Ok guys, I know it's still early and all, but it's never really too early to start sounding off on how the coaching staff is doing... is it?
I for one think this guy is absolutely top notch already! I've always been a wait and see type of person when it comes to coaches. Don't like to rag on them early for struggles or jump on a bandwagon with successes either, but there is something very different about how Yeo coaches!
He speaks with genuine confidence and then gets the team to back it up almost immediately! He's brutally honest when he should be, and never tries to explain something away that is clearly a problem.
The way he has this team fighting out the games to the very last minute be it with a lead or down a goal or two... is simply amazing! This from a team that would simply fold up shop in the last 10mins all season long last year!
I am simply beyond impressed with the job Yeo has done thus far, and hope this is the real Mike Yeo that we see for years to come! I'm sold on him already!
I wasnt a fan of some of his line combinations at first (having Clutterbuck/Johnson on the first line) but he's really grown on me and I'm a fan now lol.
Like a mini-JL....being that he can get the most out of his players. That excludes the top line, though. They're just slow learners.
He's not afraid to line mix like JL, but they play completely different systems. When JL was here, you could count on one hand the number of times in all the years when the Wild sent in 2 on the forecheck... With Yeo, it's most of every game... of course that doesn't mean anyone outside of Minnesota has noticed. We're still the same old boring trapping team afterall...
Like JL, Yeo puts players in position to succeed. Asks them to do what they do best. Don't force them into a role they're not suited for.
The Wild has given up a ridiculous 17 goals in 10 home games and 39 goals in 20 games this season -- both league-lows. The Wild's given up 11 in the third, a league-low. Thirteen of the Wild's 20 games have been one-goal games (8-2-3).
The Minnesota Wild shouldn't be the best and most promising major pro sports team in the Twin Cities,
I think that's the belief (and want) of 98% of the sports writers in this town. They have too much love for the Vikings, Twins, and Puppies that they'd burst into flames if the Wild bypassed those clubs in success.
Quote:
Somehow, as of Saturday afternoon, the Wild had taken a five-point lead in the division with an offense that is more clutch than impressive and a group of defensemen who are violating child labor laws.
I wanted him in the first place, now that we've got him I can't say I'm disappointed. Hes running exactly the kind of system I imagined he would, and he is doing it damned cool. If we can get that PP to float around 18% I'm happy.
Last edited by Foxlockbox: 11-20-2011 at 07:04 AM.
It's hard to get a full sense of what's going on behind the scenes but some of the clips we got to see on Becoming Wild and just generally how he speaks in front of the camera has me a bit swoon right now.
It's certainly early in his tenure so we'll see if the team continues to buy-in over time but right now things look promising. It'll be interesting to see what happens when the inevitable struggles pop up and see how he and the team handles themselves. That's the next step in his evolution as head coach in my opinion.
__________________
After Meaningless Win - 3/29/12 - Game 77 | SoH-"Who knows, that could have cost us a Cup tonight." | Dooohkay
I give props to the club for creating the "Becoming Wild" series, because that show took away a lot of my doubts about him. I was somewhat uneasy with Fletcher picking another rookie head coach, but many of the clips from that series gave us a pretty good picture of what Yeo was all about. I nearly became sold before the season even started. I already liked him more than Richards. All of his words and actions during this young season have simply been icing on the cake. While this team will certainly face adversity, I honestly feel more confident knowing he's in charge.
I think back to that horrible loss against the Kings. That was a one-way ticket to a 5-8 game losing streak. He refused to let that happen, and I don't know many coaches who would have been able to do that. That game was a massacre of epic proportions.
It's hard to get a full sense of what's going on behind the scenes but some of the clips we got to see on Becoming Wild and just generally how he speaks in front of the camera has me a bit swoon right now.
It's certainly early in his tenure so we'll see if the team continues to buy-in over time but right now things look promising. It'll be interesting to see what happens when the inevitable struggles pop up and see how he and the team handles themselves. That's the next step in his evolution as head coach in my opinion.
I agree with you his test will come when things aren't going so well. So far though he's done a great job of knowing who to plug in at different positions and who to call up and send down. There's been too many injuries already, and he has still managed to keep the team playing great. Right now he looks like one of the better coaches in the NHL. Losses will inevitably come, but I see a coach that wants to win each game and knows what to change and when to change it in order to provide the best chance to win.
I would even be happy if we used a draft pick on Yeo. Love that he wants more after a win. Love that he is intense. Love that he can process, analyze and understand the game as it goes on, which helps with his ability to adapt- which is also commendable.
