Dan and Sat are joined by Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach, Manny Malholtra, to discuss Canucks Development Camp, the coaching staff's approach, and some of the individual prospects.
This podcast was produced by Josh Elliott-Wolfe.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
cenox central thursday it's danisho sati arshah here in the kintech studio kintech canada's favorite orthotics provider powered by thousands of five star google review sore feet what are you waiting for and of course we are always welcoming your texts questions comments six fifty six fifty to the Dunbar lumber text message inbox the bridge street Dunbar lumber and latinor has moved to progress way in Tilbury's industrial park more room more product more awesome details at Dunbar lumber dot com it is the penultimate edition of conox central so you have to get that in yeah it's the penultimate like you know you're heading off on vacation next week and the the show will take a hiatus yes for the course of the summer I mean reach is still going to be here and doing shows and you'll still be talking connect yeah like there's no content no right like we're not going to cbs programming it's just I'm not going to be here for three weeks just conox central yes the show this show yeah this show will be on hiatus until september yes of course if conox make a big move we'll find a way to bring you some content over the course of the summer and tomorrow we'll kind of talk about some of the possibilities that remain still you know I mean you still do some digging trying to figure out what the conox are doing next like they've given themselves or allowed themselves enough flexibility to still do some more things so that is one of the promising things of this offseason we're going to connect with many malhotra abbotsford conox head coach in just a little bit as conox continued to go through development camp his thoughts on how tom v. lander is acquitting himself at this point and also the others that are standing out including the large human that is Vilmer Ulrichson continuing to get a big praise and riley patterson scoring some nice goals and one of the scrimmages today so yeah it is at the end of the day dev camp and a lot of these guys long shots but conox continuing to add to their prospect pool and that is the team's focus in the here and now well it's one of those things like you you know last year we got to look at liqueur mackey even at this at this event and it was like when when I saw liqueur mackey last year it was very very obvious the talent yeah and the thing about his game last year which which I mean and listen I don't want to overstate anything about about these tournaments but one of the things that I've always not even tournament just like a development camp you don't overstate things but he's always when I've watched him shown some smarts and he just shows a good knack of knowing what to do and where to be and he's kind of just like a smooth player right now obviously he's not here a part of the camp this year we land there to your point it's kind of the elder statesman already and a guy who's the biggest star so to speak there but liqueur mackey's a guy that management's name dropped a couple times yep rick talk it during the playoffs went so far as as threatening his current players would entertaining the idea of playing liqueur mackey in a playoff game so this is a guy that it's not even us hyping him up it's like he's and they're not not hyping him but they're naming him as a possibility for training camp and how how much of that do you think is lip service or them thinking to themselves at least exploring the idea of can he be an internal solution early next season if not we'll pivot we'll find something as the season goes on but does it seem like they want to seriously see if he can be an internal solution on the right wing next season it does feel like they would uh welcome the chance to have johnson liqueur mackey impress them coming training camp he did play eight games or sorry six games with abbotsford already this year and then headed out to the sweden world hockey championship camp didn't make it there by the time he got back for abbotsards playoff run uh you know they were pretty much wrapped up and he wasn't able to get into a game but he did score a goal had an assist in his six hl games and it's still a very young player right like that's the thing we have to remember about yonathan liqueur mackey he is still a teenager and will be turning twenty later on this month when they drafted him a couple of years ago he was one of the youngest players in the draft so yeah like i could totally see um liqueur mackey at least being somebody that has an outside chance to make some noise in training camp but you know if you're realistically looking at the Canucks depth chart as far as right wingers go i mean you can run through the list pretty quickly and realize how far lekker mackey or how many names lekker mackey has to jump to get a spot onto the roster on the right side there is brock besser conner garland uh i guess we could put nils hoeglonder there depends you know how he and yes i guess they're going to start the season with elia's peterson if that is the connect second line as we assume here today uh key for surewood is a right shot but i guess plays mostly the left wing or had played mostly left wing in Nashville but he can play right wing and we'll see what they what they explore with him exactly and again as much as i'm i'm i'm very high on the guy and i like yeah what he could potentially do he's not a guy we're penciling in right