Eurolanche

The “Allaire Plan”

Nearly everyone knows who Francois Allaire is. Primarily known as the goalie guru who turned Roy into one of the best goalies in hockey history, Allaire is responsible for many goalies who have made it into the NHL. If you want to learn more about Allaire, google him as his biography is out there because this isn’t a biography on him. This article is aimed at focusing on the affect he’s had on the Avalanche goalie development system.

First some backstory on the Avalanche goalie development plan before Patrick Roy and Francois Allaire were brought on board. I promise it will be short because there was virtually no development plan. When the Avalanche traded for Semyon Varlamov in 2011, they were the only team in the NHL without a full time goalie coach. The Avalanche management at the time believed that a goalie could reach their potential by just working hard, having a mentor (JS Giguere) and having a goalie coach make a call once a month to offer advice.

Obviously this didn’t work out. Not only did Varlamov struggle in his first two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche; the Avalanche goalie development struggled as well. When Sami Aittokallio and Calvin Pickard made the jump to the AHL they were both 20 years old. Making the jump is hard enough, making the jump without proper guidance is the most difficult task to accomplish. It showed too. While the Lake Erie Monsters were never quite a good team, the two rookie goalies were never able to find consistency for any period of time.

That is because they had no goalie coach. They had no one to point out their flaws and teach them the proper way to deal with situations. Being self-taught can only take you so far. You need an outside set of eyes trained in noticing small flaws and issues. Most importantly of all, you need a goalie coach who forces you to think. Being told what to do is easy. Having to make in-game adjustments is a skill that separates the good from the elite. The best goalie coaches will challenge a goalie. They’ll give that goalies the tools and information needed to succeed but in the end it comes down to the goalie because that’s the way it is in game. The majority of head coaches or assistant coaches in the world are not capable of this because the goalie position is not the easiest to understand.

In fact, most head coaches would gladly tell you they don’t know a thing about goaltending.They’d much rather defer that kind of coaching to someone who is a goalie coach. Speaking from personal experience, the most common advice is: “Don’t go down early”, “Don’t wander out of the crease” and “Don’t let in weak goals”. As you can see, not the kind of teaching that would benefit a professional athlete.

So by the time the shortened 2013 NHL season had ended the Colorado Avalanche had a wealth of potential that was being wasted away. Expectations of Varlamov, Pickard and Aittokallio had plummeted. When the best goalie in your system at the end of the 2013 season is JS Giguerethen you have issues. It was in fact a huge issue and showed the flaw in the Managements’ plan.

Fast forward to the Joe Sakic promotion and the Patrick Roy hiring. Those two formed the core of the new Colorado Avalanche Front Office and here is where they start the creation of one of the deepest goaltending depth charts in the NHL. The first hire they make is Francois Allaire who had left the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012.

With Allaire on board the Avalanche organization created a goalie development system that has hit its stride in 2016. The first part of Allaire’s plan for the Avalanche was having two goalie coaches in the organization. In a sense Francois Allaire’s goalie coach plan is comparable to a starter/back-up situation which is why the Avalanche then hired goalie coach Jean-Ian Filiatrault to work in the AHL.

Francois Allaire didn’t just get a say in the Filiatrault hiring. Allaire held a goalie camp in the summer in Switzerland for Semyon Varlamov and JS Giguere almost immediately. There is where Varlamov’s technique was refined and improved along with Giguere finding the fountain of youth.

Next up on the Francois Allaire plan for improving the Colorado Avalanche goalie development system was setting up a drafting plan. Francois Allaire knew that the Avalanche would need goalie prospects because at this time the Avalanche didn’t have a single goalie prospect outside of the pro system. Avalanche fans have now been introduced the prototypical Allaire goalie: big, athletic, a competitor and puck handler. In the case of the 2013 NHL Draft that Allaire goalie was Spencer Martin.

By the time the 2013/14 NHL season had started the “Allaire Plan” was well underway. Varlamov was the starter, Giguere the more then capable back-up, the rookies in Lake Erie were being set on the right path with Filiatrault and Spencer Martin getting into his Draft+1 year. It didn’t take long for fans and media alike to realize the affect that the “Allaire Plan” was having thanks to Varlamov and Giguere playing at elite levels.

