Dr. Lecter
01-06-2009, 07:47 AM
Lindy Ruff did not go to Yale. He never attended any college. But Ruff is one of the smartest and most intuitive coaches I’ve known, a man with a knack for pushing hockey players’ buttons and getting them to perform at a higher competitive level.
Ruff has been coaching the Sabres for 12 seasons. He is by far the longest-tenured coach in the NHL. He’s never been shy about speaking his mind. But the more secure he gets in his job, the more willing he is to single out players for soft or substandard performance.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a star. Slack off and Ruff will cut your minutes. He’ll bench you. He’ll call you out in public.
Somehow, it works. Early this season, Ruff benched Henrik Tallinder for two games. Tallinder returned and raised his game. Ruff criticized goalie Ryan Miller after a loss in Florida. Miller didn’t care for it, but his play improved afterward. Clarke MacArthur caught fire after Ruff sat him for a game.
Last week, after a bad loss to Washington, Ruff ripped two of his top forwards, Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht. He threatened their playing time. The next game, Roy scored two goals. Hecht, who has had a bad year, sat the first 10 minutes in the Toronto game, then looked like his old reliable self in the win at Boston on Saturday.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/541227.html
Ruff has been coaching the Sabres for 12 seasons. He is by far the longest-tenured coach in the NHL. He’s never been shy about speaking his mind. But the more secure he gets in his job, the more willing he is to single out players for soft or substandard performance.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a star. Slack off and Ruff will cut your minutes. He’ll bench you. He’ll call you out in public.
Somehow, it works. Early this season, Ruff benched Henrik Tallinder for two games. Tallinder returned and raised his game. Ruff criticized goalie Ryan Miller after a loss in Florida. Miller didn’t care for it, but his play improved afterward. Clarke MacArthur caught fire after Ruff sat him for a game.
Last week, after a bad loss to Washington, Ruff ripped two of his top forwards, Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht. He threatened their playing time. The next game, Roy scored two goals. Hecht, who has had a bad year, sat the first 10 minutes in the Toronto game, then looked like his old reliable self in the win at Boston on Saturday.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/541227.html