Former NHL defenceman Slater Koekkoek reveals how a meeting with former GM Ken Holland made him walk away from the league

[MoneyManny]

Fringe NHLers are still hockey gods. Nothing to be ashamed about.

 

[bleedgreen]

Remember. No matter what happens. Any thread on the main board about the oilers? Needs to be negative. One way or another. While he took it as an insult, many players in the league are tossed out there to kill the clock or to force a pass change. That is what clock killers do

I don’t know if he took at as an insult or as someone finally telling him the truth about himself as a pro. He’s playing in the best league in the world, but he’s reached his max. People need to be told the truth at times. Maybe not when he was young and dreaming but this is an adult at the end of a bounced around middling career that if I recall was full of injury problems that were never going to let him be who he might’ve been when he was drafted. He was 28/29 when this happened. He knows he needed to here and im not even convinced he was insulted.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

damn and Kenny was generally one of the nicer GMs to players lol

honestly that comment is pretty mild, what if this dude had a run in with Mike Keenan or something

I just wanted to comment on this, since I've struggled with my own anxiety problems that really kept me from making a bigger impact on some of my teams.

Kenny did a huge favour to Slater, it sounds like. Which is why is I think he uses the term "beautiful moment". Kenny said something that made him put his entire life in perspective and Slater went "ding" and realized professional hockey wasn't for him.

Sometimes, you can be the absolute best at what you do. But you put professional limitations on it and all of a sudden that type of person just doesn't feel like themselves and their game goes to shit. Maybe that was Slater. I think there are a ton of busts or guys who get called bust a lot, just dying to tell their side of the story and what they've learnt.

It's strange. Life has too many variables, and these guys got opportunities that lead them to learn so much more about something we as fans pretend but know very little about. I used to think when I was a kid Simon Cowell was an insensitive prick, and he kind of was, but he also probably got a lot of people to temper their expectations and live in reality and saved a lot of lives as well.

When you chase a dream, it's so easy to get tunnel vision and miss all the lights.

 

[TheNumber4]

Kind of wish Kenny stayed on with the Oilers as a President or Advisor. He’s old. He’s not detailed in his work. He doesn’t value analytics enough. I don’t think he was a great negotiator. But i feel he still has a lot hockey wisdom to impart.

 

[Javaman]

I have nothing negative to say about either Holland or SK based on this story.

 

[Acallabeth]

I expected an entirely different article judging by that headline.

A fringe NHL player deciding against continuing his career after someone told him he was a fringe NHLer is a bit surprising (hadn't he understood his role by that time?), but, well, playing in the top pro sport league requires a lot of focus, if an honest comment from the GM made him shift to another lifepath, it's OK.

Hope former NHL defenceman Slater Koekkoek is happier now.

 

[Reality Czech]

The truth hurts sometimes

 

[Regal]

All but like 3-400 hockey players at any given time wish they were clock killers at the NHL level

 

[Chet Manley]

The only thing off about any of this is Liam McCormick's take on it. Not sure who he is or why his opinion matters but everyone in this thread (minus the OP) seems to have a better read on the situation. "but this comment to a player is the type of old-school mentality that needs to be eliminated from hockey." I mean come on.

 

[Peat]

Really dislike the linked article. As someone who often gets in a negative headspace, making out that it's horrifying that a manager in an elite performance environment was blunt and honest with a player sucks. It sucks because it's encouraging feeling hurt rather than being resilient. It sucks because it refuses to understand the situation where there's an incredible competition for places and not everyone can have what they want, and how the manager's job involves encouraging competition and being honest with guys about their chances of making it.

And it sucks because, as best as I can make out from this thread, it portrays Koekkoek's experiences in a false light. It sounds like Koekkoek fought hard against the competition and the demons in his brain to fulfil his dreams, and when Holland gave him an honest assessment of where he stood with them, he understood it wasn't worth it for him and was freed to go do something that made him happier - while the article makes it sound like Koekkoek's feelings were really hurt. Which I daresay maybe they were for a moment, but that's not the big takeaway.

Interesting insight into the league. That take on it can do one.

 

[Took a pill in Sbisa]

Imagine earning $8m in your 20s for "not making a positive impact or negative impact at work."

We should be so lucky.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Does he know that there are other hockey leagues? Even if you're only playing hockey for the money I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you earn more money playing in a top tier European league than working a regular job in North America.

 

[Paper]

I'd love to get a job in the NHL as a clock killer for 1m per year. Slater should have had better self awareness.

If he quit the league because of that it's probably because he had only played hockey all his life and hadn't had the opportunity to work a 70k-80k per year job as a clock killer.

The irony being that after he quit hockey he started picking up casual shifts as an unskilled labourer and finding more fulfillment in that than sitting on a bench. Now he's started his own business where he helps labourers (often of the minimum wage variety) find work.

 

[Lunatik]

damn and Kenny was generally one of the nicer GMs to players lol

honestly that comment is pretty mild, what if this dude had a run in with Mike Keenan or something

I'm guessing you didn't actually watch the clip. He's not upset about it, doesn't sound like he ever was. Just made him think about areas in his life he could make a positive impact and used that as a catalyst.

 

[trick9]

I think it's actually a compliment.

Most franchises would love to have a bottom-pairing D that doesn't do negative shit out there on the ice.

 

[John Mandalorian]

The writer of this article editorializes far too much. It’s not even clear what makes telling him this “old school”.

 

[Rec T]

I don’t know if he took at as an insult or as someone finally telling him the truth about himself as a pro. He’s playing in the best league in the world, but he’s reached his max.

That's the way I took it too.

"Hey, you're filling an important role here ... but ... you aren't going to be the star that you dreamed of becoming. This is pretty much it..."

There certainly can be a debate/discussion on if he should have stuck around another year or two to bank a little more money doing what is probably going to be the highest paid job he'll ever have. But in his mind he did the right thing & in the end that's the most important thing.

 

[Ciao]

Every team should want five guys whom don't have any real positives or negatives but can kill the clock for 10-12 minutes per game. That's half the battle.

I wouldn't quit if that were me.

 

[JPT]

I’ve heard more cutting comments between players on the ice.

Pretty tame “insult” to make you reconsider your career.

Who called it an insult?

 

[ShakenNotStirred]

Former Oilers Defenseman reveals the words from Ken Holland that ended his career

He played in two seasons with the Oilers, only a total of 37 games, before calling it a career.

www.yardbarker.com

 

[BLNY]

It's not inflammatory in terms of language, but it's tantamount to this line from Caddyshack by Judge Smails. "The world needs ditch diggers too." It's just a dick move and in no way constructive, and speaks to how completely disconnected sports can be.

 

[ShootIt]

I think it's actually a compliment.

Most franchises would love to have a bottom-pairing D that doesn't do negative shit out there on the ice.

Ideal 6th/7th defenseman.
lol

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Sounds like he was facing a year in the AHL with maybe some games up and down. If you already hate the pro jockey lifestyle, then it’s a good time to call it quits.

 

[Warden of the North]

One of those guys who was around and then just....gone.

Did he formally announce his retirement?

 

[Jacob]

Frankly for a defenseman especially I'd consider that a compliment.

Although the correct term would be "minute-eater." You throw them out there to eat up minutes. Brian Dumoulin is a minute-eater.

When you're a depth guy that's what you want to be doing. Don't F up, don't take any risks. Get on, don't get scored on, get off the ice. If the puck is on your stick move it up to the forwards.