Out Of The Junkyard
Don't Underestimate Edzo
By Guy Junker

Edzo? They hired Edzo? Oh no! That was a common response last month when the Penguins hired Ed Olczyk as their new head coach. It came from season ticket holders, casual fans, and many of my esteemed media colleagues. The only reason media criticism wasn't more intense is that everybody likes the guy so much. It's also the reason why the move just might work out.

One day while playing golf and searching for yet another lost ball, I heard someone call my name from the other fairway. I looked up to see it was Edzo who waved from his golf cart and then drove on over to chat. Not so unusual except at the time I had only met him once before. After a few pleasantries about our rounds, he asked me specifics about my children, shocking me that he remembered anything from our one other casual conversation. But you see, Edzo has great people skills. He's a people-person in a people-business. And it should do him well in organizing and motivating the great melting pot that is any NHL bench these days.

Scotty Bowman is one of the greatest coaches in NHL history and did a superb job behind the Penguins bench. But the players didn't like him and didn't even want him on the ice with them at practice. This may say more about the players than Scotty but it's still a lousy situation.

Kevin Constantine is one of the most brilliant, young X's and O's coaches around. He is able to teach players how to beat more talented teams regularly because of his tireless work on details. With the Penguins and the Sharks he was able to lead an eight seed over a one seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. No other coach has ever done so with two different teams. But Constantine also is no longer coaching in the NHL despite his track record and his youth. No matter what Kevin knew, he wasn't able to get his players to share his passion for the meeting room or the study of tape.

The point is, there are no perfect athletes out there and there are no perfect coaches. Edzo lacks experience and it will hurt him most during the 60 minutes of actual game time. Ever hear a player rehabbing an injury say "I've been working out, riding the bike, but there is no way to simulate game action"? The same is true for coaches. It is imperative to make the final member of the Penguins coaching staff a guy that has head coaching experience who can help him in that department. Like Bill Virdon with Lloyd McClendon the first two years he managed the Pirates. Someone to lean on when all the sights and sounds start passing by at warp speed and everyone is looking at him for decisions.

There is little doubt Edzo knows the game. It was evident the first time he sat behind the microphone to broadcast Penguin games. He picks out things within seconds of them happening and his analytical mind will serve him well. And he has a better chance of imparting that knowledge than some of his predecessors.

You still may not be convinced. But think about this - the guy really under the gun here isn't Edzo, but Craig Patrick. Patrick should have interviewed some of the other top candidates for the job even if he had already decided that Olczyk was his man. It wouldn't have hurt to pick a few brains and get some ideas from outside the organization. It would be free advice and for once coming from someone with the right to dispense it. If Edzo's hiring doesn't go well, Patrick could lose his job. We're up to five coaches in five years now and sooner or later the blame has to go somewhere else, regardless of the finances. Patrick knows this and yet eschewed the safe choice of hiring an experienced guy who would not reflect so poorly on Patrick if he failed. So before you say, "Oh no, Edzo?" Think about who has the most to lose if this doesn't work out. It's Patrick.

I'm certainly not looking for any miracles. There are too many holes on the current roster to expect much. But give him a chance. He's younger than E.J. He speaks better than Ivan Hlinka and more often than Rick Kehoe. And the players will like him better than Scotty Bowman or Kevin Constantine. They could have done worse. I've worked for people who could not look me in the eye while talking to me. I'll take the people-person everytime.