moma2s NewAge Hockey System

Your 5 on 5 System focus is very very good right now,just keep it steady and keep communicating out there,dont change anything,you are in the drivers seat,change nothing and you will draw more penaltys,your SYSTEM has been drawing those penaltys,so stay focused on that execution.Keep shutting down their 1st defensive zone exit with a dedicated forecheck,and be ready to pinch them as they enter the n-zone after you isolate the puck carrier with your forecheck and force him to bootleg it ,let the n-zone checker take it right in to the net if he manages to strip the puck because he will be going the right direction with breakout speed after challenging the puck carrier head-on.

I noticed at the end of the period your forecheck was back to one man and looked half-hearted,address that ASAP.That forecheck is key to keeping the puck out of their forwards hands early in their zone as they are exiting.

Obviously it is a great time to remind the men to keep their sticks down and on the ice for the 3rd period,right?

The goaltender could not get to the puck,he was impeded by the players skate on the play,where is the replay.

Might be time to jack the tempo up offensively now,greenlight guys to skate it to the net and bury it whenever they can.Bring it off those boards and skate it all the way to the front of the net,and get shots off.

Do NOT MELT DOWN NOW.

You must focus on scoring a shorthanded goal as I said earlier in the game,get right on it dont delude yourself now,you need to fight your way back into this game any way you can.

I am not kidding about the shorty,you need to be working on it right now on the bench,you WILL be shorthanded more than one more time in this game so be ready.

You need to take it to their net like you were earlier ,like they are doing to you now drawing penaltys along the way.

You MUST make contact with the puck carriers when they rush on you they are ALL green-lighted to make 200 foot runs,so wake the heck up and initiate some contact and stop collapsing into your own zone.

Ok for the sake of momentum pull the tender and take a break.

There is time to score 3 goals,so someone start pumping up the men,now is the time to be fired up and fighting ,lets hear some screaming and shouting.

No going quitely into the night here fellas.

I would suggest simplifying things,go right to simple give and gos,200 foot relays right to their net,just give and gos all the way from here on in 5 -10 foot passes and nothing more than that,lots of hard skating and crisp passes with finishes on net every time,make every possesion count.Every possesion MUST end up as a shot on net.

Activate all the d-men to start AND finish 200 foot give and go rushes,open it up all the way right now.

They are going to try to run the clock out so NO OVERPASSING,simple skating give and gos,all the way in,no surrendering the puck without a shot on net.

Get the Flying-V going ,use everyone.

This game will be remembered for its lack of hitting ,urgency and desperation on the part of the Blues.

I didnt see any real desperation physically in the final game which should have been a pit-fight,not enough left in the tank I guess,sometimes the presidents Trophy race empties the tanks to much and when you hit a series like this it bites you in the arse.

My Stanley Cup guesses have been kiboshed now.

I am checking out for the summer now.

I have come to the inescapable conclusion that winning is just not going to happen to people who refuse to make constant changes and who refuse to be pro-active.

The very second your attitude turns defensive and you turtle up and close the gates you are defining yourself as a competitor and that means a loser.

Defensiveness only becomes a strength AFTER offensive impacts have been made or established,the offense must come FIRST,then the defense must support and preserve that impact.

Defense in hockey was never designed to STOP goals,that is not possible,it was designed to slow down the scoring enough to preserve a lead to the end of the 60 minutes.

No one in their right minds comes onto the ice with the intentions of stopping the opponent from scoring,you would have to be dyslexic to see things that way.

You come onto the ice to score as many goals as you can,at least one more than your opponent,not to burn up minutes preventing them from scoring.

Look what happened to the Blues,they spent to much time preventing and not enoiugh scoring.They played a cautious style and a safe style and tried to go mistake for mistake with the hawk,instead of running them over.

Defense has NEVER WON A REGULAR SEASON OR PLAYOFF NHL GAME,NEVER.It has helped OFFENSE preserve WINS ,but on its own it has never accomplished bupkiss.

Anyone can play defense,you can teach a Monkey to play the Piano,so what?

Who wants to spend their time and energy trying to STOP things from happening in a game that is all about MAKING things happen?

I think K_lowe,Mac-t,AND Eakins are the wrong men for the jobs in Edmonton,any ONE of the three is sufficient defensive input,but ALL THREE kill the teams futures.

If I asked any one of the 3 men to give me the offensive prospectus for the team today what would I get dropped on my desk??

If I asked all 3 to drop reports on my desk would they all look the same?


They all have defense as their strength,this is an obvious case of killing an Ant with a Sledgehammer.


At the end of this DECADES LONG GROUNDHOG DAY, it is nothing personal,but the defensive overkill is killing the Franchise.


I did not watch Oilers hockey this long to be stisfied with defensive minded hockey,and I will not pay to watch it,this is not a Defensive marketplace and likely never will be accepted as such.

We all understood the franchise was in trouble a long time ago and we began to settle for second best to survive,and this meant allowing K-Lowe and his defensive mentality to take control,those days are gone now but the legacy they created remains here killing the teams future.

When I even hear rumors of losing a player like Yakupov or one like Gagner we have invested so much in I shudder.

These are not men you replace easily and maybe in Yakupovs case you never see another one like him for decades.


Taylor Hall is a Force of Naure and has the potential to become the best player in the NHL,no kidding,but he will NEVER do it unless he is put in the right environment,he needs to be able to uplift his linemates every night now that he has established himself and gets room out there.If taylor can be taught to become a follower instead of trying to be a leader he will rise to even greater heights,when we see Nuges offense optiised by Hall for 82 games,we will see the wins materialise.

In my opinion Jones could have produced Perrons numbers given his icetime and opportunity.

Nail needs to be the triggerman on the 2nd line for this team to become a powerhouse.This means he needs Gagner as his centerman,Gagner is a perfect fit,he communicates well,when you traded MPS you screwed up the best chemistry developing on the team,the 1st line already had natural chemistry and the 2nd line was coming together perfectly.Then you ripped out MPS because of crappy valuations by managment.Now you need to re-set that 2nd line and you are going to try to do it by building around Perron who has sent a massive false positive reading down the line.

Perrons 20+ goals from the 2nd line will NOT CUT IT,he eats to much possesion time and controls the playaction to much to optimise his linemates,he is like a mini-hall in terms of impact who cannot pass the puc,at least hall has learned to spread it around more from his possesions.This means that the 30+ goals that Nail can obviously put up are what the Oilers need driving the 2nd line,it is a matter of numbers given equal opportunitty and resource nvestment.This organisation is very screwed up man,they have forgotten how hard it is to score 30+ goals in the NHL,they ABSOLUTELY undervalue goal scoring ability.

Perron is a one-dimensional puck possesion rusher who shoots first to be effective,Nail is a one shot scorer who does not need to rush the puck every possesion to be impactfull,this says it all,we are talking about a team with a one-dimensional 1st line based off of halls speed,we CANNOT ice two identical lines dynamiclly and with Perron catalysing the 2nd line we do exactly that,we make the opponents job easier immediatly.


Taylor needs to be given Nail as a responsibility,he needs to be double shifted in games to match him up with Nail more often.If Hall wants top ten NHL points he will need to earn them the hard way not the easy way ,like on Nuges back with the Cheshire Cat grinning Eberle along for the ride.The focus must be on Nuges offense next year,Eberle will sink or swim,I believe he has a LOT MORE TO GIVE and is a survivor,rip him out of his comfort zone,Hall and Ebbs need to be up-rooted ASAP,not ripped apart,but DEFINATELY up-rooted and exposed much more.

I am calling it now,Nuge can catalyse an NHL first line without Hall and Ebbs,so can Hall,this leaves Eberle as the odd man out or in depending on how you see it.

We have two line catalysts on our 1st line,someone will always need to take the backseat,but Hall has had the chance to evolve his NHL offense and demand room and respect out there,Nuge HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS and is being hammered because of it,I WANT TO SEE HALL TAKING THE BEATINGS NOT NUGE.

Nuge needs to be highlighted all season long,obviously no major managerial changes are coming so we will be gunnng for McDavid,we might as well make it count then and get Nuge back on track as an NHL ffensive threat every night.

Focus on Nuge as the 1st lines offensive catalyst for 82 games,focus on Nail as the 2nd lines offensive catalyst for 82 games,bring in all of the green defense together so they learn at the same times,and lets take our shot at McDavid.

Nothing changes in Edmonton if Managment isnt removed and replaced with offensively able men.

Anyone in the NHL orwithin the Fanbase who points any fingers at any players is a schill,the causality of the Oilers woes is managment based,there is a massive lack of offensive inputs and BELIEFS in managment that are tilting the organisations perspective to much in one direction.

In fact things are so ugly that no self-respecting offensive mindset would even bother to come to the City under these screwed up circumstances.

I do believe that the Oilers Managment has been called out and humiliated by the fanbase and that they refuse to care,when Managment has the audacity to close ranks against the Fanbase and identify them as a traget or the enemy,then things have gone to far,much to far.

This entire group of Managers has isolated and crapped upon the fanbase to an unforgivable degree,none of their decisions will be met with respect by the media or fanbase,not any more,no one trusts them,not to be loyal to the Fans or to the Players or for that matter ultimately to the Oilers Logo and history.Many many people believe that this group is so focused on their own survival and integrity as a managment unit that they have blinders on which cannot ever be removed.

Has it occurred to anyone that the fanbase doesnt care about ANY of managment at all?

We dont root and cheer for Mac-T and K-Lowe and Dallas do we?

Darryl Katz doesnt care what the people think , so the owner isnt on the fans side.


