A Cat's Eye View: On-Ice Coach Rick Gilmour

[JCarson 836]

A Cat’s Eye View: On Ice Coach Rick Gilmour HC Davos Dynamo 

 

Rick, thanks for meeting with us.  You have just left the ice after a session with Felicia Hardy.  I have been watching for the last half hour, from what I can see you have been working on several shooting drills.  How are things progressing? 

 

Molly the Cat, it is an honor to chat with a player of your renown.  Felicia is doing extremely well; it helps that they have a great hockey sense and can view the ice like few others. Most players who have the passing skills that Felicia has typically see the ice well.  It is often said they seem to have eyes in the back of their heads. At this point it is working on the little things; we still want Felicia to be able to pass to other players, but we also want them to be able to see those opportunities when a shot may be a better choice.  It is coming but it is something we will continue to work on. 

 

Rick let’s move away from the concept of positional play and talk about Felicia shooting ability.  Can you discuss which types of shots Felicia feels comfortable with and what we expect to see this coming season? 

 

Molly the Cat, as Felicia has been very proficient in passing, they have a strong wrist shot having a natural ability to raise the puck up and feed it through tight spaces.  We are not expecting that to change.  Whether you are trying to get the puck to another player or to the net, when you are shooting from a place where there are potentially several people between you and the target you must first get the puck through. That said we have been working with Felicia on their slap shot, mainly from a perspective of one timing the puck as it gets passed from various angles. Most people find it easier to onetime a puck as it is coming directly at you, however often time defenders are having to shoot pucks that come from their defensive partner across the ice. I feel like that work is going very well for them.  We have been playing around with several stick options to see what power we can transfer to the puck.  Right now, we have been able to clock a few shots over 100 mph and we feel there is still some room for improvement. 

 

Rick, thanks for taking some time to talk with me, I have one last question for you.  Most players spend their entire careers with one focus whether that be defensive or offensive.  Have you ever been involved in a change of this nature and how did it work out. 

 

I have. Prior to season 98 I spent a considerable amount of time working with Mina making changes to their game.  Mina ended up having a career season when it comes to productivity.  You are correct, very few players make a major change like this and do it well but with the correct level of determination it can be done.  From what I am seeing I think Felicia has a great chance of making this work. Felicia is dedicated and focused at this point I truly believe we are going to see a much different player in Season 99.