[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Sorry about the delay, wanted to write a good response after work... RJ already wrote a great summary and is very knowledgeable about the rockets and the dub. A bit long but my thoughts on Huska or at least his teams in the last 5/6 years I've watched them;

- Up tempo hockey built on an aggressive forecheck and a quick transition game. Forwards all backchecked hard. Skate skate skate. Seemed like most of their even strength goals come off turnovers and rushes. Compared to some NHL teams, way less reliant on the cycle for offense.

- Wolfpack mentality, everybody plays, everybody pulls in the same direction. He rolls all 4 lines and not just quick shifts, the 3rd and 4th liners can see almost as much ice as the 1st. Also seemed to have about 3 pp units at times.

- Had a quick roster with a ton of commitment from the players and good puck skills throughout. Not very many big guys compared to some of their rivals like Victoria and Seattle and not as many guys who fight. Golborne was the tough guy this year and he is no one shift a game kind of fighter. Not to say they got pushed around, they stood their ground but they never gooned it up. Fighters welcome but they have to be able to play hockey.

- Echoing what Red John said, very intelligent, thoughtful guy. Doesn't lead by yelling or screaming. Very cerebral and really respected in the community. I am sure he could adjust a strategy for any roster.

- Developing young defencemen has almost been ridiculous. Weber, Keith, Edler etc were before my time but even this year's club, there are 7 of 8 players with a legitimate chance of a cup of coffee in the bigs and that's almost purely down to coaching and development. Lees and Bowey were high bantam picks but the rest were diamonds in the rough and you saw them noticeably improve month to month. Defensive positioning and first pass out of the zone especially. He produces quick, mobile, well positioned defencemen really suited for the modern game.

- Another thing I really like about the way he handles young dmen is he encourages them to join the rush or pinch if they are inclined. With young guys with offensive instincts like Bowey and Tyson Barrie he didn't just round them out, he continued to build on their strengths.

- Willing to give key roles to very young players and wins with them. In recent years players like Rourke Chartier, Nick Merkley and Riley Stadel have come in and got a taste at 15 and then been big parts of the team at 16. By the time they are at their first draft they are already approaching 150 games which you don't usually see with smaller guys.

Overall I can't say enough about what he did here. He took a team with no big name 1st round nhl prospects and made them the best team in the CHL for most of the season. I can't think of a better guy to bring into a rebuilding organization at the AHL level, for me this is a grand slam.

Biggest thing I will be interested to see is buy-in at the AHL level. His teams here all bought in to his system and it's cliche to say it but really looked like a team. Can he get the same buy in from a bunch of guys who were all the stars on their CHL team? I think so but it will be a new challenge for him to manage a bit bigger egos.

Thanks for the detailed response, Matty! I'm liking this hire.