TSN 1040 - Ray Ferraro's take on former teammate Travis Green

[MJDDawg]

The bit that stood out for me was when he talked about "coaching up" the kids. You don't yell or get mad at them for making a mistake but rather you point out what they did wrong and get them right back out there. If they keep making the same mistakes over and over, then you have to wonder if the kid can ever get it or not.

 

Couldn't help but flash back to Goldy scoring that beautiful breakaway goal in LA then getting benched the rest of the game.

 

Love Ray and how he breaks things down and his excitement for this hiring is getting me stoked.

 

 

[ice orca]

All along i thought CDC dismissed 1040 as tripe..only if they say something pretty i guess.

[timberz21]

I'm usually a fan of Ferraro, but I wonder ifs he is being honest and objective here?   Or he's just trying to make a friend look good, like TSN (mostly Dreger) tried to do with Eakins?

 

[Ghostsof1915]

2 hours ago, ice orca said:

All along i thought CDC dismissed 1040 as tripe..only if they say something pretty i guess.

It's regular hosts yes. But when they have guests like Bob McKenzie, or Ray, then I'll tune in. 

[Mr.53]

Some highlights on the interview. Very insightful. Ferraro is a smart man. (Warning, LONG READ)

 

Green was a very skilled offensive player before being a second round pick by the Islanders. He was supposed to be a top 6 forward kind of guy, but got stuck behind some solid depth. In order to play the coaching staff told him he needed to learn how to check, grind down opponents, play defence, etc. Basically he needed to learn to play a different role than he was used too. He basically went from being a lazy gifted scoring forward, to a hard working two-way player that would be tasked with matching up against Mario Lemieux in the finals. That is some serious growth. Remember this. This will be something that shows to be huge in many areas.

 

Something that Ferraro talks about is the reason he is able to get through to so many different players is because he has been so many different types of players throughout his life. He was always a great communicator but on top of that he has been the, lazy offensive scoring guy, the grind it out and play defence guy, the hard working guy, etc. He is very innovative in his thinking because he has personally been through it all and understands how to communicate and get to the kid.

 

Green will have an easier time than Willie because the Canucks are finally accepting the idea of a rebuild without saying it. It's not necessarily Willie's fault, but he had to try and balance two worlds at the same time, while Travis Green will be fortunate enough to have a more solid direction.

 

Absolutely no chance he gives ice time away without earning. He's not the kind of guy that will bench you after a mistake, but he will not give you anything for free you don't earn. But he is great at coaching up players and getting them to buy in. If not, he will walk past the player, as any coach would, but no, he will not be giving ice time for free.

 

Huge chance for Travis. Coming in when the Canucks are at the bottom right now with all of our young talent, he has no where to go but up. Theres a solid chance that if he can turn things around, we could be seeing Green as our coach for a long, long time, as he makes the Canucks 'his team' so to speak. Of course, if he sucks, the Canucks are not a franchise to be hesitant to fire a guy if he doesn't perform well, but again, he's very fortunate that we are going into a rebuild so to speak so he may have a little more leeway on say, missing the playoffs for the first few years. At this stage it's more about showing year to year progression of the young players into impact players and that the system is starting to become second nature, will determine his success.

 

Ferraro says one thing he always says about Travis is, "I think one of the things these players are going to find out about Greenie (He calls him Greenie) is that if they think they're in shape? Or that they've already worked hard? They might get those eyes opened. Ask any of those kids in Utica about how he runs his practices or his conditioning." Again, he points out the reasoning for this being that he was a lazy player who flipped the switch. (*cough* Virtanen *cough*) The only reason he played 15 years is because he flipped the switch and became a monster in the gym and when it came to conditioning. Expect that for his players as well.

 

Talks about with the vets we have, and the personality Green has, don't expect another year like this. It's just not in their nature. And if it is in their nature, (to accept failure and losing seasons) they will be traded because that's not the type of people Green wants around. (Who would?)