away playing up the lineup the silly pod coals and lean his carlson and then there is yonathan lekker mackey so it's a few names that he would have to jump over before getting a look at the nhl level but hey he's he's one of those guys he has a tantalizing skill set right and maybe the eta is a bit longer term but and you know as we get through the rest of the uh off-season and into training camp will be interesting to see if uh if he does something come training camp uh let's bring in our next guest mannie malholtrow abbotsford conox head coach thanks for this mannie how are you doing well guys thanks for having me uh so uh how's dev camp been so far it's been really good um obviously a lot of new names and faces uh to get accustomed to um but so michael serennelson and and uh mike commisseric and the twins have done a really good job of uh laying out a plan for these young men and uh you know that the opportunity for them to work on these skills um you know with some some really good caring hockey minds has been uh it's been a good week so far are you welcoming them welcoming a lot of these kids into an nhl organization did they get their first bag skate what what's what's been the drill so far no no this is uh this is very uh skill-based development-based uh recognizing a lot of these guys haven't been in full training mode yet this summer so it's it was really an opportunity for them to to really dial in um some skills that we feel are very essential for the next level um so we left the bag skate component out of it it's more uh more working on on things that are are useful well and you're getting kids obviously especially the ones that have just been drafted they're so excited they're probably very eager to learn everything but at the same time there's probably a lot of nerves with those kids as well how do you go about trying to get through to some kids where maybe all they're kind of seeing right away is as headlights that uh that has been the message from from opening uh opening address on sunday was that a lot of these skills uh maybe foreign to them it may be uncomfortable they may not be good at them it's an opportunity to work at them this is not a tryout week it's really an opportunity for you to work with our development team work on these skills understand why they're necessary for this next level with video sessions and and explanations that way um but i think that's been addressed right from day one that uh obviously we recognize there's going to be nerves but this is just an opportunity to work out kinks understand why you need to do certain things um and we really encourage that back and forth in exchange well there's a lot of players coming from different spots right they may have just been drafted in in the last week from from major junior or coming over from the big ice in europe and when you talk about skills you know um what exactly is that is that you know learning how to play on the wall and and teaching guys how to work there and and where to create space for yourself at an NHL level which is ultimately the goal for all these kids yes so you know once you get to this level um you know knocking on the door the next step being uh a pro career uh they all have skill they can all skate they can all shoot uh they can all pass at varying levels um but understanding that at the next level it's about how to execute these skills under pressure and how to execute these skills at pace um and consistently so like you said there is some wall place uh wall-based play um there's understanding and learning how to create time and space for yourself in puck battles uh and I think that one being the most important uh at the next level is to try to find that half second to be able to make another play um that's the difference between elite players and average players and players that just don't make it to the next level is their ability to create and find space and then within that half a second execute a play well and it has to be pretty challenging to replicate that's up a scenario in practice and get players to kind of improve their processing and and their nerves but like how how do you go about improving that is it drills is it also a lot of just mental preparation for it um it's it's repping it out it really is it's getting those touches it's getting those touches without pressure it's getting those touches under pressure um and then I found it quite interesting just from the sessions that we had going into small area games on Tuesday and today having the inner squad game four and four three on three how quickly they were able to implement some of those things that they've been working on all week those puck separations those initiating contacts uh you see it right away so you see the hockey IQ of some of them just they can take a concept learn it and execute it in a game situation within a matter of two three days that gives us the confidence to know that you know the the brain is there it's just a matter of giving them the skills giving them the cues when to use them and then watching them uh execute it uh to the best of their ability now when when they go off and they go uh and play with whomever they might go play with uh next next season is this something that you know Michael Samuelson and Mike Commiseric and the development coaches will continue to touch base with these players and and maybe maybe watch tape with them is is that how the development process ideally goes yes for the most part I don't have an exact understanding of how the process goes here right uh every organization is different and just in in the brief talks I've had with