Back In The Saddle Again

If there is one guarantee in hockey that isn't restricted by country or league, it's that teams who struggle will ultimately look to make changes. The easiest solution in most of these situations is to change the coaching staff because it seems clear that the players either couldn't or wouldn't execute the systems installed by the coach successfully, so the logic would suggest that team needs to find someone who can motivate the players to play new systems successfully. Today, eight teams in western Canada may have let out a sigh of despair because PWHL New York and head coach Howie Draper mutually agreed to part ways with Draper reportedly returning to the University of Alberta to resume his coaching duties with the Pandas.

For anyone suggesting that one cannot go home again, I have no doubt that the Pandas will continue their legacy of winning undr Draper just as they did in his one season of working in New York, and that the Pandas may actually get better next season with Draper behind the bench once again. For the eight teams in Canada West who will try to make Draper's return as unwelcome as they can, having Draper back in the conference should force those eight coaches to raise their games once again.

PWHL New York recorded a 5-12-3-4 (W-L-OTW-OTL) record in their first season, finishing sixth out of six teams in the PWHL while securing the first-overall pick in this summer's draft. Draper preached defensive responsibility and discipline all season, it seemed, yet PWHL New York surrendered a league-high 67 goals in 24 games. Some of that was due to poor defensive zone coverage, but it seemed clear that the players on New York's roster were less inclined to slow the game down as Draper may have wanted.

Abby Roque's 31 PIMs were second-highest in the league this season, and her -15 rating overshadowed her 13 points. The four worst plus/minus ratings in the league were all New York players, and these were bigger names on their roster as Micah Zandee-Hart, Roque, Elizabeth Giguère, and Jaime Bourbonnais were a combined -60. Yes, they played a lot of minutes together for New York so that -60 isn't as bad as it seems, but only Olivia Zafuto and Savannah Norcross were plus players for anyone who skated in more than half the games. That's hard to believe on a Howie Draper team, but that's the reality.

By the time the World Championship break had begun at the start of April, it was apparent that New York was en route to missing the playoffs after being outshot, outscored, and outchanced in virtually every game they played this season. With rumours of players tuning out the head coach and after a visible disagreement between Draper and assistant coach Colton Orr earlier in the season, the writing was on the wall as Draper and the team were clearly on different islands.

This is the point in time where I'll say the quiet part loud: I don't think Howie Draper is suited to be a professional hockey coach. I can feel former players from the University of Alberta calling for my head after saying that, but let me explain why I feel like that.

As we know, Howie Draper is an exceptional leader, an intelligent hockey coach, and a phenomenal identifier of talent. What made Howie Draper great in Alberta was that he could choose players that fit his system as opposed to the professional game where he was required to mold that roster into a team who could play his game. With some of the professional players playing for national teams or having played significantly different roles for their college teams, Howie didn't have the same control in building his roster to fit his systems' needs. As a result, he didn't get full buy-in when it came to preaching defensive responsibility and staying out of the sin bin.

With the Pandas, Draper gets that buy-in from his players because you give the effort he demands at both ends of the ice or you don't play. That option didn't exist in New York, so players who seemingly weren't giving the effort he sought would be stapled to the bench. This led to stars like Roque, Eldridge, and Alex Carpenter logging a ton of ice-time while others didn't, and it became glaringly obvious as the season rolled on that Draper was playing some players far more than others. Those plus/minus numbers above were partly due to how often those stars were on the ice.

Having Draper back at Alberta will allow him to recruit players who fit his systems, who will play how he demands, and who will find success. What happened in New York can be summed up pretty easily: an extremely successful coach who uses proven systems was the wrong fit with the roster assembled. There's blame to be shared for why his coaching style didn't work on all sides, but Draper will find himself back on familiar ground where it did work for so many years, and it likely will start to work once again.

Take a deep breath, Canada West, because Howie Draper's coming home. And maybe all eight teams in Canada West should work a little harder this summer because as successful as the Pandas were without him, Draper might have a little more motivation when it comes to winning Canada West in the 2024-25 season. Don't say you weren't warned - the sheriff is back in the saddle again in Edmonton.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!