GAME DAY: Chicago Blackhawks @ Ottawa Senators - 7:30pm ET - Tue. Jan. 19th, 2010

Devo, you know Luke Richardson!?!?!

SpezDispenser wrote:
Cool! Tell us more!

EDIT: Just how close are you to the NHL and the execs? Are you close close, like, scout close, or are you involved, or can you not say? Sounds like you might be involved, so...yeah, hire me immediately.

I know one of the coaches well enough that if he sees me he'll stop and say hi. In fact he's in a circle of friends that I frequently hang out with.

Also my wife is very close friends with a couple of people who work for the building booking everything from concerts to the pro bull riding. She reports directly to Cyril and used to report to Mlakar, which is how I know him to say hi and talk.

R.A.M. is a strange guy...he is probably one of the very people in this world I know that would actually raid the work refrigerator and take pieces of peoples lunch. The people knew it and in some cases would pack stuff they knew he liked so he'd have something to steal when he went searching.

You'll not find a more dedicated person in Ottawa to the boards/charities that he works for and believes in. I honestly believe he'll always be involved in Rogers House...

As for hiring you...I asked that question once and I can send you a PM with the response if you really want it.

Dash wrote:Devo, you know Luke Richardson!?!?!

Not quite like knowing a superstar is it...yeah I know him.

Friends of mine grew up with him and it wasn't uncommon to go over to my friends house and end up discussing hockey with his Mom and Dad (they would be there visiting).

**EDIT**

It wasn't Mr. Richardson that tipped me onto the Spezza scenario. Another former player though. Living in Kanata has it's benefits...

Talk about some scoop Devo! Stron +1 from me

marakh wrote:Talk about some scoop Devo! Stron +1 from me

The house thing came out of the blue...I have in's with a very high profile real estate person in the city, so I got the dish from them. I wondered whether it was because his wife didn't like the location, or he wanted to live else where or was getting tired of the city and asked for a trade, but it was from what I understand a matter of a deal too good to turn down.

Devo wrote:
what my 1200 line post isn't enough...

I didn't realise it was that long...seems like I type like I talk...ie I never shut up.

I dunno, depends on if you have another 1200 lines of cool Dung.

So...do you? (I'm kidding, it was really interesting though).

Devo wrote:
As for hiring you...I asked that question once and I can send you a PM with the response if you really want it.

It's okay, you can just say Diddle no on here. Everyone can see my failure.

marakh wrote:Talk about some scoop Devo! Stron +1 from me

Yeah, I gave one too. This is great to have someone with some inside info. It's nice...

Devo wrote:On that note, I had a conversation with a former player with the sens (friend of a friend if you will) that is still involved in the organization and he strongly hinted that Spezza knee injury wasn't the reason for him being out 8 weeks. That the injury was healed after 3 or 4 weeks, but that the Sens used the knee injury as a reason to keep him out longer for the real injury which is his back.

Makes sense in a way, because if teams know his back is an issue, then can and will target it, but targetting a knee is both difficult and not normally done. Using the knee as an reason to hide the fact that he's off 8 weeks due to back issues has allowed him to heal and this player thinks we'll see the old Jason back when he returns.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Spezza was held out a little longer than the knee required so he could heal his back, but he's only been out for 5 weeks, thusfar. If it really is to heal his back, then he should probably be out for longer than another few days to a week. That back's been his achilles heel for years...

SpezDispenser wrote:

Devo wrote:
As for hiring you...I asked that question once and I can send you a PM with the response if you really want it.

It's okay, you can just say Diddle no on here. Everyone can see my failure.

It wasn't a no that I got. It was after one of those Season Ticket Luncheons and I asked Bryan Murray what would be the best way to get into scouting. I don't know if you've seen it, but there are a couple of American Universities that offer a degree in Sports Administration, everything from cap management, to scouting, to player procurement.

Anyway I asked him about taking that course, and he said that it would help, but the best way is to build a reputation. He suggested using what we have here in Ottawa (seeing as it's a great hockey market) and build a database of the Pee Wee/Minor Bantam players in the area and provide those to the 67's. Sending in scouting reports and player profiles, and eventually if you are good and hit they will notice. He said one of two things would happen, either they would tell you to piss off, or they would actually contact you about helping them.

Seeing as they are Junior teams they don't have the budget for large staffs, but you could get in the door as a free helper if you wish. Once your in, it's only a matter of time before you can leverage your experience with that team to move into a pro organization.