 

Don't blame Green for the lack of NHL alumni he has created. Ferraro credits that to bad drafting. Credits Green for actually doing well with what they had. They stripped their system, left him with nothing for a while and he did well. He gives Green a lot of credit for basically masking the playoffs with 8 defensmen one year. Next year Utica/Vancouver's affiliate will finally be back to having some good solid prospects to fill out a team, rather than the occasional player or 2. Whoever, get's that job will have it much easier than Green had it.

 

They talk about Jake Virtanen specifically and his conditioning. Very interesting part. As we all know, he's lost 20 pounds over the course of this season. First of all, Ferraro mentions, how in the world did Virtanen even get 20 pounds heavy to shed that in a year. To be able to shed 20 pounds in a year is an impressive feat, and not necessarily for the right reasons. He should never have gotten 20 pounds heavy in the first place. He puts the blame on both Virtanen and the organization. One, as a player, come on, you should know better. Come to camp in shape for gods sake. And as an organization, did you have nobody watching him? You had no coaches working out with him making sure his conditioning was good? Or simply someone to make sure he's in shape. Cutting 20 pounds in a season is nearly impossible unless something went horribly, horribly wrong in your conditioning. Credits Travis to getting him back in shape. He had him and his players do conditioning after every game before they got on the bus. The message was, "we will get to the performance part later, right now, we need to develop into pros." Which I don't think anyone can deny, helped JV.

 

Don't worry about a kid starting out in Utica. That is normal and a good sign. (Good sign if they are still pushing on the gates, kind of like Stecher did) What is important for next year is developing these players so then Green can see the pieces he's got, and put them together like a puzzle. Before they did not have the luxury to do that because they didn't have a deep team or deep prospects. Before we were playing too many guys that should have been in the AHL but had to move up. That's starting to change with the recent injection of prospects and players.

 

Now we are past a decade into the salary cap. Now teams are finally figuring out all the ins and outs, and there are really no more secrets or real surprises on how to work the cap anymore. But he talks about what the Canucks need to focus on, (which I think Benning has been doing) is not this top 5 pick we are gauranteed at getting, but our 2nd and 3rd round picks. Those are what he calls the "Money Picks." If you can turn a couple 2nds and 3rds into NHL players, (like Travis Green was) then you'll have a contending team. Even with just top players, youll end up signing too many free agents to fill the gaos, lose your cap space or get stuck with bad contracts etc. You need those players who can come in, homegrown, and be a legitimate NHL body. The Canucks have done a terrible job converting those picks, but it's turning around. Before, pre salary cap, and older rules, you could simply buy your way out of a hole. Now once you dig the hole, you're stuck in it. You need 2nd and 3rd round like guys to fill those gaps so you don't have too. The Canucks have 3 picks in the 2nd and 3rd round this year I believe. We have to make them convert.

 

The league has changed to really the only advantage money has is non salary cap stuff. By that I mean, big market teams like a Vancouver can't jsut go buying free agents anymore. Instead they have to go the Toronto route and spend boatloads of money on everything else, like facilities, the AHL team, medical staff. He points to Toronto as an example, one because they are one of the only teams with the financial means to do so, but literally everything about that franchise, they spend top dollar on. The kids in the AHL have access to the best coaches, the best staff, the best facilities, the best this the best that. Hell, if someone coughs on the Leafs they have a team of doctors making sure they're ok. They even have the most scouts working around the clock. They just have the money to spend and have been making the investment. Vancouver is still a top market, they need to do the same or similar.

[wallstreetamigo]

Green needs to apply his earn it mentality to ALL players, not just the young guys. I am tired of coaches completely ignoring the weaknesses and soft play of guys like the Sedins and Edler simply because they accomplished something years ago. Reality has to set in about what he has to work with RIGHT NOW, not what those guys were in 2011.

 

If he does this, it is a good thing for the team. If he doesn't, expect more of the same.

[Honey-Badger-Hansen]

9 minutes ago, wallstreetamigo said:

Green needs to apply his earn it mentality to ALL players, not just the young guys. I am tired of coaches completely ignoring the weaknesses and soft play of guys like the Sedins and Edler simply because they accomplished something years ago. Reality has to set in about what he has to work with RIGHT NOW, not what those guys were in 2011.

