In the AHL, the biggest focus is usually the young stars that need that little bit of extra development before they make their push to the NHL. Some of that development comes from the coaches, but an equally important part comes from their teammates. Although they don’t find themselves in the spotlight quite as often, the veterans on the team play a crucial role. They have been around the league and they know what it takes to have success. They can be a guide especially when a young team without much playoff experience finds themselves in the middle of a Calder Cup run.
Jeff Hoggan, a product of Hope, BC, returned to the US before the 2012-2013 season to play in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins after spending two seasons overseas. It turns out, the veteran presence was just what the team needed. After having played for 9 different teams in 3 professional leagues over 10 seasons, he had a wealth of knowledge to offer to the young Griffins team. He drew on all of his past experiences as captain of the Griffins as he continues to grow.
“I think even today I’m still growing as a leader and as a person. I’m trying to learn the game as well as I can because there always could be opportunities after I’m done playing,” Hoggan said. “Every experience I’ve had, whether good or bad, has helped me grow as a player and as a leader. I feel fortunate for it.”
The 2012-13 Griffins season added more experience for Hoggan. After some ups and downs, they got to hoist the Calder Cup. Hoggan, who is now 35, knows that he might be getting towards his last couple seasons. To get to hoist the Calder Cup again was something incredibly memorable.
“It was a special season, no question about it. You get later in your career and there are fewer opportunities to have those moments,” he said. “You really kind of cherish it. It was a great way to finish what’s getting close to being my last season. It was great to be part of such a special organization. We had a lot of great players.”
This was not the first time that Hoggan was on a team that hoisted the Calder Cup. In fact, it was in his first professional season that the Houston Aeros won it. Hoggan, who was coming off 3 seasons with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, looked to the veterans on the team to show the rookies what to do. Fast forward 10 seasons and the positions were reversed. Hoggan had the experience to lead the younger Griffins through the postseason.
“I won with Houston my very first year and we had an older group of guys. Not a lot needed to be said. Most of the vets just hopped in and we leaned on them for what to do. You’re seeing in this league now that there are fewer and fewer vets. But vets are guys you want to lean on for experience and situations like the playoffs,” Hoggan said of Houston. “The organization last season (Grand Rapids) was really young. The knock on us was that we were going to be too inexperienced for playoff hockey and not tough enough.”
But, the playoff run showed that with the right veteran leadership, they had what it took. The young guys grew and a lot of that can be attributed to having someone like Jeff Hoggan show them the way. Although the Griffins were undeniably talented, they were also inexperienced. The playoff run did not come easily at times. As a leader and a guy with experience, Hoggan saw it as his job to steer the team toward victories.
“The first game against Houston, they took it to us. We kind of talked in the room about getting to the next level and how it’s only going to get harder,” Hoggan said. “Everyone really stepped up. They realized they could play playoff hockey, be physical, and accomplish what needed to be done.”
For the Griffins, not having the popular support was never something that stood in the way. Jeff Hoggan has incredible hockey sense. He never lost faith in his team and never let them lose faith. You can’t be afraid to just feel it out. They knew that they were not going to be sweeping other teams. They had what it took to hang in there. Hoggan knows that you can’t assume anything. This is why you play the games.
“To see what it takes and to see us go to the brink a couple times, was great for the guys. Confidence was gained as we went on further and further,” said Hoggan. “Teams came in strong and even Syracuse at the end came in confident. They thought they were going to take us. I think we surprised people with our skill and toughness.”
Something that can be a problem with a young team like the Griffins last season can be overconfidence after success. Very few of the guys on the team had experience playing in the postseason professionally. It can be easy to caught up in the emotions that come from a win. Hoggan insists that was not the case on his team last season. That level headedness led to a lot of success off the ice for both Hoggan and his teammates. Although had it been an issue, it is something he would have had to address.
“I don’t think we really faced the overconfidence in the playoff run. It was more trying to find the energy at times. You just have to remember that it’s all worth it at the end. Guys put a lot of the individual concerns aside knowing that if we did well, everyone in the long run would be rewarded,” Hoggan said. “People want champions and winners. I got a few more years out of it and guys got rewarded with new contracts. Guys are getting a good look in the NHL this year because of last season and because they were battle tested.”
After the season that they had, there were a lot of contracts coming. The guys on the team had proven that they could be successful. For Hoggan, it was a no-brainer to stay in Grand Rapids when the offer came. He had not been sure if the offer was there but his role in bringing the Calder Cup to Grand Rapids for the first time likely gained him notice. He did not want to be anywhere else.