If as a fan I feel that the Managment group values their own survival more than the development of the team then how can the Players in the lockerrom possibly feel any different?

If I think that the managment group is willing to destroy team unity and structure to defend the WORD DEFENSE and they are willing to do ANYTHING to the players and fanbase to defend a simple WORD,then I also think it is time to check out of the Oilers for a year or two.

I cant believe it but you know I dont care anymore? I am sick of the same old merry-go-round in Edmonton,I am sick of hating Managment,I dont remember a time when I was happy and confident in managment,all I remember is the first years of K-Lowe and realising he was obsessed and would do anything to anyone to get his way,that is what I remember feeling.Distrust after two years and nothing else since then.

K-Lowe makes me hot,Dallas makes me shake my head,poor sucker,Mac-T ,well he has gotten under my skin because I know he sees the offensive talent and that he valuates it properly but he is in the wrong spot right now,i tend to think Mac-T would be a perfect Head Coaching fit here again.Dallas would make an excellent assistant to him and Mac-T an excellent mentor for Eakins.

For craps-sakes Mac-t would probably put together a run immediatly with this roster.He would just need to be barred from making any roster changes and be forced to make due with what he has,that is Mac-Ts strength,ad-libbing and making things work with linited or finite resources,he works best with defined parameters.

I cannot believe I just said that,but Mc-T and Eakins would likely work well together.never gonna happen though.

Eberles numbers track showing he produces no matter where you put him,so bookend him with Nail and tell him it is permanant.Cure him of his Hall-itus,Make Hall support Nuges offense,only allow him the puck rush 50% of the time,the other 50% make him learn to be a complete NHL player,get some new blood up with Hall and Nuge,try out some different looks,we already know Ebbs is deadly with them,but it is time to ask for more from Eberle,maybe this means 3rd line duty with Perron and Gordon,wherever the impact is the greatest.Gagner and Nail need size consistantly to support them and if hall is double shifted to throw his speed there for specific teams we can exploit ,then that player has some pressure taken off of them and they can really be an energy guy with hall giving them breaks when he double shifts.

I have a real bee in my bonnet with Hall,I though he was a winner at all costs,but after seeing his half-arsed support of nail I am not sure about that.

If Halls ego prevents him from seeing that Yakupov is critical to the teams success then he is lacking and I have been fooled.

i would crush Halls cojones,next season the gloves would come off with me.

I see a lot of things I was missing the last 2 years.I sniffed it when the bonus money became an issue and affected halls play and now I am sniffing bad attitude.

Ya ya ya I know Hall can score a PPG,so what? I expect that from him.What else can he do for me?


I want players who can and will do exactly as I say when I say it with 100% effort.

Sam Gagner should have been given the C last year and Hall should have been handcuffed then,I have never seen hall put out playing with sam,just do enough to get by,same with Eberle,underperformance by a blonde one on purpose,it seems to me managment has decided to let hall and ebbs determine the teams attitude and personality and has turned their backs Gagner and Nail and Nuge.

There it is I finally got it out.

Hall and ebbs have been the problem for 2 years now,and it needs to stop immediatly.

Taylor i am on to you pal,you are content to sit and wait for your chance to lead,you endorse Andrew but show little to no loyalty to Sam,same with Ebbs,you have been sitting in the weeds but the gig is up man.

If Eakins doesnt have the guts to correct Hall and Ebbs and decides to hammer the snot out of everyone else then he needs to be replaced.

My advice to a new Coach would be to slap the C on Gagner immediatly,and let him sort out the dressing room.
I would advise immediate remedial work with Hall and Eberle,intense work to set them straight,to teach them what it takes to win games,what self-sacrifice and self-less play mean when you apply the concept to the entire team and not just your buddies.

I believe we will see Gagner and Yakupov traded.

This is a Managment against the players and fanbase issue,and managment has decided to tear things down right to Hall and work up from there.

Big big mistake,I think in terms of optimal value Hall is behind Gagner,Nuge and Yakupov,Ebbs isnt even in the conversation.

i could make a case for building a Playoff team by trading both Hall and Ebbs right now.

We could delete them both and be on track,heck throw in Ference to clear the air ,and Perron while his value is high.

I would tear it down and build up from Nuge.

This means surrounding him with players who will and can execute NHL play as he needs done.Hall and Ebbs are not the types of two-way players Nuge needs.

Hopkins is an elite hockey mind.He needs 2 vets who can go where he says and do what he needs,that is what we need to see.Nuge will make above average players better immediatly and will be able to keep up with vets mentally and will have immediate chemistry with them.

Gagner and Nail need a Veteran winger who can do the same,what Sam needs when he needs it.

Trade Hall and Ebbs and the 3rd for 3 veteran NHL wingers.

My money is on Nuge to lead this team,but never with Hall and Ebbs on his line.

Make Hopkins the catalyst of the structure and move everyone else as needed.


I do not like how the team has evolved into a Taylor hall training camp.

I do not like how ference was installed.

I do not like the way Ebbs has been allowed to coast.

i do not like listening to new Oilers speak for the team.

Taylor Hall isnt shutting down NHL 1st lines defensively Nugent -hopkins is.
I do not like the sub-par player valuations I am seeing.

I do not like the Eakins era,and it is less about the man and more about the methods.

The Problem isnt the Problem,your attitude about the Problem is the Problem.

This is a response to those who quandry over whether or not the Oilers Round Table process has morphed into the very dangerous deep waters of GroupThink.

This is a very good question,and those slippery fellas will not allow you to answer it with a simple yes or no,because at the core of the issue it is their attitudes towards external inputs which catalyses their derelict decision making.

They spit on anyone who dare challenge them and they do it together. They have absolutely no respect for other people who dont have NHL credentials and it goes beyond professional pride and confidence,they actually believe that because they are a Round Table that they are 100% above reproach.

They are not deluded by GroupThink,they are vain and egotistical and have ruled the roost for so long they see themselves as invincable.


Put it this way,ask the Round Table if they believe that there are anonymous internet posters who are 100% more capable than they are at performing their jobs sitting at home on their couches today?

Seriously.

If you asked a Physicist if the answers to the greatest challenges he encounters were sitting on a couch somewhere surfing the internet, he would agree with you that they likely were and tell you he wished that he could find them and share the data.


You see this is the crux of the issue here.

I am online a lot and have been over the last 5 or so years,and can tell you that the answers to EVERY question imaginable are available right now as we speak online somewhere in someones head,RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK,and this is an indisputable fact.


This is the NewAge people and there are new rules.

No one in their right mind can actually claim they believe that when Mac-T or Eakins or the Players read an accurate online analysis that they "somehow miss the points in translation",that would be assinine to claim.

I have been a hockey fan for well over 40 years,I have watched thousands of professional games accompanied by the best seat in the house courtesy of the T.V crews and have access to the best insights in the World given by ex-Pro players and officials during games and between periods,and even Post-game."I believe I know a thing or two about winning",to para-phrase K-Lowe.

I believe i am as good a coach as any man working in the NHL today,in fact I believe I am better than any of them,I am the cream of the crop baby.

Listen here silly buggers...........If you watch a Plumber install a drain-pipe 3-4000 times,dontcha think ya get it?

The jobs these men have are OPPORTUNITYS,that is all,and this means that their tenures are suppossed to be 100% results based and on a finite timeline.

K-Lowes resume or mac-Ts resume or Eakins resume mean bupkiss,I myself have a background at least as extensive as theirs is and likely more-so because while they were playing 80 games a year I was watching 200.

I feel sorry for the entire cast here because they simply cannot handle the heat in the kitchen and in their defense,the entire NHL and world in general is experiencing a re-set of their attitudes especially professionally now that the internet is exposing them in many ways never before seen.

Look at the crooked mechanics,they are screwed today,there are YT videos on everything,many good and honest mechanics post excellent videos showing regular people how to prevent themselves from being screwed over,its about time.This is happening everywhere.I can Google the Harvard Medical school Diagnostic textbook and simply follow the parameters there and use my computer to make more accurate diagnosis pending diagnostic test results than my doctor can generally manage to come up with.This is fact.I can look online and make an informed decision aboput the side-effects of medications externally to my doctor and the pressure Drug companies put on them to push certain meds many of which carry substantial side-effects which in many cases are minimised by the doctors,not in a derelict manner but still in one directed by external influences like Drug Companies.And if my doctor tries to tell me this isnt the case,once again I simply Google away and become INFORMED.


I am not sorry to say that Coaching an NHL team is not that big deal, I thought changing the Upper manifold gasket on my cars engine was complicated and was quoted a huge price to have it done at a garage,I comparison shopped and it was still a huge price-tag,then i googled the problem online and found some videos within an hour,two hours later i was back from my Brother In-Laws and Canadian Tire with tools and parts,and the rest is history.The repair was not difficult in the least.Trust me it didnt look that way to start.I first read a Repair manual and was overwhelmed by the volume of data amd it looked un-doable.That is until I saw a Video,and then EVERTYTHING came together and it was a piece of Cake.

This is the world we all share today,it is very very different than it was 10-20 years ago.

Listen,anyone who is interested can simply watch ten Oilers games from any 1/4 of the season and diagnose the problems,then it is a matter of applying a simple solution,and you do that by watching teams who are winning games ,it is that simple,you seek out success and you emulate it,it is NOT Rocket Science.

It is basiclly IMPOSSIBLE to string together 8 years of non-playoff hockey under any circumstances,not unless you are struggeling to maintain that particular Status Qou.....do you get it yet?You have to WORK AT IT to consistantly lose that much,it is nearly statisticlly impossible.

