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http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/duthie/archive/2009/02/02/hartsburg-s-stubborness-frustrated-players.aspx
James Duthie writes a great article here:
Let’s be clear, the Ottawa Senators [were quite upset] Monday when they learned Craig Hartsburg had been fired. They do feel shame. They know Hartsburg is a good man. They know they are now on their fourth coach in less than one season, and are embarrassed at the notion that they have become “uncoachable”.
The Senator players I spoke to Monday took collective responsibility for getting Hartsburg fired. And every one of them called him a “good hockey coach” who they have respect for. They wanted to win for him. They weren’t chest-bumping as he walked out the door.
But they weren’t exactly crying in their Gatorade either. They was a divide between coach and players. When you sit 27th in the standings, there is always a divide.
The problem many Senators had with Hartsburg was his stubbornness. He implemented a system in training camp, and refused to budge from it. Nary a tweak. The players say when things went bad, Hartsburg always believed it was because of “a lack of effort”. There was never any other explanation.
Specifically, the one-man forecheck drove many players nuts. They believe they are at their best as an aggressive team, with 2 men always going hard into the opposition’s end, the way they did during the Cup run two springs ago. Having that second man hang back left them “standing around an awful lot.” Yet they never strayed from it.
The other main beef with Hartsburg was his negativity. Oh, he had plenty to be negative about with this team, that’s for sure. But there were moments where the Senators were desperate for positive reinforcement, and never got it.
They point to a stretch before the All-Star break where they went 3-0-1, and showed signs of making a run. Yet several players say even after the wins, Hartsburg would come into the room and pick out only the mistakes, further eroding their already shaky confidence.
Make no mistake. No one in that room is putting the blame on Craig Hartsburg for the team’s predicament. They are smarter than that. They realize their “coach's fault” excuse ran out about two coaches ago.
I can see that, I really can. I could see the frustration in the overly defensive style they were trying to play, I could see the second man hanging back - but I perceived that as laziness. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Let's hope that Clouston finds a happy medium between the defensive system that Hartsburg so badly wanted and a system that allows for a little creativity offensively.
James Duthie writes a great article here:
Let’s be clear, the Ottawa Senators [were quite upset] Monday when they learned Craig Hartsburg had been fired. They do feel shame. They know Hartsburg is a good man. They know they are now on their fourth coach in less than one season, and are embarrassed at the notion that they have become “uncoachable”.
The Senator players I spoke to Monday took collective responsibility for getting Hartsburg fired. And every one of them called him a “good hockey coach” who they have respect for. They wanted to win for him. They weren’t chest-bumping as he walked out the door.
But they weren’t exactly crying in their Gatorade either. They was a divide between coach and players. When you sit 27th in the standings, there is always a divide.
The problem many Senators had with Hartsburg was his stubbornness. He implemented a system in training camp, and refused to budge from it. Nary a tweak. The players say when things went bad, Hartsburg always believed it was because of “a lack of effort”. There was never any other explanation.
Specifically, the one-man forecheck drove many players nuts. They believe they are at their best as an aggressive team, with 2 men always going hard into the opposition’s end, the way they did during the Cup run two springs ago. Having that second man hang back left them “standing around an awful lot.” Yet they never strayed from it.
The other main beef with Hartsburg was his negativity. Oh, he had plenty to be negative about with this team, that’s for sure. But there were moments where the Senators were desperate for positive reinforcement, and never got it.
They point to a stretch before the All-Star break where they went 3-0-1, and showed signs of making a run. Yet several players say even after the wins, Hartsburg would come into the room and pick out only the mistakes, further eroding their already shaky confidence.
Make no mistake. No one in that room is putting the blame on Craig Hartsburg for the team’s predicament. They are smarter than that. They realize their “coach's fault” excuse ran out about two coaches ago.
I can see that, I really can. I could see the frustration in the overly defensive style they were trying to play, I could see the second man hanging back - but I perceived that as laziness. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Let's hope that Clouston finds a happy medium between the defensive system that Hartsburg so badly wanted and a system that allows for a little creativity offensively.
