A few days back, in the echo of the Rob Scuderi hit, we talked about hip checking, and since the hit, Drew Doughty has been piling up hip checks. He’s had a least one notable hip check in each of the past three games, not the Scuderi upside-down variety but just solid checks along the boards. I asked Doughty about his thoughts on delivering hip checks…
DOUGHTY: “I think it’s really — I don’t know the exact word — but a really useful hit. You want to keep that guy outside, and you don’t want him to cut into the middle, so as long as you have good gap and make him go to the outside, it’s pretty tough for a forward to get by a hip check. As long as you aren’t getting too low, and making a guy flip or whatever, it’s a strong play. You just kind of hold the guy up, and the tracker can get the puck. The last few games, I’ve had some good opportunities to make some. It’s my favorite hit to make, so I’ll continue to do that if I can.”
Question: How tough is it to get the timing exactly right?
DOUGHTY: “It’s pretty tough, because you almost have to wait until he’s almost by you. If you show that you’re curling in for that hip check early, he’s going to cut through the middle, put the puck through your skates or under your stick, and he’s going to cut through the middle and have pretty much a breakaway on net. You kind of have to wait until he’s almost by you, and then just at that right second, you just take that one hard push and get low and make sure you get your butt on him.”
Question: Why do you think you’ve been able to deliver so many of them recently?
DOUGHTY: “It wasn’t that I wasn’t trying to do them, even last year and the start of the season. It’s just that lately, the guys have been taking me wide or trying to take me wide. I’ve got a little more confidence in doing them. I remember one time last year, I tried doing it and the guy cut into the middle on me, so I kind of stayed away from it for a bit, but now that I’ve kind of got it down pat again, I have a lot of confidence in doing it and I’ve had a lot of opportunities to make them, especially the last game.”
Has anyone else noticed how Doughty has been more vocal & showing more emotion? Whether he’s yelling at the ref for a penalty call or he’s slamming his stick or the boards in frustration. I think he’s coming out of his rookie shell.
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Thx Rich. Good read on the Kings young Dynamo.
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It’s amazing to me how mature Doughty is, at least when it comes to the sport – I’m sure on his free time, he’s doing the things teenagers (weird to think of him that way) do. But he speaks with lots of confidence not arrogance which is a sign of maturity. He’s still learning and will be a great player for years to come.
This brings me to something we talked about at the beginning of the season; the implementation of Lombardi’s “winning culture.” This is in such evidence this year with this team in terms of responsibility and accountability, teamwork, short, medium and long-term plans, realistic and achievable goals and slow, steady progress and growth. It’s truly a winning formula!
Lombardi may have had a few fits and starts, but what he has accomplished over the course of only 3 years is pretty remarkable. I’ve been a Kings fan for 25 years and this is really the first time that I see this team and organization moving toward undeniable success. The fact that he was able to get management and his entire staff to buy into this plan speaks volumes too.
And kudos to Murray for bringing together a team of mostly young players to play as a team and devise a system that is both exciting to watch and successful.
These are the intangibles that attract players like Smyth and Scuderi to the team.
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If we could go back to his draft, you remember we ended up tied for last with Tampa but they ended up with #1 overall pick, Steven Stamkos.
A season and a little bit later, who would you rather have, Stamkos or Doughty?
Stamkos is looking mighty mighty solid this year so far and would look damn good as 2nd line centre with Fro and Brownie or something like that. BUT hands down I would take Doughty!
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And we still are in good shape as far as Salary Cap, as well as 6 more picks in the first 3 rounds in the next draft. Things are looking very good indeed.
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For anyone who didn’t see it before:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=504057&navid=DL|NHL|home
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Van,
I’m sure Stamkos is going to have a solid career but I don’t think any NHL club would choose him over Doughty with what we know now.
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There is no such thing as a legal check anymore. NHL= No Hitting League. They’ve basically legislated hitting out of the league, which is why every time someone skates within 5 feet of another player a fight breaks out. It’s more like figure skating now then it is hockey.