with KOMO and Sami about it they don't primarily go on me as some some organizations allow development teams to go on the ice with the kids for us it's it's a lot of communication and just talking with the kids um understanding their game maybe breaking down their game a little bit um so it's I think at this age for these guys to be able to self-assess and understand what elements of their game are working what they need to work on and most importantly like we talked about the experience that our development staff has in terms of their playing careers and having a better knowledge and understanding of what it takes gives them that more to more credibility when they talk to these kids about hey this leads to sharpen up in your game or this element can can really uh help you in your decision making or your offensive place so I think that's where our staff has a little bit of a leg up in that department a player you've been able to work with the last couple of days as is a high pick of this team from last season defensement tom golander and one of the things that always gets spoken about him from people that have coached him and play with him is how coachable and teachable he is and how eager he is to learn and get better what what has your experience been with working with him here so far at def camp um why i've bounced around from group one day with the b one day with the four words one day all of them together um so i haven't had a too much individual time with him personally but just in watching him um just watching his plays with the pocket made a couple really good plays in the scrimmage game today so you see the talent and and the kind of hockey sense that these young guys have in him in particular um obviously just a four and four three on three inner squad game but you can see how that processing skill that he has can be implemented at the next level and for him it's going to be again doing those things under pressure under speed at and and once he gets older against higher level competition older stronger bigger faster guys um you know once he continues to hone that skill you can see how it's transferable to the program for um i mean curious your your take on just you know where players are at you know that that first year they get drafted and and how much development happens after your draft year but before you're even eligible maybe to jump to the a hl like how much does a player grow in that time and and you know what is is there a singular focus that they need to have in that time is it skill based is it you know working on growing into their bodies what what matters most at that very uh important age so these these next two years for these guys are are immense um and there's all of the elements that you just touched on number one they're still filling out as men you know they have to grow into their bodies they have to get bigger faster stronger uh is number one and learning how to play against bigger faster stronger is a major key um the other part of it being the mental side of it in terms of uh how you approach the game um not only from an on ice perspective and how you see yourself transitioning into the pro level but but more so a mindset of how willing are you to train how willing are you to be really strict with your diet with your nutrition with your training um how much time and effort are you really willing to put into those things and that's you know what whatever it calls becoming a pro or being a good pro uh these next two years are so key for them to to hone in those skills obviously on the ice but but off the ice it's a willingness and an understanding of what it takes to to get to that next level what's it's so competitive right i mean these kids go from being drafted even later in later rounds being some of the best players at their age to all of a sudden now you're competing with other guys and now you see how far it's how long that road is to get there and in terms of having that mentality i'm sure a lot of kids who are 18 you know it's 19 they want to be able to have that mentality but how rare is it for guys to actually to be able to execute on that at that age it is difficult and it's it's kind of um it is a learned behavior once you're around the pro game once you're around good professionals who who understand what it takes uh and a lot of a lot of times you'll see you know in various cities guys training with um pros coming back for the season whether they're a hl whether nhl whether uh they're overseas um they start to get into these groups where they're training amongst their peers and they're training amongst some pro guys and you know they they have this sense of i get goes back to that saying if i only knew then what i know now um you know at this age they they think they know how to train and they think they know how hard they need to train but until they actually see it until they're in these development camps and they're amongst their peers who have you know been drafted two years ago and all of a sudden now they are bigger faster stronger and they have to compete with that until they see it and learn it uh it's pretty tough to get a handle on the grasp on so it's very rare that you see it on a kid coming right out of the draft uh again it comes in these next two years where they start to develop that mindset i'm curious to hear your take on uh on vilmer all rickson who uh you know has a tough time not standing out because of the the sheer size of him as a as a player but uh you know we saw him a little bit last year didn't get a chance to get out to dev camp this week but uh it sounds like from what i've heard