With the season of the Thunderbirds on just 51 days away, “Voice of the T-Birds” Ryan Smith caught up second-year head coach Steve Konowalchuk to discuss the Outlook of the team on the way to the new year, from recurring veterans to promise prospects that rise by the St. Louis Blues’ organization.
*Some answers are slightly processed for length and clarity*
RS: coming as a head coach in your second year and returning with many familiar faces, you have the chance to continue where you had left. How much comfort does that offer you and the team, and what will the umbrella message be that the new season will start?
SK: Building at the end of the year meetings, all players seemed enthusiastic about the year and the opportunity to build. It was clearly a tough finish, but we were there exactly and really close to beating a really good team. We have a really good core that comes back, and the young boys still have a year under their belt, so that should really help. They know how I operate and I know their personalities, so the expectations of the daily operation should help to go to the training camp and the start of the season. As a coach you got to know your boys last year and the boys got to know you and your expectations, but now they know what I expect from them, and they are proud that they are a good hockey team, so the expectations are set. At the beginning of last year we had to build and use that foundation. For me I believe that the basis has been set, and now it’s just a matter of building.
RS: For so many players, the jump from year 1 to year 2 to year 2 to year 3 is so crucial. There are many players who will be a challenge for places in St. Louis. What do you hope to see outside of production and advanced statistics from the young players while building on the previous season?
SK: It’s a bit different for every player. They are such young boys (19, 20, 21) that you want to see personal physical growth, where they are a little bigger, stronger, faster. That will improve their skills. As soon as you get bigger, stronger, faster, the game slows down a bit and the game becomes a little easier for you. That is the next step for a young player. From there, when you get into a training camp and start getting games, it is a matter of that 200-foot game. At the end of the day that is a large separator for many players, whether in the NHL or the AHL. It is the 200-foot game, and it is the little things they do blocking photos, making hits to make plays, to finish checks, to go to the dirty areas consistently. I think our boys have built in well at that, but we still want to build on that, so that they are ready for the NHL. For me I want to see who has that ability to jump on the right where they left last year and take another step.
RS: With a training camp and the start of a season, you never know what injuries and schedule movements can do, but on paper the forward depth in St. Louis and Springfield is noticeably strong. Maybe you have a wide range of pieces to play with in the front. Have you thought about what kind of game and with what kind of group you might have to work with?
SK: It is exciting and it makes the work of a coach easier because you have competition from within. During about a month last year, where we had everyone healthy, we had an idea of what our Forward group can be and we have set up some really good attacking figures that only roll the lines. At one point I came in (the dressing room) and I told the boys that they will dictate who will be the first rule and the fourth rule because we have four balanced lines. That is something I am enthusiastic about, because on paper we have that kind of depth where we have four rules that opponents will have difficult to identify what is necessarily the upper rule. Line combinations will shake themselves out because the training camp will dictate something of it. It is clear that everyone in our team has the chance to make the blues out of the camp, so I am not ahead of myself because I believe in our boys and they have to enter with the mentality that they are going to make the blues.
RS: You had the chance to coach Chris Wagner in Colorado, a player who are known in this area from his days with the Bruins. What do you not get from Wagner Day in and day those statistics do not show you?
SK: I was lucky to coach him both in Colorado and Anaheim. The first is the character – he is a good leader who sets a good example and works hard in practice and games. For me he is the 200-foot, well-completed player. He brings grit, tenacity, is a good faceoff man, can play Power Play or Penalty Kill, is versatile, can be a wing or a center. He is the type of man that other teams do not want to play against, because he will continue. That is so important in every team, especially at the level of the American League where you have young players to watch (him). They see that there is a man who has played at the NHL level for a long time; How did he do it? He did it because of his competition, his willingness to block shots and the things you try to teach everyone. That is what he is going to take with him, that hard offered hockey and the possibility to score and set up points.
RS: With Wagner, next to Matthew Peca, Matt Luff and Corey Schueneman, you have a strong experienced group. The AHL is often conceived as a League of Development, and I think the average fan may not realize how important it is to have the veterans who have previously fought in the NHL and AHL level. If you have such a core group, how tangible is the impact they have on young players?