Kevin Lowe - Mac-T - Dallas Eakins - do you think the solutions to your challenges is online right now as you speak?

You better believe they are.

No one is silly enough to try to say that the Millions of fans out there arent smarter than the Round Table in EVERY SINGLE FACET OF THE GAME,are they?

You guys tried to engage the Internet,how stupid that was huh? You tried to close ranks on what? The World? Ha ha ha ha.

I know very well that all of you learn things from online,because after 40+ years I still read things from random posters about hockey that teach me things I didnt know or understand or things that are simply NEW.


Wantint to learn and being forced to learn are two different animals fellas.

I will end this post with one comment, the best seat in the house for analysing a Hockey game in progress happens to be at home on your couch in front of your T.V set.This is an indisputable fact.If you try to fight that or even challenge it ,that action is a reflection of your unwillingness or inability to learn.I watched you fellas trying to get a tactile feel for what i am saying,this is fact.You werent understanding what I was trying to get across to you because you werent istening close enough,you werent trying to learn,you were being forced to learn,so you didnt listen to me you instead did it "your way".Sitting in the stands is not what I meant,you will not be able to execute optimal pattern recognition protocals from the stands,not at all,it is better than ice level or bench level but nowhere near optimal.So you go sit in the stands a few times,you dont really see anything revolutionary and you discount what I said to you and you question my credibility and insights in the process,YOU do a half/job and then posture up as if you had done the entire job.

You didnt "want" to learn so you werent listening closely,you HAD to take action because the data FORCED YOU TO TAKE ACTION.So you unwillingly with a half-hearted effort went and tried something new,but even screwed that up because of your attitudes.The Problem isnt the Problem,your attitude about the Problem is the Problem.

Had you respected me and the NewAge Hockey System and Intuitive Dynamic Managment,you would have been in contact and would have not wasted your time and mine on half-measures,you would have listened closer and asked questions,but oh nooo,you didnt want to learn from some random internet pest huh?


I mean why the heck would you listen to the data and then make half-efforts? It makes no sense.

At some point in time adversarial and contrarian habits come back to bite you in the cojones.

If you trust yourself enough to take note of something online,then at least give yourself enough respect to make a 100% effort to investigate and learn.

If you are one of those people who say that the internet is full of B.S and crap,then you are an IDIOT plain and simple,in fact you are a trouble maker and should not be in any type of teaching position.Cyber-space is the single greatest and most impactfull data source Humanity has ever seen.To undermine that is a reflection of diminished aptitude and intelligence.

Cyber-space,IS NOT,the same as Mainstream Media,they are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMALS,and to try to parse them together is a derelict and dangerous thing to do.

Cyber-space contains millions of independant perspective who freely give their views,MSM is a few paid schills trying to make a living.Some of those MSM people are very knowledgable as well,dont get me wrong,but they have BOSSES who edit what they can produce,internet posters are free to post as they want without losing a payday.


You cannot engage the Internet in a battle dum-dums,it is SMARTER than you all are by a long shot.Hands down you are toast if you even go there,as you all have now learned the hardest way possible.

Cyber-space is your friend,not your enemy,it will help you follow the light to the end of the tunnel,of course you need to use your skills and talents,acumen and decision making prowess.You cannot just log on and presto everything is solved,HOWEVER you can be 100% assured that the ANSWERS you are seeking ARE IN THERE SOMEWHERE,but as with anything else you HAVE TO WORK TO GET A REWARD.


The key to surviving and thriving in todays Cyber-world is to strike while the iron is hot,if you hesitate you are surely lost because there are MANY MANY people reading and accessing the same data as you are and they may be valuating it more accurately than you are ,so it is a buyers market and the key is to remove your chosen asset from cyber-space to deprive the opposition of it,not argue and deny and fight with that data source,ha ha ha.

The worst thing you can have happen is if the best data is external to your own tool-box and is online and you try to suppress it from the men you work with who are aware it is out there,if you do that then you are building your own Gallows.People are not stupid and can make their own valuations.And as I tried to teach you today,if you WANT TO LEARN YOU WILL MAKE A 100% EFFORT AND IF YOU ARE FORCED TO LEARN YOU WILL MAKE A 1/2 HEARTED EFFORT.people searching out their own data obviously want to learn,people having what is in their opinion second rate data shoved down their throats do not want to learn.If you have this issue the simple solution is to find the data the men are validating and openly incorporate it and valuate it again together.This is called learning.I mean can you screw things up more than when your own men want to learn from an external source which you are actively trying to suppress or disenfranchise.There is only one optimally right way to do any one thing,there is only one way to skin a cat,you must remove its skin,simple,however there are more and less optimal ways to get that job done.Winning is the same.The key is to find the most optimal method for your situation and utilise it.


I would suggest WORKING WITH what your managment team considers its greatest pains in the arse,at this point it is obvious that the ABSOLUTE opposite of losing is winning,this means that whatever you all have been endorsing is wrong and your biggest pains in the arse are MORE RIGHT THAN YOU ARE AT THIS POINT.It is up to you to discover the causality of that dynamic.Dont overthink it,be humble and make friends.

i feel the Good Boss/Bad Boss syndrome has set in deeply here, it is hard to come to work when you have an arsehole for a Boss,and this doesnt mean your immediate Boss is an A-hole it means the top dog is an Arsehole,because in the real world everything rolls downhill,and over time the personality and habits and attitudes of the leader work there way down to the lowest levels.I myself made this same speech around 3+ years ago after being treated horribly by a Mod on the Oilers home site,the Mods back then had a horrible teflon and dirty hard-ball/blackball attitude,it was like looking at K-Lowe in a mirror when dealing with them,dirty buggers they were,right to the bitter end,wrong as rain they were but they never gave an inch they just denied and spin-doctored things to fit themselves,in fact they went for blood immediatly with a weird sense of confidence,its that teflon-Don attitude.


I have worked on large Job sites,where the average Joe would never ever see or talk to the Boss of the Job,not ever,but you could see the influence and personality of that boss in every single aspect of the job-site,in every single area.

Once you have been to a few Rodeos you learn the ropes,and figure out that sometimes it is best to simply fly-by Dodge City,you can feel the atmosphere and understand how the leadership runs things in a very very short time if you know what signs to look for.

You see the best men leave bad situations,so no matter how hard managment tries to make up for leaderships lackings nothing ever seems to go right,and never will when the best men smell something fishy and get the heck out of Dodge,and soon enough word gets out how bad things are and no one wants to come work for you,you can make things as comfortable as you want,buy donuts,give bonuses,build nice facilitys,but at the end of the day if the leadership structure is screwy the good men will smell it right away and will trun their backs on creature comforts because they see through the BS and the smokescreen.So I am afraid that yes in fact Mr.Lowe must consider this,for gods sakes aven Brian Burke has re-invented himself,he is still the old bugger but he has changed his delivery to suit the times,who would have ever thought that we would see him evolve so far beyond K-Lowe so quickly huh?

If I work in a place where my voice is meaningless I am wasting my time,if i will never ever be heard then who wants to be there? We all get it,K-Lowe doesnt care,he wants men who will unquestionably do what he asks,but he is forgetting that you only get this response when respect and trust are clear and present,money does not buy you this much,not at all.Money buys you a warm body and the Oilers managerial attitude demands exactly that,warm bodies with no meaningfull valued voices and minds.You get what you ask for.

You cannot play men against each other,manipulation is not managment,not at all,you cannot Black-ball one man and then look the rest in the eyes and tell them it will never happen to them.|Until the Sins of the Fathers are forgiven no progress will be made,and there is no way to forgive the distrust and in essence disloyalty that has been fostered within this organisation,not without removing the head of the beast.You cannot strong-arm people,ha ha ha.

I worked on the Oil-Rigs when it was the Wild-West and you could get promoted by walking to the end of the Catwalk taking off your hard-hat and kicking the snot out of your Boss,wha la,if you werent a complete idiot,instant promotion,and thisis the way it was because that is how I got my first promotion.I caught the tail-end of that era,no safety equipment,no rules,just high-ball money making.But I also stuck around long enough to see the new Breed taking over,and many of the Arseholes I had been forced to work with be let go enmasse over a 5 year period,companies made wholesale changes to keep up with the times and to keep youg employees who would not tolerate olde school behaviour and treatment,this is the OIL PATCH fellas and they changed,then I got into Industrial Construction and watched that Industry evolve in an IDENTICAL manner,all the dinosaurs were let go enmasse over a short time period,and to be frank the Oilers are on the cusp of this same evolution,it is very late but still happening.I believe we will see that there will not be one small change made,it will be the entire generation that will need to go,just like in the other major industrys.

I have said it before,if no balancing anti-olde school input is not installed immediatly then the entire group will need to go soon,tis is no band-aid solution I am suggesting here,I am saying that Katz needs to take a monumental risk and install someone right beside K-Lowe who has a contrarian perspective a positive progressive one that pulls in a different direction than K-Lowe pulls in.This new input MUST be equally powerfull to K-Lowe,no half-measures,someone that will not go away,ever.

I once had a green Roughneck sitting beside me on the Plane on the Way home from the Bush,I had been training him MY WAY,not the olde school ways like I learned,I taught him everything i knew and three ways to do everything so he could find his optimal methods,I taught him my bosses job and anything else I could teach him,I held nothing back.He was miserable,tired,beat down,exhausted mentally and physiclly,at the breaking point,many new fellas dont come back after the first hitch,ha ha ha,so the last time you get to see them and get feedback might be on that Plane-ride home,ha ha ha.I wasted no time.I asked him what he thought of his first hitch and if he was going to come back for more punishment of his own free-will or if he had an olde lady at home who would be bums-rushing him to the airport after she saw his first pay cheque,ha ha ha.