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Paul, you sound a little unstable.
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@Paul,
I think you’ve been watching the Ice Capades. NHL games I’ve been watching have had some pretty nasty hits; one of the reason so many star players are out with injuries right now.
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I agree about DL. I’m surprised we have so many DL bashers on this site. He’s done an amazing job. This is definately the year we turn the corner.
I too would still take Doughty.
Can’t believe Brian Burke traded the future 1st overall pick in this next draft (and a 2nd and the following years 1st round pick) for Kessel. He killed the Leafs rebuilding plan. At the end of the year if the Leafs finish last and end up with the 1st overall pick – TO BOSTON, Brian Burke should be run out of Toronto. Sick. What must he be thinking right now? ‘Well, I sure screwed that up. I wonder if anyone wants Kaberle? At least I won a Cup with the Ducks.’
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Rich,
It’s time to address Caligiuri. Apparently his facebook thingy says that he has parted ways with the Kings. Fired? Quit? Is he still a trainer, is he not? Hadn’t he been with the Kings since Dean’s first major overhaul?
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About Caligiuri:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=21954851
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I don’t know about the guy. From a blog reader’s perspective, he always seemed to have an attitude. I stopped reading his blog after I read his being ‘Indifferent’ to Rich comment. I thought that was chippy and unprofessional, especially in his tweets he mentions he was happy to see Rich as part of the family. Wierd dude. His insight was very cool though. Wish him the best.
Wonder what exactly he posted at Halloween….
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I think it was basically extolling his drinking and urination on Halloween.
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I think this is something Rich will probably limit himself on reporting for professional reasons and for good reason. He’ll probably wait until management makes an official statement. There could potentially be legal ramifications as well, so I think the smart thing to do would be to hang on the outside of this. Get the dirt on the players, injuries, trades, fro-gate, but when it comes to a work-related dismissal that is not so public, let human resources blaze the public trail on that one.
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Drinking and peeing go hand in hand.
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Stamkos vs. Doughty…I think lots of teams would take Stammer still. Its about needs. The kid is near the top in scoring and its his second year. If we didn’t have Kopitar…how good would Stamkos look then?
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I guess I was hoping for Rich to push them for the “official statement”.
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I love the hip check. It’s a classic move, that when done properly, always reminds me of Larry ‘big bird’ Robinson. It’s great to see Doughty keeping the it alive!
Also, thanks for the link Matt.
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Has anyone noticed that the Pens don’t play back to back game on their current west coast trip. However, the Kings who log the most mileage of any NHL team, go back east on a 6 game trip and have to play back to back twice?
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I don’t know, I’ve always felt that Stanley Cup teams were built around goaltending and a franchise D-man. Pittsburg proved that wrong last year, but when you have two of the top five players in the league, those are pretty good odds.
Anyways, point being, franchise d-men are harder to come by than scorers….I take Doughty, with or without Kopitar.
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Doughty is ten times better than JJ, and younger I must add
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Though I do find it odd that the Pens aren’t playing any back to back games on this road trip, do the Kings really log more miles than Anaheim, or San Jose, or Phoenix, or Dallas?
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And to think, I was hoping Dean had picked Zach Bogosian instead of Drew! Zach is also developing into a great defenceman, but Drew is the man for years to come.
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Cynic, I think you’re right about the legal aspect of it. Things could get ugly.
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What’s awesome is that we have yet to see the best out of Drew. When he gets a bit stronger, he is going to be wrecking people. I just can’t believe how much he controls the flow of the game while on the ice, it’s amazing and even more so since it is coming from a sophomore in the league.
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Check out the “hits of the week” from this week (under the plays of the week)…Drew made two of the top 10 with said hip checks.
http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?intcmpid=nav-video-main
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God, he’s got the shot, the skating ability, and an AMAZING brain for the game. I love a smart hockey player. GO DREW!
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