Doug Risebrough
Doug Risebrough
Douglas John Risebroughis a former player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League. In his 31 years in the NHL, he has been involved with the Stanley Cup Playoffs 25 times. He is currently a pro scout for the New York Rangers...
against believed close competing difference games gone happened hard played playing team teams
I wouldn't have believed it. We are on a roll. But if you had told me that our team would be competing against all the teams that we played to date, yes, I would've believed that. Or that we would be playing hard -- yes. Or that they'd be close games -- yes. I think the difference is that all of those things have happened and some of those close games have gone in our favor.
affect confidence games knows mean present trying
His confidence is high, and I think he knows how he can affect games now. There's still going to be games he doesn't do it as much, but that doesn't mean it's him as it is just the game. But he's got to be able to present it all the time, and if it is in the game and he doesn't, that's the inconsistency you're trying to eliminate.
based commitment game history home performance since team wild
The Wild's commitment to Manny and his commitment to the team are based upon his play this season, and his performance with the Wild ever since he started the first home game in team history on Oct. 11, 2000.
games guaranteed hockey learned
This is the group, and I want to see what they can do. I want to see how many games we can win, and who's contributing to the winning. One thing I've learned in hockey is there's no guaranteed jobs.
continue help improve next step team
We see this as a step that will continue to improve our team and help take us to the next level.
fill next plan
We have to fill in some blanks. We have the (financial) flexibility to fill in those blanks. Our plan has to be executed, not just over this summer, but over the next two years.
center hard maybe opportunity role somebody trying
One role we've been trying to find is somebody at center who's hard working and kind of pesky. Erik's kind of done that at the U and done that as a pro. Maybe there's an opportunity to see what he can do in NHL.
anybody rival sure year
Because of the split, I'm not sure if we've ever been able to find out what Manny can do. This year's been Manny's year. He's had exceptional years. This year will rival anybody else in the league.
number players sure
We have a number of players who are third-, fourth- or fifth-year pros. It's their time. We're not sure what they're going to do, but we need to find out.
credit year
We did it a year in advance, and we didn't get any credit for it.
blue edge far fast few league line means people transition
I think he's going to be able to be better with these changes. Where he probably has an edge is with his speed. So if transition means you can go to the far blue line very quickly, there's probably very few people in the league that can get there as fast as him.
deserve maybe playing rookies veterans
If I was going to do it, then I'd probably do something with the veterans more than the rookies because they've been playing well and maybe they deserve a chance.
found guy higher level maybe played
He's a guy that you know has played at a higher level before and maybe just hasn't found the right fit.
asking decisions gave management talked talking together tournament until wild
Going to the tournament and talking to him about the decisions he made and asking him how he put it together gave me a sense of his abilities. I talked to him (about the Wild management job) before this year's tournament and he said he couldn't talk about it until after the tournament.