“I’ve been around in my career and I’ve been in a lot of place. I’ve gone overseas. I’ve kind of been there, done that. My goal now is just to enjoy playing the game. If you’re in that right environment, you want to stay there. In your mind, you never really let go of that dream of playing in the NHL. Those days are pretty much over,” Hoggan joked. “It made a lot of sense to stay in a position where I knew what I was getting. I know I’m appreciated here and that I contribute. I couldn’t ask for a better way to finish off my career than here in Grand Rapids.”
Now that Hoggan is towards the end of his career, he can reflect on all the things people told him on his way that he might not have believed. He is not afraid to tell his teammates about how time can fly. And even though the team is young again this season in Grand Rapids, he still feels like he can learn from the young guys while he’s teaching them too.
“It feels like just yesterday I was starting with Houston. Everybody always tells you it goes by so fast. It’s coming to an end here,” he said. “But teams like what we had last year and what we have again this year reassures that I’m still doing what I love. I want to be dong it for as long as I can.”
In addition to trying to soak us as much information as he can, Hoggan sees himself as someone to set an example for his teammates. Obviously, that means putting forth a good effort in practices and games. But that’s not the only important role. The habits you keep up off the ice are just as important. That might get overlooked but it’s something that Hoggan stresses for himself and his teammates. You can work as hard as possible but if you’re not putting yourself in a good position off the ice with diet and rest, you are not going to make that jump to the next level.
“I think it’s just about continuing to do the right things. I think I’m capable of saying the right things at the right time. I think it’s important to lead by example on and off the ice. I pride myself on being physically fit. I work smart rather than just hard these days,” Hoggan said. “Off the ice, even things like keeping a good diet are important. You have to stress that to the younger guys sometimes and that it’s important to get your rest. You have to put yourself in the position to go to the next level. That’s my job. I echo what the coach says and follow his lead. Coach Blashill is one of the best coaches I’ve come across in my travels. It makes the job as captain a lot easier.”
On the ice, Grand Rapids has continued to have a lot of success again this season. They have a pretty decent lead for first place in their division and are behind only the Abbotsford Heat for best in the West. After winning the Calder Cup last season, there are a lot of people waiting to see how they follow up. They are not underdogs anymore and the winning has come to be a little more expected.
“One thing we found early this season with having the wins is that we were less excited about it. It’s a good and bad thing. We know how to win and we’re getting used to it. At the same time, you don’t want to get complacent. There’s no doubt about that,” Hoggan said. “Every day you have to continue to be doing those good things. The guys here want to get to the next level and that’s key. There’s no let up and I think this year, we’ve got some more young guys that you want to buy in right away. We hope we put ourselves to have success both as a team and individually.”
That championship is something that Hoggan will take with him for the rest of his life. It was a special moment that not every player gets to experience in his career. But, he also has had some opportunities that were more important in shaping him as a player. He played in the BCHL for a year before spending 3 seasons playing college hockey. After that point, he had not been drafted. That means he’s had to work that much harder to earn every chance he’s gotten. He now takes that experience and shares it with younger guys hoping to get their shot in the NHL.
“There’s no doubt that when you win a championship, all the work put in, that’s something you carry with you forever. To get a chance in the NHL, after being undrafted, with St. Louis was pretty special. Those games were some that I’ll always remember,” he said. “Down the road, I’ll still be so grateful for every opportunity that I was given. Winning now and helping young guys grow is my role and I’m really embracing that.”
At the end of the day, it’s always going to be hard work that wins out over everything else, as far as Hoggan is concerned. Skill only gets you so far without the desire to work and the dedication to get better. He knows that you can never be complacent because there is always more to be done.
Hoggan says that he is coming towards the end of his career as a player but I don’t think he’ll leave the game completely. With the experience that he has and the great hockey sense, he would make an excellent coach. It’s clear that as a captain, he views himself as a leader that has to support the coaching staff. Even if he is just trying to be a good leader, you can assume he’s probably learning a lot from the coaches himself. Sometimes the best coaches are former players with the wide spreading experience someone like Jeff Hoggan has.
Citi is offering a unique opportunity for Olympic and Paralympic athletes to give back to programs in need. They have already donated $500,000 to the U.S. Olympic Committee through their Every Step of the Way initiative, all that is left to be decided is how the money will be divided among the 9 athletes participating. They are each raising money and awareness for their respective programs, and all you have to do is click which one you want to receive a portion of the donation.
You can chose any athlete that has not yet reached their fundraising goal. Here at the Pink Puck, we’re a little biased toward U.S. Women’s National Team member Julie Chu, and Rico Roman, US Paralympic hopeful sled hockey player.
Roman has already reached his fundraising goal of $50,000. The money will go to Operation Comfort, which supports service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program helped Roman get into sled hockey after he was injured.
