Asunto: US National Team

Howdy to you all,

It has been awhile......so I figured I would inform you all with some changes that can be posted openly. There are also some changes that I will not discuss in the public forum. Letting outside managers see our strategy for each year is not a wise use of this discussion platform.

However, if any of you has further questions/thoughts/ideas/general discussion about the team, please feel free to contact me by e-mail. I will do my very best to answer as best that I am able. You are my "employer" in a sense, so I feel that you should have the ability to know what I am doing with the team. This is your Countries Team.....so ask away.....test me. My reasoning is to be honest and gain your trust. We all need to work together to build this new youth infused team. Changes are happening faster and faster as we move into year 3 of this tactic. At any rate, here are a few topics of information for todays team;

1) I am guessing you all don't check the line up every week.....so you may question my reasoning for who plays where and when.

My rationalization is simple. I am focusing on assuring each player is getting the same opportunity and playing time for each game (As close as I can control anyways). Players who play more minutes per game are more fatigued than those who play less in a game. This has two different impacts for each player. The more fatigued player (played more), trains skills that day a little less (The better the Physiotherapists and Regeneration Facilities the team has) really helps to lessen the effect of fatigue on a players training regimen. Meanwhile, those who played fewer minutes in a game will train his skills a little better than the tired ones.

These players (with more ice time/more fatigue.....etc.) in spite of that small negative result for training, the players with more ice time receive extra points for Experience than those who played less in each game. The end result is a positive direction for every player......but in a different way......depending on Playing Time/Special Teams/Etc. Experience is a very important number for creating a better player overall. So both attributes are what I am working to spread throughout the roster.

With that in mind and to assure everyone gets the same playing time and is incorporated into the Special Teams (Power Play and Penalty Kill) equally, I have incorporated a simple line implementation for each week. To begin with, each current player distribution stays the same.....in other words....same players on each line 1, 2, 3, and 4......no movement in the individual line roster. Then, after each weeks game, I raise each line up one (So line 2 becomes line 1....line 3 becomes line 2....etc.). The big change is that whomever played on the top line that week....now drops to line #4 for next weeks game and the rotation starts again.

Regarding who is utilized for the PP & PK....the top line for that week runs PP #1 and PK #1. For PP #2 & PK line #2.......only players from that weeks second line (except the PK #2 winger....I use the other winger from line #1) fill those roles.

I do this to show each manager that there is no favoritism for the up and coming prospects. Since we have had to introduce a youth movement in hopes of winning some championships in the future, I find it important not to focus on what seems to be a better player at a certain point. In other words, skills can be compared against one another.....but experience and especially longevity is usually too early in the progression to determine who will really be our future stars. You can have the greatest training percentages......but if your longevity drops prematurely, it is quite often that the longer legged prospect will eventually catch up and surpass the early favorite. A greater longevity not only means more years of use by the club.....but it allows the development of experience and skillset to create a better player than the early star. Spreading things out this way allows me to administer changes as the players develop year after year. Once a prospect has shown a significant growth pattern and a much more consolidated estimate of his future returns......then we can add him to the Senior line up. In return, if a player starts to show that he is headed down below other prospects......he may be removed if a better prospect is available. I am assuming that there will be several moves needed in both directions......especially as our very young players develop. All these machinations are meant to try and find the very best USA players to create a sustained/highly skilled roster that can actually give our Country a chance to beat the best.

2) Using this particular strategy will make a better team, no doubt. However, as we increase our youth content for the future......spots have to be opened by letting our most aged players go each season. This will result in a team in transition and will suffer while the youth grow. Each season, I have dropped more and more of our significantly older players. This season was our biggest move yet. I anticipate this will effect our results in the playoffs in a negative way.....for now. We'll still give em hell, but the lack in experience/skills will be tough to overcome. Who knows, maybe the youth will step up with more energy and surprise us all in the Championships! No matter what.....the Bottom Line is.....patience. My hope is that by giving you as much information about where the team is headed and why, will hopefully give you the temperance and excitement when rebuilding a team of any kind!!

3) I have worked hard to contact most of you throughout my term so far. One of my main concerns revolves around skill distribution for a player. As you know, I have posted a somewhat simple player development model to get the most out of each prospect/possible NT player pick ups. There are still some of you who have great facilities/staff that are choosing to train your players in a "non standard" skill distribution (at least as mentioned in the guide). Now I am not saying these non typical training regimens are useless. But what I am saying is......I will need to see what they are bringing to the table for team USA. I obviously mark all the young prospects I can and try to catch up on their development and especially how they are progressing in your own team games. If you can demonstrate to me.....or I find some different advantages for these players through watching them compete and grow.....they will certainly have a chance at making the USA Senior National Team. It really would help if you would communicate with me your thought process for these players. I do not know it all by any stretch. So I am open to other ways of competing. Unfortunately, I cannot follow all prospects as close as I would like to. So having you bring me into your team/player world will get not only my attention, but an interest in watching for a possibly new strategy that I have never thought of. I know the current team does not capture a wide array of players from teams all over the world. But I have not found other prospects to compete with them yet. I know there must be some out there. Bring them to me and I promise an open analysis/opinion/and especially the ability for you to exhibit your player from your perspective. You have a reason for what you are doing.......let me know if it's something we can incorporate into the National Team. If I can't find them......understand why they are developed a certain way.......then I cannot add them to the squad. It's not any kind of set in stone mindset that I have. My mind just hasn't seen what you have. I am quite possibly missing some of the best future players. If you are in doubt about one of your prospects, let's talk anyways. It just may turn out to be an idea that can work for the team.....or even a possible specialty assignment that meets well with his build.

4) Tactic development for the team is ongoing. Each year brings us closer to our potential and future ability to match opposing teams with an equal or better tactical percentage/advantage. We are getting their. My reasoning for the development of these tactics are not able to be posted here.

With all that said, I will sign off for now. Every time I post......I hope to hear from all of you. Again, this is your team......and if you desire.....you can walk along with those already on board and know what the teams development/strategies/thoughts/experiments/ideas are. The more eyes that are involved only helps broaden the brain power base needed to analyze and develop the strategies of the future.

Thanks for all your support and we'll talk soon,

HH

A note.......

I wanted to add to my last message regarding prospects. Obviously, I am looking for the best prospects no matter the position. However, if we happen to get a glut of players at a certain position, it makes it difficult to add a promising player to that particular position. I need to have a fairly even distribution of each position to allow for the maximum dispersion of playing time. As an example.....I can only play so many RW's lets say.....but we are short on LD. I have to choose the possibly lesser player to fill out the roster spots. This is due to our chosen strategy of playing our youth on very high. I need at least 8 full lines at every position. In the end, there are usually 9 players at each position. That's 45 spots.

I leave 4 spots for our two top goalies and 2 for our best prospects for when the older guys retire.

Now that leaves only one spot open. I keep it that way just in case a team folds and I need to pick up a player, that may make the team. If that player is not picked up by me, he will not go to the market when the manager leaves. He will be stuck on a dead team and never develop. By putting him on the National Team, he will automatically go to the market and hopefully live on with a good team who develops him.

Just more information for you to understand why certain choices have been made. If any of you has any questions, please feel free. Thanks,

HH