Philadelphia Flyers’ Hakstol’s Jedi Mind Tricks
By Marc Naples
Meeting with Dave Hakstol might have boosted production for Philadelphia Flyers, especially when it comes to the Sean Couturier line.
It was really just a minor blurb, that most Philadelphia Flyers fans probably didn’t even notice.
No other explanation was provided, and it’s impossible to know what Hakstol was saying. Judging by the comments from Flyers fans to that tweet, the majority of fans were hoping Hakstol chewed them out, or was considering demoting them.
As a rookie head coach, no one really knows much about Hakstol’s style behind closed doors. Managing grown professionals is an entirely new challenge for Hakstol, as opposed to college kids. For what’s it worth, he’s been described as brief and direct, but with an icy stare “that will penetrate the back of your helmet.”
It would be kind of amazing to imagine that Hakstol called them into a meeting and simply stared at them. And maybe I’m seeing too much Star Wars buzz these days, but it would be equally amazing if Hakstol pulled some kind of Jedi mind trick to make the players start scoring.
Oct 27, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol behind the bench during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at Wells Fargo Center. The Sabres defeated the Flyers, 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Whatever was said, it didn’t have an immediate effect on the trio. They continued their dry run of scoring the next few games. By the end of the week, they were down to a collective -33 rating.
The last two games, however, have changed their luck. In the wins over the Senators and the Rangers, Simmonds has three goals, Couturier has four points, and they are a combined +15. I would like to believe Hakstol said something magical, but the explanation is probably much more simple.
The Couturier line this season has been an odd duck. By possession statistics, they’re the best line on the team. They are consistently on the plus side of the Corsi ledger;
On the other hand, on the scale of goals, their -33 rating as of last week made them the worst line on the Flyers. Obviously goals are more important than possession statistics, but it is very rare to see such a divergence between the two classes of statistics. Whatever your feeling on Corsi statistics, this dichotomy was unlikely to continue.
Hopefully the line’s goal explosion in recent games is an indicator or what’s to come. One could certainly make the case that the goals are simply their just rewards.
The only thing my eyes are telling me is that Sean Couturier seems to be slightly more aggressive with the puck on his stick recently. It has always exasperated me how little Sean Couturier skates with the puck. Often time when he receives the puck he stops moving his feet, and looks to dump it off to a teammate. If Couturier is ever to grow beyond a purely defensive center, he has to push the issue offensively at time.
It’s possible that all Hakstol said in the meeting with Couturier and his linemates was that all their possession is great, but they have to make that extra push to put the puck in the net. That would be a reasonable and level-headed request. Alternatively, perhaps the only Jedi mind trick Hakstol used was patience. Hakstol kept the line together, and their solid play is now paying off. Maybe that does tell us something about Hakstol’s coaching of the Philadelphia Flyers behind the scenes, and without even knowing a single word that he said.