The Flames assistant coach switched up the colour and started taping up the stick a short time ago, Huberdeau first using it in game action on New Year’s Eve where he picked up an assist, followed by the tally in the following tilt.
“I just go back to my days when I played and if I was struggling a bit, a simple stick change, or tape colour or something, just to change up the look (could help),” said Savard following the team’s practice in Nashville Wednesday ahead of a tilt with the Preds on Thursday. “And I just approached Huby about it to see if he’d do it and he said, ya, go ahead and tape it. Then he used it in practice and just felt good about it and obviously he got an assist last game and then last night got his first goal in awhile, so it’s something he’s going to gravitate to now.
“But, again, it's just having a different look, changing something up, feeling fresh and it worked out.
“I’m just glad he got results,” he added.
Savard has a segment on his YouTube channel called Taping Twigs With Savvy (click here to check it out), and admits he’s obsessed with it.
“I love taping sticks,” he said. “The guys know, every practice I come out with something different on my stick, something from a player in the league I saw I want to fool around and try.”
It may seem like small thing to switch up something like a tape job, but as a veteran of 833 NHL tilts, Savard has the unique perspective of being a former NHL player, all the ups-and-downs that come with it, and how to navigate through many of the challenges they may face.
“I think a lot of that is why I was brought in here, you know,” he explained “That connection with the players and being able to know things.
“It was just a feeling and, again, it’s good to change things up when things aren’t working right, whether it’s your warmup or something simple like a tape job.
“So, it was like a breath of fresh air for him and it’s worked out.”
Along with slinging a role of tape, the 521 points the offensively-gifted skater tallied in his career gives him a personal angle on what it takes to be successful at that end of the ice.
“I get guys approach me a lot about different situation, especially on offence and in the offensive zone, and I’m able to work with those guys and sometimes I know when they are frustrated, cause I got frustrated like that,” he said. “I’m able to try and help them to not be so frustrated, to save that energy.
“I remember playing, I burnt a lot of energy on worrying about little things so I think that’s a good aspect where I can help these guys out.”
