Interesting take on Granato’s Development of Tage

[Gatorman0519]

Don’t know if this has been shared but I thought it was an informative take on how this coaching staff developed Tage. Interesting outside perspective. Thoughts?

 

[John Gianelli]

Nice video. But wasn't he still in St. Louis when Bylsma was coach here?

[PromoTheRobot]

Granato is a hockey whisperer. Most of his career was in player development. He's seen almost every US prospect on their way up. In many ways he was the perfect coaching hire for a moribund Sabres team, full of talent but low on leadership and belief. Granato sees who players are and puts them where they can most succeed. It seems so simple yet few do it.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[bunomatic]

Imagine KA had hired one of those old school dinosaurs many on this board were clamouring for instead of Granato? Its very likely Tage would still be toiling in mediocrity.

[matter2003]

26 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Granato is a hockey whisperer. Most of his career was in player development. He's seen almost every US prospect on their way up. In many ways he was the perfect coaching hire for a moribund Sabres team, full of talent but low on leadership and belief. Granato sees who players are and puts them where they can most succeed. It seems so simple yet few do it.

 

 

You have to be able to see what can be, not what is.  That is where most coaches fail. They aren't able to fully see what the player can become to lead them down that path.

[lothar]

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

[LGR4GM]

13 minutes ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

I will respectfully disagree. I think Granato moves Tage to center regardless due to his reasoning for doing, Tage's reach and being pinned against walls. 

[PromoTheRobot]

4 minutes ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

What are you concerned about? Granato didn't just fall off the coaching turnip truck. He's won titles in lower leagues. He knows what he's doing.

Edited January 31, 2023 by PromoTheRobot

[shrader]

How much of that position change is coaching genius vs. pure desperation?  I'm not sure that I can get to the point where I'd say that no other coaching hire would have made the same move.  He's a good fit for the group, but I don't want to throw all the credit his way.  A coach doesn't change a team from one of the slowest in the league to one of the fastest.

[lothar]

44 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

What are you concerned about? Granato didn't just fall off the coaching turnip truck. He's won titles in lower leagues. He knows what he's doing.

Head coach of younger players in lower leagues 🚫 highly paid veterans at the NHL. My biggest reason for optimism is he's growing with this team and their faith in him and his methods will likely improve. 

[K-9]

56 minutes ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

Granato is evolving, imo. He’s gone from “not sacrificing how to win consistently for one win” (his own words, btw), which was his way of saying that the kids need to play in as many tight situations as possible in order to develop and learn to win consistently, to shortening his bench frequently in third periods and trusting certain players in tight situations late in games. 

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Gatorman0519 said:

Don’t know if this has been shared but I thought it was an informative take on how this coaching staff developed Tage. Interesting outside perspective. Thoughts?

 

Nice propaganda video, just off on several facts.  

Already mentioned that Thompson didn't play for Bylsma, he was in St. Louis then.  So it likely was Yeo that was the other lousy NHL coach he had.

Though Thompson might have played W on the USD team, Granato is on record as having said Thompson played C back then which was what gave him the idea to try Thompson at C.

And though Thompson believes in himself, he himself has said he did not see himself at C in the NHL.  Granato is literally the only person that saw him there.

Personally expect Thompson's breakout was due to 2 factors - getting moved back to C being 1, but the other being Thompson finally growing into his frame.  Even if he were still playing W, Tage would be a very good player.  He wouldn't be as good because having the boards near him does limit him to a degree, but it really only comes into play in his 1/2 of the ice as the F's do a lot of cycling offensively and don't just go straight up & down the ice.  He'd still now have the toe drag & 1 timer which are huge parts of his game.  (A 3rd factor is he worked his arse off, as rightfully stated in the video, & developed a quicker release to his shot.  He was telegraphing his shot in earlier seasons & goalies will stop shots they expect & are square for all day at that level.)

He's now strong enough not to lose the puck in traffic & that toe drag that worked at lower levels works again.

But had he been playing C even 2 years ago, he wouldn't have been nearly as good as he wouldn't be winning battles & taking the puck from guys and he'd still be losing the puck when checked.

Thompson was amazing in his 1st TC w/ the Sabres.  He made guys look silly w/ that toe drag, but guys from his own team also weren't lining him up.  Opponents did & it didn't work often even when he brought the puck away from the boards.

Not taking anything away from Granato.  Again, he is literally the only person that still saw Tage as a C.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

What are you concerned about? Granato didn't just fall off the coaching turnip truck. He's won titles in lower leagues. He knows what he's doing.

He also would've gotten an opportunity as a HC about a decade earlier minus the cancer diagnosis.

Sabres completely lucked into him being available.

[msw2112]

Other guys have developed too:  Dahlin, Mittlestadt, Cozens, etc.  And vets who were lost have come back much better, such as Okposo (20 goals last season) and now using his leadership "talent" as a huge asset to the team and Skinner (press box to high scoring 1st liner).  Granato is an excellent coach.  Not only are the guys developing and improving, they are winning games.  A coach can be a both great developer of talent and a good game-day coach.  They don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, bunomatic said:

Imagine KA had hired one of those old school dinosaurs many on this board were clamouring for instead of Granato? Its very likely Tage would still be toiling in mediocrity.

 

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

You have to be able to see what can be, not what is.  That is where most coaches fail. They aren't able to fully see what the player can become to lead them down that path.

 

1 hour ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

Donnie Meatballs was also afforded the “luxury” of not having to win immediately.  I don’t think he gets the job if KA didn’t understand where the franchise was, what they needed and who was available.  None of this happens if the franchise didn’t bottom out.  

