What is the most encouraging aspect of the Flyers' early season success? If you say the quick gelling of all of the new additions, the early dominance at home, or the clear #1 status and play of Martin Biron, you wouldn't necessarily be wrong. But as far as the continued success of the Flyers goes, the most important development we've seen this season is the emergence of Mike Richards as a team leader.
If there was one thing the Flyers added this past offseason, it was leadership, as Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, and Jason Smith were all captains on their previous teams. No disrespect to Smith, who was named the team's newest captain, but it has been the leadership of a player who was already here that has been the biggest reason to be confident for continued success. Mike Richards, now in his third year, was named an alternate captain this season, and he is wasting little time in proving the organization right in giving the young player such a leadership role.
Richards was drafted the same year as Jeff Carter, who is also beginning to live up to his high expectations this season. But Richards, while he might never be the natural scorer that Carter might be, has always been a natural leader. From the moment he was drafted, he was tabbed as the future captain of this team. And his play this season, after experiencing a season last year that no one, whether rookie or veteran, wants to experience, has proven that prediction a smart one.
In the season's first ten games, he has simply done it all. And he has done it all more consistently than anyone on the team. Through ten games this season, Richards has six goals and six assists. Not really MVP type numbers, I know, but that's the beautiful thing about hockey: the best leader doesn't need to be the biggest scorer. Out of his six goals, two came at even strength, two on the power play, and two while shorthanded. And two of those goals have been game winners. And in addition to the scoring, Richards has been the Flyers best hitting forward, and best backchecking forward.
Richards might not lead the league in scoring, or any category for that matter. In fact, he may not lead his team in any category, but he will be everything a leader is supposed to be. Again, Jason Smith appears to be a very good captain, and could be their captain for a number of years to come, but it appears inevitable that he will pass the "C" onto Mike Richards when he retires or leaves the team. But in the mean time, Richards will just pretend that "A" is a "C," and that can be nothing but great for the Flyers.
Showing posts with label Leaders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leaders. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Oh Captain, My Captain
I was thinking of starting this article with a few lines from that famous Walt Whitman poem (the one where the title of this blog is taken from for those who didn't pay attention in High School English; oh wait, I was one of those people. I had to look it up), but I quickly realized that it was about a captain, dead, at the end of his ship's voyage. And the ship I want to write about is far from the end of it's voyage. I am speaking of the Philadelphia Flyers; whose journey is just about to begin anew. Only, the USS Orange and Black has no captain.
In hockey, the role of a captain is much larger and significant than any other sport. In football, there are multiple captains each game, and they often change from game to game. And in basketball and baseball...well, I don't think they even have captains. I direct your attention to exhibit A: The year is 2004 and the Flyers are beginning their "second season." They start against their arch rival, the New Jersey Devils. It didn't take long for the captain to make his mark. In game 1, Keith Primeau comes flying down the wing. Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur, assumes that Keith will take it around the back of the net. And looking at the size of Primeau and the speed he had going in that direction, it was a pretty safe asumption by Brodeur. But, out of nowhere, Primeau makes a move to the front of the net and slides it by Broduer. I bring this particular play up because it was the beginning of Primeau's transformation. Primeau would go on to literally put the team on his back throughout the playoffs, only to tragically fall a game short of the Stanley Cup Finals. Had they made it, Primeau would have easily won the Conn Smythe throphy; awarded to the most vauable player throughout the playoffs. While he had been captain all year, he never displayed the skill, athleticism, physicality, determination, and leadership all at once, like he did throughout every moment of that playoff run. So when he made that move on Broduer in the first game of the playoffs, no one knew what they were about to witness over the next month. Without the play of their captain, the Flyers would not have made it past the second round.
Keith Primeau rose to such high levels of leadership after that season, that when he was injured the following season (following the lockout) the team never again had the sense of direction and leadership they had with Keith in the lineup. That injury, an elbow to head by a player this writer can't seem to remember (eventhough he swore he would never forget), proved to be career ending as Primeau retired following the season. The Flyers tried to name a new captain in Derian Hatcher later that year following the injury, and in Peter Forsberg the following year. With the "C" on Hatcher, the team coasted aimlessly into the playoffs and got ousted by Buffalo in the first round. And when the Flyers gave the "C" to Forsberg following Primeau's retirement, the team stumbled to their worst performance in franchise history; due largely in part to Forsberg being out of the lineup for much of the year due to injury.
The point is that the "C" on a player's sweater is so much more than a letter. On, the right person's sweater, it can be a force more powerful than any pass, deke, save, hit, or statistic. Now, the Flyers have a retooled team ready to erase the nightmares of last season. On paper, they look like a definite playoff contender; a huge step from last season. But they also have yet to name a captain. Naming the right one can immediately transform a playoff contender into a Stanley Cup contender.
