Stars Aligning After Hot Start

Brisbane - Less than a month after Devon Whelan called out Stars starting goaltender, Daniel Lehmbacher, he's discovering the long journey it can be for a netminder to snag the starting position.

Whelan, who has played just 1 period this season after Lehmbacher was pulled during an early game has displayed patience as he's watched the Stars go 4 wins, 1 OTW, 1OTL and 1 Loss in their first 7 games with Daniel Lehmbacher putting up very respectible numbers in 1.76 GAA and 90.8 Sv%.

Coach Trueblue had nothing but praise for Whelan in the last week stating at a recent press conference, "Devon has been incredible and has shown professionalism and a great work ethic.  He will be rewarded with a start in the coming week".  Coach Blue, then went on to say that Whelan would be a key participant in the upcoming Training Camp where he will get a major boost to his training and skillset.

In their first 7 games of the season (S5) the Stars have 31 goals for and only 12 against, and rank in the top 5 teams in Division 1 in Goals For (3rd), Goals Against (2nd), Goal Difference (2nd), Wins (equal 5th) and Losses (equal 2nd).  Stars right-wing Egils Azacis leads the entire division in goals (7) and Daniel Lehmbacher is 4th in GAA.

The Stars hope to continue their winning ways in the coming days when they take on Blackcrows Kosice (15th) and Traktor (3rd).

Special Teams: Part 4 - Experience Vs Skill

When I first started this series I had planned to do just the 3 articles.  It was after reading a comment on the 2nd one (Penalty Kill) that really inspired this; you could say part 4 is more of an explanation than a new technique.

The comment in question raised the point that I had been innacurate when I had talked about experienced players.  I wanted to explain that a little more as experienced players are not always the best guys to use, as I had previously stated.

What I should have said was "all things equal, experienced players are better".  In other words, if you had 10 players all of equal OR and Qualities, the experienced player is always the better option to go with on your special teams.  This is never the case however, and many of us have superstar rookies who have killer skills and great qualities but have very little experience.  In this case, the best option by far is to play the inexperienced rookie.  Doing so will give your special team a boost in skill, and will also give your player more experience.

Juggling the experience vs skill situation can be challenging, especially as your team becomes more developed.  You may end up with loads of players all of whom could play on the special teams but are only able to select a handful of them.  That's part of the great part of this game... it's not as easy as just throwing together 5 guys with good skills.  Obviously, your PP and PK units want to have high OR, so they have a higher combined line strength.  But, you also want to make sure your best players are getting the ice time, and there will be times that your best players are lower OR rookies with great average qualities.

As a general rule, trust your instinct.  Make sure your guys are playing on their preferred side, have great attributes and where possible, have experience.  As i mentioned in the previous articles, if you find your special teams have problems, don't be afraid to pull them apart and try new things.

Good luck out there!

New Bonsai Tree: Buxus Harlandii

Now that my Juniper has been wired and repotted into a larger pot, I figured I would go out and get a new tree to work on.  I had originally planned to get a semi-established tree that I could work on straight away, but when Wendy (my wife) found this little gem, I couldn't say no.

It is a Buxus Harlandii, or Harland Boxwood.   Right now, it stands at just shy of 6 inches tall and as such, has a lot of growing to do before I do any major work on it.

The Harland Boxwood is native to china, and is quite often used as a bonsai subject.  It is a hardy plant that that withstand a lot of bending and can tolerate dryness very well, so is good for the warmer climates here in Australia.  The leaves are small and glossy, and with time and care should become even smaller.

As you can see from this picture, the tree has a distinct V shape, which will eventually thicken with age and create off-shooting branches of their own.  The branch on the left (in the picture) will be wired in the next few weeks so that it grows outward at 45 degrees and ends pointing to the sky to encourage growth.  The left branch (main trunk) will continue to grow as is for the moment as it already has a naturally forming angle I am happy with.

Over the weekend I repotted this into a larger pot and will keep it growing for a year, maybe 2 in that pot.  That will allow the roots to grow, and the trunk and branches to thicken.  I will be feeding it regularly with natural kelp fertilizer as well as blood and bone.

When i repotted this one, I used a 50/50 combination of bonsai soil and potting mix, and mixed in both slow-release fertilizer as well as blood and bone.  I opted not to include water crystals.

In a few years that tree should become quite an amazing specimin, all going well.

Special Team: Part 3 - Tracking and Record Keeping

Over the previous 2 days I described a few tips on creating successful Powerplay and Penalty Kill units. In those articles I talked about the importance of tracking your PP and PK. In this, part 3 in the special teams series I am want to briefly talk about the tracking, and hope to offer a few tips to help in your team research.

You will need something to track your stats on. You can use anything you like to do this, although I personally suggest using a spreadsheet. If you use MS Office or Open Office, you can use their included software (Excel or Calc respectively). I personally recommend using Google Docs, as this ensures you have access regardless what computer you're on or location you're in.

What To Track:

What you choose to track is purely optional. I personally recommend tracking as many details as you can, including the following:

• PP/PK Data
• Shorthanded Data
• Relevant scorers from PP, PK and SH

You might find it easier to use 2 separate sheets on your spreadsheet to track this.

Note: I know this may sound like a lot of work, but the time you take here can save you a lot of time down the road.

