Write On Sports LLC - "Is Hitchcock a good match for the struggling Blue Jackets?" by Marcin Hartman

Is Hitchcock a good match for the struggling Blue Jackets?

2006-12-08 19:47:11 | By: Marcin Hartman

I find it strange and somewhat disturbing that a coach of the reputation of Ken Hitchcock decided to take the first bait thrown at him and swapped his Flyers scouting consultant pass for a Blue Jackets head coach position so soon.

I really do.

Well, the Blue Jackets are so miserable these days that 'Hitch' has probably nothing to lose. If it turns out, as his opponents claim, that "he can't coach in the new NHL", all the blame for his coaching failure in Ohio can be shed onto players' inexperience, strong division rivals or lack of owner/management commitment. On the other hand, if he does succeed, well, hockey community of Columbus – meet your saviour.

Having said that, though, I think Hitch and Blue Jackets are not a particularly good match. Why? The former Stars and Flyers head coach has shown propensity to overuse game-worn veterans of which there are few and far between in Columbus. I'm also not sure how the most offensively-gifted young guns on the team [Nash, Zherdev, Vyborny] will take Hitchcock's defense-oriented schemes and patterns.

Says Damien Cox of the Toronto Star:

"In Dallas and Philly, he was viewed primarily as a hard-driving, defence-first coach, and that may be what he turns out to be in Ohio, as well. There were suggestions in his final days with the Flyers, however, that he lacked the hockey philosophies necessary to succeed in the "new," faster NHL."

If the Flyers example should hold, the young players in Columbus may not exactly thrive under Ken's idealogy, to say the least.

While the coach has been known around the league as a paragon of ambition and drive, I doubt he has enough soft skills to get the message across to his guys. The age difference does not help either, as evidence by the rants Hitch has had in Philadelphia with the former Phantoms, (probably with the noble exception of RJ Umberger).

Is there an ounce of doubt deep down in Hitchcock's heart as well?:

"I wasn't sure I wanted this job when I went for the interview. I thought I'd go through the interview process but after it was over, I knew I wanted it. This is a really good gig," said Hitchcock, who has a three-year contract but has no player-personnel title as well.

It has been two weeks since Hitchcock took over the team and at least one trend is clearly noticeable. The Blue Jackets have stopped losing goals in bunches. They turned on the heat on their defensive end with two shutouts and 1.33 collective GAA over the span of six games under Hitch. Blue Jackets are 3-3 in these six, while playing all but one on the road (the won only two road games all season under previous regime).

The start has certainly been promising, but Ken Hitchcock still has a lot to prove. Perhaps most – to himself.