 

If he does this, it is a good thing for the team. If he doesn't, expect more of the same.

Yeah it was frustrating to watch the Sedins turn the puck over with a fancy blind pass inside our blue line without even a slap on the wrist. I kept thinking man it must be frustrating for players who would get benched for that same mistake to see the double standard. Everyone should be held equally accountable to the teams success.

 

Great interview, thanks for posting OP. Always enjoy Ray's thoughts and blunt honesty.

[Standing_Tall#37]

1 minute ago, Honey-Badger-Hansen said:

Yeah it was frustrating to watch the Sedins turn the puck over with a fancy blind pass inside our blue line without even a slap on the wrist. I kept thinking man it must be frustrating for players who would get benched for that same mistake to see the double standard. Everyone should be held equally accountable to the teams success.

 

Great interview, thanks for posting OP. Always enjoy Ray's thoughts and blunt honesty.

Although Tortarella did the same level of accountability thing and it completely &^@#ed this team. You can't be hard on soft players, but he was right in saying that the core needed to be moved. But I think the Canucks owe the Sedins the right to play crappy here as they played so well for so many years.

[wallstreetamigo]

28 minutes ago, Standing_Tall#37 said:

Although Tortarella did the same level of accountability thing and it completely &^@#ed this team. You can't be hard on soft players, but he was right in saying that the core needed to be moved. But I think the Canucks owe the Sedins the right to play crappy here as they played so well for so many years.

I totally disagree with that, especially when they are getting the prime minutes and PP opportunities. They have been paid a ton of money for their service and past accomplishments. They owe the Canucks to be better with those opportunities, the Canucks don't owe them anything on the ice.

 

This mentality that what they did years ago gives them a free pass is exactly what is - and has been - wrong with this team. Apathy is not what you want. You want all players to continually earn what they get. Or you get what we have seen. A team that doesn't dig deep in the playoffs when the chips are down. Accountability always needs to start at the top so if the Sedins are your top players they should be the first to earn it if they still want to be those guys here.

[brownky]

16 minutes ago, wallstreetamigo said:

I totally disagree with that, especially when they are getting the prime minutes and PP opportunities. They have been paid a ton of money for their service and past accomplishments. They owe the Canucks to be better with those opportunities, the Canucks don't owe them anything on the ice.

 

This mentality that what they did years ago gives them a free pass is exactly what is - and has been - wrong with this team. Apathy is not what you want. You want all players to continually earn what they get. Or you get what we have seen. A team that doesn't dig deep in the playoffs when the chips are down. Accountability always needs to start at the top so if the Sedins are your top players they should be the first to earn it if they still want to be those guys here.

If he takes the tack of "Okay, you've had 3 shifts with lazy backchecks in a row, you must be tired" and staples them to the bench for the next 10 minutes, regardless of powerplay time etc, that would send a pretty strong message. And it would send it to everyone at the same time.

 

No apathy allowed.

[Boudrias]

27 minutes ago, wallstreetamigo said:

I totally disagree with that, especially when they are getting the prime minutes and PP opportunities. They have been paid a ton of money for their service and past accomplishments. They owe the Canucks to be better with those opportunities, the Canucks don't owe them anything on the ice.

 

This mentality that what they did years ago gives them a free pass is exactly what is - and has been - wrong with this team. Apathy is not what you want. You want all players to continually earn what they get. Or you get what we have seen. A team that doesn't dig deep in the playoffs when the chips are down. Accountability always needs to start at the top so if the Sedins are your top players they should be the first to earn it if they still want to be those guys here.

Totally agree and I think the Twins would agree as well. It is up to the team to set standards and accountability. The Twins have had a good ride and the fans with them.

 

I have to smile when I read about Ray Ferraro and his abrasive comments and assumed attitudes. Ray comes from a very well know family in the Kootenays and one could suggest his attitude towards life comes from his family. Tough no nonsense Italian business people. Ray grew up in the Trail/Rossland area playing hockey and baseball. He went to the Little League World Series(1976) under the famous Andy Bilesky coaching legend. Anyone who knows Trail Minor Hockey realize the influence of the World Champion Trail Smoke Eaters. Those players were role models and coaches throughout that system. Ray was coached by world champions.

