SLBAM: A threesome is the worst thing for a janitor

What’s up gang. Here we are, the end of 2023.

I sincerely hope that you were able to achieve what you wanted to achieve for 2023, and that you’re proud of it. For my part, here’s my last article of the year.

Here are your questions.

It’s pretty much the worst thing you can do for goalies, although now we’re overprotecting goalies so I don’t really know what to think anymore.

A ménage à deux is much easier for everyone than a ménage à trois. For the simple reason that nobody really takes off and nobody really trusts anybody.

You want your number one keeper to gain confidence and build on that. But knowing that the other two goalkeepers are going to see action in the very near future, it’s hard on the mind to build on small victories.

We had three goalies in the KHL and we’d love to have a third in the ECHL. If the third is a practice goalie and/or a goalie who will be a backup only if one of the first two is injured or recalled to a higher level, I love that.

That way, you can even give your number 1 goalie a day off if he ever needs treatment or whatever.

I know the Montreal Canadiens’ video coach sometimes comes on board as a goalie when needed for practice. So no, it doesn’t work well and it also creates internal discomfort and it’s not great if all three see action.

It’s funny, because when you wrote the question, we had just sent Hammer and Goat with Wilkes, because they need players right now.

But yes, having a full line-up, whatever your level, is very advantageous. Don’t forget that in our situation, not so long ago, we had five players in our top 6 with the AHL club.

Despite everything, we’ve done well. We often heard Marc Bergevin mention that, once in the playoffs, anything can happen. I have a little trouble with that in the NHL. But in the ECHL, it’s a reality.

The most important thing is to make the playoffs, and anything can happen after that, every year. If you take the time to look at the teams in the last few years, you’ll see that there are a lot of surprises year after year.

To come back to your question. We believe in our chances of making the playoffs, but it’s obvious that we need our full roster. We’ve shown that and we want to build on it.

But we don’t have control over what to call up. The other reality for us is that we’re in the toughest division in the league. Every game until the end of the season is a four-point game. So we have to be careful not to lose too many.

To answer your second question. I don’t think we’re missing anything, to be honest with you. I’m not saying we have everything to win, because that takes more than just good players.

But if we look at our line-up, we have one of the three best goalies in the league. Our defense, even though it’s young, has a lot of experience at the league level and several championships at the NCAA level.

Plus we’re one of the best teams in the league in terms of transition and zone exit.

Offensively, we don’t lack offensive punch, as we regularly have more scoring chances than our opponents. But we wouldn’t say no to a top-6 impact player, like Tkachuk, for example.

A talented player who brings physicality and grit.

But I don’t need to tell you that there’s nothing available. Once we’re in the playoffs, we have to stay healthy, and everything has to click at the same time. Our numerical advantage, our disadvantage, but also, our big players.

There’s a little bit of everything in the reason why there are too many players on the ice. We’ve also been unlucky this year with this penalty of too many players on the ice.

If I look at our last four penalties for too many players on the ice. There was one penalty where our player (defenseman) was on the boards and ready to jump on the ice, he was just waiting for our player to get to the bench.

Unfortunately, our forward hooked him on the way to the bench for a change and he fell to the ice. Even though the puck wasn’t close, the referee whistled for too many players.

Another one, we’re in full control, we just have to send the puck to the back of the zone and my defenseman arrives at the bench to change.

Our forward decides to outwit their defender and makes a turnover. The puck arrives in front of our door while we’re making a change, too many players on the ice.

Last time, we made some changes to our lines. Unfortunately, one of our players didn’t hear the changes and got on the board when he saw his center player get on the board.

As coaches, we always take it personally. We have to make sure that communication is even more effective and stronger to make sure that doesn’t happen.

But as you can see, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Extension

I just saw the news. I’m really happy for women’s hockey that it’s going to be broadcast everywhere. Also happy to see Isabelle doing the analysis at RDS.

On the other hand, my downside is that I’ve never liked it. But when you have half your team with a letter on your sweater, at some point it’s too much.

We’re talking about seven players right now, not to mention the leadership group. I don’t know what the fans think, but sometimes you can’t be all things to all people.

#WorldJuniors Officiating Crew
Germany vs. Sweden
Referee: Riku Brander #19
Referee: Marek Zak #22
Lines: Jeremy Faucher #64
Lines: Simon Riecken #63https://t.co/CXwq1DOOQz #GERSWE #GERvsSWE @DEB_teams @Trekronorse @IIHFHockey #WorldJuniors #IIHF

– Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) December 28, 2023

You’ve probably heard about Jeremy Faucher, the linesman, during RDS games. I was lucky enough to coach him at the Bantam AA level, and I’ve been watching him rise through the ranks ever since. I also see him during the summer, since we train at the same gym.

In short, I just wanted to give him a little attention and make sure people were aware that there was a Quebecer at the World Junior Championship.

Here’s to another year, and I’ve been lucky enough to be able to write one last article in 2023. Many thanks to all readers and to those who came to ask questions.

I haven’t talked about Team Canada yet, because I want to wait until afterwards. I want to see how the guys bounce back from their loss to Sweden, but I also want to see the other teams. I wish you all the best, but good health for 2024 and have fun. @Mitch_Giguere.