Pat Malloy - New Buffalo Sabres Skating Coach (new in October, anyway)

[MBHockey13]

Don't ask me how I stumbled upon this article, but apparently the Sabres hired a new skating coach back in October.

 

http://ottawacitizen.com/sports/local-sports/the-skating-edge-coach-pat-malloy-brings-his-magic-touch-to-the-nhl

 

I guess he worked with Tyler Toffoli, among others, which had something to do with his hiring.

[French Collection]

Must be a GMTM connection, being from Ottawa region.

[Two or less]

Must be a GMTM connection, being from Ottawa region.

 

According to the article, he had heard Buffalo was looking for a skating coach so he just submitted a resume. Despite working with the Sens, he had never spoken with GMTM prior to coming to Buffalo.

[Jeanbe]

Dawn Braid gone I guess?

[IKnowPhysics]

They don't list these folks on the Sabres personnel list on the website. According to dates from tweets and news articles, Braid was working with the team at least through 2014 training camp. Malloy was brought in "late October" 2014.

 

I sort of hope both are with the team- Braid is highly regarded.

Edited January 22, 2015 by IKnowPhysics

[Stoner]

I wonder how many NHL players think they need a skating coach.

[That Aud Smell]

I wonder how many NHL players think they need have had their skating improved by a skating coach.

 

Paul Gaustad, for one. (Well, maybe "needed" is the better word there.)

 

Also, I proposed a fix in the quote above.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

I wonder how many NHL players think they need a skating coach.

 

It would be like me hiring you as a sarcasam coach.......

 

I can see a skating coach.....bring him, (I'm sorry, her), in for a 45 minute clinic....and that pretty much should do it.

[SwampD]

I wonder how many NHL players think they need a skating coach.

I think Zemgus will benefit a lot from one.

[That Aud Smell]

I can see a skating coach.....bring him, (I'm sorry, her), in for a 45 minute clinic....and that pretty much should do it.

 

Right, right. It's gotta be a HER. Because what's the figure skater gonna teach me hur dur rock 'em sock 'em hockey beer.

 

Skating coaches are ubiquitous throughout all major levels of hockey. I liked this story when I read it:

 

http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/woman-whos-teaching-nhl-skate-76542/

 

I think Zemgus will benefit a lot from one.

 

Wasn't aware of issues there. His first-round-draft-mate, Grigorenko, is more familiar to me as a guy who needs help with his skating.

 

Reinhart, too.

[SwampD]

Right, right. It's gotta be a HER. Because what's the figure skater gonna teach me hur dur rock 'em sock 'em hockey beer.

 

Skating coaches are ubiquitous throughout all major levels of hockey. I liked this story when I read it:

 

http://www.psmag.com...hl-skate-76542/

 

 

 

Wasn't aware of issues there. His first-round-draft-mate, Grigorenko, is more familiar to me as a guy who needs help with his skating.

 

Reinhart, too.

I see a lot of wasted energy, not as bad as the previous #28, but it's definitely there.

[IKnowPhysics]

Tavares and Hodgson, and many others, have identified skating as an area for significant improvement.

[calti]

skating coach...for nhl players?? should they not have learned perfectly by now??.......oi kinda like tryng to teach Fitz how to throw the ball farther than an 8th grader

[Taro T]

skating coach...for nhl players?? should they not have learned perfectly by now??.......oi kinda like tryng to teach Fitz how to throw the ball farther than an 8th grader

While you don't want to work C-cuts every practice; I can definitely see where working basics every now and then could be extremely beneficial.

[wjag]

Hmmm.. I thought their skating has really fallen off this year. Must be a coincidence or the evil genius if GMTM to make them skate and pass like they are playing in mud..

[Stoner]

Pretty smart move by GMTM. Really get in their head! Paralysis by analysis! Tiger, we need to fix your swing again.

[kas23]

What does a skating coach exactly do? Haven't these players been on skates since they were toddlers? I guess I find it strange players can make it so far (to the NHL) and still have flawed fundamentals. Or, maybe they get into some bad habits or become lazy and need fine-tuning ever once in a while.