 

Travis Green was born and raised in Castlegar. Castlegar is a 20 minute drive from Trail and the sports is totally intertwined. The influences that Ray Ferraro experienced are the same that Travis Green would have had. They were both elite athletes who grew up in a high end sports environment. Green played Junior B hockey for the Castlegar Rebels at 15 and left home at 16 to play for the WHL Spokane Flyers. 4 seasons of WHL play and then 2 seasons of AHL hockey under the Islanders.

 

Both Green and Ferraro are hardcore products of the Canadian hockey system. I absolutely respect both and what they have achieved in their careers. The Canucks should be in good hands with Travis Green. He cannot guarantee success no one can.  That said there will be accountability because that is how they played.

[wallstreetamigo]

2 minutes ago, brownky said:

If he takes the tack of "Okay, you've had 3 shifts with lazy backchecks in a row, you must be tired" and staples them to the bench for the next 10 minutes, regardless of powerplay time etc, that would send a pretty strong message. And it would send it to everyone at the same time.

 

No apathy allowed.

I don't expect extremes but I do think for the team to move forward that accountability needs to be applied to all. Apathy is exactly what has happened with the never lose your spot approach to vets.

 

I for one hope Green comes in and avoids the star struck approach Desjardins took towards the vets. I want to see him come in with a clear agenda that is his own. If development is the focus, that needs to be front of mind. And there is no reason the Sedins and Edler cannot adjust to be more effective overall players. The Sedins are smart players and a lot of offensive minded guys have adjusted to more defensive ones as they age. That starts though with a true departure from the expectation that they will carry the team offensively again. Because it doesn't matter to the team if they score 70 points if the rest of their game gets victimized just as much or more by opposing teams. Their cycle game could actually be a very good shift and momentum killing defensive strategy if the focus and approach shifts more to that. So frequently ending it with a high risk or no look pass that gets picked off puts them behind the 8 ball defensively because of their lack of speed.

 

I would like to see them separated to see if it helps the fact that they have become far too predictable and easy to shut down as a result. Both are good playmakers that could get the puck to guys like Goldobin, Boeser, etc. No reason not to give it a try.

[SID.IS.SID.ME.IS.ME]

2 hours ago, timberz21 said:

I'm usually a fan of Ferraro, but I wonder ifs he is being honest and objective here?   Or he's just trying to make a friend look good, like TSN (mostly Dreger) tried to do with Eakins?

 

I think he's being honest.

 

Objective? Probably not. But objectivity is in pretty short supply these days when it comes to media commentary.

 

Everyone has a slant. Heck, it seems like many media outlets force them to (like the Province basically making Kuzma take the pro side and Botchford take the con side with their "5 reasons why" gimmick).

 

But nothing Ray said goes beyond what I've heard several people say about our new coach (most of whom don't have the same kind of personal connection to Green that Ferraro has). Just about every point he made is consistent with what I've heard from other people "in the know" who really like this hire.

 

Of course, none of those opinions are really "objective" but I do believe most of them to be honest (other than that kind of stuff I mentioned earlier from the Province).

 

[messier's_elbow]

I talked to Jake Virtanen about the Canucks for about 10 mins last weekend, and he raved about Green. I haven't heard one bad thing about the guy. 

[wallstreetamigo]

5 minutes ago, Boudrias said:

Totally agree and I think the Twins would agree as well. It is up to the team to set standards and accountability. The Twins have had a good ride and the fans with them.

 

I have to smile when I read about Ray Ferraro and his abrasive comments and assumed attitudes. Ray comes from a very well know family in the Kootenays and one could suggest his attitude towards life comes from his family. Tough no nonsense Italian business people. Ray grew up in the Trail/Rossland area playing hockey and baseball. He went to the Little League World Series(1976) under the famous Andy Bilesky coaching legend. Anyone who knows Trail Minor Hockey realize the influence of the World Champion Trail Smoke Eaters. Those players were role models and coaches throughout that system. Ray was coached by world champions.