PP, PK & SH Data:

In your first sheet/tab you want to keep track of your game data relevant to PP, PK and SH. The way to do this to have the following headings across the top of the sheet (order is optional):

Game, Total PP, PPG For, Total PK, PPG Against, SH Goals For, SH Goals Against

Down the first column you want numbers 1 through 38, so you have a row for every league gameday of the season. I only track league games, as these are the most important games for your team. You can of course track all games if you so choose.

To track the data, after each game simply add the relevant figures in the appropriate column. If you had 3 PP chances and 1 PPG in game 1, then in the game 1 row, add 3 under Total PP and 1 under PPG. You can keep a running summary of your Totals using spreadsheet formulas.

Note: Your PP% is your total powerplays divided by powerplay goals. Your PK% is worked out by (Total PK - PPGA)/Total PK (ie. PKs, 1 PPGA = (6-1)/6x100, or 83.3%).

Scoring Data:

Tracking who actually scored the PP or SH goals is purely optional. I track my teams entire stats in a spreadsheet, so this data is used to add to the total stats. What this data can provide is an idea of who plays which role on your PP, and is useful if you plan to change your PP/PK lineups from time to time.

To track it, simply put a list of your teams players down column 1, and then across the top add headings for PPG, PPA, SHG & SHA. If you feel like it, also have a column for GWG and OTG (game winner, and overtime goal).

Tracking the player data takes a little more time, but once you have the hang of it, is really only about 2 minutes work each game-day. I think you'll agree that 2 minutes is a pretty short time for such valuable data.

Why Track Data?

Simply put, tracking this information will help you further develop your team. You can use the data to help adjust your training methods or simply figure out which players do or don't perform well on special teams.

But more importantly, why not track it? PPM don't fully track this information, and until they do it's up to us as managers to track it ourselves.

Special Teams: Part 2 - Penalty Kill

In this article, the 2nd in a series on Special Teams, I am going to talk about your Penalty Kill unit(s).

I've you've ever played hockey yourself, you would know that there is nothing quite as important as killing off your oppositions powerplay. There is also nothing quite as rewarding as knowing that for 2 minutes (or more) you successfully managed to keep them from scoring, even though they had the man advantage.

Taking penalties and the resulting PK is a natural part of hockey. It's pretty much impossible to play game in game out and not take penalties. So, you need to make sure your PK unit(s) are good enough for the job.

The Penalty Kill Unit Setup:

In PPM you only have to deal with the 4-man PK Unit. On this lineup, you have a Center, a Wing, and 2 defensemen. While the PK screen specifically mentions a Right Wing (RW), it should be noted that you can play either wing position here without penalty. You can also play Defensive players in Forward roles on your PK unit, again, without penalty (according to what we've been told on the PK forums).

Non Specific Key Attributes:

During my discussions with many other managers, and from my own personal experience there are 3 vital attributes that make up a good Penalty Killer. While not all the players on the unit need to have these, doing so can greatly increase the quality and success of your PK line.

1) Technique. This is possibly one of the most important attributes of the game actually, and there is no such thing as "too much". High technique players have more control and better skill, 2 things vital on a PK line.

2) Defense. There has been a growing trend in recent seasons where managers have started to train forward in defense. One manager recently told me he trains his forwards defense to between 10% and 20% of his Offensive attribute. This is optional of course, and many players do have defense when they come out of the Sports Academy.

3) Passing. Like technique, there is no such thing as "too much". High passing attributes doesn't mean they will pass more than shoot, it simply means they are better at it. A top player should be skilled in both shooting and passing, and when you couple that with a high technique attribute, you have a highly skilled all-round player.

4) Aggression. You need to ensure that whoever you put on your PK lines has a low aggression, or if not low, at least has a technique attribute HIGHER than his aggression. This is an issue debated by many managers, however I believe no player (and i mean NO player) should have aggression higher than technique! Doing so just encourages penalties.

Position Specific - Center:

I personally think of my 2 forward positions as being separate. Your center MUST be good in all aspects of the game, and that means having great passing and tecnhique, a little defense and low aggression. Quite often, your top line center will fit the bill for this role, but don't be afraid to look at your other centers also.

Position Specific - Wing / Defense:

While your center needs specific play-making skills to win face-offs, your wings and defense are there to simply clear the puck and/or stop goals being scored by the opposition. They don't "need" to be able to shoot or have killer offensive skills at all, in fact, defense is far more important on this particular special team. Many managers play 3 defensemen and 1 center on their PK units for this very reason. Naturally, you need to ensure all the guys on this line have technique higher than or equal to their aggression attribute. In fact, technique and passing are vital attributes for players in these positions.

Experience:

A simple word of advice... unless you are aware of the risks, NEVER play a low experience rookie on a PK unit. Experience is used by the game engine to add strength to a players skills (according to sources) so an experienced player will always be far better than an inexperienced one. This applies to your powerplay lines also.

Practice & Tracking:

As with your powerplay lines, it can be helpful to track the teams you play and your PK stats. This can help determine which of your PK lines is most effective and which ones need work. Experiment if you have issues and be willing to take a few chances on different players. Just because someone has high defense doesn't necessarily make them the best player to use on the PK.

Good luck with your upcoming games, I look forward to any comments you may have.s