[That Aud Smell]

What does a skating coach exactly do? Haven't these players been on skates since they were toddlers? I guess I find it strange players can make it so far (to the NHL) and still have flawed fundamentals. Or, maybe they get into some bad habits or become lazy and need fine-tuning ever once in a while.

 

the article upthread speaks to the issue you raise, as do many others.

 

while i agree that it seems self-evident that an NHL player or prospect should be a good skater, there have been innumerable instances where such players have said they benefited from work with a skating coach (and that goes all the way from 4th line specialists like gaustad to elite players like tavares).

 

along the same lines: if players all around you are improving their skating, and you're not, then you're often going to be that half a stride behind. at the highest levels, the game is so often about gaining those small advantages.

 

it also occurs to me: there are many skill position players from the NFL who spend weeks during their an off-season working out with track and field coaches on improving their running. they're at a play-making position in the NFL - don't they already know how to run?

 

likewise, i've read about how linemen will work with MMA types in order to understand hand-to-hand combat and leverage techniques. don't those guys already know how to push and shove people?

[Marvelo]

How about a passing coach?

 

If you can't pass, you can't break out of your own end and you can't set up plays.

 

I'm being a bit sarcastic here in this historically bad season but not really. I see the worst passing of any team I ever saw with this bunch and last year's bunch. Guys who can't even complete a breakout pass should be summarily dumped, not honored with multi million dollar contracts. Passing is just so basic to the game and if you can't do that, you can't make hockey the team game it needs to be.

 

Or a shooting coach? If you can't shoot, you won't score, even if one of the errant passes somehow winds up on your stick.

 

Guess what, the sabres can neither pass or score, in historic fashion.

 

Pegula needs to sell the team.

Edited January 23, 2015 by 716

[Stoner]

How about a passing coach?

 

If you can't pass, you can't break out of your own end and you can't set up plays.

 

I'm being a bit sarcastic here in this historically bad season but not really. I see the worst passing of any team I ever saw with this bunch and last year's bunch. Guys who can't even complete a breakout pass should be summarily dumped, not honored with multi million dollar contracts. Passing is just so basic to the game and if you can't do that, you can't make hockey the team game it needs to be.

 

Or a shooting coach? If you can't shoot, you won't score, even if one of the errant passes somehow winds up on your stick.

 

Guess what, the sabres can neither pass or score, in historic fashion.

 

Pegula needs to sell the team. Further, they need to relocate the franchise and blow up the Niagara Center. Forget about hockey with this ownership.

 

I heart you.

 

Yeah, there's a whole vibe around the franchise that kind of boils down to, "Yeah, Aiden! Nice job!" Rob has even fallen into that bad habit of praising "nice tries, Cody." The Hockey Academy in an odd way plays into it. It's like the whole operation, from squirts in the HarborCenter to the Sabres in the FNC, is all about developing kids. Maybe the skating coach can go back and forth between the buildings. They're connected, after all. Sorry, Eleven, but you can't deny hope is all the Sabres can sell right now. Come on, Toby (?)! Come on, Tyler! And we're going to DQ after.

 

This is the N H effing L. Find us a team. Find us grown men who can play the game. This is a joke.

[LTS]

It would be like me hiring you as a sarcasam coach.......

 

I can see a skating coach.....bring him, (I'm sorry, her), in for a 45 minute clinic....and that pretty much should do it.

skating coach...for nhl players?? should they not have learned perfectly by now??.......oi kinda like tryng to teach Fitz how to throw the ball farther than an 8th grader

Pretty smart move by GMTM. Really get in their head! Paralysis by analysis! Tiger, we need to fix your swing again.

What does a skating coach exactly do? Haven't these players been on skates since they were toddlers? I guess I find it strange players can make it so far (to the NHL) and still have flawed fundamentals. Or, maybe they get into some bad habits or become lazy and need fine-tuning ever once in a while.

 

So. No one questions why baseball teams have hitting and pitching coaches? I mean, they've been hitting and throwing baseballs forever. How hard is it?

 

Sloppy habits occur and people get off track, no matter what. This will happen through sloppy preparation, injuries, aging, etc.