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Granato is a hockey whisperer. Most of his career was in player development. He's seen almost every US prospect on their way up. In many ways he was the perfect coaching hire for a moribund Sabres team, full of talent but low on leadership and belief. Granato sees who players are and puts them where they can most succeed. It seems so simple yet few do it.

 

 

Great comments Promo.  Few coaches do it, partly because the pressure is on to win now, right now, a coach might have maybe 3 years on average. Vegas is 6 years old and they are on their 3rd coach.  And they are considered a "successful" franchise.  

Granato was part of a rebuild program in Buffalo that was going to take the time needed to develop a core, not to trade for a core.   He really fit the bill.  We expected Dahlin to be in the core, we hoped Cozen could develop and be a core player, and Power was a pretty safe bet at FOA to be a core player.  Thompson is the piece that most did not see.   

Tuch is playing at his highest level.  Has Jost ever played any better in the NHL than he is now?  Krebs is taking advantage of any opportunity he gets.  What about Olofsson and Mitts and Joker?  How did Samuelsson get so reliable after a half season of NHL play?  This is incredible work by the coaching staff and the FO. 

It took a lot of growing pains to get here ... and more growing pains are coming if they are going to climb the ladder to playoff team, then even more rungs to division winner and legit contender.  

KA and DG give players a chance.  The players talk.  Coming to Buffalo to play hockey is going to be a good thing once again, unless you are the visiting team that is.  

After reading the Dahlin letter I think that Wednesday night will be electric downtown.  I got my tickets for the Calgary game, which is the next time I am in town.  

 

[GASabresIUFAN]

One note on TNT.  He was drafted as a center and played center at UConn if my memory serves.  It's not like DG was the only coach who ever viewed Tage as a center.

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

It really wasn't a risk to move him to center. The coach was involved with Tage in the lower level when he did play center. The coach placed this gangly built player in a position that maximized his unique talents. That's a combination of astute talent evaluation and good coaching. 

[Taro T]

27 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

One note on TNT.  He was drafted as a center and played center at UConn if my memory serves.  It's not like DG was the only coach who ever viewed Tage as a center.

EVER viewed him as a C, no.

2 years ago?  Even Thompson didn't view himself as a C.  Granato & Tage's mom were the last 2 holdouts.

And per @Pimlach, there is at least 1 member of the Sabres coaching staff who was still in the 'he's a RW' camp as of this past training camp. 

It was a brilliant move.  But it's not like Thompson would just be a tall Hinostroza were he a W.  He'd still be a 2nd liner & maybe a 1st liner.  He just wouldn't be He-Giraffe defender of all that's good and sacred & scourge of rouge enemy goalies. 

[JohnC]

This is a WGR link with Granato's regular Tues spot on WGR's Howard and Jeremy Show. Within this 20 min link he talks about the development of Power, Krebs and UPL. His comments about the influence of Okposo and Girgs on the youngster were insightful. And he also noted that Krebs has had some influence on the play of the oldsters. When the coach talks about developing players such as Power and UPL he understands that making mistakes are part of the learning process. He stressed that he doesn't want the players to be inhibited by the fear of making mistakes. Don Granato talking hockey is in itself a learning experience for hockey fans, especially for dummies like me. 

(If this link was previously posted, I apologize for the redundancy.) 

https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

What are you concerned about? Granato didn't just fall off the coaching turnip truck. He's won titles in lower leagues. He knows what he's doing.

The other part that gets forgotten is the supposed "Veteran NHL" coach who doesn't understand development the way Don Granato does from his previous work but that gets ignored around here in favor of the cliche "this coach won some games in the NHL before" mantra. 

[Marvin]

3 hours ago, lothar said:

But you also need the team to be so bad you can take the risks of moving Tage to center, letting the team work on their skills not worrying about defense as they grow, etc. 

He is the perfect coach for where this team is. I'm optimistic he himself will evolve as the players do, but there's no guarantee. 

Welcome back!

[Pimlach]

59 minutes ago, JohnC said:

It really wasn't a risk to move him to center. The coach was involved with Tage in the lower level when he did play center. The coach placed this gangly built player in a position that maximized his unique talents. That's a combination of astute talent evaluation and good coaching. 

And he had nothing to lose, we didn't have many centers to begin with. 

[JohnC]

Just now, Pimlach said:

And he had nothing to lose, we didn't have many centers to begin with. 

You make a good point. The coach assessed his roster and moved players that best suited their talents and the needs of the team. 

[PromoTheRobot]

2 hours ago, Pimlach said:

Great comments Promo.  Few coaches do it, partly because the pressure is on to win now, right now, a coach might have maybe 3 years on average. Vegas is 6 years old and they are on their 3rd coach.  And they are considered a "successful" franchise.  

Granato was part of a rebuild program in Buffalo that was going to take the time needed to develop a core, not to trade for a core.   He really fit the bill.  We expected Dahlin to be in the core, we hoped Cozen could develop and be a core player, and Power was a pretty safe bet at FOA to be a core player.  Thompson is the piece that most did not see.   

Tuch is playing at his highest level.  Has Jost ever played any better in the NHL than he is now?  Krebs is taking advantage of any opportunity he gets.  What about Olofsson and Mitts and Joker?  How did Samuelsson get so reliable after a half season of NHL play?  This is incredible work by the coaching staff and the FO. 

It took a lot of growing pains to get here ... and more growing pains are coming if they are going to climb the ladder to playoff team, then even more rungs to division winner and legit contender.  

KA and DG give players a chance.  The players talk.  Coming to Buffalo to play hockey is going to be a good thing once again, unless you are the visiting team that is.  

After reading the Dahlin letter I think that Wednesday night will be electric downtown.  I got my tickets for the Calgary game, which is the next time I am in town.  

 

Do you have a link to this Dahlin letter? I haven't seen it.