In this week's "Making of a Royal" player blog segment, center Nicholas Hutchison (6-foot-2, 168 pounds) tells NHL.com how the Long Island Royals have helped him both on and off the ice. Royals assistant coach Steve Webb, who has watched Hutchison since he was 12, said the team's second-leading scorer has a great passion for the game and that when the game gets tougher and tighter, that's when he excels. "The more competitive the contest, the better Hutchison gets," Webb told NHL.com.
 

Hi everyone. This is my second year with the L.I. Royals. I previously played in Westchester with the Westchester Express and then, two years ago, came back here. Last year, we were '94 birth years, so we were underdogs. But this year we're like one of the top teams and everyone wants to beat us -- and that's a good thing.
 
I find that just hard work and effort, spending time in the weight room over the summer, have really helped me out this season. I like to play a physical game and be a physical player. I think I'm a good two-way center, who could control the game and make simple plays. After this season, I'm hoping I can play in the USHL. No team has my rights right now, but I was invited to main camp for the Indiana Ice, so hopefully I'll be able to play with them.
 
Right now, we're basically rolling three centers and four lines, but I play a lot with Michael Marnell and Adam Tracey. I'm the center on that line. I do a lot of faceoff work during the year and I like to set up a few plays even before we go out on the ice. I talk to the wingers and tell them where to go, so if I do win it forward, they go to the net and I can give it to them. I'm about 6-2, 168, so I like to throw the body around a lot.

In this week's "Making of a Royal" blog, coach Pat LaFontaine discusses his team's preparation habits for major national tournaments. LaFontaine and his assistants -- Steve Webb and Scott Donahue -- draw inspiration from the coaches who shaped them as they implement mental and physical preparation.



One thing that Steve, Scott and I, the three coaches, constantly do is look back at your playing days. I think you earn an appreciation and a greater respect for all the other coaches -- I was very fortunate to have some tremendous coaches during my playing days -- but you constantly reflect back and appreciate and respect the job the coaches do to prepare the team on a regular basis.

In this week's 'Making of a Royal' blog, assistant coach Steve Webb discusses the team's play in the Bauer International Invite in Chicago, Ill. After earning victories over the Toronto Eagles (Ont.), Ice Jets Academy (Tex.), Detroit Warriors (Mich.), Indiana Ice and Team Wisconsin, the Royals suffered a 2-1 shootout loss to Detroit Honey Baked (Mich.) in the tournament semifinal round. Webb also talks about the process that's required to becoming a 'great' player.

Our recent tournament in Chicago went well. We went in there and showed what we had. Our games on Sunday [Nov. 6] were our best games against Wisconsin and Honey Baked. You always want to leave on a high note, so I was very impressed with the way our team prepared for the final two games and came out and actually executed all day long.

In this week's 'Making of a Royal' blog, coach Pat LaFontaine discusses the team's recent second-place finish at the Beantown Fall Classic in New Hampshire and the tremendous work done by power-skating instructor Jacki Munzel. The Long Island Royals National Team defeated Little Caesars (Mich.), the Junior Bobcats (Conn.) and the Valley Junior Warriors (Mass.), before suffering a 2-0 loss to the nation's No. 1-ranked Under-16 team, the Chicago Mission. The final day of the tournament was cancelled due to inclement weather along the East Coast.
 

Steve Webb was the recipient of the Bob Nystrom Award in 2002 for the Islander that best exemplified hard work, leadership, and dedication on and off the ice. He currently serves as assistant coach to Pat LaFontaine for the Under-16 Long Island Royals Midget National Team.
 
My experiences in coaching go back to when I took over the Junior Islanders for Bobby Nystrom -- a program he had started 15 years earlier. It allowed kids from Long Island an opportunity to go to the Quebec Peewee Tournament every year and get that experience. Nystrom would run fundraisers to help these kids go on that trip. I'd help out and travel, and two years after taking over Pat (LaFontaine)'s son was coming through the system. That was the first time I really started working with this select group of kids -- they were about 12-years-old.
 
Pat asked if I would like to run a practice or step on the bench to coach the team when he's not able to do it and since I knew the kids, I was able to step in and run a practice or coach a game for him. He then asked me if I wanted to assist him a year ago and help out. He had a game plan in mind in how he wanted to run things ... knowing Pat and his principles and how he handles himself, it's just one of those things that I couldn't turn down.
 
I love the kids, they're hilarious. They always make me laugh when I showed up at the rink. It was just one of those things that made sense to help out, support and assist.
 
I've heard that Pat has labeled me the "softie" when it comes to coaching and I'd have to say that's the case. When I look down the bench just a couple of minutes into a game, he's already got his hands in the air, but I'll always try and settle him down. I'm a typical assistant coach in that regard; but it's what I enjoy doing. This is what I've always wanted ... to help out kids with their futures and make sure they get the best experience possible out of playing the sport.

Junior defenseman Brent D'Iorio (Huntington, N.Y.) of the Under-16 Long Island Royals Midget National Team provided NHL.com with a special player's blog this week
 
Hi everyone! This is my third year playing the Royals and it has been a lot of fun, especially since I'm with friends who have been on team for as long as I have ... we all get along really well. This year, we're a lot better than in previous years, so it's exciting.
 
I actually played forward five years ago, but then they switched me to defense. I like defense now, but used to not like it as much. As a defender, I feel like you control the play more, you get to make more decisions no matter what anyone else does and, yeah, I get more ice time. The keys to playing good defense, in my opinion, are making good decisions, making a crisp first pass and helping the team get out of the zone whenever possible.
 
Coach Pat (LaFontaine) and Coach Steve (Webb) are different when it comes to coaching. Coach Pat helps us a lot with systems and our general play. He also helps us get motivated before the games and in between periods. Coach Webb talks to us about simple mistakes we might make and explains to us how we can get past it, move on and get focused.
 