 

Travis Green was born and raised in Castlegar. Castlegar is a 20 minute drive from Trail and the sports is totally intertwined. The influences that Ray Ferraro experienced are the same that Travis Green would have had. They were both elite athletes who grew up in a high end sports environment. Green played Junior B hockey for the Castlegar Rebels at 15 and left home at 16 to play for the WHL Spokane Flyers. 4 seasons of WHL play and then 2 seasons of AHL hockey under the Islanders.

 

Both Green and Ferraro are hardcore products of the Canadian hockey system. I absolutely respect both and what they have achieved in their careers. The Canucks should be in good hands with Travis Green. He cannot guarantee success no one can.  That said there will be accountability because that is how they played.

As a product of the Trail BC hockey/baseball machine, I totally agree with your points about the environment they came up through.

 

I played a lot against Travis actually. Ray was older but used to just walk up and play street hockey with us when we were kids. Like we had a chance. We would go 3 or 4 on 1 and he would destroy us lol. But it was pretty cool because he was already a big name in Trail even then.

 

If Travis can do it his way I think he has a chance to become a good NHL coach. This team will be a challenge though and he is relatively inexperienced as a pro coach. I am not a fan of this hire at this point but that's not to say it's because he is not a good coach. I just think it is going to be a very difficult coaching situation for anyone. Travis needs to adjust based on what he has to work with. 

 

I am willing to give him a chance to see what he can do. I am somewhat concerned though that his inexperience will lead to an impossible situation for him to succeed with this team and group. 

 

He was told how to coach in Utica to match Desjardins style. If he steps in and builds the style around the players he has that will be a good start. You never know with our management and ownership though just what pressure will be coming from above. 

[messier's_elbow]

9 hours ago, S'all Good Man said:

Botchford has raised up to the level of hack? Good for him. 

Seriously I could do Botchfords job. He is a bum. 

[messier's_elbow]

9 hours ago, S'all Good Man said:

it was pretty funny when he was asked about Green's development of prospects and what that means and he said "the Canucks drafted poorly"... ouch! but true. Even Gillis fanboys can't defend most of Mike's drafting record. 

I'm a Gillis fan and I admit his drafting sucked outside of Horvat and Hutton of course.

[Boudrias]

1 minute ago, wallstreetamigo said:

As a product of the Trail BC hockey/baseball machine, I totally agree with your points about the environment they came up through.

 

I played a lot against Travis actually. Ray was older but used to just walk up and play street hockey with us when we were kids. Like we had a chance. We would go 3 or 4 on 1 and he would destroy us lol. But it was pretty cool because he was already a big name in Trail even then.

 

If Travis can do it his way I think he has a chance to become a good NHL coach. This team will be a challenge though and he is relatively inexperienced as a pro coach. I am not a fan of this hire at this point but that's not to say it's because he is not a good coach. I just think it is going to be a very difficult coaching situation for anyone. Travis needs to adjust based on what he has to work with. 

 

I am willing to give him a chance to see what he can do. I am somewhat concerned though that his inexperience will lead to an impossible situation for him to succeed with this team and group. 

 

He was told how to coach in Utica to match Desjardins style. If he steps in and builds the style around the players he has that will be a good start. You never know with our management and ownership though just what pressure will be coming from above. 

Interesting wallstreet. My experience was watching the 1970 Junior Smoke Eaters win the BC championship. That was junior 'B' hockey that IMO could rival at least BCJHL today. Smoothest live hockey I ever saw. Later when my son went through minor hockey he played against Castlegar, Beaver Valley and the Trail 'B' squad. Needless to say I was always impressed with how good the coaching was.

 

Another influence that I forgot to mention was the Senior Hockey. Trail Smoke Eaters, Nelson Maple Leafs and Kimberley Dynamiters. Cominco Arena used to rock to some pretty good hockey.    

[JM_]

10 minutes ago, messier's_elbow said:

Seriously I could do Botchfords job. He is a bum. 

you could do better. 

 

 

[messier's_elbow]

1 minute ago, S'all Good Man said:

you could do better. 

 

 

Seriously. CDC on average is more insightful then the 1040 media. Most of them don't know their head from their ass.