Maybe a small and underrated part of the “Allaire Plan” is the set goalie scheduling by Francois Allaire. At the start of the 2013/14 NHL season this meant slowing easing in Varlamov while giving Giguere games Allaire knew Giguere could handle. As the season wore on the scheduling took on a new meaning. With a set schedule each goalie knew there were no mind games to be played by the coaches and could prepare in advance for teams. This is a small and underappreciated part of the “Allaire Plan”.

And something that isn’t small or underrated, at least by experienced goalies, is the constant communication through the organization for the goalies. As I mentioned above, goalie coaches are there to provide an outside view and to challenge the goalies under their tutelage. What the “Allaire Plan” has done is create a constant stream of information between all levels of the organization for the goalies. Thanks to Cheryl Bradley of BSN Avalanche in an interview with Spencer Martin recently (2016), it is confirmed that the Avalanche have constant contact with their goalies whether they are in the NHL, AHL, ECHL or even juniors (No idea if Pajpach also receives constant communication in Europe).

In fact you could say that the communication might be the most impactful part of the “Allaire Plan”. It’s no secret that Francois Allaire works his goalies hard. So when a goalie not in the Avalanche pro system makes the jump to the pro system it can be slightly jarring. The communication that runs through the organization is critical in providing these young goalies preparation for when they receive training from Francois Allaire himself.

Before the season had ended another part of the “Allaire Plan” had fallen into place. Another Alliare-type goalie was brought into the organization. Swiss goalie Reto Berra was brought in via trade from the Calgary Flames. Unfortunately Berra had trouble adapting which was not a huge issue thanks to Giguere getting a 2^nd wind for the last part of the season. There were also two small additions made to the team as the Avalanche signed former QMJHL goalie Roman Will and Max Pajpach who was drafted. Pajpach was then injured and lost a year in development during the 2014/15 season.

So a recap of the “Allaire Plan” one year in:

-Hired goalie coach for AHL team in Jean-Ian Filiatrault
-Works with Semyon Varlamov and JS Giguere in the off-season
-Drafts Allaire-type goalie in Spencer Martin
-Sets up schedule per week for goalie starts
-Brings in back-up goalie fitting the Allaire-type, Reto Berra
-Signs Roman Will from Europe to improve goalie depth
-Drafts Max Pajpach in 6^th Round of NHL Draft

In Year 2 of the “Allaire Plan” we begin to see the improvement leak through to the AHL and beyond. The changes weren’t completely noticeable at the start of the season. Varlamov didn’t get off to his best start along with getting hit with an injury. Reto Berra started off well but was then hit with his own setback after being injured in a game against Ottawa. Last but not least in Calvin Pickard’s first taste of the NHL he didn’t have the easiest time.

It wasn’t until later in the season where Calvin Pickard received his 2^ndcall-up of the season Avalanche fans and media alike saw the “Allaire Plan” and its effect in the AHL. Calvin Pickard won two games in a row where he came in relief of Reto Berra. After a short stint the Avalanche had shown the league its newest success of the “Allaire Plan”.

While Reto Berra didn’t have a strong middle part of the season, towards the end of the 2014/15 season Reto Berra put on a show. If we are allowed to use foresight we can see that Reto Berra’s late season play was in fact Berra adapting to the North American game at last. While it was never part of the plan, it’s always nice to see goalies score which is what Reto Berra did while on a conditioning stint in Lake Erie.

As always there is a small success as part of the “Allaire Plan”. The 1^styear was the set scheduling for the NHL goalies. This year was Roman Will’s success in the ECHL. While he did struggle in the AHL, Roman Will became a fan favourite for the Fort Wayne Komets through his play. While Roman Will has a small chance at the NHL, he does have a shot at being the AHL veteran that the“Allaire Plan” has been asking for.