He looked me straight in the eye ans told me that he had never worked with anyone like me in his life,he told me that he hated the job that it was the worst one he had ever had but that somehow for some reason when he was working with me he would forget how bad things were and begin to actually like the work.He told me he wasnt giving up and that he would be back,and he did come back,he turned into an excellent Hand and when I changed careers he was still going hard,in fact he was Blue-flaming it and walking over guys in the promotion department.This was a guy MY bosses wanted to fire in the first couple of days and send home on the plane,you see he was a SMART kid and they didnt like him,he was smart and weak and soft and out of his element out there,but he was smart and that was enough for me to make him teflon to the average monkey out there.I intentionally taught him a new comparative way to learn things,how to ALWAYS execute his duties as his Boss requested and how to continue to learn beyond the required material on his own and then AT TIMES OF GREAT PRESSURE when a better method was neded to STEP FORWARD and show everyone a better way to get things done,to pick a spot when they were forced to learn.I taught him not to openly challenge the status quo because everyone was essentially lazy and fairly stupid and happy being that way and that any open challenges to olde school methods would only get him fired.You see I was training him for his future not for the Rig we were on at the time.I knew he was to smart to stay there for very long and that he just needed time to gain confidence and learn techniques to overcome his size and weight.

At first he was confused because we would constantly be rushing around working faster and harder than everyone else,and he couldnt understand why we would do things exactly as we were asked by the Boss in double time but then spend EXTRA time discissing what we had just done and looking for ways to optimise that action.He didnt realise that after two or three days of ME asking HIM questions that he was PARTICIPATING,and he was comfortable and he wanted to learn more,he didnt see I was teaching him how critical it was to first learn exactly how to do things how his bosses wanted so he could learn how they thought,but then to EXPAND and look for better methods for the future,but I stressed to him to first learn things the olde school ways to respect what those before him had learned but to also respect himself enough to trust his own judgement and take things a step further whenever he saw an opportunitty to optimise things.

The faster you learn the olde ways the sooner you have the knowledge base to take things steps further,but first you need to pay your dues and learn the ropes.

I taught the Kid to use his head,but to also use his back.You earn the right to ask questions by learning to execute the status qou before you try to take things further.

By teaching him the olde school methods FIRST and accurately,I gave him a foundation putting him on par with his peers,but then I gave him 2 more ways to do every single thing we had to accomplish.Details as small as how to optimally hold a wrench or hammer,basic things like the optimal way to climb stairs,things that seem mundane and not important,because you see there is ONLY ONE OPTIMAL WAY TO DO EVERYTHING,there are many ways to get any job done,but only ONE OPTIMAL ONE.Defining optimal means matching the method to the man not the man to the method.


You cant possibly do one thing optimally and then one thing half-arsed and expect to be proficient at your job.If you are not properly going up and down 40 stairs 50+ times a shift you will burn yourself out and not be able to think clearly or even hold a hammer or wrench properly when you use it,so you see if your stair climbing habits are bad and your tool handeling habits are also less than optimal you are setting yourself up for failure,everything can be diminished a degree and you will not even understand why,the fact is that there are so many small details that need to come together to execute optimal performance that a PROGRAM or a PHILOSOPHY is required ,a belief system must be created and followed closely.

Trying to work with Players is not an easy job,teaching is not an easy job,not if you are aiming for optimal performance.

If you aim for optimal performance then a distinct and clear set of rules of conduct emerge,the same simple principals apply to everything,not Rocket Science either,basic tenants of execution.

This is what I call The Winning Formula.This is what I based and built the NewAge Hockey System upon.This is why my methods will always be superior,always optimal.I apply a PROGRAM and a PHILOSOPHY to every single thing I do.The concepts lead me i dont lead them.The problems solve themselves if you apply a simple program to them.


For the record,the Kid left the Rig I trained him on two weels after i moved on,I didnt discover until a few years later that the company had sent him to a caddillac rig on his next assignment,you see after working with me he was assigned to the crew opposite mine,an entirely new group,after one 2 week hitch the Driller offered him a promotion which he politely turned down,he then did as he was taught and on his week off he went into the Head office and had a talk with the Personell dept.,he requested a move to a newer and more advanced Drilling Rig,he thanked the office for the Promotion offer but told them that he was more interested in learning new ways to do his job than he was about the money and he was willing to lose work and a promotion to wait for a transfer to a new learning environment on new equipment.He forced them to respect him and it payed off for him,he learned,left and beagn to lead his own career.He was given the same promotion on a better Rig,smart kid,he was worth the effort.One thing I will remember though,4-5 years after I changed careers,we had a chat and he waited about 30 minutes before using my own techniques on me for gods sakes and he outlined the THREE DIFFERENT REASON I should return to the Oil Patch in a Teaching capacity,that was enough for me,he was way to logical and I had to make him stop,ha ha ha.They were going to fire another good one,ha ha ha,less than a year later the man was working on a Caddilac Rig,one the men he learned with would likely never set foot on in their entire careers.That my friends is called Eclipsing the Curve.


My point is this,it is NEVER the men,it is ALWAYS managment.

If you cannot teach at least 3 ways to do EVERYTHING how the heck can you possible teach people anything but the status quo? You surely cannot teach them to think on their feet when you yourself cannot do so,right?

You have to approach every man as your equal and as a potential and eventual source of new information,one never knows where innovation will catalyse from,but you CAN BE SURE IT WILL BE FROM NEW IDEAS.If every man on the team is comfortable and feels needed and valued then they will want to contribute and to learn.

This is not Rocket Science,it is called ACUMEN.

I had lots of Bosses who thought they knew everything,they mostly did know everything about the status quo,and nothing about learning and application,all they understood was execution,brainless execution,with little to no risk or consequences.

I had a few Bosses who taught me that the learning never stops and if that isnt why you get up in the morning then you are in the wrong business.

If you came to me when I was in a managerial or supervisory role and you were one of those fellows who had unlimited potential but chose to ONLY follow the status quo and refused to learn,I gave you a 100% thumbs up reccomendation and asked the Office to transfer you immediatly to a Rig that needed drones,and that was the term I used and not in a derogatory manner either.I would rather have a steep learning cuve than a static learning curve.

I would be checking out of the Oilers were i a Player right now.Managment are bullys and they are surrounding the core with men who will follow the status quo like Drones,they want the learning to stop and the blind obedience to begin,they want their moneys worth.I have worked on crews like that,ones who consistantly underperformed and then argued loud and long and tried to intimidate anyone who questioned their methods and results.I left every one of them ASAP.

The problem is the status quo isnt set high enough because managment has reached their apex in terms of functional ability.They have for some reason,long ago,stopped learning,the entire process was subarined somehow.

Playuers are being brought in who can execute the status quo and we are losing ones who can execute the status quo PLUS. Because there is no ability to teach or communicate with the men,they are being flushed . All of the research and efforts in recruitment are totally ignored and knee-jerk reactions are commonplace.The smart men who demand more from the Coaches and Managment are being hunted down and sent packing.All of the personality and guts are being evicted from the equation,and this will continue until the team is manned by DRONES,who can work well with a Coach and managment team with no ability to rise above and re-set the past and current losing status quo.This is an intentional and planned action,and it is a sign of decay within the organisations super-structure.

I place blame squarely upon the man on top who allows this dysfunction to continue.But this is someones Crew and if men dont like it they need to move on,if they wait and burn up years of their careers then that is what they want to do.There is no fight to be had anymore,we are past rock bottom,at this point people will already refer to the men having played on "that Oilers team",that tag isnt going away for a long long time.Every Player will have this crap colored over their resumes,wether they were the real problem or not.

Oilers managment thinks that quickly shuffeling the deck will still work,that the hand is still faster than the eye,they ought to time themselves on their pee-pee breaks so they can re-set their perspectives,EVERYTHING they do now takes more time,it is natures way of keeping you in the loop.No one is being fooled by the shuffle this time,it is to slow and we are all in the know.

You need a NEW TRICK fellas,one way or the other you will have to add something newAge,be it another trick from inside your Majic Tophat,or some tangible NewAge concepts,you WILL change,we all do,like I said put a stop watch in your pocket and ground yourselves,times have changed ,everything has changed,so get with the program.

When you look up at the Sky and shout at the top of your lungs WELL WHAT THE HECK IS BETTER THEN !!!!!! --- remember this,you are past rock bottom fellas,EVERYTHING is better than what you have been doing,so pick whatever makes the least sense to you,whatever gets your goat,if it doesnt peeve you off or insult you or get an emotional reaction from you then ignore it,at this point you suckers need to rely on your instincts,think about it in terms of reverse-psycology,use your own talents in a new way,instead of fighting things that tweak you,TRUST your instincts and change your reaction ASAP into one of observation and learning,once you have figured out why these things rattle your cages you will have your answers,you see you guys already know what to do,you just dont have the guts to make the right calls.Is there a reporter who constantly hits your main nerve? An internet poster who consistantly pops up in your daily routine?If they strike a nerve it is because the nerve is raw,not neccesarilly because they were aiming at it.Understand yet???? These people are helping you diagnose,helping you to narrow down the general areas of inflammation,they ARE NOT the sliver stuck under your skin,they are simply pressing nearby and eliciting a pain reaction from you,Do you understand yet??? Make friends instead of enemies and things will get better,everyone is NOT out to get you fellas.But it does seem that no matter where people touch you all there is an immediate pain reaction,one is forced to wonder if it has become a bit of a psycosis at this point,you know like the Kid who squealls before the spanking even arrives,ha ha ha.Defensive over-reaction maybe?Paranoia?