The key he said, and I'll always remember it, is to not just provide a statement about player x, but to follow it up with how he's progressed, ratings (explaining how your rating system works) and trend those over time (ie monthly) so the team can see that you didn't just go to one game and see a kid play well, but that you've watched them over a period of time and can pin point weaknesses and strengths.

Devo wrote:
It wasn't a no that I got. It was after one of those Season Ticket Luncheons and I asked Bryan Murray what would be the best way to get into scouting. I don't know if you've seen it, but there are a couple of American Universities that offer a degree in Sports Administration, everything from cap management, to scouting, to player procurement.

Anyway I asked him about taking that course, and he said that it would help, but the best way is to build a reputation. He suggested using what we have here in Ottawa (seeing as it's a great hockey market) and build a database of the Pee Wee/Minor Bantam players in the area and provide those to the 67's. Sending in scouting reports and player profiles, and eventually if you are good and hit they will notice. He said one of two things would happen, either they would tell you to piss off, or they would actually contact you about helping them.

Seeing as they are Junior teams they don't have the budget for large staffs, but you could get in the door as a free helper if you wish. Once your in, it's only a matter of time before you can leverage your experience with that team to move into a pro organization.

The key he said, and I'll always remember it, is to not just provide a statement about player x, but to follow it up with how he's progressed, ratings (explaining how your rating system works) and trend those over time (ie monthly) so the team can see that you didn't just go to one game and see a kid play well, but that you've watched them over a period of time and can pin point weaknesses and strengths.

Wow, that's great that he gave you that kind of information - and it makes a lot of sense for sure.

Interesting, thanks Devo.

Gohan wrote:

Devo wrote:On that note, I had a conversation with a former player with the sens (friend of a friend if you will) that is still involved in the organization and he strongly hinted that Spezza knee injury wasn't the reason for him being out 8 weeks. That the injury was healed after 3 or 4 weeks, but that the Sens used the knee injury as a reason to keep him out longer for the real injury which is his back.

Makes sense in a way, because if teams know his back is an issue, then can and will target it, but targetting a knee is both difficult and not normally done. Using the knee as an reason to hide the fact that he's off 8 weeks due to back issues has allowed him to heal and this player thinks we'll see the old Jason back when he returns.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Spezza was held out a little longer than the knee required so he could heal his back, but he's only been out for 5 weeks, thusfar. If it really is to heal his back, then he should probably be out for longer than another few days to a week. That back's been his achilles heel for years...

Speaking for myself ( i suffer from chronic back issues since I had surgery 20 years ago), it depends on what it is, but 5 weeks will do a lot to heal muscle/disk issues.

True enough, but it seemed to take him only a few weeks to reinjure it after an entire summer away from the grind of the NHL...If he's going to stay healthy for the stretch drive, it might be best for him to rest it longer than "just enough" Then again, I'll trust the professionals to handle this one

Gohan wrote:

Devo wrote:On that note, I had a conversation with a former player with the sens (friend of a friend if you will) that is still involved in the organization and he strongly hinted that Spezza knee injury wasn't the reason for him being out 8 weeks. That the injury was healed after 3 or 4 weeks, but that the Sens used the knee injury as a reason to keep him out longer for the real injury which is his back.

Makes sense in a way, because if teams know his back is an issue, then can and will target it, but targetting a knee is both difficult and not normally done. Using the knee as an reason to hide the fact that he's off 8 weeks due to back issues has allowed him to heal and this player thinks we'll see the old Jason back when he returns.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that Spezza was held out a little longer than the knee required so he could heal his back, but he's only been out for 5 weeks, thusfar. If it really is to heal his back, then he should probably be out for longer than another few days to a week. That back's been his achilles heel for years...

Good point. An "8 week hiatus" would put his return at Feb. 10th.

I know that a lot of the guys own Doyle homes and I know Trevor's brother, so he tells me some stories.

Dash wrote:I know that a lot of the guys own Doyle homes and I know Trevor's brother, so he tells me some stories.

Do tell...

Not so much gossip stores, I meant just like how his brother (Trevor) used to play with Ruutu over in Finland and that they will play hockey over the summer's together. I know Donovan owns a Doyle home in Stittsville I believe it is. Hockey families seem to stay in touch. Trevor Doyle was probably the best fighter back in the day. There's a site out there with videos of him fighting and even referee's getting involved physically. There was a chance he was going to end his pro career in Ottawa but that never happened.

Where's neely? I haven't seen him since Spezz went down