We're Talking About ... Mettings?
The Devils held a 30-minute practice on Friday. With a packed game schedule and the need to give players time for recovery, practices are becoming more and more rare across the league, especially at this juncture of the season.
That means the bulk of the teaching has transitioned from on the ice to in the video meeting room. And that’s where a lot of emphasis has been lately for New Jersey.
“All structure,” forward Nate Bastian said. “It’s stuff as a group we have to go over and address.”
And those meetings aren’t just a one-way street. It isn’t the coaches preaching to the players or calling out players for mistakes in video clips. Instead, it’s a productive two-way conversation between the coaches and players.
“It’s the message as a whole, teaching stuff,” forward Curtis Lazar said. “There is that back-and-forth communication. We have questions and the floor is ours. We pipe up. We give our two cents. Working with the coaching staff on that has been awesome.”
Prior to playing Colorado, the Devils held a full team meeting where players spoke up. But on Friday the coaches split up the forwards and defensemen to allow some of the younger players to freely speak their mind.
“Lot of great conversation between players and coaches. Looking at situations,” Ruff said. “I think an atmosphere where a young defenseman feels a little bit better about adding what they saw and what they’re reacting to inside the game.”
And, as noted, video meetings have almost supplanted practices as how teams learn around the league.
“Practice time is a dime a dozen now a days. Even when we go out there, it’s to get the legs moving,” Lazar said. “(Meetings are) how you’re going to learn.”