Just be nice and mean it and you will make friends.Dont take criticism so personally,it makes you over-react and you stop learning,you put on the binders and the blinders ball up your fists dig in your feet and try to start fights wayyyy to much.

Think about it this way fellas, remember the Hackathon? What was that? REALLY what was it? Waht were the Oilers trying to accomplish?

They were trying to recruit online perspectives hoping to capture and retain ones they thought would help them,or were they?

Did the Oiler WANT TO LEARN a new way of doing business --- OR --- were they FORCED TO LEARN because of online pressure from a valid source?

Was the Hackathon another knee-jerk defensive over-reaction? You bet it was.

The Oilers DID NOT want to befriend anyone,they were trying to Shanghai specific online posters inputs into participating,they didnt want to adhere to any external valuation of that data source so they tried to manufacture a dynamic in which they in fact could define ans set that evaluation.

Had the Oilers WANTED to learn,they would have simply logged on to whatever sites and contacted the posters one-on-one,it is a free country right?They would have offered jobs to these few and valuable inputs and that would be that.

Instead some greasy crooked con-man came up with the Hackathon,trying to screw everyone yet again out of a valuation,even that is something these weasels try to screw everyone on.They treated everyone online like they treat a Player they are trying to drive the value down on before contract negotiations.

Remember they were FORCED TO LEARN and they didnt like it.


Instead of asking themselves what exactly catalysed the idea of the Hackathon in the first place and tracking that influence down and putting a tangible VAUE on it as a data source,they pulled a Stinky Finger on everyone and tried to get the Milk for Free.


Did they really think anyone who knows there Hockey would simply give them what they wanted with no negotiations?Just give their intellectual data away to them?Ha ha ha,how about giving it to the entire NHL to teach a lesson huh?

In the olde days crooked Publishers used to run Poetry and Story writing "contests" in schools,giving away trinkets while they took MASSIVE VOLUMES of creative work from students and fed the ideas to their dead end writers,this is THEFT,and courts eventually defined it as such via lawsuits,betcha didnt know that huhh fellas?

You crooked buggers tried to disenfranchise other peoples hard work,you tried to intentionally under-value a resourcce you KNOW has great fiscal value.Giving as a prize some cheezy job that simply bleeds your intellectual data for pennies,that was a joke.

If you want the real thing you need to pay the full price,that is if your Club Card is still valid and you can still shop.


What do you call that anyways? Tricky? Good Business? Resourcefull? Progressive? Innovative? How exactly do you spin that one to yourselves huh?

I call it a knee-jerk contrarian overly defensive reaction to a hard and fast reality which will not go quietly into the night.Bad dreams go away when you wake up in the morning,reality has breakfast with you man,ha ha ha.

I have seen a 3 dollar bolt stop a Million dollar Drilling program for 12 hours at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars,I watched a 6 man crew plus an engineer and a Tool Push[Main Man] all collectively trying to diagnose and repair a multitude of problems , it wasnt my crew and I came on shift an hour early to relax and get into my zone,the Leasehand[low man on the totem pole] was sitting in the Doghouse[office] watching the proceedings,they thought he would only be in the way.So i spent ten minutes talking to him,I asked him to come have a Smoke with me and when he was comfortable and away from the hub-ub I asked him to tell me exactly what he remembered happening before things went south,in 5 minutes I knew what had gone wrong and where to look for the problem,I had isolated it or rather he had done that for me unknowingly,you see he wasnt trying to SOLVEthe problem talking to me,he was just telling me what he remembered,he was a better asset than all 8 men working on the problem because his mind wasnt working overtime.

And for the record NO i did not walk out and help the opposite crew,I let them twist in the wind,simply because they had Black-balled the Leasehand and cut him out of the loop,they did not deserve his help at that point,so I waited until ALL of my crew were Dressed and up on the Floor preparing for crew change WATCHING the non-stop panic of 8 fully trained specialists running around like chickens with their heads chopped off.I let my Boss ponder the issue,i let the rest of my crew laugh at and torment the opposite crew for their inability to get things running,I let them yap off about hwo as soon as the clock struck shift change our crew would have things running in no time ,it was great,until the Push and Engineer melted down and threatened to strat firing guys ha ha ha,they retreated to their Shacks so we could shift-change.You know what I did? Ha ha ha ha.... I went down to the Crew truck and asked the opposite Driller[Boss] if I could use his leasehand for a small job before they left for Camp,he agreed,so I asked the leashand to come with me,I went into the tool room with him and lit a Smoke and then told him that we were out of 3/4 inch bolts so could he please go to the Tool Pushes[Big Boss] Shack and ask him if he had any spares or to order more if we didnt,then before he left I mentioned to him what the application was in case the Push asked him what it was for,remember both he and I now knew the simple problem and solution,he 100% got my point and smiled widely and ran off to raise some caine.

Well let me tell you,that Leasehand was a Hero for a week and a half man,he could do no wrong,I wasnt there when the Tool Push asked his supervisior where he was the entire 12 hours while the Rig was down why he wasnt on the floor with everyone else trying to solve the problem,but I imagine it was a creative answer because no one was fired.

I could have intervened at any time after my Smoke with the Leashand,and he also could have simply walked over to the group of men and bent down and in 2-3 minutes solved the problem.But because he worked under a Dictator who liked to fire men,he chose to do as he was asked and STAY AWAY FROM THE FLOOR.Do you understand yet?

I didnt like how they had treated him,and I actioned on that,when he realised i was making a decision like that ,he also used his own option to defer to his superiors and not get involved.By not helping I made a statement,by staying clear he made a statement,by going into the Shack at the end of his shift and presenting the Tool Push with the correct solution he made yet another statement,and believe me based on immediate changes the Tool Push made the biggest Statement of the Day to the opposite crew who recieved a new rule,EVERY MAN IS GIVEN EQUAL CHANCE TO HELP SOLVE PROBLEMS bar none,when the Rig went down ALL titles went with it and every man was equal.

The morale of the story is that you should never undervalue anyone who is wiling and motivated to help you at any time,ever.Pre-concieved notions kill productivity and progress and make it very very hard to solve problems on-the-fly.

You dont have to action on everything everyone says,but you do need to absorb and valuate the data,and really this is the easiest part of any job,data assimilation is hands off work man.

But if no one wants to help you because you have pigeon-holed them as a non-entity and excluded them from the process then you are doomed to eventual failure,and normally of the catastrophic kind.

I ask again K-Lowe - mac-T - Dallas - .... are the solutions to ALL of your challenges just waiting out there in Cyber-space for you to use you experience and acumen to find them?

Do you understand yet?

Now you get the 1,000,000 dollar question.


Did the Leasehand do the right thing?

Should he have of his own accord broken protocal and rules and risked his job and personal circumstance to solve the problem and save the Company many many Pesos?

Or should he have followed his orders and remained external to the problem as he had been ordered to do?Even though he was now 100% sure of causality and curative actions?

Should he have made an independant decision with the best interests of everyone at heart? and disobeyed his marching orders?

Could he make that decison without suffering punative actions,even if the problem had been solved,and was it worth that risk to him?


You see,the Tool Push was an arse-hole,and because of that his Drillers were arse-holes and so on down the line.No that leasehand could not have made the right team-based decision,because if he had he would have been 86ed sooner than later,the Tool Push DID NOT have his back because as a manager he did not have a clue how to optimally run his own show.The Push let the drillers act autonomously and the Driller let the Derrick hands do the same and then the Motor hands until everyone smelled like stale farts.


I could have stepped in with no repercussions other than maybe a Barfight with the opposite crews Driller for embarrasing him badly,ha ha ha,that would have actually been a bonus,ha ha ha.But why would I? I didnt want his job,ha ha ha ,I was only passing through on that Rig,and I knew it,the entire Structure was dysfunctional and I knew it before I even got there.The office sent me out to be a stabilising influence without clearly outlining just how screwed up everything was,the Push was a Long-Term asset and produced result so they wouldnt change him out.

You see,before I went out to any Rig,before I accepted the Job,I would look at the Drilling programs in the Office that we all had access to and I would note how many jobs of what types and in what areas and under what contracts were given to each Rig,and Presto-whammo i could valuate the Managment and performance of the Rig externally without ever seeing or working on it.

Well managed Rigs are ALL managed the same,there is only ONE OPTIMAL WAY TO DO EVERYTHING.Naturally there are few Rigs managed this way,the status quo dictates that the majority will be run shoddily,so obviously the best contracts which were of premium value to the Drilling Company always went to the best managed Rigs teling me they were using the Winning Formula.The optimally managed Rigs had less accidents as well because communication was optimal,so a quick glance at the number of Safety days for each Rig combined with a short read of Safety reports on potentially good Rigs that has a small anomoly was all I needed to complete to become INFORMED.No one stopped me,no one questioned me and NO no one else was doing the same things,At least not while I was ever in the office,although I do know for a fact the men I trained were doing the same things ha ha ha,and keeping it to themselves,only giving the technique to men THEY trained .No freebies.



Everything is results based.The Oilers are not being run optimally,I do not care why,I do not work for them,I just happen to respect the Players enough to want to help them out.I know this will not be their only team in their careers,i want them taking away more from this Oilers experience than they thought was possible,I want them taking good habits,smart habits,confident minds and contibuting perspectives with them into their futures.


The data needed to form a curative plan is available for anyone who wants to use it,identifying the challenges facing the team is not a difficult task if it is done from a learning perspective,an inquisitive perspective,like watching a doctor stitch you up,weird and outside of the box so to speak.

