A few extra notes from yesterday’s conference call with new Caps associate goalies coach Olie Kolzig. Said he’s definitely paid close attention to Washington’s playoff failures since he left the organization.
On the Caps’ recent playoff failures…
“They addressed some issues going into the playoffs this year, playing a little more of a defensive style. I think they need to find a good balance of offense and defense. [Tampa Bay goalie] Dwayne Roloson, I guess, again was the reason they didn’t advance this year. But they just have to find – and whatever it is, whether they have to bring in a few new players. I don’t know. But they’ve got too much talent to not go further than they have.”
Kolzig is still close to Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price, 23, who played for his Tri-City Americans junior club for three seasons plus a game as a teenager. They became close when Kolzig was around the team more during the 2004-05 NHL lockout and Price still attends the annual fundraising dinner for Kolzig’s charitable endeavor – the Carson Kolzig Foundation. That nonprofit is based in Washington state and helps educate and provide resources for families with autistic children. It is named after Kolzig’s autistic son, Carson.
On working with Price during the NHL lockout…
“When I worked with Carey he was so much more advanced physically, technically than I was at that age. So for me to try to teach him about the technical aspect of goaltending would have been wrong for me. I was there more as a mental crutch for him. Or as somebody that wouldn’t allow him to get into any kind of losing streak or a slump. I’d just be there if I saw some things start to slip in his game, tell him to come back to basics and really be able to keep a one or two-game losing streak from turning into a five or six-game losing streak.”
Obviously, we’re not sure yet how many Caps next season will have actually played with Kolzig during his time in Washington. Players like Brooks Laich, Matt Bradley and Boyd Gordon are all unrestricted free agents. But Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Semin, Mike Green, Jeff Schultz, Eric Fehr, John Erskine and Tom Poti were all teammates with Kolzig, too. That could pose some issues, according to Kolzig. He’s never been one to bite his tongue when he sees a problem.
“Once I get in there I got to remind myself that I’m a coach now and not a player. Maybe back off some of the things I would have said as a player.”
Kolzig was one of the few veterans left during the rebuild who got to educate Ovechkin on life in the NHL during his early years in the league. Kolzig noted that the change in systems had to affect Ovechkin’s production last season – “a bad rap” he called it – but that taking more responsibility on the defensive end could only be a benefit. We all saw signs last season that Ovechkin has already started evolving away from the player Kolzig knew – the hit-everything-at-all-costs kid who threw himself into the glass after a goal. Obviously, that, too, is a good thing, according to Kolzig.
“It’ll be interesting to see when [Ovechkin] gets older if he can still maintain his raging bull attitude, running into everybody and being able to keep himself healthy. I think he might have to kind if tone that down a little bit.”
Kolzig said he had already begun to send out resumes to NHL teams letting them know he was interested in getting back into the league. As soon as he and his family made that decision and began preparing for move back to Florida, Dave Prior, Kolzig’s mentor and Washington’s new director of goaltending, called with an offer. Kolzig will be in and out of Washington during development and training camps and the regular season and also get time with prospects at ECHL South Carolina and AHL Hershey.
“I’d guess you’d call it fate. Dave approached me and it was the perfect way to get back into it. It’s not a full time schedule, but it allows me to work with the kids and see if it’s something I’d want to do long term.”
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