Chu is supporting USA Hockey’s “Try Hockey for Free Day” program, which provides kids all over the country with ice time and equipment so they can try hockey for a day. Hockey is an expensive sport to play, so for USA Hockey to be able to give children the opportunity to lace up and see what it’s like does wonders for growing the sport in the United States. Hockey teaches us to never quit, work hard, and get back up and play when you fall down. Chu also loves to see the smiles that hockey brings to so many children who get the chance to try it, just as the smile it brought to her when she started playing.
We actually got to interview Julie Chu, so stay tuned for that story next week.
If you want to learn more about Citi’s Every Step of the Way initiative, and pick an athlete whose program you would like to see funded, please click here.
Penn State will face their first Big Ten opponent this weekend in Madison, Wis. They will play the number 17-ranked Badgers on Friday night and Saturday. The game will start at 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 p.m. on Saturday.
This weekend is an exciting match-up for the Nittany Lions after their huge win against Wisconsin last year. In their first year in the NCAA, Penn State split the series with the Badgers after an emotional overtime win in their last game of the season. Penn State played as independent last year.
Penn State is suffering a bit this year with a 3-7-1 record. They’re coming off an 0-2 weekend against Union. Even though they didn’t get any points out of the weekend, Penn State played two solid games against the number 15-ranked team.
While they came close in both games, coach Guy Gadowsky is looking for a more consistent 60-minute effort from this team. On Sunday night, Penn State let up a goal with three seconds left in the game to give Union the win.
The point system for Big Ten games is slightly different than non-conference games. Teams receive three points for a regulation or overtime win, two points for a shootout win and one point for a shootout loss.
By the time Penn State finishes the weekend against the Badgers, they will have had six straight games against ranked opponents. Both games at Wisconsin will be broadcasted on FOX Sports Wisconsin and BTN2Go.com.
“You have to be the hardest working guy out there every night, that is the leader of the group, you can’t take a night off and you have to be an extension of the head coach.”
If you look around the Stockton Arena, there is one jersey that is by far the most abundant, 24 Hunt. The fan favourite, the one they call “The Mayor of Stockton”, the Captain Garet Hunt. He is not a big player but his on-ice presence makes an impact. If you have been on the receiving end of his hip check into the boards or dropped the gloves with him, he doesn’t back down for himself or his teammates. He puts everything out there, holds nothing back. Yet, if you run into him before the game in the hall, his energy exudes something more, a strong sense of self, soft spoken and reflective.
Garet Hunt grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, a small municipality outside of Vancouver and started skating like most Canadians when he was 2 years old. His parents had to rent the ice and had to drive pretty far to even get to a rink. His father got a coach for Garet, his brother Trevor and several other kids to help them get a head start on hockey skills. Although his father didn’t play hockey, he saw how much passion his boys had for the game and tried to do whatever he could to give them the opportunity to get out and play. Garet’s brother was one year older and they developed a natural sibling rivalry.
“Growing up you want to be as good as your older brother and he was always obviously better than me growing up. I always wanted to be as good as he was. I didn’t even want to play defence, but he played defence, so of course I wanted to play defence. I played a couple years of D because he did. I switched to forward but I still just wanted to be as good as he was. That pushed me to get better every year because I wanted to play on his team. He was on the second year AAA team and I’d be on the first year team and not a lot of first year kids make the team. I always wanted to play so bad with him so I just worked my butt off so I could get the opportunity to play with him. That was the way, just trying to keep up with him.”
Garet Hunt dives for the Puck
When asked what type of player he identified with growing up, it came as no surprise that he gravitated to the scrappy kind of players like Tie Domi and Bob Probert, but he also liked guys that could score, players like Canucks’ Pavel Bure and Bruins’ Cam Neely, who for Hunt was pretty much the complete player. He enjoyed watching the game, but the players that stuck out for him and that he would follow through his hockey card collection were the impact type players.
Hunt loved the Canucks growing up and although they lived close to Vancouver, it was still quite a drive to get there. The games were also pretty expensive so the hockey his family grew up with was the local teams, junior hockey, the Vancouver Giants and the Chilliwack Chiefs. The Chiefs were his favourite team and he tried to go to as many games as he could. He can remember lots of the players that he looked up to and enjoyed watching that never made it to the NHL. He felt like he was able to connect with the local teams and that they had more things in common. He felt that he could develop a relationship with the players that you couldn’t with an NHL team.
When it finally came time to play in juniors at age 15, it was a dream come true for Hunt that he got to play for the team he loved growing up, the Chiefs. Coach Harvey Smyl played a big role in Hunt’s early development as a player. He then moved on to play with the Vancouver Giants, under the leadership of Don Hay who molded Hunt into the player he is today.