he's he's learning how to use his size a little bit more and you know maybe that sounds easy for a guy who's as big as he is but it really is a process to to really learn how to use that advantage absolutely um so as we've been discussing you know especially for a big man for a lot of their career they being bigger faster stronger than the rest and you know there's not not so much a focus on developing skill and developing uh how to use that but now as they come against competition that that is able to handle that size um you know now the the mental side of it and and learning how to use your size using shielding techniques creating contact or initiating contact that's a big part of of learning how to play the big man game for the for these bigger guys he definitely had some standout moments today where he he looked the part and he has a better understanding of how to use that that frame um so again it's just a continual work and process to to to hold that game and make it better uh we really appreciate the time as always mani it's been a busy week for you uh a busy summer coming up uh i know it's going to be a lot of fun getting to see you out in abbotsford net training camp come uh come september thanks a lot for your time and uh have a great summer you as well thanks guys uh there is uh mani malholtra abbotsford kennox head coach uh giving us a good amount of time there to discuss what was going on at dev camp and maybe not as much on specific players but the goals of what the Canucks are looking for in these types of scenarios it's very much a hey touch base with the organization some of our coaches and these are the things that we really value here in this organization and we think they'll help you become a pro as you continue through your career absolutely and you know what it's one of those things where you look at these dev camps over the years and think of the dozens of players that show up every single season and how many of them make it through yeah you know and i'm sure like those kids go in there and and it's you know eye opening because they realize the same thing it's like i'm in a room with my peers and all these guys are pretty good yeah and the guys that are a couple years old or or like even better way better and it's like wow you know it's like there it's this is not going to be easy and we're just talking about this level let alone a hl let alone an hl you know that there's you know so many levels to getting there that you have to surpass before you can achieve it so it it really weeds out a lot of kids you know and a lot of players who are super talented and a lot of players that maybe believed in themselves and then they see this and they're like well okay can i actually do this or not right and that's where the difference comes in because a lot of a lot of players that age confidence is such a big thing do you get discouraged or do you take that discouragement as motivation yeah and i think you know that's what's really interesting here right because i'm sure all of us right like think of the first time you went on air like how daunting was that uh it was a little bit scary yeah right like it's very daunting now it's like you know like whatever right but like you know the first time you do something it's very daunting and sometimes you experience something and you don't want to do it again or you work at it and you work at it and tell you you know you you get to a point where you're successful at um cuz did choose to go with more of a uh smaller dev camp roster this year last year you know they had some older guys like Max Asin was there and you know he stood out but he was also a lot older than some of the other prospects but this year it went with a little bit of a smaller roster and uh even Mikhail Samison one of his uh lines that was put out there today was like why have a big roster you know we need to work one-on-one with a lot of these kids yeah for sure and i think if you get to a point two is a lot of these guys where they've been through this before already and now they're pros already you should have graduated past this point yeah right and you have resources that are available to you within those organizations and everything so like do you need to have those guys there again i think it's good to have a few come back yeah because they show the other kids right it's you know it's good to have you know that a little bit of seniority with familiarity there that people that have a little confidence and and know what to expect and know what to do so it's not foreign to the entire group right but it makes sense we talk about building prospects out there is such a thing as having too many yes there's only there's only so much you can do right there's only so many spots you have on your uh a hl team right there's only so many spots uh you can allocate to your roster in terms of the 50 man like so it's you know you can't just have as many prospects as possible and do you have enough time and resources to allocate to developing all of them buffalo is kind of going through that right now maybe even Utah a little bit we saw them make the big trade for for surrogate chev it's like yeah well we got a thousand picks anyways so may as well just move on from a couple uh it's Dan Rachael satir Shah when we come back i'll get more into the Canucks at the top level and who could see an increase in their production next season are their players ready for a breakout you can send in your thought at 650 650 on the dumbbar lumber text message inbox and which new Canucks contract carries the most risk that's coming up in the open on Canucks Central
