Coach Roy Must Motivate And Inspire Olympians

The good part about making it to the Olympics is the prestige and honor of playing for your country.  It also goes a long way towards helping a player to stack rack themselves against the forces of international competition.  Since the final rounds of international hockey look a whole lot like the NHL playoffs, mainly the young players gain a great deal from such competition.

The rest of Olympic hockey is all bad.  Players who have never done it have no way of knowing what to expect from their legs as the season progresses.  They may hit two or three walls that they will have to fight through before the season is over.  By the time playoffs arrive, only the veterans understand what to expect from the post Olympic playoff grind.

The Colorado Avalanche are blessed with several young players who swam in the deepest of waters by the end of this tournament.  Russia is the only team with an Avalanche player that did not play in the last few days, but he (goalie Semyon Varlamov) may have lost some confidence with the peppering he took on goal.  Gabriel Landiskog played Matt Duchene in the final game and Paul Stastny played, but lost the bronze medal match. Each will be challenged to maintain their legs if the Av's are to have any real chance at Sir Stanley's Cup.

If you were making a list of likely Stanley Cup champions, the Avalanche might not be in your top 3 list, but they would be #1 in the likely long shot bet.  No one really expects the Av's to win it all, even if they've all noticed that we have the kind of team that could. Winning is about more than ability, it speaks to vulnerability even more. No matter how bad Roy wants to return a title to Denver, he can not motivate any team to achieve it.  Inspiration must do that

When Patrick Roy started this season, he was loaded with fire for the job and plenty of experience with coaching young athletes since he recently coached in the junior hockey leagues. The word fire is often associated with the world of coaching but it can apply to any competitive endeavor.  Fire is the stuff that fuels success, but at times it comes in the fashion of heat from beneath the feet of uninspired teammates.

Fire is another word for motivation when you are a coach, and it is your fire or motivation of your players that can propel them to focus on the task at hand, but motivation is much like an exposed fire, it demands a constant source of fuel.  Motivation eventually burns up the people you prop up for so long or you'll burn out yourself from playing with fire day in and day out.

Furnace fire is highly effective because it is not exposed to the impact of the elements.  It is well contained and focused on the mission at hand.  The fire that burns inside of each of us is a similar fuel that drives our success.  In order for the Avalanche to overcome the impact of the Olympic journey, it will take a huge dose of inspiration from guys who felt like they emptied it all on Olympic ice.

Now the balancing act becomes resting the Olympic Av's at the risk of  losing games and a high seeding, or playing them at the risk of a lackluster playoff due to a lack of energy. Roy understand the grind that his players shall endure better than most, but some lessons must be experienced first hand.

Near death fatigue is one of them.

Winter Olympics In Sochi Get An Avalanche From Colorado

The Avalanche have sent four players to the Olympics in Sochi

If Vladimir Putin needs any help with security he might be on his own.  If he runs short of snow, Colorado sent an Avalanche to Sochi. Actually, we have sent four Avalanche players to the winter Olympics this year, and it begs a few important questions.

First of all, why would the NHL risk injury to their most valuable players by sending them to the Olympics in the middle of a season?  The mere privilege of playing for your own country is incentive enough to risk a lot. I realize that this has been the Olympic standard forever, but my team hasn't had such a likelihood of littering Olympic lineups in a while.

This year we have 4 players that did make it.  Matt Duchene, Semyon Varlamov, Gabriel Landiskog and Paul Stasny.  If you are watching the Avs, it should be clear that the rookie, Nathan McKinnon could  soon become an Olympian as well as Ryan O'Reilly. But what about P.A. Parenteau, or Jan Hejda?  What about Erik Johnson.  These guys could help any team win games, and when America gets to know all of these Av's, we will lose a few to free agency.  Those that remain will join this years group of Olympians four years from now.  It is possible that the Av's will bum rush the league with a deep run in the playoffs this year. They will certainly do it before the next winter Olympics return.

That is good from the standpoint of prestige, but bad when you consider the physical demand a long run in the Olympics will require, and the physical risk that you incur while doing it.  The most difficult part of being or having young players is the adjustment to such a long season.  Those who make the adjustment with lots of rest and proper diet can overcome the mental walls that challenge young players. Typically, you won't know what you don't know.

I am excited and concerned for all of our Olympians.  They are deserving of the honor they've received.  A couple of them have teams that could win the whole thing, so Av's fans might have a rooting stake late into this tournament.  I will also find myself watching to see if they make it through safely, and if they return to the team with the inspiration of an Olympian, or the legs of a noodle.