team's ECHL affiliates, the Maine Mariners. Ronning had five points in four games.
Laval will be without Michael McCarron who is serving the second of his two-game suspension for a major interference penalty in Providence. He missed Wednesday’s game in Belleville.
Not only are the Lindgren brothers, Ryan (Hartford) and Charles (Laval), playing against each other tonight, but two former members of the St. Cloud Huskies (NCHC) who were college teammates will be facing each other, in Patrick Newell (Hartford) and Ryan Poehling (Laval).
In addition, ex-Pack/CT Whale, Dale Weise, makes his first appearance back in Hartford since 2010-11.
Bridgeport has recalled highly-regarded Czech-born netminder, Jakub Sharek from the Worcester Railers. Sharek posted a 1.42 GAA in two games. The team reassigned another European goalie they like in Swedish Linus Soderstrom to Worcester.
Riley Stillman, the grandson of ex-Nighthawks and Springfield Indians player, Bud Stefanski, was recalled from Springfield by Florida.
Ex-Pack, Daniel Walcott, is assigned to Syracuse by Tampa Bay. Mitch Eliot, the son of former Nighthawk, Daren Eliot, is reassigned from Utica to Kalamazoo (ECHL).
Ex-Pack, and Sound Tiger, Jack Combs signs a deal with Wichita (ECHL).
Ex-Pack, and Ranger, Connor Brickley, signed a deal today with EC Salzburg (Austria-EBEL) for the rest of the season. He will report to the Red Bulls next week.
Brickley played 13 games in Hartford last year after being acquired.
Josh Primeau, the nephew of ex-Whaler, Keith Primeau, signs with HC Sierre (Switzerland-LNB) his eighth Swiss team in his career, all spent in Switzerland.
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