People have been studying what it takes to win for a long long time.
You see everyone thinks they have the formula especially when it’s their job to select the roster or pick the team. I’ve written a lot over the years about ghost rosters and what they entail. It’s no secret that Hockey Canada have used ghost rosters for years and years as part of their framework for the program of excellence or for all their “international” rosters.
Sometimes they have worked, and sometimes they have blown up in front of their very eyes. When ghost rosters work or shall I say, picking the right players and putting them in the right places for them to succeed, everyone looks at the coaches and selection committee as “outstanding hockey minds” and perhaps that’s the truth, but what about the players. Where’s the credit they deserve for buying into their roles and making all the sacrifices it takes to win.
Selecting a 6’3 3rd line center just because that’s what some ghost roster framework says and trusting that model to be the “be all end all” is total bullshit in my opinion.
“Oh Craig, it all comes down to analytics and the numbers don’t lie.”
Well in my opinion, that’s bullshit to.
You can play the percentages all you want, but like I’ve written before, I have yet to see a computer ever evaluate the character, resiliency and heart of a player.
To be brutally honest I don’t give a shit about so and so’s efficiency and effectiveness and their offensive numbers breaking down opponents on the rush, I want to know if they have in them to do what it takes to win when it matters most.
This time of year Junior hockey in this country is highly scrutinized and showcased all at the same time.
What goes into selecting those teams, and why hasn’t Canada done so well in the last few tournaments? Well, other countries around the world have caught up to the other “self imposed” “hockey powers.”
You can look at coaching, you can look at officiating in big games and international rules of the game, and you can look at whatever the hell you want to look at to make excuses or provide rationale to explain high quality or even poor performances in these events over the years or you can sit back and really look at the reasons why some teams and players have success and why others don’t.
The same shit is going to happen for the up coming Olympics. Everyone has their rosters ready to go, and have this player on or off the team, but again in many ways it all comes down to value.
What do you value in that player over the other one and what does the coach value or see in their players and how are they going to use that value in certain situations.
“Oh well, given the size of the rink you’re going to need more grit and sandpaper.”
Again that goes back to the ghost roster, analytics and what those hockey people value, but what about the truth.
Truth is, some players can’t accept certain roles or don’t have what it takes to play within the system or aren’t versatile enough to fit into what the brain trust or coaching staff want and need from them and that’s the truth behind why they don’t make the team.
You know what the saddest part of all this is, that there are associations and minor hockey organizations that buy into these models to select their teams and often times it blows up in their faces to.
Is Player A better than Player B?
What value will Player C bring that Player D won’t?
Player E doesn’t fit the criteria that Player F does in our “ghost roster” framework states? What a crock of shit that is, but don’t be surprised that shit is still happening and will continue to happen in any selection process because it always comes back to what the person or people in charge value or what they believe the formula is that takes to win.
The hockey world is notorious for copy cat behaviour or shall I say “emulating” the winning model. That emulation has set some organizations in the NHL back years because it drastically affects their drafting, development and how they approach free agency. What’s our team culture? What’s our team identity? How do we want to play?It all comes back to value and if you don’t have the right people in your organization that speak the truth and are able to cut through all the analytic and ghost roster bullshit you’re not going to have very much success.
What was that team missing?
Why did that team not execute when it mattered most?
Was that team realistically good enough to compete?
Did we have enough talent on that team to win?
Did we lose to a better team?
We wouldn’t change anything to our process because it worked and we just came up a little short?
What do you value in players?
What’s your ghost roster look like?
Would you solely trust analytics to navigate your decisions?
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