Around the League – Mar 11, 2010

"A lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and or the principal point of contact is not permitted. A violation of the above will result in a minor or major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline."

“I’ve had him since he was 15 and his best attribute is his skating. He is extremely hard to knock off the puck, and has NHL explosive speed right now. He has a wide wheel base which makes him hard to knock of the puck. And his hunger for the puck is immense. He’ll go into the dangerous areas, he’ll crash the net as hard as I’ve seen anybody and if it is a 50/50 battle for the puck he’ll come up with it.”

“He is a really confident kid who doesn’t get shaken easily and he loves being that go-to-guy and the guy to make a difference. In that regard he is handling it no problem. In the other way he has done some great things. He asked me if he can do his own community visits instead of doing team visits because it would mean more. He’s bought tickets out of his own pocket and he spends time going on hospital visits that we don’t even know about. He tries to give back in his own way and he doesn’t need or want the media there. He just likes giving back.”

“I think that is overblown, but I can see why people would say that. He’s got a target on his back every night and teams are looking to finish him and they’re looking to put as much abuse on him as they can. Taylor’s one of those guys who doesn’t shy away from it. He does get hard some nights and I think its cause he isn’t afraid to go to the dangerous areas. Sometimes he does look down at the puck, but he’s gotten a lot better at it and just when you think you have him he gets low to the ice and duck around checks. I’ve seen him get hit hard, but he’s always got up and went right back at it and he isn’t easily intimidated.”

“He’s a great player. I had him at the U-18 this summer for team Canada. He’s more of a puck distributor, while Taylor is more dominant at fishing loosing pucks and going to the net harder and winning battles. Seguin is more a playmaking centre. He sees the ice extremely well, and isn’t afraid to shoot from anywhere and he is a great skater. Hall is more of a take it himself type of player while Seguin is more of a distributor.”

“The biggest improvement is his finish. This year he has worked on being a more well-rounded player, not just an assist guy, but being able to score too and we’ve seen that with is 47 goals and 58 assists. He’s a well-rounded hockey player. He knows how to play in his own end, but just like any young guy you need to harp on him sometimes a bit more to make sure he does. He’s been involved in 43% of our goals this year, which is a very high number.”

“He’s a level-headed kid. He actually deals with the media very well. He’s well-spoken and articulate and I know he wants to be the number one overall pick. That is his goal as is winning a championship this year. He wants to go the first pick and he hasn’t shied away from it. It’s something he is putting in an effort to make happen. He’s worked hard this summer to get there. He put on some weight, improved his foot speed and worked extremely hard and wanted to start the season strong. And he did. Taylor Hall has been tabbed number one the last three years, while not many people knew who Tyler was and he was out to prove he was every bit as good and as talented and wanted to be number one.”

“Like most kids, strength is the biggest thing. I don’t have to harp on him that much, because he is in the weight room, not just with our team, but on his own and before practice. We work on little things. Where to be positionally, how to save your strength instead of skating all over and keep circling and do a little more stops and starts. He makes coaches look good, so really we work on strength, conditioning, consistency and also his defensive play.”

“They are different no doubt about it. Taylor Hall is an exceptional player and his speed is dynamic. When the puck is on his stick everyone is trying to catch up or they are standing there watching him. He is dominant. Tyler has good speed as well, but he sees the ice so well and he controls the game. When the puck is on his stick he can slow it up and speed it up. Hall is a year older and will probably be more explosive his first couple years in the NHL, but I think Tyler Seguin will be a very dominant forward for several years as well.”