SK: It is really important to have the vets, not only for their assets, but also for their character. Sometimes there will sometimes be growth pains with young players, and the veterans with a good character deserve the respect of the young player, and the young player will follow them. They can push them a little. If the veterans don’t have the right character, the young boys may not follow them. With all our experienced players, the younger boys can follow what they do on and next to the ice. On top of the character you want your veterans to play; Chemistry is so important, and when you have a young guy with whom you try to build confidence yourself, if you can link them to a top veteran, it helps them to get it too successful and to maintain that trust while your growing pains limits. I am very enthusiastic about the experienced group that we have; We are very happy that we have the right character with a good skill that is mixed to bring in a group of young boys who have more experience under their belt. You want the right age with veterans, but you also want a young, hungry enthusiasm from a young player. It is an exciting mix that we have.
RS: Transition to the incoming rookies, last year at Development Camp, you had the chance to see many of these players. Starting with Juraj Pekarcik, as someone who grew up with Dalibor Dvorsky in Slovakia, what are your expectations for him and how big a comfort is it for the player to have someone like Dalibor he can look at and see the route map at what could be?
SK: It is always an advantage to see a young guy and a friend continue and have success. It’s funny, they are both young boys, but one man (Dvorsky) has brought a year behind him and has that experience to help. With Pekarcik he has such a good 1-on-1 power and talent that he will be fun to work with. Again, it’s about broadening the game. We talked a lot about it last year with DVO, and hopefully he can now help translate what of it for Pekarcik and make it a little faster for him. That said, I want to emphasize, just like all our boys in the camp, Dvorsky is a St. Louis Blue, so he has a mission to try to make the blues.
RS: Quinton Burns is an interesting and intriguing prospect of the blue line for the rough game that he plays. When you hear that description, it almost screams Tyler Tucker and we’ve seen how much his game has grown in St. Louis. What makes him such an intriguing prospect to work with?
SK: He stood out last year in the Rookie camp for his natural competitive level and the willingness to be hard and sandy. From what I understand, that’s his game. That natural level and size to belong to it is a difficult combination to find. It is a special quality that he has, and he is a good leader and very coachable from the time I had to work with him. In today’s game it is still so important to have the large, grouse, hard -enjoyed players. When the other team looks at the line -up and who they play that night, it is as if “we have to keep our head up for this guy.” For me, Burns can be that kind of player while he grows and develops.
RS: Theo Lindstein is the player who collects a lot of excitement in St. Louis on his way to his first North -American season. He was very successful internationally and played in a man in Sweden at the age of 19-20. The word we hear about him is his offensive balance and instincts. Insight into the North American game is another animal, what does T-Birds fans have to be the most enthusiastic about what he offers?
SK: His skill level is above average, his balance with the puck, and his ability to make that first pass is a really good combination, plus he is a great skater. Like most top players are about how quickly he can adapt to the North -American game in the smaller ice rink, where they come to you faster at the back. It will be a good learning experience for him, but he certainly has the opportunity to be a difference maker and a really good solid puckmover and Power Play defender.
RS: If depth it is #1 thing that makes the task of a coach easier, then having a great goalkeeper #1a can be. You had the chance to have that with Colts Ellis last year. Many people have taken note of what kind of big game player he is. How high do you view his potential ceiling?
SK: In contrast to any other position, it takes so long to develop. I think many people say it is usually a five -year -old route map. He is really on a good path. I can’t say enough about how well he played for us last year, especially in the times that we were exhausted with injuries and a number of growing pains. He was an anchor for us and helped to win our games and keep us in it. Goals are always difficult to predict who can take the ball and run with it. I see intangible assets with (Ellis). He is competitive, has a smart personality, does not become too high or too low, works hard every day and became a top ko -keeper in our competition. For me he should go to St. Louis and show them that they still have an NHL-ready keeper and make it a problem. For a coach it is a luxury if you have such a goalkeeper. But I am excited to see Vadim Zherenko too. He played some games where he was a difference maker. We talk about the time needed for a keeper to be polished, and it takes a while, but his top games, in situations that might not be favorable, he went inside and got us some victories with big Saves. I am excited that he takes that game and sees it more often. With both goalkeepers I feel confidence in the net.
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