So who on this current Flyers roster is the right guy? Well, I'm a strong believer in not giving the captaincy to a new addition, unless there is no clear alternative. And in this case, that is not the situation. There a few players from last season who could hold the "C" quite nicely. My first pick, and he's been my pick since Primeau got hurt, is Sami Kapanen. Kapanen may not have the biggest numbers, and he is certainly not biggest guy, but he is a guy that everyone in that locker room respects. He never shies away from contact, and he will always do whatever it takes to help the team win. He leads by example. There has been much talk about making Simon Gagne the captain. Now, before last year, I was totally against this. Not because he is a bad player, but because he seemed reluctant to accept it. You can not force leadership on somebody. However, after last season, he showed a lot of maturity, and appears ready to accept his role as the team's leader. That said, there are still better alternatives. His linemate, Mike Knuble is one of them. Mike, since his arrival after the lockout, has been a strong presence on the ice and in the locker room, and he can provide some offensive punch.
The Flyers had plenty of leadership in their locker room following last season, and they have even more now after adding three players who were captains on their previous teams (Daniel Briere, Jason Smith, and Kimo Timonen). I think Kapanen is the right choice for captain, but that's certainly not saying the other players mentioned couldn't get the job done as well.
In hockey, the role of a captain is much larger and significant than any other sport. In football, there are multiple captains each game, and they often change from game to game. And in basketball and baseball...well, I don't think they even have captains. I direct your attention to exhibit A: The year is 2004 and the Flyers are beginning their "second season." They start against their arch rival, the New Jersey Devils. It didn't take long for the captain to make his mark. In game 1, Keith Primeau comes flying down the wing. Devils goaltender, Martin Brodeur, assumes that Keith will take it around the back of the net. And looking at the size of Primeau and the speed he had going in that direction, it was a pretty safe asumption by Brodeur. But, out of nowhere, Primeau makes a move to the front of the net and slides it by Broduer. I bring this particular play up because it was the beginning of Primeau's transformation. Primeau would go on to literally put the team on his back throughout the playoffs, only to tragically fall a game short of the Stanley Cup Finals. Had they made it, Primeau would have easily won the Conn Smythe throphy; awarded to the most vauable player throughout the playoffs. While he had been captain all year, he never displayed the skill, athleticism, physicality, determination, and leadership all at once, like he did throughout every moment of that playoff run. So when he made that move on Broduer in the first game of the playoffs, no one knew what they were about to witness over the next month. Without the play of their captain, the Flyers would not have made it past the second round.
Keith Primeau rose to such high levels of leadership after that season, that when he was injured the following season (following the lockout) the team never again had the sense of direction and leadership they had with Keith in the lineup. That injury, an elbow to head by a player this writer can't seem to remember (eventhough he swore he would never forget), proved to be career ending as Primeau retired following the season. The Flyers tried to name a new captain in Derian Hatcher later that year following the injury, and in Peter Forsberg the following year. With the "C" on Hatcher, the team coasted aimlessly into the playoffs and got ousted by Buffalo in the first round. And when the Flyers gave the "C" to Forsberg following Primeau's retirement, the team stumbled to their worst performance in franchise history; due largely in part to Forsberg being out of the lineup for much of the year due to injury.
The point is that the "C" on a player's sweater is so much more than a letter. On, the right person's sweater, it can be a force more powerful than any pass, deke, save, hit, or statistic. Now, the Flyers have a retooled team ready to erase the nightmares of last season. On paper, they look like a definite playoff contender; a huge step from last season. But they also have yet to name a captain. Naming the right one can immediately transform a playoff contender into a Stanley Cup contender.
So who on this current Flyers roster is the right guy? Well, I'm a strong believer in not giving the captaincy to a new addition, unless there is no clear alternative. And in this case, that is not the situation. There a few players from last season who could hold the "C" quite nicely. My first pick, and he's been my pick since Primeau got hurt, is Sami Kapanen. Kapanen may not have the biggest numbers, and he is certainly not biggest guy, but he is a guy that everyone in that locker room respects. He never shies away from contact, and he will always do whatever it takes to help the team win. He leads by example. There has been much talk about making Simon Gagne the captain. Now, before last year, I was totally against this. Not because he is a bad player, but because he seemed reluctant to accept it. You can not force leadership on somebody. However, after last season, he showed a lot of maturity, and appears ready to accept his role as the team's leader. That said, there are still better alternatives. His linemate, Mike Knuble is one of them. Mike, since his arrival after the lockout, has been a strong presence on the ice and in the locker room, and he can provide some offensive punch.
The Flyers had plenty of leadership in their locker room following last season, and they have even more now after adding three players who were captains on their previous teams (Daniel Briere, Jason Smith, and Kimo Timonen). I think Kapanen is the right choice for captain, but that's certainly not saying the other players mentioned couldn't get the job done as well.
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