I'm currently partnered up with Aidan Salerno and we work well together. It's good because we play differently so we complement each other. Aidan is more of a defensive-defenseman; he's big (6-foot-2, 185) and stays back. I'm always the one rushing the puck. My favorite NHL player has always been Chris Pronger, even though I'm not a big defenseman (5-10, 160), I like to rush the puck and control it whenever I can.
 
I really like the "Y Athlete" tool that Coach Webb created. It really helps you work on your game and figure out what you did wrong. It really makes you think about what you need to do; what you have to do and what you can do to improve. One of the goals I posted was making the right decisions on the ice and striving to be the best player I could be.
 
It's not that difficult to update. After every game and practice, we can just do it right on the cell phone so it doesn't really require a lot of work, but you just have to be honest.

The Long Island Royals Under-16 Midget National team entered the weekend ranked No. 2 in the country with a 19-1 record. The club recently earned the championship of the East Coast College Cup in Connecticut, outscoring its opponents 23-4. The Royals defeated the Junior Bobcats in the tournament final, 3-2. The team has been led on the score sheet by Daniel LaFontaine (6 goals, 17 points), Joey Fallon (9 goals, 16 points), Justin Bailey (8 goals, 14 points), Nicholas Hutchison (4 goals, 13 points) and Michael Marnell (6 goals, 10 points). The defense and goalies Matt Atwell and Peter Fosso have been solid.
 
Head coach Pat LaFontaine assessed his team's performance last week and is looking forward to the next big tournament later this month in New Hampshire -- the Beantown Fall Classic.
 
Prior to the East Coast College Cup (on the campuses of Wesleyan University and Quinnipiac University), the big thing we stressed to the kids was consistency and preparation. We wanted to make sure the kids were preparing themselves each game. We didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but consistency is such a key to success. Teaching these kids how to get the puck deep, blocking shots, positioning and moving the puck are little details that need to be done on a consistent basis -- it all adds up. The mental preparation is so important in getting yourself prepared every game and every shift, so we express that a lot and kind of go over strategies and details on what we think will work best against certain teams. Overall, I would think consistency is the biggest word.
 
Both our goalies had a strong tournament. We scored 24 goals and gave up only three in the five games. The kids found a way to win that last game and it was really exciting for them and for the fans knowing the hard work paid off. I really believe that four-month summer program we endured under Chris Reichart really helped improve the stamina and endurance.

Daniel LaFontaine, son of Long Island Royals Under-16 Midget National team head coach and five-time NHL All-Star Pat LaFontaine, currently leads the team in scoring with 17 points. The younger LaFontaine, a junior in high school, provided his analysis in this week's player blog for NHL.com.

So far the season has been great; we've been playing good against good competition, so that's good. We were really happy with the results of the College Cup. We beat a good team from Connecticut in the final, and we all had a lot of fun playing the games.
 
Right now, we only have three centers and four sets of wings, but my linemates are Justin Bailey and Dylan Holze. Bailey can put the puck in the net so I try to give him a lot of good passes. He always seems to find a way to score; all three of us work well together.
 
Practices for us usually start out just skating around before getting into some 1-on-0's and just breakouts against the goalies. Then we'll get together for a group practice, with breakouts, 3-on-2's, power-play and penalty-kill stuff.
 
I talk to my dad a lot about easy stuff like what to do in the corners, but I talk to (coach Steve) Webb more about the mental part of the game. He gives me good talks and lessons. You have to keep striving for your dream for when you get older … and it starts now with nutrition and the physical work. Coach Webb started up the Y Tool for all of us, so I'm always setting my performance goals and I talk to him about attitude and work ethic, so it's good.

Royals coach Pat LaFontaine blogs about coaching his son, Daniel

Even before I became an assistant with the Long Island Royals seven years ago, I always asked my son, Daniel, each year if he wanted me around the team. As long as he gave me the green light, I was OK going behind the bench. He liked me coaching and liked me on the bench, but he liked having another coach there, too, so I kind of helped out.

When I became the head coach three years ago, I had an opportunity to continue coaching Daniel, but I still asked him if he would prefer I wasn't behind the bench. I've always been very cautious because I try and put myself in someone else's shoes and never wanted (Daniel) to feel any pressure, although all boys want their dads to be proud. I wouldn't say much. My dad never said much to me and I don't say much -- the assistants usually say something to Daniel because he only hears dad's voice.

Thing is, he doesn't hear a coach's voice when I'm talking so I don't say much. In some cases, if you're not careful, it could be a lose-lose situation. Having Stevie (Steve Webb) there, and formerly Jack Greig, was great. They were the ones who would always speak to him and I kind of just stayed out of it, in an indirect way, when it came to speaking to the team. Hopefully that'll have an impact for him and some of the things I've learned. I'm excited about when he asks me, "Hey Dad, is Coach Webb going to be there?" What's exciting for me is he really wants to impress Coach Webb … I'm just his dad. You know what? I'll take that to the end. That puts a smile on my face, and I hope for him this is something he chooses to do and he loves to do. If he chooses to, and I can help in an indirect way, it's been fun. I ask him every year, do you want me to coach, because I can sit in the stands, but he likes me behind the bench.

I guess I see some similarities between what Daniel does on the ice and my teenage years on the ice. He works hard, sees the ice well and seems to be more of a playmaker. But he can score goals when he has to. He's a team player, like all the kids on this club. As a coach, you have to be real objective and I try to talk to the players just as a coach. I have the other coaches talk to Daniel, and it seems to have worked in a good way because right now I think all dads who have 15- and 16-year-olds … we're not too cool. I think we embarrass our kids sometimes because we try to say too much.