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Friedman Says Ralph Kruger has a Legit Shot at Sabres HC Position


Tarosays

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So we’ve all seen Jon Shannon’s reporting Jacques Martin and Dave Tippett as the front runners for the Sabres head coach. But, there is another coach that has been mysteriously quiet since his departure from his last position and he has NHL head coaching experience. By no means does this mean anything but, he was called the last time we had an open head coaching position. Ladies and gentleman I give you the name of Ralph Krueger. Is it possible Botterill could interview him at the worlds? Let the debate begin....

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He is definitely interesting.  

One thing to consider about bringing him into the organization, in any capacity, is tracking data.  This coming season, the NHL will begin tracking player movements on the ice with microchips in the skates.  This will give NHL teams a whole bunch of data regarding who was where on the ice at any given time, distance skated in a game, etc, etc.  I think it’s going to take NHL teams and coaches some time to figure out how to best use all this new information.  Some current coaches may never really use it effectively.

However, in European Football, they have been using this type of data for many years.  I’m sure Krueger already has some ideas about how this data would be most useful in hockey.  It could be a good opportunity to get ahead of the competition by using this brand new information more effectively than other teams.  

Just something to think about regarding Krueger.

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This would be further outside the box than Gronberg.  Wasn’t he involved in soccer the past couple of years?  Would love him coming in as a president of hockey ops but really don’t know about him being a head coach.

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4 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

From Friedman’s 31 Thoughts 

74E26DFD-7873-49D5-A5E0-500BEF27CB0A.png

I don't think that last piece is accurate. It was speculated that Botterill "wanted" to talk to Krueger. But I don't think it was ever confirmed that he actually did. We don't even know for sure that the speculation about Botterill wanting to talk to Krueger was even true. The links between the Sabres and Krueger seem like extreme reaches by the media to me, just like Gronberg. 

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My thinking is Botts is looking to get ahead of the curve in terms of player tracking data and its capabilities. Krueger’s wiki I think mentions his experience in player tracking and likely has ideas to implement it in hockey and the athletic has written several good articles on some of its capabilities. 

Maybe Jason has watched Money ball a whole bunch of times and is going to try to exploit new technology and metrics before others. 

If that’s the case, sure I’m sold. He seems like a super interesting guy and like he has some flavor to him. Smart as hell from the sounds of it too. Let’s be the new trend setters riding a new wave of hockey systems and schemes. 

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1 hour ago, darksabre said:

I don't think that last piece is accurate. It was speculated that Botterill "wanted" to talk to Krueger. But I don't think it was ever confirmed that he actually did. We don't even know for sure that the speculation about Botterill wanting to talk to Krueger was even true. The links between the Sabres and Krueger seem like extreme reaches by the media to me, just like Gronberg. 

This is probably accurate , Friedman himself said that Buffalo is the one situation where he cannot get a read on. I do wonder if that changed a little however with Friedman being the first to report that Martin was out. 

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33 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

This is probably accurate , Friedman himself said that Buffalo is the one situation where he cannot get a read on. I do wonder if that changed a little however with Friedman being the first to report that Martin was out. 

He also seemed pretty certain on TV that Krueger was a legit candidate. But who really knows. 

I can't see them moving on to a guy like Krueger unless Tippett turned them down. Looks like we are going to need some former rising star to get a DUI so he's sentenced to coaching this team, our own Gordon Bombay. 

?

Edited by Thorny
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2 hours ago, darksabre said:

I don't think that last piece is accurate. It was speculated that Botterill "wanted" to talk to Krueger. But I don't think it was ever confirmed that he actually did. We don't even know for sure that the speculation about Botterill wanting to talk to Krueger was even true. The links between the Sabres and Krueger seem like extreme reaches by the media to me, just like Gronberg. 

Agreed.

But except for Keefe & Tippett any name that gets brought up will be a "reach."  AMAZING how much less info gets leaked from the Bills & Sabres FO's since Brandon got canned.

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I'm not seeing anything exciting in that Wiki bio of his, at least coaching-wise.  There are a few things that jump out:

"He is also known for his involvement in the World Economic Forum, where since 2011 he has been a Member, Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership.[6]"

This might be of interest to our owner and those who dabble in conspiracy theories.

Also, this:

"The book he authored (in German, also translated into French), called Teamlife - Beyond Setbacks to Success, was devoted to handling problems in life, and became a bestseller.[13]"

This surely has him the top candidate for the job.

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9 minutes ago, ... said:

I'm not seeing anything exciting in that Wiki bio of his, at least coaching-wise.  There are a few things that jump out:

"He is also known for his involvement in the World Economic Forum, where since 2011 he has been a Member, Global Agenda Council on New Models of Leadership.[6]"

This might be of interest to our owner and those who dabble in conspiracy theories.

Also, this:

"The book he authored (in German, also translated into French), called Teamlife - Beyond Setbacks to Success, was devoted to handling problems in life, and became a bestseller.[13]"

This surely has him the top candidate for the job.

Yeah going off his bio after hearing the news that he's on the short list to be our next coach, it kinda makes you wanna Ralph right?

Haha sorry, I just thought someone had to make that joke. Tbh im surprised no one else has thrown out a few of those by now. Must be a slow day with Mothers Day & all. ?

From what i've seen, he's a smart guy, widely respected as a great mind in hockey, but hasn't coached in a couple years & its been some 6 or 7 years since he coached a handful of games for the Oilers. Not too inspiring if you ask me. It's rumored that Tippett is slotted to go to Edmonton so perhaps Ralph is gonna be our future. (Puke reference either way with that one) Cuz it could go either way

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