McKenna’s Mailbag: Answering questions about youth hockey challenges, lineup decisions and more

Mike McKenna
Mike McKenna(MikeMcKenna56)
McKenna’s Mailbag: Answering questions about youth hockey challenges, lineup decisions and more

In regards to lineups, pretty regularly. Coaches usually won’t take their star players out, but they’re quick to change the bottom lines. There’s a few reasons. Sometimes it’s a matter of changing out underperforming personnel. Others it’s to inject fresh legs into the lineup. And occasionally it’s a tactical thing where the coaching staff needs a certain type of player in the lineup. More often than not, it’s dictated by internal needs rather than what team is being played that night. Injuries and suspensions speak for themselves – coaches have to backfill those spots.

Chemistry is so hard to define. Really it’s one of those things that you just know when you see it. Coaches are always trying to find the perfect match. A playmaker with a scorer. Grinders that work well together. A puck hound combined with other players that can skate and create offense on the rush. These are just a few examples.

Every Friday morning I play forward in a no-check, no-referee beer league. I have a teammate named Bob Collett and we’re magic together. I have no idea why. Neither of us are great players. But BC and I have this weird telepathy and always find one another. That’s chemistry.

You are too kind and I assure you that you didn’t miss much with my playing career. Most of my YouTube highlights are of me getting scored on or losing championship games. But as far as being approachable – I just love talking hockey and I’m a fan of the game just like you. I never viewed social media in a negative light and that’s helped. I’ve had so many positive interactions.

When I was playing I felt a duty to interact with fans and treat them with respect. When you grow up in St. Louis, stories of Cardinals legend Stan Musial are all around. He signed every autograph. He made time for everyone. That stuck with me. I’m glad you’ve found hockey and are enjoying it!

3mm all the way. Why use outdated, heavy, clumsy technology like 4mm? The wider the blade, the more steel is in the ice. That enhanced contact patch might feel more stable, but it also takes away speed. I started using 3mm steel immediately when it came out on Bauer skates. It felt nimble compared to the old blades.

I played forward during the summer my entire life, so I was already used to 3mm blades. Without question that aided my transition to the narrower blade. Give it some time and you’ll get used to it. And it’s a huge benefit being able to switch out steel on the Bauer Vertexx blade when necessary. Remember the old days when new steel equaled new cowlings that had to be riveted to the boot? What a process. I don’t think 4mm blades are going to be around much longer.

This is a huge problem. No one wants to be a referee any longer because youth hockey has gotten completely out of control. Parents think little Susie and Johnny are going straight to the pros and deserve a college scholarship – because they’ve spent so much on them. It’s crazy. What it does is breed a hyper-inflated sense of entitlement and it gets taken out on officials. Because somehow a blown tripping call in a 10U game is going to prevent a child from making it to the top of the hockey world.

My only answer to this is youth organizations need to hold parents and coaches accountable. They should receive one warning to get under control and after that, they’re gone. Tossed out of the rink. Banned from seeing their child play. I love that parents show up and cheer for their kid. But I coach 8U hockey and the amount of screaming, complaining and coaching I see take place from parents in the stands hurts my brain. The problem is a lot of youth organizations are run by crazy parents. I truly worry that we’re at the point of no return with officials. No one wants to do it.

Sort of. Because some teams still have those players – it’s just that the game has changed. Fighting simply doesn’t occur at the rate that it used to. Bob Probert was an All-Star and a damn good hockey player. He also just happened to be tough as nails. Yeah Domi fought at ton, but he could also grind. It wasn’t until the late 90s and early 2000s that things really got out of control with supersized enforcers.

I still think Tony Twist changed everything. He wasn’t a good hockey player in the traditional sense at any level. Major junior. IHL. NHL. He never cracked 12 points in a season. Twist’s job was singular: punch people. And by virtue of that skill, he became a valuable hockey player.

It started an arms race among NHL teams. They all needed a tough guy on Twist’s level – which was something unseen previously. Guys like Tiger Williams, Bob Probert, Marty McSorley – they could all play the game. McSorley had 41 points during the 1992-93 season with the LA Kings as a defenseman! Sure he played with Gretzky but he outscored Darryl Sydor that year. He wasn’t just a goon. I think today’s game is more like that – players have to be able to contribute in ways other than their fists.

I actually disagree with you on the pull being early – Vegas allowed Dallas to score three power-play goals before the game was halfway over. And despite playing behind a porous defense, Lehner hasn’t been his best lately. I think Peter DeBoer was frustrated with his team and goaltender, so he chose the nuclear option. I probably would have done the same.

Goalie coaches have varying degrees of input and consultation. Some are very active during games speaking with the coaching staff on the bench. Others take notes and eat M&Ms. It really comes down to the situation and the preference of the head coach. In a scenario like the December 8 game between Vegas and Dallas you described, DeBoer likely made the call in the moment. So-called mercy pullings are a little different. If a goalie is getting shelled and it appears no help is on the way, that’s often when the goalie coach will be consulted.

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