Patience a virtue for Groulx with Crunch

Benoit Groulx has completed two seasons as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch, and both years were markedly different in the makeup of the roster.

During his first season in 2016-17, a group that would reach the Calder Cup Final before losing to Grand Rapids in six games, Groulx recalls a veteran team with the capacity to absorb his message instantly and execute it on the ice.
"I think it was one of the best teams I've ever coached in terms of everybody's on the same page," he said. "You tell them something, boom, they do it."
His squad last year was considerably younger. Sometimes, lessons took a little longer to sink in.
"I remember we were talking with (Crunch veteran forward) Erik Condra during the middle of the game, he would tell something to the team and sometimes it would take them five periods to adjust. 'It's too late, the game is over, boys,'" Groulx, said with a chuckle. "It's a totally different dynamic, but it was a good challenge for us."

The 2018-19 season is shaping up to be a repeat of 2017-18 for Groulx and the Crunch.
A handful of players are expected to make their pro debut with Syracuse next season, prospects like Taylor Raddysh, Boris Katchouk , Otto Somppi and Ross Colton, all part of the 2016 Tampa Bay Lightning draft class ready to make the jump from juniors or college to the American Hockey League. Guys that were rookies last year - Mathieu Joseph, Alex Volkov, Mitchell Stephens, Dennis Yan, Jonne Tammela and Erik Cernak - will be back for their second year, provided they don't impress enough in training camp to earn a spot on the Lightning roster.
"Last year, we were a young team," Groulx said in between sessions Friday during Lightning development camp at the Ice Sports Forum. "I think we're going to be a young team again…We're going to have about 10, 11 very young forwards, a very young team up front…The biggest thing is as a coach you want to have the opportunity to work with good players. I see the guys coming from college and junior hockey, you see these young men can shoot the puck, they can skate, they can pass, they have good hockey sense. It tells me that we have a lot of material to work with again. And it's going to be for us and for them to put all that together and have a good season."
Syracuse got off to a slow start last season, partly because of the number of rookies acclimating to the pro game Groulx said, but developed as the season progressed and were a good team by the end. The Crunch finished second in the North Division and qualified for the playoffs for the second-straight season before getting bounced in the second round by eventual champion Toronto.
"You never know how much time (the rookies) need to adjust," Groulx said. "Once Joseph and Volkov and Stephens and (Tony) Cirelli got going, they were good players, but it took them 15 to 20 games. This is always what I expect from young players, but how much time do they need? Good players normally it takes them 10, 15, 20 games. Some guys it takes them a year. I really feel that last year they needed time to adjust and once they did that, they just started playing well and they were among the good young players in the league."
Expect a similar learning curve for the Crunch again this season.
But also expect the Crunch to be one of the best teams in the AHL again by the end of the season, partly because of the talent in the Lightning organization and partly because of the work Groulx and his staff do preparing players for the pro game.
"It's probably a tough job when you have so many young guys coming in that have never played a pro game before," Raddysh said. "For him to be able to turn it around like he did, it's pretty cool to see. Hopefully with us young guys coming in next year, it'll be the same way. For him to teach young guys quickly, it's kind of hard to do but I feel like he does a pretty good job at that."
3-ON-3 TOURNEY:Friday's action at Lightning development camp concluded with the start of the anticipated 3-on-3 tournament, which continues into Saturday and signals the end of camp.
There are four teams, each containing five or six prospects and named after a current member of the Lightning.
On day one, Team Stamkos, made up of forwards Cole Koepke, Peter Krieger (invitee), Cole Smth (invitee), Otto Somppi, Sammy Walker and defenseman Alex Green, went a perfect 4-0 to top the standings.
Team Stamkos was led by Walker, who scored a tourney-high five goals and added two assists to take the lead in the scoring race after Friday's action concluded. Somppi contributed three goals and two assists while Smith and Green each chipped in three goals.
Team Hedman went 2-1, its only loss coming to Team Stamkos. Alex Barre-Boulet (2 goals, 2 assists) and Ryan Lohin (4 assists) were the top scorers for Team Hedman.
Dennis Yan registered three goals and an assist to lead Team Killorn (0-4).
Jonne Tammela recorded two goals and two assists to pace Team Johnson (1-2).