Winterhawks Coach Kompon’s Early Reviews


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With their record on shaky ground, the Winterhawks have taken some serious criticism over the last several weeks. Particularly, WHL fans have called out Coach Kompon’s appointment as a factor, noting that under the reign of Mike Johnston the Hawks’ mistakes and minutia were usually exorcised from the ice by the time the NHL prospects returned to Portland.

Mike Johnston has been coaching hockey since he was 23, moving from the university leagues in Canada to becoming GM and Assoc. Coach for the Canadian Men’s National team. From there, he assistant-coached and associate-coached with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings before becoming GM/Head Coach for the WInterhawks in 2008. Since then, the worst team in the WHL have evolved into the closest thing the junior leagues can have to a dynasty, with their “back-to-back-to-back-to-back” conference championships and the 2013 WHL title. This impressive streak has earned Coach Johnston his new gig as Head Coach of the Pittsburg Penguins for the 2014-2015 season.

Jamie Kompon has been an NHL assistant coach for seventeen years, starting with a long run with the St. Louis Blues before moving to LA and helping the Kings secure their Stanley Cup in 2012. He then moved to Chicago and was part of their Stanley Cup team in 2013, primarily coaching the Power Play and helping the Blackhawks rise to 10th in the league on the PP.

So, if the message board commentators are to be believed, what is the difference between these two seasoned pros that is affecting the team so strongly?

Upon being hired, Kompon stated in interviews that the Winterhawks’ speedy game pace and aggressive puck attack was right up his alley. He’s definitely attempting to keep Johnston’s  breakneck approach to the junior league, and that may be a problem if his newer players are wired for a more methodical finesse game. I doubt it, mostly because the WHL age group is packed with energized young bucks who prefer breakaways to a lot of carefully constructed passes.

Speaking of which, some folks have suggested that Kompon is not used to the age group itself. After all, he’s been in the NHL since some of his current players were born. Critics may not be aware of it, but Kompon actually has some experience with development of younger players (including teens). He was a teacher for several years before becoming a full-time hockey coach, and with the LA Kings he was in charge of their prospect camps in the summers.

It stands to reason that Johnston would suggest his former colleague for the position. But being the “perfect fit” that Johnston described him as cannot account for some of the…let’s say, odd choices in line pairings and some quick decisions that fans are eager to attack with the benefit of hindsight. Chief among these digs have been the shooter selection during the shoot-out in the game last Friday against Seattle, along with his preference for a 2-2-1 Power Play squad.

My opinion boils down to die-hard fans hating any form of change…unless it was their idea. It’s early in the season, and there’s still time to play around with the lines and tweak the team’s strategy. With a long road trip ahead of them, the Winterhawks and Kompon should come back to the Moda Center with a focus on discipline and teamwork (common byproducts of being trapped in a bus or plane with each other). There’s still 24 and a half weeks left in the regular season, if that helps to keep everyone’s perspective grounded.

Can I speak Portlandian for a moment? I have as much faith in Kompon as I had in Mike Dunleavy when he took over as Head Coach for the Blazers in 1997 after a magnificent run by Rick Adelman and a brief period of despair with P.J. Carlesimo. And sure enough, Dunleavy’s Blazers came within a whisper of winning the Western Conference in 2000. Things like this occur all the time.

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Kyle Martinak
In addition to being a hockey nerd, Kyle is also is an on-camera personality for www.escapistmagazine.com and maintains various podcasts and webcomics revolving around movies, video games, and comics at his personal site, www.chaingangmedia.com.
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