Free agent Andy Wozniewski signed with St. Louis on Thursday after spending last season with Toronto, an addition that bolsters the Blues’ defense.

He had two goals and seven assists last year. In 76 career games, the 28-year-old defenseman has two goals and 12 points, with 81 penalty minutes.

From managing substitution patterns to knowing when to pull the goalie at the end of the game, coaching ice hockey might seem like it mostly entails strategic decisions during game play. While that is a big part of it, the well-rounded hockey coach also does much of their work before the puck is ever dropped at the start of a game. Developing an efficient practice routine, handling the day-to-day administrative duties of the job, and learning the subtle psychological tactics to maximize the performance of each individual player are just as crucial to developing a great team.

Practice

Practice is the foundation on which all great teams are built in any sport, because teams that are well-prepared and are not surprised by a situation that arises during a game have a distinct advantage. Coaching ice hockey requires a practice routine that develops individual skills, especially on the youth levels of the sport, by constant drilling of fundamental aspects like skating, puck-handling, shooting, passing, and defense. But a coach must also fit in ample time to develop team concepts, including offensive and defensive plays, special teams, and specific game situations, all while trying to strengthen chemistry between players.

Administrative

Administrative duties are more important to coaches on lower levels. This part of the job entails creating a practice schedule and making sure a rink is available, maintaining equipment, and oversight of all team operations. While this isn’t a glamorous part of the job, it can’t be allowed to slide at all.

Interacting with Players

Coaches in any sport must be amateur psychologists of a sort, because they have to deal with the distinct personalities of all the players on their team. Knowing what buttons to push and how each player responds to certain tactics is a necessity. How a coach deals with players who want more playing time or are struggling with their confidence might make the difference between a great team and one in the cellar.

Strategy

Once all the practice and preparation is done, it’s up to the coach to make the right decisions on game day. Much of the strategy might depend on the opponent, so a good coach must also be willing to take the time to scout his opponent. Knowing the opponents strengths and weaknesses is almost as important as knowing one’s own team’s abilities.

Again, much of what happens on game day is determined by the team’s preparation in practice. But a coach must know how to adjust during a game, nixing a certain plan of attack if it isn’t working or trying a different strategy if an opponent is having success in one particular area. Coaches should also be ready to adjust their game plans depending on how their individual players are performing. For instance, a player having a good night might become a focal point, while one who is struggling might need a pep talk or some extra time on the bench to get them going.

The Juggling Act

Coaching ice hockey is a juggling act of sorts. Good coaches can drill on the physical aspects of the sport and deal successfully with the psyches of each player on the team. And, in the end, they must have the confidence in their team to get it done when it matters most.

Texas hold’em is the game to know if you’re going to play poker in this day and age, either live or on internet poker sites. The basic rules of Texas hold’em are easy to learn, although the game itself can take years to master, if it can be mastered at all. Texas Hold’em Step One: The Starting Deal Texas hold’em is dealt using a button, a disc representing the dealer position. The player to the button’s left puts in a forced fraction of a bet, this is called the small blind. The player to his left puts in a full bet, this is called the big blind. Two cards are dealt to each player. The player to the left of the big blind chooses whether he wishes to continue by either matching the big blind or raising the bet. If he does not wish to continue, he folds and play proceeds clockwise around the table. When the action reaches the small blind, he can complete the bet or call a raise if there has been a raise, or he can raise or fold. The big blind may check or raise if there has been no raise, fold, call or re-raise if there has been a raise. Texas Hold’em Step Two: Play of the Hand After the “pre-flop” action, three community cards go in the middle of the table. These are the flop cards and all players can use them. Action starts with the first player to the left of the dealer who has not folded. He may check, bet or raise and subsequent players may check or bet if there has been no bet, fold, call or raise if there has been. This continues for a fourth community card, the turn and a fifth, the river. Texas Hold’em Step Three: The Showdown Once all five cards have been dealt and all surviving players have called all bets, the player with the best five-card hand using the two in his hand plus the five on the board wins. It is possible to use only one or even none of your hole cards. You do not have to figure out whether or not you have won, as the software will award the pot to the winner automatically. Texas Hold’em Step Four: Where to Play When you know the rules of hold’em you just have to find opponents to play against and that is more easily accomplished than ever before. Just visit a poker guide and compare reviews and poker room ratings. Look for a site offering your preferred poker variation and tour just a few clicks away from actually playing. If you want to get the most out of your first wagers, also try to find the best poker bonus online. In doing so, you will earn extra money for every hand you’re dealt.

If the Red Wings keep this up, the next time they perform back in Hockeytown could be along a parade route.

Producing timely offense and perfectionist defense, Detroit is not only beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, they are shutting them out.

With first-period goals from Brad Stuart and Tomas Holmstrom and another lockdown effort, the Red Wings topped the Penguins 3-0 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.

If they can match this twice in Pittsburgh, the Red Wings will return to Detroit with the Cup in tow.

Puck-possessing Detroit held onto it all night and registered 34 shots. After a 19-save effort in a 4-0 series-opening win Saturday, Chris Osgood stopped 22 in a rocking-chair game and earned his third blanking of the playoffs — 13th of his career.

“I play the game as it comes,” Osgood said. “I love playing behind these guys. I don’t need 40 shots to play the game or to feel good. I’m confident regardless. I’m not really into stats too much, just into winning.”

Gatineau Olympiques defenceman Takuma Kawai may be a Japanese hockey player, but he’s sporting a very Canadian gap in his front teeth.

Kawai moved away from his home and family in Eniwa, Japan, at 15 to pursue his dream of playing hockey in Canada.

The 19-year-old is living that dream to the fullest at the Memorial Cup, which is the championship of the 60-team Canadian Hockey League.

“I always wanted to come to Canada and play. When I was little I watched NHL games on TV,” Kawai said prior to Gatineau’s game against Belleville on Monday.

Japanese-Canadians in hockey are common enough. Devin Setoguchi and Kawai’s favourite Paul Kariya are just a couple of them.
But media relations personnel from the CHL were scratching their heads to come up with previous players who were born in Japan and played major junior hockey.

Suffice to say, Kawai is a rarity.

“I think I’m the first Japanese player to play major junior,” Kawai theorized. “I know there’s half-Japanese, half-Canadian players, but I’ve never heard of a Japanese-born player.”

The Flyers were the latest team to skate away without a title, making the city’s big four sports teams 0-for-25 since the 76ers last won a championship in 1983 and celebrated with a parade down Broad Street. The Flyers extended their personal Stanley Cup drought to 33 years - nothing since back-to-back titles in 1974 and 1975.

The only cup the Flyers will drink out of in June might come with a fancy umbrella at some swanky vacation resort.

Given the state of the four franchises, which also include the Phillies and the Eagles, the Flyers could be considered top contenders to snap the miserable skid. Yes, their season ended Sunday in a huge thud with their 6-0 loss to Pittsburgh in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. But the stunning turnaround from worst team in the NHL last season to conference finalists this year has the Flyers flying high about their future.

“We’ll remember all the good things we did, the fact that nobody gave us a chance to even make the playoffs at the beginning of the year,” centre Danny Briere said. “Hopefully, we were able to gain that experience that’s going to make us even better next year. I think we took a step in the right direction, but right now it’s kind of tough to look at the big picture.”