“Even now, when things aren’t going the right way I try to think of what he would be saying to me, or what he would do or how he would be coaching. I even try to use that in my leadership role with the team. Not only was he a great coach he was a great leader. He was a huge inspiration to me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without having him coaching me and developing me.”
Giants Coach Hay gave Hunt an identity as a player, something that is essential for on-ice success. If a player knows what his role is out there on the ice and plays his part, his teammates find it easy to know his identity. A team doesn’t need 20 goal scorers, they need players who fit together who build the best team.
“Hay always said there is always going to be a need for a guy like you (Hunt), even if you are not going to be able to score 50 goals in a season. I’ll contribute in other different ways. You know you have be the hard player on the puck, whether it’s checking or playing on the penalty kill. You have to find a way to play minutes and my biggest thing was I had to be responsible on the ice, responsible for me, don’t take that penalty, and be counted on in situations. If coach can’t trust you every time you go out and get scored on, your ice time is going to diminish.”
During the four years that Hunt played for the Giants, Coach Hay helped turn a somewhat loose cannon type player into one who knows when to draw the big guns and when to holster them. He traces his pro success back to these formative years with the Vancouver organization and the attention and direction he received from Hay.
Garet Hunt squares off with Utah’s Danick Paquette
“Hay gave me the meaning behind certain words like Character. When you say about a player, ‘they are a character type player or an energy type player’ you have to have that identity and they gave me a meaning out of those words. That’s what I live by now, what I was taught there.”
Along with player development, the Giants organization had a string of great team leaders who Hunt looked up to; Brett Festerling, Mark Fistric and Milan Lucic, all guys who are in the NHL today. Being surrounded by these players day in and day out rubbed off on Garet and each week the team had leadership groups where the team worked with the captains and Coach Hay. During his 20-year old year he had the opportunity to be the assistant captain in Vancouver and he learned a lot from that experience on how to be a leader and how to carry himself. He realized how much as a young guy in the league you look up to those that lead and he carries this with him into his Captaincy today.
“I’ve been a young guy and I try to go back and think what those guys (that led me) would do or how they would carry themselves and what they said in a certain situation. What it comes down to bottom line is if you are going to say it then I have to do it myself. That is the biggest thing I think with being a good leader. I can’t be barking orders in the dressing room if I’m not going out there and following through with it myself, so I try to go as hard as I can every game.”
Hunt says that it is an honor to be named the captain and to have that role of leadership. When he first came into the ECHL, he was in and out of the lineup and wasn’t playing a lot of minutes. Matt Thomas, then Stockton Thunder Head Coach took the time with Hunt to develop his game and gave him opportunity. At the pro level, even though it is a development league, the coach’s job is less about teaching and more about opportunity. Thomas named Hunt Captain and several coaches in the league were shocked that he had named a fighter, captain, because really at the time that was what Hunt was.
“I think by naming me the captain he gave me an opportunity to play more minutes, be more responsible, get more points and contribute more offensively as much as defensively. There was a lot of trust in him to give me that honor and I really didn’t want to let him down. Especially because of what everyone was saying and why he named me captain.”
Hunt feels that it is the same with new head Coach Rich Kromm, that he has put a lot of trust in Hunt to be responsible in that leadership role. Kromm wanted him to continue on as the team captain given the success from last season.
“What he says I have to live and die by that. I have to make the players believe in what he says regardless of what it is and that is how you have a successful team is everybody buying in to the system and buying into the team. I think having Rich Kromm here we’ve had great success to start the season and everyone is buying in and things are going good.”
He likes his tight knit group and he tries to stay close with the guys on and off the ice. He feels that is one of the reasons the team had so much success last year and got as far as they did, into the Kelly Cup Finals.
“What I tell the guys the most is it doesn’t matter how you play or thinking you have an off night you are always going to be able to work. If we have twenty guys working we give ourselves a good chance to win. When you know a guy is going to work as hard for you as you are for them that is when you get success.”
Another piece to the Thunder’s and Hunt’s success is the dedicated fan base that the team enjoys. Stockton, CA is not a typical hockey market but it is a city that loves its minor league hockey team. Hunt loves to play here and he loves the city and its fans. When he first found out he was coming to California to play, he had a slightly different picture of what California hockey might be like.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I thought it was going to be like in the movies and there would be beaches everywhere, red corvettes you know. I didn’t know what was going on and when I came here and obviously I didn’t see any beaches, red corvettes or anything, no blond hair, no surfer guys walking around I didn’t know what was going on and I was kinda bummed out.”
