Pat Quinn Lays Another One On "The Skill Guys"
Our job is to help these guys get better. I mean, it really is. When you’re putting in effort to try to help them be better and some guys don’t seem to value that effort that you’re making because they have their own habits or maybe they don’t need to practice that hard, they think in their minds game day is tomorrow, I’ll turn it on tomorrow. They’re the guys who often kid themselves. Yes, they’ve got great talent, but, you know what? We’ve missed the playoffs two bloody years in a row and five of the last eight, so, at the end of the day, you’ve got to start saying, "Well, wait a minute. Talent is what?" Talent is part of it but we need a bigger package. How do you get the bigger package? Well, you ask people to work.
--Pat Quinn, when asked about Tom Renney shouting at Ales Hemsky during practice Friday.
This was first mentioned by Dan Tencer on Twitter in a since-deleted entry that read: "Would be inappropriate to relay what Renney said to Hemsky during practice; underlying message was: ‘pls work a bit harder’". It's interesting to note that he deleted it quickly as the order obviously came from on high.
Quinn's quote on Ryan Potulny and this take on Ales Hemsky falls in line with what he's been saying about the roster since he stopped ripping into his defense. The skill guys aren't working hard enough, they aren't willing to do the dirty work and they aren't willing to do what it takes to win. He's repeated it in every post-game press conference, he's repeated it in every media session after practice, and he's repeated it during his off-day sessions. He's been complimentary of O'Sullivan who is not likely included in this "skill guys" grouping that he rants about. Add Ales Hemsky to the hit list that already included Nilsson and Cogliano. Gagner may or may not be on Quinn's list right now, as he's been up and down in his public opinion on Gagner.
One major difference from the coach last year to Quinn this year is that Quinn hasn't focused in on a player or two players and blamed them for the shortcomings of the team. Quinn has been brutally honest about everyone's performance and at one time or another has laid into Ales Hemsky, Sam Gagner, Mike Comrie, Ethan Moreau, Andrew Cogliano, Robert Nilsson, Lubomir Visnovsky, Denis Grebeshkov and Tom Gilbert. Where the previous coach would blame Sam Gagner's shortcomings on Kyle Brodziak and Ethan Moreau's terrible play on Dustin Penner, Quinn has called a spade a spade. He's also reserved most of his praise for those that are beating expectations, or that had low expectations to begin with. Quinn's been very high on guys like Ryan Stone, Taylor Chorney, Liam Reddox and Gilbert Brule - he's not going to bag skate Marc Pouliot because others on the team refuse to take their heads out of their collective posterior.
Now, if management would only listen to what Quinn has to say about the shortcomings of this roster...
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I only disagree with one thing Quinn said
We’ve missed the playoffs THREE bloody years in a row.
Writer for The Copper & Blue and primary shareholder of Zorg Industries
I’m just happy he has no favorites.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
And four out of five. And almost five out of five except Lowe finally got a goalie, though he almost didn’t even do that, the dumbass.
But now we have the Maginot Line, so theoretically we’ll win the Stanley Cup. I don’t see the problem here!
by Benjamin Massey on Nov 21, 2009 2:15 PM MST up reply actions
Quinn has said a number of times that Khabibulin has been our best player. I find that odd.
by Scott Reynolds on Nov 21, 2009 3:55 PM MST up reply actions
Goalies are fragile like porcelain dolls. If you call them out, they end up distraught. The last thing you need is Khabibulin on the High Level threatening to end it all.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
…if he jumped, would he count against the cap?
by Benjamin Massey on Nov 21, 2009 4:45 PM MST up reply actions
I just did a quick search through the CBA and didn’t see “death” listed as a reason to get out of an O35 contract.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
No, he meant jumped from the high level bridge.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Massey was right...
Back when Pat Quinn was experimenting with Jacques on the first line, Benjamen remarked something like, “It won’t be long until Pat Quinn’s riding Horpensky like a mechanical bull.”
Where’s the link for the actual quote from Benjamin?
Speaking of garbage, Jean-Francois Jacques! Apparently Pat Quinn still wants him on the first line! Well, let me rephrase that. Pat Quinn wants Jean-Francois Jacques on the first line until he needs to score goals and win hockey games, then he rides Horpensky like a mechanical bull. Playing a deliberately sub-par lineup seems like an interesting piece of coaching from Quinn. My theory is that he saw the Blackhawks come back from 5-0 down against Calgary and has decided to pursue that as an actual strategy. Now, I’ve never won a World Junior Championship, but it seems that not playing your best players when you know they’re your best players is weird coaching.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
And who remembers what Ben writes?
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
I do, but I thought I was alone.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.
Now that we know how bad Hemsky was Hurt, how foolish does it sound now that they rode Hemsky because of his play in practice?
I don’t know – I still think that it’s just a continuation of the theme for the year.
Editor of The Copper & Blue, and leader of The Cult Of Hartikainen.

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