The Clouston Factor

Dont get me wrong so far i like the guy. But i still dont believe he can make it happen for this team and he will be done at the end of the year.

That was an awesome article. Just awesome.

caissie_1 wrote:Dont get me wrong so far i like the guy. But i still dont believe he can make it happen for this team and he will be done at the end of the year.

LOL. Caissie is not a fan of Clouston.

Clouston has several things going for him in his new job, his background aside...

The first, and most important thing, is that no one expects him to succeed.

The second is that he has no track record in the NHL, so he has nothing to live up to, or live down.

Third, the Senators have presumedly bottomed out, so they can't get any worse.

Fourth, no one knows what to expect from him as a tactician, so opponents have no 'book' on his coaching technique.

Fifth, he is not being asked to do anything except help management evaluate players the team is looking to keep or trade. If he wins, fine. If he doesn't, the personnel is to blame.

Clouston's worked very hard to get this opportunity. It is safe to assume he will make the most of it.

I'm of the guilty until proven innocent mindset right now. He doesn't get the benifit of the doubt from me. I don't care about what he's said and what has been written about him. SHOW ME. Shut the F up and show me. If he does that then I'll become a fan of his.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I'm of the guilty until proven innocent mindset right now. He doesn't get the benifit of the doubt from me. I don't care about what he's said and what has been written about him. SHOW ME. Shut the F up and show me. If he does that then I'll become a fan of his.

According to Dean Brown this morning on Team 1200, not many of Cory Clouston's players are fans of his either. And apparently Clouston doesn't care.

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I'm of the guilty until proven innocent mindset right now. He doesn't get the benifit of the doubt from me. I don't care about what he's said and what has been written about him. SHOW ME. Shut the F up and show me. If he does that then I'll become a fan of his.

According to Dean Brown this morning on Team 1200, not many of Cory Clouston's players are fans of his either. And apparently Clouston doesn't care.

If its true, then all I can say is: COngrats Clouston, you re the one we need.

marakh wrote:

davetherave wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I'm of the guilty until proven innocent mindset right now. He doesn't get the benifit of the doubt from me. I don't care about what he's said and what has been written about him. SHOW ME. Shut the F up and show me. If he does that then I'll become a fan of his.

According to Dean Brown this morning on Team 1200, not many of Cory Clouston's players are fans of his either. And apparently Clouston doesn't care.

If its true, then all I can say is: COngrats Clouston, you re the one we need.

Unless they tune him out.
Then we look forward to getting fleeced between now and trade deadline day.

Cap'n Clutch wrote:I'm of the guilty until proven innocent mindset right now. He doesn't get the benifit of the doubt from me. I don't care about what he's said and what has been written about him. SHOW ME. Shut the F up and show me. If he does that then I'll become a fan of his.

While it would be great if he could actually settle this locker room down, if he does that he still has to coach games. No matter how you cut it, his lack of experience will hamper him, and this team.

I remember someone mentioning Boudreau yesterday. The difference is that Boudreau has way, way more coaching experience than Clouston does. I can see this guy getting outcoached badly.

It's obvious to me that Clouston is a non-factor. Hartsburg's gotta be spitting nails in private.

SeawaySensFan wrote:It's obvious to me that Clouston is a non-factor. Hartsburg's gotta be spitting nails in private.

I don't know about that...

I was at the game last night and 2 things came to mind watching them play.

1st the breakout was much better. It was not only because the guys had more energy, but also mostly because they had a plan. It was different from the first 40 or so games I saw them play. The forwards came back deeper and they exited their zone as a unit with one guy cutting across the middle or up the boards to stretch the defense.

Huge improvement, but I don't know if it's because of his system or the guys are now listening to the coach. Either way that part of the Cory Factor worked.

2nd thing was the forechecking. The forwards (including Spezza) were harder on the puck. Not only hitting the defense (even if it was just a bump, it still counts) but also just rushing them to make a play. The defensemen were pinching (mostly at the right times) when the oposing D were forced to dump the puck up the wall Ottawa's D took atvanage of the oposing Fwds kissing the glass and pinned them or took them out of the play. All this with one of Ottawa's forwards taking the centre of the ice away with speed so if a breakout did occur they were right there for back pressure.

Those two things made me think there is hope. Yeah they didn't win, but the game was tolerable to watch and short of offensive chances they played an very good game from the oposite blue line out.

After last nights game I believe more than ever that Heatley has to go. He was one of the few guys who just didn't bring it.

I'd hate to admit it, but yeah, Heatley is still a passenger who seems more content to count bills than play the game to the level the fans KNOW he can.

Sad, truly sad.

Here's what Clouston says about this team, from James Gordon at The Citizen:

Clouston says Senators need to hate losing more

James Gordon 02-04-2009 Hockey Capital


Cory Clouston may have to be part head coach, part psychologist as he tries to get the Ottawa Senators to play his style of hockey.

One night after his players lost 1-0 to the L.A. Kings, Clouston said at practice Wednesday his team doesn’t hate losing enough and has to learn to fight through adversity.

“Everyone hates losing, I think if you ask somebody, but it’s what are you prepared to do to make sure you don’t lose?” he said. “I don’t think they’ve become accustomed to it, I just that sometimes they’re expecting the worst.

“I think sometimes when something doesn’t go right for them, they’re just looking a round the corner like, ‘what’s next?’ Poor me syndrome, almost.”

That said, he praised his team for being open to a new way of doing things.

“I think their attitude has been great,” he said. “They’ve been like sponges, basically to a man. They all have questions, they’re all very eager and willing to listen.”

So, are we seeing a "new" Sens under Clouston? Perhaps a team that is buying into what he's selling? Regulation loss, OT loss, OT win. Heading in the right direction. We'll see what the next few weeks bring us.

Is it just me or are they playing a totally new way on the penalty kill? It seems like they are stacking the blue line and forcing them to dump it in.. Is it just me? Or have they been doing this for a while? Against the Kings it seemed to work pretty well, and it was only the first game...

In retrospect that loss to the Kings doesn't even seem so bad. After all, we had our chances and the Kings have been heating up lately.

Cronenbergfan wrote:I'd hate to admit it, but yeah, Heatley is still a passenger who seems more content to count bills than play the game to the level the fans KNOW he can.

Sad, truly sad.

There's no player that is more aggravating to watch than Heatley. Even when he has a decent game (by his standards) like last night, he still waits for everyone else to do everything. Even when the puck is closest to him, he waits for a second to see if someone else will get it... He is the laziest player I've ever seen.

cash wrote:

Cronenbergfan wrote:I'd hate to admit it, but yeah, Heatley is still a passenger who seems more content to count bills than play the game to the level the fans KNOW he can.

Sad, truly sad.

There's no player that is more aggravating to watch than Heatley. Even when he has a decent game (by his standards) like last night, he still waits for everyone else to do everything. Even when the puck is closest to him, he waits for a second to see if someone else will get it... He is the laziest player I've ever seen.

I will second that.
Last game, he did manage a few decent shots, but through no effort of his own. He may as well put a flag on the business end of his stick, because at least it'll gather some attention as he skates down the ice.