There was one last part of the “Allaire Plan” coming together in the 2014/15 season. That was Spencer Martin’s emergence in the OHL. While his Draft Year+1 wasn’t the best, Martin’s Draft Year+2 was where Spencer Martin made his presence known to Avalanche fans. Unfortunately for Martin his season was cut short when he incurred an ACL injury in his right knee that required surgery. Despite that his head coach from the Mississauga Steelheads head coach James Boyd had some great insight into Spencer Martin:

“In the first half, I thought we probably didn’t play to our potential, and relied an awful lot on our goaltender and, in spite of that, we were .500 around Christmas time. Then Spencer got hurt in the last game, December 18, before the Christmas break.”

“You can’t overstate the leadership qualities that a Spencer Martin brings to your lineup, or on the ice. Also, the fact that he was, night in and night out, one our best players…”

“He’s a fiery guy, he doesn’t like to lose games, he doesn’t like players not giving it their all. He really was a key part of that leadership group for us.”

Full Article: https://www.baytoday.ca/sports/bluelines-summer-edition-mississauga-steelheads-rise-to-the-challenge-18502

On the surface Year 2 of the “Allaire Plan” doesn’t appear to have had the effect that Year 1 had. No goalie suddenly went from struggling to Vezina Finalist. Instead there were a quite a few successes which involved Reto Berra finally adapting, Calvin Pickard becoming the top Avalanche prospect in net, Roman Will becoming the surprise of the ECHL and Spencer Martin making a name for himself in the OHL and among Avalanche prospect watchers.

Year 2 Recap:
-Calvin Pickard emerges as top Avalanche goalie prospect
-Reto Berra adapts to NA game
-Roman Will makes ECHL All-Rookie Team
-Spencer Martin has spectacular season that ends with ACL injury

With Year 3 of the “Allaire Plan” still going on we are seeing it still running as smoothly as ever. Semyon Varlamov is on top of his game. Reto Berra proved his effectiveness as a 1B goalie when Varlamov was struggling. Calvin Pickard has solidified himself in the NHL and is expected to be the back-up for next season right from the start. Spencer Martin is making the transition to pro and is succeeding. Then there is Roman Will who looks like he might be carving himself a spot in the AHL while Pickard is in the NHL.

There have been some hiccups as no plan is ever perfect. Reto Berra for a 2^nd round pick was certainly an overpayment. Combine that with his play to end the 2013/14 season and middle of the 2014/15 season, it’s only natural that Berra and the move to bring him in have come under criticism. Another small failure of plan was Sami Aittokallio. Now we don’t know the reason why Aittokallio didn’t work out in North America, however his departure does hurt as he has lots of potential and is currently doing well back home in Finland. Lastly I believe something that Avalanche fans would like to see is the “Allaire Plan” doing away with Varlamov’s early season slumps and injuries.

With the analysis done from the start of Year 1 to the end of Year 2, we can wrap this up and make a verdict on the “Allaire Plan”. When the Colorado Avalanche hired Francois Allaire, it was on the heels of him leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs organization where Brian Burke had strong opinions about him:

“The position has evolved in the last three to five years,” Burke said. “Nobody plays the classic stand-up anymore either. Everything advances.”

Source:http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2012/09/18/maple_leafs_gm_brian_burke_blasts_francois_allaire.html

And those comments caused concern among Avalanche fans and some media. Was an already failing goalie depth chart about to hit rock bottom? With full confidence and looking back, everyone can safely say Allaire was the best thing to happen to the Colorado Avalanche Goaltending Depth. The “Allaire Plan” took weakness and turned it into arguably the strongest part of the Avalanche organization (and strongest in the NHL). Without a doubt the “Allaire Plan” is the goaltending development system that will be a staple in the organization for years to come and one in which goalies will excel in.

So now we are looking forward to a new addition to the plan as the Colorado Avalanche are expected to take a goalie in the upcoming NHL Draft. Only question which goalie the Avalanche are looking for. If it’s another Spencer Martin clone the Avalanche will most likely aim for Antoine Samuel or Evan Fitzpatrick. If the Avalanche are willing to bend on the size requirement then the Avalanche can take Zach Sawchenko or Troy Timpano.

Either way based on previous results of the “Allaire Plan” Avalanche fans can be sure to trust in the amateur scouts and Francois Allaire.