I feel the same way now as I did catching the tail-ends of evolutions in two different major Industrys,no matter what happens,wether i am paying attention or not,big big changes are coming to the Oilers Hockey team,it will be a very very late changing of the Guard,and it will be sweeping.If these natural changes do not materialise then the Status quo will remain intact and the losing will continue.

The Culture change WAS NOT needed in the dressing room,it was needed in the office,now many men who were witness to the dysfunction have been snuffed and eliminated so even if they do tell us how bad it really was being here Oilers managment will just claim it is sour milk and that is why those men are now gone,it is the same as the Mob snuffing witnesses,no different,move enough of them along and eventually the story will change with the new faces,ha ha ha ha ha,welcome to 2014 you old buggers,you will not manage to run things like this anymore,there are no secrets in todays world.

Did I mention that Taylor Horcoff --ooops I mean Hall......... is turning into quite a good Oiler?

Taylor Hall has some excellent Advisors on his side,he is no fool,he is a smart young man,and he is proving to be a survivor.I understand.But be carefull son.


So now that the Roster has been flushed of nearly all witnesses,Jonesy is going Sam will likely be next,soon there will be no one left to testify to the Grande Jury,nice job Gentlemen.

I am afraid that men are defining themselves right now,and if you walk like a Duck and Talk like a Duck people will start to call you Donald.If you sign a deal with the devil and allow yourself to be indoctrinated into the Dark Side where you are teflon and protected as long as you Kiss the back of the Dark Fathers hand when told to,you make a statement of intentions and should expect to be recieved as per that projection.


You see the truth is that you never ever get ahead by cheating,you might make more money but in the long run you do not move ahead ,the money holds you back by proxy.Forcing things only creates binding points which tend to break things.Hard-ball,Black-ball,under-handed tactics explained away as Business Decisions hold you back.It takes more energy to tell and maintain a lie than it does to tell the truth,everyone learns that sooner or later in life.

If you on a personal level eliminate places in your life where you might be inclined to cheat at something,you become Spartan but your life becomes much more fluid and strees free and you accomplish more.Dont put the Cookies in the Cupboard and you wont eat them,dont buy a Mustang if you dont want speeding tickets,self-police.

Its the things you dont do via self-policing which evolve you through life the most seamlessly on the path of least resistance.

Its the things you dont do on the ice or behind the bench that will evolve you through a 60 minute hockey game seamlessly,identify and eliminate the CHANCE OF SOMETHING BAD HAPPEING and all you are left with in the equation are GOOD THINGS.Dont try to be like Merlin and try to make majic and create only good things it wont work out for you,instead do something tangible and become pro-active and get a step ahead of the curve,forget about recognising danger,that was lesson #1 now you need to learn how to identify danger BEFORE IT BEGINS TO HAPPEN.If you take away all of your own bad habits on the ice you take away all of their good chances.

This is not about offense or defense,it is about pattern recognition and cerebral muscle-memory.It is about giving them nothing and taking everything.NO MATTER WHAT,every time you do a right thing,they have done a wrong one,every time you institute a good habit you catch them executing a bad one,it is like compound interest.

This is what all of Duelling Dallases "Habit Chats" were all about.

He was trying to teach the concept of addition by subtraction,you subtract your own bad habits and you by proxy ADD to their bad habits.

On every playaction someone has to be left holding the Stinky Finger,and what Dallas was trying to say was that as long as every man tried to eliminate his own bad habits 100% on every shift that the System and instincts would take care of everything else.On each playaction it is a 60 second battle of self-policing your own bad habits,and as long as you can eliminate most of them you will not be left with Stinky Fingers after the game is over.

With or without the puck you can essentially PUT YOURSELF in the right position by simply eliminating bad habits and self-policing,your coach was trying to teach you to find the OPTIMAL position on the ice at all times by using a short-cut,he was trying to tell you that danger recovery is a part of the game you cannot avoid and that if you began each decision from a sound position on the ice at any playaction danger recovery moment by following good group habits then you tilted the odds in your own favor every time.

When you execute good habits on the ice WITH AND WITHOUT THE PUCK you take premium real estate and force them to execute bad habits to get their jobs done.

This is how everyone can seem to be in the right spot at the right times all game long on some nights.

Following good habits consistantly ,consistantly puts you in a superior position reflective of the developing playaction during your shift,this not only makes it easier to recognise developing danger but it also allows you to choose your own poison more in confronting it because you are ahead of the playaction with your positioning.

I think what Dallas needs is someone to show him how to teach comparative decision making to the men.

Then they will understand what he is trying to say better.

Dallas messes around with paralells like Good and bad habits and I can work with that for his sake,but to me it is all butkiss,I simplify it and say there is only one OPTIMAL way to do everything,so there really arent any choices and thereby no need to be overly concerned with "Habits",you only have one place to be at all times no matter how the playaction is developing,and once everyone is on that page you are dialed in.

You can have NO BAD HABITS,if there is only one way to do things,if everyone is required to do the same things at the same times and the System is managed properly then everything will be Just Ducky.

The reason all of the bad habits pop up is because no one is on the same page.

No one is on the same page bacause the System is not designed to put them there,it is designed to move warm bodies around without them thinking or decision making.

How do you know if a mistake on the ice was a result of a players bad habit or a Coaches failure to adjust or error in decisions?

You do not know unless you know the system being used right? Ask any NHL Coach to outline his System to you and see what he tells you,ha ha ha ha.You see,there is no way for you or me to know who is at fault unless we understand the System being used first,so if that data is hidden or not admitted to then no accountability can happen,ha ha ha,and of course they will also tell you that they cannot give that detailed tactical data to opposition coaches,ha ha ha,as if they all havent been using the same systems their entire lives over generations of Hockey players,NewAge things dont happen often in any sport.




So you see the solution is to create a System in which the players make few decisions and therefore cannot execute bad habits,a System in which the Coaches make few decisions and therefore cannot execute bad habits,a streamlines simple System with concepts that penetrate the coaches AND the Players decisions.A System based on Habits not on traditional concepts and tactics,a System based on Intuition exactly like Moma2s NewAge Hockey System.,a System that utilises Intuitive Dynamic Managment to create an anticipatory impact every playaction.

That is Moma2s NewAge Hockey System and its Intuitive Dynamic Managment Program to those of you who are new in class.


You cannot put a Band-aid on a Femoral arterial bleed,and you cannot add a tiny swab of an entire Philosophy to your mess in a piece-meal action,you need to apply the curative action to EVERYTHING,and really if it is good enough for one area why wouldnt it apply to all areas?

The exact same Program the Players and Coaches follow needs to be followed by all of Managment as well,we are talking a Culture and Philosophy change of epic but curative dimensions.The entire Super-structure must be brought onto the same philosophical page,just to begin things.

An Optimal Managment Program obviously applies to every facet of the organisation right to the POHO.Optimal means BEST and this is what all these men claim to want to be,what they claim to be trying to accomplish,well here it is,a one-size-fits-all solution.Everyone from K-Lowe to the Janitor gets a fair share of Moma2s Badmedicine to get everyone on the same page.Nothing will really mean anything to the members of this organisation untill everyone suffers the same challenge or pain or annoyance or adjustment or change or evolution,go ahead and make yourself happy pick a word that fits you because at the end of the day the changes will be the same.If you want to bring a new Culture in you need to allow it to envelope everyone at every level bar none at one time.Everyone can sit down and lick their wounds together and ask each other just what the heck hit them all,its ok i have seen the Show before and everyone will be OK when its over.

If you want to keep the group together they all have to line up for their spankings and everyone needs to know it is happening,once the good olde Fanbase sees the entire organisation suffering the fate of a Random Internet Guru running amok,the press will Gobble it up,the MSM will suddenly be on the managment and players side,ha ha ha,and you will in an epic manner bring Cyber-space into the fold as an asset instead of an adversary,we are regular people not reporters and when one of us does good we all do good,you dum-dums have no clue how to create impacts do you?


$ years ago no one talked about the Oilers System,in fact no one talked about Systems much at all,it was all Statistics and things that online bloggers could easily communicate with,well today more and more and more i am hearing intelligent and knowledgable discussions about the "System",and it is about time.Not just here but around the NHL.

Once people start looking for System patterns they get a new and exciting way to enjoy a game they never thought they would view differently.They start to valuate players and coaches and GMs and POHOs much more accurately,they have a baseline for evaluations when they have systems understanding.They know if a Coach is screwing up or if Players are not doing as asked,they know what players would be suitable in trades and which would not in a new and accurate way.

Yes one might say some things have changed in the last few years huh?

All changes for the better,nothing progresses or grows without incentive,and this new Fan perspective will only make the game of Hockey better than it was, take it into the future.

If all the Players on your roster are of Average or greater quality in all areas as per NHL standards and you lose consistantly,what could the problems possibly be?

Poor System which cannot compete on level ground in the NHL?

Poor Coaching which cannot operate an NHL level System?

It must be either of the above two causalitys in my opinion.

If the Players on the roster are not of Average or better NHL quality then there is an easy fix,fire whoever brought you these ones and find Players who are NHL average or better.

If the System is not of NHL caliber then simply pick one of the 1/4 finalist NHL Playoff teams and duplicate that System,pick any oe of the 4 but commit to one and let go of the excuse you have been preserving like the Holy Grail.

If the Coaching isnt up to NHL average standards then fire all of the coaches,because they are a Crew and are accountable as a Group,if the Head Coach isnt on track and none of the Asst.s can see that and help him then they are all cut from the same quality of cloth and maybe its time to buy baby a new pair of shoes.Bring in only Coaches with Average or better NHL results on their resumes.

