The Owatonna People's Press has an article about new Head Coach Chuck Linkenheld and this week's tryout camp. You can read it here.
--One interesting tidbit from the article is that Linkenheld hired Tom Maroste as an assistant coach. Read the article for his background.
See you at the rink.
--BK
Monday, June 21, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Let the New Era Begin - Welcome Coach Linkenheld
The Owatonna Express announced today that Chuck Linkenheld has been hired to be the new General Manager/Head Coach of our favorite junior hockey team.
Read the article here.
My take: I love the hire. It was a very smart move by the organization.
1. We're getting a coach that has experience in the NAHL. He's familiar with not only the league, he's familiar with the Central Division. Also, he's seen the veteran Express players in action for 8 or 10 games. That should provide him at least a cursory knowledge of what those returning players will bring to the table.
2. He will provide the Express organization both a Head Coach and a General Manager. This is something that will undoubtedly benefit the organization, and is something the Express did not have during the Pat Cullen years.
3. He's familiar with the Chicago area. This should pay off when it comes to recruiting. There is a lot of AAA/Midget programs in the Chicagoland area. While the make-up of the Express should always be decidedly Minnesotan, it doesn't hurt to have ties in some of the other hockey hotbeds in the nation. I think it would be a great move to hire an assistant coach with a broad knowledge of the Minnesota High School hockey landscape.
4. He seems to be a master motivator and knows how to get his players to play up to their potential. The situation in Albert Lea last season couldn't have been any worse. Even after the pay-for-play guys were released, the Thunder roster was frozen, so Coach Linkenheld's hands were tied. Eventually, he set out to rebuild the Thunder, which is no small feat in the middle of a season. I'll break down the stats more thoroughly in a future post, but quoting from the press release: "He was able to turn a team that won only four games the year before into a team that finished the last two months over .500. They won 8 of the last 10 games, bringing the Thunder to the playoffs for the first time. He was also successful in player development, sending 8 players on to play college hockey after the season." For him to take that team and turn them around that much, in that little time, tells me that he is the correct man for the Express job. It excites me even more to think of the possibilities of him entering a spot where he has much more talent to start with, in the Express.
5. He seems to understand that hockey is a tough, physical game, and sometimes that means dropping the gloves. Coach Cullen had his theory on this aspect during his tenure, and I respect that. From what I saw last season from the Thunder, Coach Linkenheld has a slightly different theory. I'm not calling for all-out warfare, but there are times when you need to stand up for a teammate, send a message to the other team, or change the momentum of the game, and the Express lacked in this area last season.
6. He's a nice, well-spoken, friendly guy. I talked with him on numerous occasions and even worked with Chuck for a game in Albert Lea last season, and I think he will fit in quite well in our little town on the prairie. Plus, he should be stoked with this job after the hell he endured last season in Albert Lea.
This was a great move for the Express and I can't wait to see what Coach Linkenheld can do with the boys in blue. Tryout camp is just two weeks away, and he'll be off and running.
Let the new era begin!!
See you at the rink.
--Big Kahuna
Read the article here.
My take: I love the hire. It was a very smart move by the organization.
1. We're getting a coach that has experience in the NAHL. He's familiar with not only the league, he's familiar with the Central Division. Also, he's seen the veteran Express players in action for 8 or 10 games. That should provide him at least a cursory knowledge of what those returning players will bring to the table.
2. He will provide the Express organization both a Head Coach and a General Manager. This is something that will undoubtedly benefit the organization, and is something the Express did not have during the Pat Cullen years.
3. He's familiar with the Chicago area. This should pay off when it comes to recruiting. There is a lot of AAA/Midget programs in the Chicagoland area. While the make-up of the Express should always be decidedly Minnesotan, it doesn't hurt to have ties in some of the other hockey hotbeds in the nation. I think it would be a great move to hire an assistant coach with a broad knowledge of the Minnesota High School hockey landscape.
4. He seems to be a master motivator and knows how to get his players to play up to their potential. The situation in Albert Lea last season couldn't have been any worse. Even after the pay-for-play guys were released, the Thunder roster was frozen, so Coach Linkenheld's hands were tied. Eventually, he set out to rebuild the Thunder, which is no small feat in the middle of a season. I'll break down the stats more thoroughly in a future post, but quoting from the press release: "He was able to turn a team that won only four games the year before into a team that finished the last two months over .500. They won 8 of the last 10 games, bringing the Thunder to the playoffs for the first time. He was also successful in player development, sending 8 players on to play college hockey after the season." For him to take that team and turn them around that much, in that little time, tells me that he is the correct man for the Express job. It excites me even more to think of the possibilities of him entering a spot where he has much more talent to start with, in the Express.
5. He seems to understand that hockey is a tough, physical game, and sometimes that means dropping the gloves. Coach Cullen had his theory on this aspect during his tenure, and I respect that. From what I saw last season from the Thunder, Coach Linkenheld has a slightly different theory. I'm not calling for all-out warfare, but there are times when you need to stand up for a teammate, send a message to the other team, or change the momentum of the game, and the Express lacked in this area last season.
6. He's a nice, well-spoken, friendly guy. I talked with him on numerous occasions and even worked with Chuck for a game in Albert Lea last season, and I think he will fit in quite well in our little town on the prairie. Plus, he should be stoked with this job after the hell he endured last season in Albert Lea.
This was a great move for the Express and I can't wait to see what Coach Linkenheld can do with the boys in blue. Tryout camp is just two weeks away, and he'll be off and running.
Let the new era begin!!
See you at the rink.
--Big Kahuna
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
