Official Ralph Krueger named Sabres Head Coach

[Darryl Shannon's +/-]

If this is move 1 of the off-season, Botterill has my attention. This is not a safe choice. Buckle up. 

[sabills]

cool

[Thorner]

An incredibly interesting hire. 

[dudacek]

13 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

Has anyone heard or read -not made up or imagined, but heard or read- anything negative about his coaching style?

I’ve read he runs an odd PP formation (no idea what that means and the Oil improved from 27 to 9 under him) and that his defensive strategy was “too European,” I.e. better designed for wider ice.

[josie]

Ok totally unrelated but I’m on mobile and I fat thumbed/had a scrolling lag and I think I hit the flag icon on someone (1st page). I don’t know what that means and I can’t find it again- so if you got a warning or something weird I’m so sorry and if you know how to undo it, please do. 

 

Anyway, continue. 

[Marvin]

If he really is a Jurgen Klopp type of coach ("gegenpressing") and things work out with the line-up, this could make it look like 2005-6. I used to call that style from Ruff as the hockey equivalent of The Netherlands' "Total Football."  It would be a combination of possession offence with an aggressive trap defence.

[Gatorman0519]

This very well might be the right thing to do.  I like his bio.  Seems like he is gifted at changing culture.

[dudacek]

24 minutes ago, Getpucksdeep said:

Another good read here:

https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/why-edmonton-oilers-should-think-long-hard-about-ralph-krueger

I'm in. 

This is a great read and goes a long way toward answering the question “why Ralph?”

It also speaks to what kind of manager Botterill is because this is undoubtedly a courageous hire.

Edited May 15, 2019 by dudacek

[inkman]

28 minutes ago, josie said:

If things don’t go well we have lots of Nightmare on Elm Street gifs to utilize for our haunted dreams of better days.

 

but I think this could be interesting, at least! 

But think of the goal songs 

 

[sabills]

9 minutes ago, E4 ... Ke2 said:

If he really is a Jurgen Klopp type of coach ("gegenpressing") and things work out with the line-up, this could make it look like 2005-6. I used to call that style from Ruff as the hockey equivalent of The Netherlands' "Total Football."  It would be a combination of possession offence with an aggressive trap defence.

for those wondering what that meant, like myself:

[Jävə Keith]

I like the move by JBotts. Not a retread, but with some NHL experience.  Strength is LEADERSHIP - I think this is what is most needed to guide these young bucks out of the losing doldrums they have been in their entire Sabres career.  Also an innovative thinker with an eye on applying analytics.  Intriguing times ahead for sure.

I especially like what Friedman said about Krueger on The Instigators today:

Friedman on Krueger's coaching style:

"He is a relentlessly positive guy, and he creates an environment where people believe in their ability to accomplish things. One of the things that is really changing... [back in the day], it was 'do this, do that and don't dare challenge.' This generation is all about 'why?' 'Why do I have to do this? Why are we doing that?' I think you're coach now, more than anything else, has to create an environment for this generation of players. 'Why are we going to buy into your vision? Why are we going to do this?' He's the kind of guy who can build that."

"He creates belief, he creates a feeling of team and why we're going to accomplish things together. Now he's not a bad X's and O's guy at all, but he hasn't done it in a while. You're going to need people around him that can help him fix that problem. I know that in Edmonton, one of the things the organization felt was that his system did some things that you can do in international hockey, but you can't do that in the NHL, in terms of the way you position things. As far as I'm concerned, that can all be fixed. I have a feeling that one of the reasons that the Sabres are going after him is because of the way he builds teams to believe in themselves. Look, it's been a hard few years in Buffalo. I can see why his ability to do that would appeal to the Sabres organization."

[CallawaySabres]

I love it. With the crap left out there, risk vs reward wins big time here.

[Curt]

I think he is the kind of person who people just sort of gravitate to.  High energy, focused on communication, building trust and confidence, very interested in using all information available (analytics).  I think he is the type of leader this team needs right now.  

From a hockey X’s and O’s standpoint, I don’t know where he is at.  He might be best served with a couple very NHL experienced assistants.  That will start with Steve Smith.

