Monday, May 23, 2011

Coach Rex's Favorite Drill: Sculling

One of my favorite skating drills to help hockey players improve on / develop their balance, edge control and knee bend is sculling. What is sculling? Sculling is a forward edge control skating technique.

Sculling can be practiced by pushing off with the inside edge of either skate blade. It's important to be in a good hockey stance - head up, stick on the ice, two hands on the stick with a deep knee bend.

Keep both blades on the ice and alternate the pushing - combine a left skate scull, then a right foot scull, alternating as you move down the ice. Begin at one end of the rink and push by making a C-cut with either blade to start movement forward. Focus on the deep knee bend and maintain it throughout the drill.

This can be a very effective skating technique in a game. Rather than striding and gliding - push down on the inside edges and keep both blades on the ice. It can improve the effectiveness of your gliding in a game. For example, sculling can help you maintain and increase your speed as you drive to the net with the puck from the outside to inside on a defenseman. Also, sculling can improve the strength of your forward cross-over / glide turn when you push on the outside skate inside edge and cross-over  the inside leg with the outside skate.

Good sculling can help take your skating ability to a higher level. It can result in practically effortless skating - where a skater uses less energy but maintians good speed. Paul Coffey was very skilled in this area of skating while rushing the puck from behind his net. Today, Sidney Crosby is one of the best at sculling. Crosby will often protect the puck and create scoring opportunities by maintaining his skating speed by sculling on his outside skate and go around his opponents.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

2011 Kids Hockey Advancement Society's Fourth Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament

Dear Friends,

Tucker Hockey is proud to support the Kids Hockey Advancement Society’s 4th Annual Fundraising Golf Tournament, as the Event Sponsor. We fully endorse the Society as it endeavors to raise funds for such a great cause. Tucker Hockey is committed to contribute the volunteer time and the effort as required to ensure the continuing success of the Society.

We look forward with great anticipation to this year’s tournament, scheduled for Wednesday July 27th, 2011, at the Inglewood Golf and Curling Club.

The Kids Hockey Advancement Society was incorporated to provide an opportunity for children to play, to develop their skating and hockey skills and to participate in organized hockey – the nation’s greatest sport.

The benefits to these children in terms of physical fitness, mental health and well being and social development are significant and well documented. The benefits to society as these children mature into exemplary and responsible citizens are even more significant.

 In July of 2010, the Society raised $15,000 to help children acquire hockey gear and register for organized hockey through Kidsport of Calgary. An additional $5,000 was raised which will directly sponsor deserving children through the Society’s own program, which was launched in 2010.

The goal in 2011 is to once again provide funds to Kidsport of Calgary. The funds will create an opportunity for children to play hockey.  The Kids Hockey Advancement Society will also expand its own program which sponsors deserving children directly. Thanks to a solid base of wonderful loyal sponsors since the Society’s inception and the addition of amazing new sponsors that came on board in 2010, the Society experienced incredible growth over a short span of just three years! The Society’s fund-raising efforts produced $10,000 in 2008 and doubled to $20,000 in 2010! We are confident that new records will be set again this year!

 We are asking for your support with this fun golf tournament. Your participation in this event will contribute to the success of this valued fundraiser.

Support the Society By:
  • Golfing – register as an individual or as a foursome. Bring your clients, friends, fellow workers and anyone that may be interested in providing the opportunity for deserving kids to participate in organized hockey.
  • Being one of our valued sponsors – such as a Day Sponsor, a Cart Sponsor, a Hole Sponsor, etc.
  • Donating tournament and  live auction prizes
  • Volunteering for the organizing committee or the event day itself
Please call Nick Radmanovich at 403 - 829 - 2993 / Tournament Director if you have any questions regarding this year’s golf tournament or if you require additional information.