 

It's kind of amazing we question a skating coach but no one thinks twice about hitting and pitching coaches who clearly should have nothing to do either.

[That Aud Smell]

I heart you.

 

Yeah, there's a whole vibe around the franchise that kind of boils down to, "Yeah, Aiden! Nice job!" Rob has even fallen into that bad habit of praising "nice tries, Cody." The Hockey Academy in an odd way plays into it. It's like the whole operation, from squirts in the HarborCenter to the Sabres in the FNC, is all about developing kids. Maybe the skating coach can go back and forth between the buildings. They're connected, after all. Sorry, Eleven, but you can't deny hope is all the Sabres can sell right now. Come on, Toby (?)! Come on, Tyler! And we're going to DQ after.

 

This is the N H effing L. Find us a team. Find us grown men who can play the game. This is a joke.

 

Of all the narratives that are pushed around here, the gimmesomemanlymenwhocanplaythemanlygamethewayitwasmeanttobeplayedandbythewayitismeanttobeplayed

imeantheidiosyncraticwaythatexistsonlyinmyhead

is the most tired, and tiresome.

 

As for people resorting to praising effort, it is because this team is historically terrible and cannot actually do many things worthy of praise.

 

As for taking a run at the academy, that little school across the street happens to resemble the way in which the most valuable pro sports clubs in the world run their affairs.

Edited January 23, 2015 by That Aud Smell

[Stoner]

Of all the narratives that are pushed around here, the gimmesomemanlymenwhocanplaythemanlygamethewayitwasmeanttobeplayedandbythewayitismeanttobeplayed

imeantheidiosyncraticwaythatexistsonlyinmyhead

is the most tired, and tiresome.

 

As for people resorting to praising effort, it is because this team is historically terrible and cannot actually do many things worthy of praise.

 

As for taking a run at the academy, that little school across the street happens to resemble the way in which the most valuable pro sports clubs in the world run their affairs.

 

I didn't know that narrative was being pushed. (Narrative of course being any opinion you don't agree with, otherwise it's a "This.") My only "narrative" there was a hankering for actual NHL talent, and not potential. Those tend to be grown men, yes, not kids who need to work on their swizzles.

 

That's quite a statement about the academy. I will plead ignorance. I didn't know successful pro franchises get into the youth development business. Do you have examples? But of course the Sabres have gone beyond just getting into that business, they're trying to make the case that it will benefit the team directly a few years down the road.

[That Aud Smell]

I didn't know that narrative was being pushed. (Narrative of course being any opinion you don't agree with, otherwise it's a "This.")

 

Not unfair. Narrative has sorta become the word to use to throw shade on opinions that another person has made clear on more than one occasion.

 

My only "narrative" there was a hankering for actual NHL talent, and not potential. Those tend to be grown men, yes, not kids who need to work on their swizzles.

 

It's fine and well to pine for real talent, and a real team. Conflating the absence of such with the presence of that academy was what activated me.

 

That's quite a statement about the academy. I will plead ignorance. I didn't know successful pro franchises get into the youth development business. Do you have examples? But of course the Sabres have gone beyond just getting into that business, they're trying to make the case that it will benefit the team directly a few years down the road.

 

The most obvious examples are soccer clubs throughout the world -- from the most modest League Two clubs in England all the way on up to Spain's Real Madrid (which is the most valuable sports club in the world (followed by two other futbol clubs)).

 

The academy at Harbor Center is not meant to mimic that model, but it bears a passing resemblance.

 

If I'm not mistaken, I think MLB clubs have established academies as well, mostly in Central America (?).

[MBHockey13]

Sloppy habits occur and people get off track, no matter what. This will happen through sloppy preparation, injuries, aging, etc.

 

It's kind of amazing we question a skating coach but no one thinks twice about hitting and pitching coaches who clearly should have nothing to do either.

 

I don't think any reasonable person can question a skating coach - even at the highest levels of the game. Playing hockey is the player's sole job and the team should do everything they can to work with them to help improve every aspect of their game. I still remember lessons I received when I first started playing hockey - and I'm sure the guys on my two teams now would welcome me getting a refresher course!