He is a incredibly interesting person and I am hopeful that this is going to be a good fit.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Curtisp5286

[Marvin]

11 minutes ago, sabills said:

for those wondering what that meant, like myself:

Oops.  Yeah, sorry about that.  Thanks for pasting a reference.

[dudacek]

Thomas Vanek approves

https://theathletic.com/978383/2019/05/14/as-sabres-tab-ralph-krueger-to-become-their-next-coach-one-of-teams-former-stars-sings-his-praises/

[dudacek]

And another good read about his philosophy

https://medium.com/where-others-wont/ralph-krueger-southampton-37c7b59277b7

[Samson's Flow]

I'll go on record and say I'm cautiously optimistic. I like a lot of the "leader of men" stuff as well as the "puts players in a position to succeed". I'd much rather take a shot at a guy who could be a top coach (or fail miserably) as opposed to a safe retread.

Let's establish a culture of a successful organization and go from there.

I think about all the positivity coming from Bills camp, and a lot of that is confidence in the vision and 'process' Beane and McDermott preaches. We as a fan base are desperate to have confidence that the leaders in charge know what they're doing - and we'll see if Krueger can establish that faith here.

Edited May 15, 2019 by Samson's Flow
Spelling the damn coaches name right

[klos1963]

Fills a glaring hole.

[pi2000]

Sounds like a Sean McDermott type of character.   

[matter2003]

Love, love, love this hire!!!

Sabres will be legit cup contenders within 3 years under Krueger...this guy is special...he is a winner and has basically exceeded expectations in everything he has done...

Those in the know consider him a brilliant hockey mind as well, very innovative and has the ability to get he most from any group he works with...

Thomas Vanek said Kruger would be a "huge, huge get for Buffalo if they can get him" and said Kruger is one of the best coaches he has ever had...

Edited May 15, 2019 by matter2003

[Torpedo Forecheck]

3 minutes ago, Samson's Flow said:

I'll go on record and say I'm cautiously optimistic. I like a lot of the "leader of men" stuff as well as the "puts players in a position to succeed". I'd much rather take a shot at a guy who could be a top coach (or fail miserably) as opposed to a safe retread.

Let's establish a culture of a successful organization and go from there.

I think about all the positivity coming from Bills camp, and a lot of that is confidence in the vision and 'process' Beane and McDermott preaches. We as a fan base are desperate to have confidence that the leaders in charge know what they're doing - and we'll see if Krueger can establish that faith here.

Good post! He wasn't my first choice, but I like his reputation for being a progressive thinker. Beats the dead beat retreads.

[klos1963]

2 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Love, love, love this hire!!!

Sabres will be legit cup contenders within 3 years under Krueger...this guy is special...he is a winner and has basically exceeded expectations in everything he has done...

Those in the know consider him a brilliant hockey mind as well...

not to argue, I just don't know enough about him. Where has he won and exceeded expectations.

[SwampD]

I don't know anything about anything when it comes to coaching hires.

I don't hate this.

 

 

I think I actually like it.

[nfreeman]

Well, I posted in the other thread that I thought this was crazy, and I am still quite skeptical.  I have a hard time believing that leadership/positivity/communication/culture will overcome the handicaps he will face due to lack of familiarity with opposing NHL coaches, players and tactics.

It's also hard to ignore the undeniable fact that JB appears to have whiffed on a non-negligible number of major decisions during his short tenure. 

But but but...

They really are dying for someone to muscle them out of the idiotic-tank-induced loserville quicksand that they stupidly jumped into -- and this is more of a mental challenge than a physical one.  Maybe Mr. Positive Attitude/Culture/etc. is the guy.

And RK seems like a guy who could be smart enough and big-picture enough to figure out and implement best practices across a range of areas -- analytics, nutrition, matchups, etc.

And knowledgeable hockey people do seem quite impressed with him.

And maybe fortune does favor the bold.

And maybe if you hire 5 coaches eventually you stumble into the right one.

Now please find us a goalie JB and don't be wrong on RK either.

 

 

 

[Nitro60]

Bold move.  I like it.