Please get involved and feel good about giving back! 
Rex Tucker
President, Tucker Hockey

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Calgary Flames - Year End Review

In the Winter 2011 Hockey Zones edition I wrote the following:
The Calgary Flames have been inconsistent; especially at home…It does not make the Saddledome a feared building to play in. The home record must improve if the team wishes to be a playoff contender... How far will the Flames go this season? This writer believes the Calgary Flames will be in a dogfight to make the playoffs…The team needs to play a stronger game from start to finish...They must also improve on their speciality team play particularly at home - this is critical…When the Flames play a skating, up tempo and puck pressure game they are very competitive and can be victorious on most nights, but this rarely happens. A consistent team effort will ensure a much needed winning streak…..…

 Now…after not making the playoffs for the second season in row, the Calgary Flames have some important questions to answer……

Should Jay Feaster become the new General Manager?
Prior to Jay becoming the “Acting” Flames General Manager, life around the Saddledome under the Darryl Sutter regime appeared to be too serious and uptight. When Jay took over, he brought with him a fresh set of ideas and a new philosophy which consisted of a better cycle of communication between management, coaching staff and players. He hired Craig Conroy in a management role and this connection to the locker room gave Jay an in depth view of the Flames as a team as well as the players on an individual basis.

Does Jarome Iginla stay in Calgary?
He is “Mr. Flame”, the face of the franchise. While he is one of very few players on the roster today with a trade market value, there doesn’t appear to be an upside to moving the captain of the team. At the age of 34, he is still one the top goal scorers in the league, 3rd in the league this year, and Jarome still has at least another 4 years of high level production in him.

How to stickhandle around the Salary cap?
It is speculated that next season’s salary cap will expand to $61M. The current Flames salary cap hit is $56M. In order to create room under the cap, buying out a number of players and moving others is critical. It is important to create salary cap space to re-sign some of the Flames unrestricted free agents, as well as creating breathing space for potential trades, either in the off-season or at the trade deadline.

What Free Agents do the Flames re-sign?
The Flames have two restricted free agents, Brendan Mikkelson and Ryan Stone. They should re-sign Stone and let Mikkelson explore free agency. The unrestricted free agents are Karlsson, Babchuk, Staios, Pardy, Carson, Morrison, Tanguay, Glencross, and Modin. They should re-sign Babchuk, Karlsson, Pardy, Carson, Tanguay, Glencross, and Morrison and let Modin and Staios test the free agent market.

Is it time to buy out contracts?
Without a doubt, it’s just a question of how many and for how much. However, it will be a tough decision for the Flames ownership to sink monies on buyouts. It’s hard to say what the value / cost of that option will be in the end.

It’s short term pain for long term gain. From a practical perspective the odds of trading Kotalik @ $3,000,000, Hagman@ $3,000,000 and / or Stajan @ $3,500,000 are quite slim – what market value do they have   - after this season’s poor performances. Getting them to agree over the spring and /or summer to play in Europe until their contacts expires, or ship them to the farm team in Abbotsford come September time are other salary cap clearing options. Whether to buyout or not this decision needs to be made prior to July 1st – timing is critical and there’s no room for mistakes.

 Who should stay on defence and who goes?
Jay Bouwmeester is making $6.7M. He is a great skater and logs enormous minutes, but his offensive output does not justify his salary. Moving him would create much needed cap space and/or high value draft picks. Giordano, Regehr, Sarich, Babchuk, Pardy, Carson, and are all effective defensemen at reasonable prices. The two prospects, Brodie and Erixon, are waiting in the wings to make the step up to the big show.

 What to do with the goaltending situation?
Keep Kipper. Along with Jarome, both are the faces of the franchise. He is still in his prime and he showed that down the stretch with some incredible performances. However reduce his workload to 55 – 60 games next season.

 Any help from the farm system?
The Flames have only one pick in the first 100 selections come draft day. In the system they only have Backlund, Bouma, Nemisz, Brodie, Erixon, and Irving. After that, roster improvements will have to come through free agent signings or trades. The Flames now are one of the oldest and slowest teams in the NHL considering the speed of today’s game. They often fall into the trap of letting the opposition dictate the pace of play. This needs to change next season.

 In Conclusion:
The Flames don’t need to “blow it all up and start over”. The salary cap restrictions limit what they can do for the time being. Freeing up space under the cap should be a top priority so management can resign their own free agents, especially Tanguay and Glencross respectively. Players such as Kotalik, Hagman, and Stajan should be jettisoned for salary cap relief and Bouwmeester could be traded for draft picks or another solid defenseman. The Flames should also inject more youth into the team. Kids like TJ Brodie should be given an opportunity to play and develop at the NHL level and Michael Backlund should also be given more ice time and a more important role next season. Yes indeed, Jay Feaster is the man who can tinker and tweak with the current Flames roster and salary structure to get this team into the playoffs next season.