Players
System
Coaching


There is nowhere else to look for causality.

How do we know if the Players are all NHL Average or better?

How do we know if the System is of NHL caliber?

How do we know if the Coaches are failing to get the job done with an adequate System ?



We have to rely on stats from other teams to valuate players we bring in and rely on our farmteams valuations for our homegrown men. The stats from other teams are negligible as to their accuracy or value,and the Farmteams Coaches arent getting to see their charges playing NHL hockey to make an accurate valuation.This means we need to rely on the NHL Coaches to make Homegrown and import valuations in realtime on-the-fly.Eakins did baseline Physical testing early on to define the gradient he used to valuate Players physical abilitys as per the NHL average,he had to make cerebral valuations on-the-fly.we will assume that no Players are making it to the NHL level without at least Average cerebral abilty,and language barriers are a specific Job issue that the team must address properly so they are no excuse.

I will assume that all men on the Roster carry Average or better NHL skillsets and cerebral abilitys.

We have to rely on our statistical record to define the Systems value,it is not simply a matter of winning or losing,it is how we lose that matters,if we are losing games by one or two goals consistantly then the System is suitable for NHL use,a 1 or 2 goal defeat is on par for todays NHL,4 or 5 goal losses consistantly point to a System failure.


One or two mistakes resulting in goals against can be attributed to either Coaching errors or Player errors.sometimes both in the same game.These are margins every NHL Team must work within and are normal.

The Coaching Crew must be evaluated on the statistical results as the System is,but in this case it is important to note how we win AND how we lose,if we are winning by one goal consistantly and are missing opportunitys consistantly then adjustments are needed to increase the conversion rate of opportunitys.If we are losing by one goal and the Dynamics are the same or we are being out adjusted the same ways consistantly then that needs to be adjusted,we need to look out for patterns in our defeats to make sure we arent being Pre-scouted right out of games.The one or two goal margin and the importance of maintaining an acceptable conversion rate of offensive opportunitys is par for the NHL course.If we are being outchanced consistantly but are using a qualified NHL System then adjustments need to be made.


Blame or accountability or whatever you choose to call it can only fall on these 3 areas,Player attitudes and locker-room dynamics ARE not areas we can place blame on,that is derelict to even suggest.These men are pros and are at work,it is not a tea party,ever.



I did not see bottom of the barrell NhL players last seasonI saw average or better across the board.

I did see a lot of one goal and 2 goal losses which shows me the System is adequate.We werent blown out all year long,not at all.

I did see many many games where we were in it for 60 minutes but were outfoxed or outcoached at critical times,I did see an above average number of Player errors,it is the Coaches job to explain and teach AND adjust the System,so either this was lacking or the Players were overtly disobeying the Coaches.I find it impossible to state that I believe that the Players were going out there to be beaten to snot and intentionally disobeying the Coaches.As you can see this leaves me with one single area of accountability and it is the Coaching crew.

The Players are good enough,the System is good enough and judging by the types of losses we suffered the Coaches are good enough,so what was really lacking was System managment and understanding,and communication catalysed weaknesses in both areas.

I will say YET AGAIN,that someone needs to help this team bring the Players-System and Coaching crew onto the same page,it is that simple,and the only way to do this optimally is to introduce an influence which completely includes all of these factors,without changing to much of any one factor.Small adjustments just like on the ice.Upper managment also needs to be under the umbrella of this influence so they will be on the same page as well.Think of the impact as being an organisation-wide Memo from |Darryl Katz,one that EVERYONE has to read and sign off on proving they are informed.


All windows of opportunity for excuses and passing the buck must be 86ed,there is a massive system in place on an organisational level which accomodates buck passing and excuses,this entire system must be dismantled at one time,no small fixes or band-aids here and there as needed,this needs to be a curative measure which reaches the deepest waters.


NOBODY really wants this to happen,this type of influence is not embraced by any one group or factor,for many different reason this pre-existing system of excusatory back-doors has been the incubator for all of the people involved,expecting them to be able to self-diagnose and quit the habit cold-turkey is not realistic.

Listen if you cannot write posts like these and you cannot multi-task well enough to track down every single glitch in the system and fix it then you are not cut out for the Job of Global Organisational Managment.I am not talking about the POHO I am talking about the entire organisation.Everything is intentionally segmented and this by proxy prevents optimal performance from the get-go.The Oilers need a Consultant with Permission and a Plan and a Program which can be applied to EVERY FACET OF THE ORGANISATION,nothing less will do.All of the adequate pieces are already on board,and if this level and type of Managment ability is not inputted ASAP men will be moved on and that is not needed.

The first thing you do when your shoe is falling off is tighten the laces up,you dont start cuuting pieces out and replacing them without defining Primary causality first.

This entire Oilers shoe needs to have the laces tightened,and in all likely-hood this will be the curative action needed.

But the Oilers shoe has knots tied above and below every shoe-lace hole so whenever someone has tried to tighten the laces nothing happens beyind the first hole,the entire shoe can never be fitted properly.

You need to untie those knots first,to close the windows of opportunity everyone has built to protect themselves from valuations and critique.

It does not sound to me like the Oilers need a Hockey Person or Mind to get this critical job done,what they need is a man or woman with the VISION needed to complete such an epic and important job.

A communications expert with elite Intuition is what is needed,nothing else will do because of the incredible number of blind-spots which have been built into the organisation over several decades.A program which cannot be fooled or manipulated and which has the depth and flexibility to challenge every facet of operations to the same degree is needed.

This is a unique situation and requires a NewAge solution,anyone can see this,the real problem is that there is no traditional place for the Oilers to go to aquire the input they so badly need,where exactly do you find an asset like they need> Easy answer,find the most troublesome and annoying and consistant influence which has been haunting the organisation in every area,the input that ALWAYS has an answer no matter what the problem or where it is located,find someone up to the challenge who has already hit tender nerves more than anyone else.Then HIRE THEM.Dont mess around,hire the influence and start the healing process across the board,no half-measures.

If that doesnt work there is always the Witch-doctor or the Priest,but to be Frank you fellas are running out of options quickly.

I say this,if you cannot take the last place NHL team and turn them into a Playoff team in ONE YEAR then you are not an elite manager.Excuses are a dime a dozen.If you have Average or better Players and an adequate NHL System and Able and involved Coaches then there are absolutely no excuses available.

You show me who is responsible for choosing the Players,System and Coaches and I will show you who is 100% accountable for the state of affairs surrounding the Oilers as we speak.

Winning is the easy part,its all the hard work you need to do before you compete that is lacking here,do you understand yet?


This is not and was never Rocket Science.


Has anyone suggested this type of all-encompassing curative action to date? NO DARN WAY ---- no one sees it this way,EVERYONE wants to make people changes instead of attitude changes.

I DO NOT BELIEVE that a winner cuts their own Achillies Tendon,I dont believe in giving up on anything because i trust that i make optinal decisions,I believe in constant teaching and learning and if you arent into that you are out,I believe in teaching everyone around me as much as they can handle no matter who they are,I DO IN FACT want to see if the Janitor has the acumen to more than he is and if he can show me more I will give him more unconditionally and with no limits and I MEAN NO LIMITS -- if he can elevate himself above me I will help him not hinder him because I have more Pride than desire to earn dollars and hold my position,I am confident enough in myself to understand and valuate talent and acumen enough to know when to take the shoulder and let a Blueflamer who is the Real Deal pass me by,this doesnt mean anyone is getting by me easy,it means I am loyal to my Principals.Only a coward or a fool intentionally holds back talent on their own team and I am neither,if you are with me you have already set your bar above me and if you havent I will help you do so.I believe in giving 100% knowledge and acumen to teammates and if this isnt happening then adjustments need to be made.Taylor Hall has been on the pointed end of the weenie-stick in the last few post and this is exactly why he is being adjusted - his interactions with Nail have not been acceptable because Taylor KNOWS exactly as I do that Nail is as talented as he is -- if Dallas edged Hall into "competeing" right into the lockerroom and with teammates this way he will suffer the Karma later.I dont care who you are if you are executing optimally you will teach every teammate how you do it,or you dont belong with the group.I mean you will be deleted immediatly even if you are a stud,internal rot and strife are the surest way to destroy esprit de corps and submarine an entire team.I wasnt joking when I said to consider a Hall and Ebbs trade and also a Ference trade,Ferences behaviour was bullying with the Coaches support and not acceptable on specific occasions,he may call it building the team his way but i call it unacceptable as it is not optimal leadership execution. To date out of the 3 #1 picks Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins looks the most ready to become the Captain of this team he is entering his 4th season and an option now as an early candidate .If it were up to me i would even defer to him were we teammates because of his demeanor and his natural calmness which hides a fierce competitive winning spirit,that is the type of influence you want leading a winning team.The type of personality and control and awareness it takes to carry a team on your shoulders.Inevitably Hopkins was the incoming Captain ,you could read it from day one,putting the C on him and A's on Fernce and Hall next season settles things down for years and years to come,and will give optimal perspective to players and managment alike,and also make contract negotiations easier and trade decisions easier as well as allow players to make optimal career decisions if they dont see the future they want,EVERYMAN has to WANT to be where they are,not just playing hockey but want to be an OILER.It is time to embrace the future in meanngfull and impactfull ways.It is time to give managment and players a solid template from which they can make optimal decisions,end all of the Drama already.Taylor will be a Captain one day in the NHL but the paralells between Gretzky/Messier and Hopkins/Hall are unavoidable and identical,Taylor has the raw ability but not the managment skills and he needs to hoist a few Cups like Mess did to reach his potential and apex as a Professional,Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has shown a Special type of personality and drive and vision which put him in a very rare category,he is potential wise above elite,he is an UNKNOWN and he could do Historic things if the right environment can be executed and maintained for him.The teams internal natural evolution was decimated by eakins interference and external managment influences,this interferenc created a bad dynamic ,Gagner is my optimal choice for Captain,but bringing Ference in when and how Eakins did was plain dysfunctional and derailed that, the year long disruption took Nuge into early Leadership range and with ference and gagner to support him he could very well step up and take the helm and settle the entire team down for the next ten years.This is the stability the team really needs and the definition of role it needs as well.Optimally Gagner would have taken the Captaincy and leadership role for another 2 years untill Nuge was ready at which point it would become the Nugent/Hall show for the next era.

