Tuesdays With Hildy: Do We Keep Davis Payne Around?

plusses

coached blues better than murray (per record)

coached rivermen better than wamsley (per record)

played roller hockey with manon rheaume (damn this needs to maek it into trivia for last game) (and is that why pascal is back sniffing the rivermen?)

minuses

young coach on a team in need of leadership

would be rewarded for half season of work (and we know what happens when we do that with players)

if they blues can’t hit a homerun with a player, maybe they can with a coach. davis would not be a homerun coaching name.

I think he’s done the job they asked him to do, that being stopping the bleeding, and for that he may deserve a contract and at least a full year as coach. But some of the things that were concerns under AM are still there, so I can’t say I “Love what he’s done”.

I abstain.

But . . . with that said . . . he’s closer to A than B.

GIVE THIS MAN A JOB!

What fucking profanity are you referring to?

The guy has worked up the ladder from our ECHL Affiliate, the Alaska Aces, into our AHL Rivermen, and now he has a shot in the NHL; Payne knows what it takes to get his job in the big league, and he knows what it takes to hold it. Another bonus from his career is that he’s spent most of his career coaching farm teams, and his game is development-minded — something our team needs, since most of our players are youngsters. Payne is the right man for the job in this case, considering our team is all about development right now.

As for his coaching prowess? The guy is a Hannibal of the Ice. He is a coach who, unlike Andy Murray, adjusts his lines to meet his opponent, and uses set plays to get the job done; on the March 21st game against the Predators, Darren Pang swore up and down that Colaiacovo’s goal was a set play: McDonald passes the puck towards Berglund in the slot, Berglund misses the wind-up, allowing the puck to go right past him to Cola who scored on an out of position Rinne. The defensive, structured game that Murray played (the almost fanatical obsession with the McClement stopper line) has been replaced with an offensive, skill-based style — something that our young players are all about. Along with his style of game, Payne brings to the table a radical view of the sport; he stands perched on the bench, chewing on gum or his lip, examining the opponent’s game with an almost photographic memory (check any post-game interview and he can recall any play at the drop of a hat) and adjusting his lines to combat and overcome. If you want any proof of this Hannibal-style of coaching, it’s his quote from the Blues’ Winter Carnival: he described Janssen not as an enforcer, fighter, or any hockey term for that matter — he described him as an “apex predator.” Pretty radical.

If anyone would like more information, this article should help. It was posted here a while back when he became coach, but I don’t remember who brought it up — feel free to take credit for it.

As for shortcomings this year: we have to remember that Payne was suddenly brought up to the NHL with half a season left, and the team he’s coaching is the one that Andy Murray set up. This off-season, the team will be up to its eyes in re-signings and transactions, and Davis Payne will be able to build his own deck for next season. Payne will be able to adjust the team for his kind of offensive-minded game, and will most likely change around the Captains just to identify the Blues as his making. As an added bonus, I am pretty sure we won’t have to worry about Payne bringing in any Darryl Sydor’s from training camp.

I, for one, welcome the Reign of Payne, and can’t wait to see what the new coach has in store for next season.

but if B was a ‘D’ grade I’d have chosen something between.
I rank him as a B grade and deserving of a whole season.

To put something else out there—I’m not convinced Wamsley is a good coach. I think the Rivermen need a different coach and curious as to what will be done there.
Maybe I’m wrong but my gut says get rid of Wamsley.

Anyone (pssst Brian) care to weigh in?

All the Payne lovers who sounded in before me have already hit the major reasons why he should stay. I think he (being younger than Murray) communicates and relates better with this young team than Murray did . Most of these kids have only been up from the minors,out of High school or college for one to 3 years, and this is the situation he found himself in in Peoria. He seems to have that firm ,yet "laid back approach and it worked for him after Andy left. J.D………….. Don’t let Chris Mason go!!