From: mattb@ctron.com (Matthew E. Brown)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey
Subject: Re: Myllsy (was Re: Sharks lose to Kings 11-4
Date: 16 Nov 92 14:27:31 GMT
Reply-To: mattb@olympus.ctron.com (Matthew E. Brown)
Organization: Cabletron Systems INc.

In article <74301@apple.apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (Eeyore's Evil Twin) writes:
(after Matt raved the following):
>>And what the hell is going through Kingston's mind? Is this guy trying to ruin
>>Irbe the way he ruined Myllys?Any coach not on life support will pull a rookie
>>goalie after 6 or 8 just to shame the donkeys playing in front of him, take a
>>break, and try to change the momentum. I remember he left Jarmo in for a 
>>couple of shellackings last year. What's his excuse?

>I can't let this one go through unchallenged. First, by the time you make
>the NHL level, if you can't handle a bad game, you're not going to last
>anyway. 

>But more importantly, what's this stuff about Kingston ruining Myllys? I
>hate to bring facts into an argument, but Myllys's career at San Jose was 27
>games, 115 goals (5.02 GAA). Pretty terrible. However, BEFORE he came to San
>San Jose, he played three partial season with Minnesota (6, 4, 2 games, GAA
>of 5.55, 6.15, and 6.14 respectively). So Myllys played BETTER under
>Kingston than he did before he got to san Jose. Most players would kill for
>that kind of being ruined. 

I'm not going to argue with the stats, except to say that 12 games over 3
years isn't much to go on. The Stars weren't a top defensive team during 
that time, and it isn't clear from the stats quoted whether these were full
games, bad first periods, or bad replacement times. But you are right; it
still isn't top-flight goaltending. In SJ, with a first year team, 5+ a game
still isn't too wonderful. I was never trying to argue (here or in a 
previous thread) that Myllys was or would be a Vezina contender.

>Not only that, until he came to San Jose, he was never under 3.5 GAA. At
>Kansas City in the Sharks organization, he was 2.93. 

Those are passable, but not great, numbers.

>Ruined Myllys? Myllys was a marginal goaltender who could hold his own in
>the IHL but couldn't stick in the NHL. I liked Jarmo when he was here, but
>in the games I saw him in, he was clearly outclassed, and your assertion
>that he was somehow ruined has no basis in fact.

My statement was a deliberate exaggeration. I was angry that Kingston would
leave Irbe in for 11 goals in his first start after being brought up. He
started Irbe against a high-scoring team, and gave him no relief, even when
it was clear that he was getting zero help from his defense. I don't think
this is constructive coaching. It is not normal practice to do this. Yet
Kingston has done this before (not just with Myllys). I will grant you 
that I am going from memory here, as I don't have the game-by-game box
scores for SJ 91-92. But I seem to remember a couple of high scoring games
from last year where a goalie ate 9,10, or 11 goals withouth relief. Now
maybe Kingston thinks that leaving the goalie in is a vote of confidence
that it's not him, but the other guys who are screwing up. But pychologically,
it doesn't work that way, in my experience, and I've played the position.

I remember playing on a fledging prep school club team against the top u16
travel team from my home town. These were kids who also played JV for the
state champion HS in Connecticut that year. I had defensemmen who couldn't
skate backwards, and some forwards who got high before the game. It was
brutal. I played 1.5 periods, let in 8 goals (numerous 2-0 breaks), and
was relieved as hell when I was pulled. Some of the guys on the other team
were friends and were razzing the hell out of me when they scored (they
apologized and comiserated after the game). The only thing that made me 
feel like less of a chump and loser was that they got 9 on the other guy.

So anyway, that's part of why I don't like the way Kingston (alledgedly)
handles his goalkeepers. My wording was too strong if taken literally,
which a reader has every right to do. But nobody has answered my real
question: Why does he do it? Other coaches are pulling a goalie after 4
then sometimes re-inserting him if the team wakes up, to let him know
it was a team thing, not him. A real pro should understand the situation,
granted, but it still has an effect, and goaltending as a position has
a higher pychological factor than most others, in my non-fact-based opinion.

>You know, if you're going to make wild assertions, try to have a few facts
>to go with them.

That takes all the fun out of it. But you are right; facts can even make
a wild assertion seem credible.

Matt
Newsgroups: rec.sport.hockey