If the team rallys around,emulates,respects and DEFENDS and is VALUATED as the Leader then Taylor Hall will truly become a monster and likely break more records potentially lead the NHL in points,Eberle will relax and begin to play in the relaxed loose manner that makes him so lethal, loosey goosey and Eberle is All-World,under to much early leadership pressure he loses the swagger and top end result.Yakupov will thrive under the type of Leadership influence that will trickle down from even a young Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins,and he will one day win the Rocket Richard trophy he is that talented.I want to see hall be an edgy winger who will come in and take your eye or knee out or elbow you on the way by to defend Nuge and to break teams with his overall package of skill and intensity not being worried about Leadership roles,I want Taylor and the boys able to step out of that role and get dirty so they can take this team to the Cup.I want to see Hall and Yakupov both on one line with Nuge ripping teams apart with their overwhelming talent energy and most of all passion for winning,Nail edge and fierce Grizzly Bear like temper would work perfectly and naturally with Halls Barracuda like mean streak,Nails size and natural truculence make him a better fit than Ebbs because their finishing ability is equal with Nail having the edge in shooting abilty and Ebbs in craftiness,I believe that the Hall-Hopkins-Yakupov line is already beefy enough to be the optimal 1st line combo.Not many teams can ice that 1st line followed by Perron-Gagner-Eberle and that is how things are shaping up so far.If proper respect and attention are given to Hopkins and Yakupov then this woud be the long term future and the way to proceed with an early Leadership solidification,this team badly needs to settle in and it looks like we need to evolve our Leadership role from within the youth group like other teams are and define the long term personality of the franchise and team.

It is time to hand the reins over to the next generation,Ference doesnt fit,Hall isnt ready,Gagner is not the long term solution,and Nuge is ready and even if he wasnt there yet his intangibles are so overwhelming that the sooner the trickle down effect starts with the long term in mind happens the better.Give Nuge the Captaincy to start the year,let everyone know the obvious,that Hopkins will define the Era and that Hall will be his wing-man during the coming chapter of Oilers History.If this doesnt happen and roles arent defined and order doesnt come to chaos then we might lose a Hall or a Yakupov or an Eberle in the mess.Everyone needs to know who is driving the bus and everyone needs to 100% buy into defending the Leadership Hopkins provides and that starts with defending his body and health with a VIOLENT PASSION,and every man needs to understand that this is how it works in Edmonton,if you come here you come to Ryan-Nugent-Hopkins team flanked by taylor Hall and you will come to defend and support that duo,you will either be prepared to hurt anyone who even breaths on Nugent-Hopkins the wrong way or you arent in the right place.The Oilers dont need more team toughness,they need focus and structure and stability,and the rest is simple,Nugent-Hopkins is the straw that stirs the Oilers Drink so all you need to know is that your job is to win games and to do that everyone needs the leader leading not being intimidated or roughed up,if Hall or Ebbs or Yak or anyone doesnt think that their leader is more important to the team in terms of physiclly being there or playing without fear then they are needs to catch a bus out of Dodge ASAP.No one needs to hold back waiting and playing carefully to obtain a leadership pass,you need to play with a winning edge and Leadership roles dont come with passesyou either have it or you dont and it isnt something men in the Locker-room compete for ,everyman knows a Leader when he works and lives around him,it is really that simple and the differences between regular Joe and Captain are tremendous and it isnt that hard to see who the best man for the job is,this is the first step to building a Championship team,getting everyone on the same page and into defined and comfortable roles.All the team has to do is follow this template,come out next year and follow RNH and let him optimise his skillset,protect him and only him,make a pact in the room to follow and trust and protect him and let him know he can be anything he wants to on the ice and he will be supported at all costs on every shift.Do not accept any hockey Player in your dressing room who isnt willing to follow that creed,the litmus test to entering the edmonton Oilers Locker-Room will now be the willingness to follow and protect one man,Hopkins,if you cannot do that then you cannot have your teammates backs,all you need to do is commit 100% to doing what everyone else does,Protect the Captain with violence at all times.There is more than one way to create team toughness but the optimal way is to catalyse around your most valuable asset and defend it to the last breath,when you do that everyones job becomes exactly the same and the pecking oreder problems go away forever. If every man on the roster commits to this then Hopkins will be able to orchestrate epic things on the ice,he is the type of Player who can squeeze 100% out of his linemates and he can optimise every second of icetime.If he is confident and comfortable he will make Hall and Yakupov both 50 gaol scorers.That trio has the potential to dominate the entire NHL and to do it early and unseat the Kanes and Toews and other young stars at the same time they unseat the Crosbys and the Ovechkins.

If managed properly this trio could explode this coming year,if not Nail will need another year on the 2nd line to season and gain confidence.I believe this is where hall needs to prove himself to me to help speed up Nails development personally that he can be a selfless player and not a prima-Donna and where I want to see Nuge become the leader and communicator I know he can be,an elite one,he can bring the line together if they are all willing to support him.

I think it is wise to make the entire Leadership youth movement ASAP and to also bring in all of the young d-men together,Marincin-Nurse-Klefbom-Eckblad? and anyone else who might be high end.Everyone cannot possibly make the same mistakes at the same time but they WILL all learn from watching each other and also watching ow the coaches help correct the miscommunications.Bring in ALL the kids and see what happens,with no pressure because everyone knows Mc David is a Generational talent and they understand what he could mean to their careers down the line so no one will be to crushed if the season is a wash and if the lineup is riddled with real high end rookies then it will be a true learning experience and worth the trip to the McDavid sweepstakes,not rolling over because the rookies will be busting their cojones,but no pressure to over-produce winning results either.

Let Hopkins and Hall take over a real rookie team that they can really imprint and brand the way they need to to bring everyone together.

Nuge needs to become the PP goal scoring focus and get greedy next year,it is critical he do that,he needs the points and to take some pressure off of his teamates.He needs to break the dam open more often and show the fellas that he can always get one or two so if they bust cojones they can easily help win games with their own contributions.Think of it this way if Nuge shoots first all year Hall will score more points than if hall enters the zone and shoots first every time,this is because Nuge will always create passing dynamics and not waste possesions,his decision making and reaction time and instincts are just better than everyone elses and it is what it is.Hall will still get touches and assists and will score as many goals,so essentially you ADD more goals without diminishing Halls numbers when Nuge gets greedy.Throw Yakupov on the other side and suddenly you have a dynamic explosive offense that is one-shot and can finish plays at lightening speed.If the puck is in Nuges hands the most the team will win the most this means 5 on 5 and PP and sometimes 1st and 2nd PP,this young man needs to be given the chance to win games on his own as much as possible,because he can deliver more and more consistantly than everyone else,it is what it is.

Ference and Gagner do not settle the team down as Captains LONG TERM no one can stop Nuge from emerging and Hall is unstoppable unless you are RNH,it is worth an early change of the guard now that Nuge has shown he can handle it early,and i believe Hall will explode with the pressure off of his shoulders and he might even grow a mini-Messier chip on his shoulders which is exactly what he needs to get to his next level,he is a Monster,just raw talent and to think he will be peaking in terms of leadershipp in 6-7 years.The future is very bright in Oiltown if you look in from the right angle.Once Hall realises how fast he and Nail can finish Plays if Nuge is the General and how much MORE ROOM he will get because of yakupovs shot he will see that this is the way for him to elevate his own game and numbers,there is no way for hall to get any more room than he already gets,he has leaguewide respect,so basiclly we have seen his top end production this season,unless he can find more room out there,and Yakupov will get him more room than Eberle will it is that simple.Add in that Goaltenders will all be jumpy because of Hall and Nail and suddenly you are seeing the Winning Formula developing.But everything revolves around Nuge and the willingness of Hall and Yakupov and the entire team to protect and support him every shift.


I projected Eberle on the 2nd line scoring series winning goals,and running up big points numbers in the regular season,not as the 1st line winger.he has proven he can prduce like a 1st line winger and we havent seen his top end yet as he has not been focused on yet because of halls dominance and the Coaches inability to rein him in adequately.I just dont see Ebbs scoring 50 but I do see Nail doing it given the opportunity.Nuge is that opportunity and the future is now so I would start the season with a 2nd line containing Ebbs and expect more out of him than he has given so far,his numbers should not drop .Yakupov has to get those minutes with Hall and Nuge,and we need to see if Hall is able to mentor and respect Nail ,see if he has any leadership potential even though he is still young.My priority is getting Nail trigger finger close to Nuges passes,Hall is Gold no matter where you put him,but Nail is a Special Shooter and Nuge is a Special Passer,it is to good to pass up,nearly an act of God.The fact is also that Nail is an exceptional passer who never wastes pucks,he always gets it to a shooting area it is spooky but true,if you look at his possesions in the o-zone nail makes some beautifull passes and doesnt waste chances or possesions he works himself free and always puts it somewhere dangerous.