Ken Holland > Malcom Gladwell
I saw this article linked by Brian over at MGoBlog. Here is the key quote from Gladwell:
I’ll say this: if you could put together a team of guys who were thought to be too small for their role in the NBA, you’d have a pretty amazing team.
That’s a pretty good realization by Gladwell; but he’s about 10 years behind Holland, the Red Wings’ general manager. Detroit is a franchise that has consistently ranked skill ahead of measurables like size. It’s resulted in three Stanley Cup championships since Holland took over the helm as the team’s GM. Jim Nill is the guy in the front office who is responsible for the draft and the team has found a large number of steals late in the draft [Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Jonathan Ericsson].
I haven’t read Gladwell’s book yet but it’d be interesting to have him take a look at the Red Wings because they clearly fit what he espouses in the interview: develop a system, draft talent that fits the system, then be patient and let the talent develop. Niklas Kronwall is about four years older than Dion Phaneuf but his stats to date are pretty similar.
Behind the Net ratings:
Even strength
Phaneuf: -0.33
Kronwall: 2.11
Short-handed
Phaneuf: -3.01
Kronwall: -2.83
Power-play
Phaneuf: 5.96
Kronwall: 2.11
The one area where Phaneuf dominates Kronwall is with the man advantage, but he plays 6.11 per 60 mins and alongside Calgary’s top offensive weapons. Kronner only plays 2.48 and generally plays with Detroit’s second PP unit.
Phaneuf is younger and still has plenty of upside; but he also makes $7 million this season. Kronwall by comparison makes $3 million this year.
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