He was used to playing in Canada where the crowds are big even for Junior teams particularly in Vancouver. Hunt had heard that ECHL crowds were not as large as those in the AHL and certainly not like the NHL, but when he came into the Stockton Arena for his first game he fell in love with the city and its fans.
“The people are great, the fan base is spectacular and being the kind of player that I am I feed off the fans. I feel like they have assisted me in my success throughout my career here and the organization as a whole. I’m happy coming to work every day, there is no way you can beat that.”
Hunt has been in Stockton now six years and he’s officially declared it his second home, recently purchasing a house. For him it is the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors, be out in the community and play the game he loves, wearing the number 24.
“I wore that my whole junior career and I just fell in love with the number and coming in here they had that number available. They gave it to me and I’ve never looked back since. I don’t think I could wear anything but 24.”
General Manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that Vezina-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been placed on Injured Reserve with a groin strain sustained in Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightening at Nationwide Arena. He is expected to be out for four to five weeks.
The 25-year-old goaltender is tied for 14th place in the NHL, posting a .909 save percentage and a 2.72 goals-against this season. His only shutout of the season was the 6-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s number one (COP ON THE FORCE) goaltender during the 2012-2013 season after posting a 21-11-6 record, with a 2.00 GAA and a .932 SV% with four shutouts in 38 games. He has appeared in 144 career NHL games, first with the Philadelphia Flyers and then with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets have had a rollercoaster of a season, with Bobrovsky often at the center; they will have to demonstrate a kind of consistency that they have so far lacked in order to overcome the handicap of losing their starting goaltender.
As one of the frontrunners for the Russian national team, it is unclear what this injury means for Bobrovsky’s chances of playing in Sochi this winter.
To make it as a professional player, having a certain level of toughness in your game is necessary. Having the ability to stand up when needed falls on each and every teammate, game in and game out. But some are often looked to before others when it comes to dropping the gloves. For the Manchester Monarchs, that responsibility often falls on 22-year-old, Andy Andreoff.
Pink Puck TV caught up with Andreoff to talk dropping the gloves and what it means to be a fighter.
December 2nd, marked the start of a new partnership between Chase and the Tampa Bay Lightning to create a new street hockey program for kids.
Steven Stamkos, Ryan Malone, as well as Lightning executives, Chase, the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa Bay, along with more than one-hundred children were there to kick-off the program.
It is a program created to provide students in the Tampa area the chance to learn the basic elements of hockey. Not only that, but they learn how to play the game, and experience math and science concepts when playing the game. Chase and the Lightning are going to donate full sets of street hockey gear for participants to play in their free time and during school hours. They are also giving the children Street Lightning Playbooks that will include math and science concepts they apply to their own game experience. The official program will be in 2014.
The program will be launched throughout Hillsborough County Public Schools to combine the Lightning’s expertise in hockey with math and science-based drills. Drills will cover such topics as calculating game stats and scores, using distance to plan game strategy, and understanding the impact of the playing surface on scoring a goal.
According to Lightning Chief Operating Officer, Steve Griggs, it was programs like this that the Lightning and Chase had in mind when they first partnered. It is with their help that they will be able to introduce the game of hockey to children who would not have been exposed to it previously. They will be able to supplement their studies with an educational element.
Chase marketing president for Tampa, Dan Borasch, said that sports can be a great way to acquire lifelong skills and that the new partnership will help the youth experience concepts they learn in the classroom in a dynamic way. He wants to show them that science and math can be fun, and mastering them can give anyone a competitive edge in life and future careers.
The students who attended the Street Lightning presentation were from local schools, but those who are enrolled in the Hillsborough County Public Schools Out-of-School Time. The goal of the H.O.S.T program is to provide the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual growth and development that children need to be successful.
Defenseman Jeff Schultz from the American Hockey League’s Manchester Monarchs has been recalled by the Kings and will wear number 55. Forward Tanner Pearson has been reassigned to the Manchester Monarchs after appearing in six games with the Kings, recording one goal (his first in the NHL) and zero penalty minutes.
Schultz, signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on July 5th has appeared in 23 games for the Monarchs this season, recording two points (1-1=2) and six penalty minutes. Previously Schultz posted a three-goal, 23-point, plus-50 season with the Washington Capitals in 2009-10
After the season that they had, there were a lot of contracts coming. The guys on the team had proven that they could be successful. For Hoggan, it was a no-brainer to stay in Grand Rapids when the offer came. He had not been sure if the offer was there but his role in bringing the Calder Cup to Grand Rapids for the first time likely gained him notice. He did not want to be anywhere else.
Prev
