French-Canadian Newspapers are Awesome


Granted, that headline might be a tad misleading. And it's not just French-Canadian newspapers that are wonderful. So, too, is the magic of google translation. Look at how I can keep informed as to what my Penguins are doing this summer:

Penguins, a question of chemistry


They were ten players of Penguins de Pittsburgh to have accepted the invitation of the trainer Michel Therrien to the Club of golf the Mirage, Thursday. Last summer, the day had especially gathered Québécois players. For this second edition, of the guy as Ryan Malone were added to the group with the suggestion of the captain Sidney Crosby.

Sidney Crosby believes that Penguins must maintain the chemistry which reigns within the team.

“For us, it is important, affirms Therrien. One really believes that there is a beautiful chemistry within our formation and this kind of chemistry, it should also be maintained.”

“It is a beautiful occasion to see the guy and to have pleasure. It is also important to meet the new players. It can only be good for the team," believes Crosby.

“That will give me the chance to meet the players before going to the camp and to be more at ease. That will make good,"is delighted Angelo Esposito, the choice of round first of the team last June.

The Penguins young people developed a team spirit which makes the desire of several clubs of the national League. Marc-Andre Fleury seemed particularly glad to find Dany Sabourin, which returns to Pittsburgh after one season to Vancouver.

“It was my choice to return with Penguins," launches Sabourin. "It was to play more matches and I will have some more than the year spent while playing here. Therefore, I crossed another stage in my career.”

Last year, Pittsburgh knew one season beyond all waitings. For 2007-08, Sidney Crosby with the Stanley cut in his test card.

“The good athletes will force the note to reach this kind of objective," notes Therrien."On the other hand, the first priority is to make the eliminatory series, which would be already a beautiful achievement. It is necessary to be realistic, we have a young formation, but we are more in confidence for camp of drive which approaches than on similar date last year. Confidence is the principal difference between this year and last year.”

“It is sure that environment will be different this year because we will have the pressure to gain and to finish first. It is a pleasant pressure," believes Maxime Talbot.

At its second season in the NHL, Crosby was dominating. One can even say that it eclipsed its rival Alexander Ovechkin.

“The comparisons will be always there between me and the other players. I must only remain concentrated on my play and to contribute to successes of my tea," was satisfied to say the principal interested one.

Crosby in is already with its second stay in less than one week in Quebec. The 87 also envisages to go to Rimouski by the end of the summer.

Thanks to the magic of google translation and the Internet and of course the French Canadian media that actually reports on hockey (or at the very least the rather Quebecois flavor of the Pittburgh team) throughout the summer, we learn some very interesting things from this article.

EDIT: To read a clean translation (not google) and to see video, too, check out the August 8th entry at the Sidney Crosby Show.

To summarize:

1.) The Penguins had good chemistry last season and want to maintain that chemistry.

Example: Look, even a few of the non French-Canadian players came to Therrien's golf event! The children clearly enjoy each other's company, which hopefully continues to bode well for team chemistry.

Opinion: Good chemistry generally lasts as long as a team wins. Losing too often tends to mar chemistry, though good chemistry, hopefully, can prevent a couple of losses from turning into a huge tailspin of a lengthy losing streak.



2.) Marc-Andre Fleury is happy to have Dany Sabourin as his back-up, and Sabourin is happy to be in Pittsburgh. (Incidentally, while googling, I discovered the fact that Jocelyn Thibeault was sad to leave to Pittsburgh.)

Opinion: The only thing I want Fleury and Sabourin to do is stop the puck enough to win games. Provided they do their jobs of stopping the puck well enough to win games, I'll be delighted they're both happy to be in Pittsburgh. If they don't do their jobs well enough to win games, I, along with many others whose opinion actually matters (snark: unlike a blogger's), will be far less than delighted, and I'm guessing, Fleury and Sabourin will be unhappy rather than happy.


3.) In addition to being concerned about team chemistry, Therrien apparently believes his team will be more confident next year.

Opinion: I agree with Therrien that is good to be realistic about having a young team. Confidence, while a nice thing to have, doesn't mean hogwash until confidence is backed up with on-ice performance, a fact with which Therrien and his players appear to concur.

4.) The Penguins, first and foremost, must make the playoffs next season (this is now an expectation). Beyond that, however, Talbot's comment is interesting. Talbot speaks of the "pleasant" pressure of being expected to "finish first" (which I presume to mean first place in the division rather than first place in the overall standings, although one never knows with these precocious Penguins).

Opinion: I'm glad Talbot speaks of the pressure of increased expectations as "pleasant" which is a comfort to me. But I wonder how "pleasant" those raised external and internal expectations will become during the times--and they will occur, although we don't know how often yet--when the team fails to meet those increased expectations.

Opinion Two: It's excellent and a realistic reminder to ensure that your first goal remains to make the playoffs. It's a step of progress when you can acknowledge that, in addition to obviously meeting the first goal, that you want to finish first in your division. When it comes to goal-setting, at the moment, I approve.


5.) While I still doubt Angelo Esposito makes the roster this season, he did get to hang out with those who may some day be his teammates.

Opinion: I'll leave it to others to psychoanalyze Pittsburgh's most recent first round draft pick, but suffice to say I think it is beneficial for young players to come to a team that has shown a recent history of placing young players in situations that are most conducive for their on-ice success.

And, of course, I could end my analysis with this article by analyzing Crosby's statement, but the fact of the matter is, whether speaking English or French, Crosby says the same thing in the same exact way. And that statement, while never rarely said in these exact words, is this: "I want to the best I can possibly be, and I want my team to be the best." And for a player who just turned twenty years old, that's a phenomenal attitude, and one for which Pittsburgh fans must never fail to be grateful.

As for me, well, remind me to read the French hockey media more often--it's tons of fun, and I'm guessing, in season, it could be just as fun to get the Quebecois perspective on the Penguins. For the remainder of summer, however, just expect me to link to articles such as this.
To whet your reading appetite, assistant coach Andre Savard's comments help to explain why I desire for Pittsburgh prospects to be in the organization's care full time sooner rather than later (and on a side note, it truly is wonderful to be able to make that previous statement).

For today, however, I will close with how I feel about the French hockey media in the midst of a far too lengthy offseason:

Je vous adore. Merci de l'information et des entrevues sur les joueurs d'hockey pendant les vacances d'été.