Featured interview with Omega, professional hockey player who used to play for NY Rangers!
Really interesting in-depth insights from the man who knows the game inside out!
I was born in Croatia and my parents immigrated to Canada when I was 1yr
old. I live in Vancouver, BC and am happily married with two amazing kids
aged 12 & 14. I have my own business, I run a marketing company which specializes in the automotive industry.
a long time? Please tell us more about your hockey career? Do you still
practice and play?
I played Junior hockey in the WHL for the Lethbridge Broncos and New
Westminster Bruins.
During my last year of Junior hockey I was selected to the 1st All-Star Team and was also selected as Molson Player of the Year.
The most impressive statistic about this recognition was that I was on a
last place hockey team with a goals against average around 5.00 which meant
I faced a lot of shots every nite.
It was during this season that I caught the attention of the New York Rangers and they offered me a contract that season which was in 1985/86.
I am still very involved in the game, I coach bantam aged kids and I play in a hockey league myself for fun.
The interesting thing is that when I quit playing professionally, I started
playing center. This is quite common for a lot of goalies when they retire,
my logic is that I have had people shoot at me for twenty five years it’s
now my turn to shoot at other people.
who see the games as spectators. Please tell us more how you feel the game?
This is a very accurate statement. being a player and a coach I have a very
unique perspective about how teams play, what defensive systems they use,
how good are their starting goalies. I can tell when a team is rolling very
well or when they are in a slump. The interesting thing about hockey is that
one team can have another teams number, there are certain teams and
buildings that are just very tough to play in and win and I use this to my
advantage. I also have a good insight into teams that play offensively or
defensively and I take these facts into consideration on over/under plays.
it? Is it really possible to fix a whole professional team?
Being an ex-pro athlete I find it hard to believe because I never saw it
around me in hockey, I know we as players in the dressing room were always
trying to win a game, there is so much pride in the jersey you wear and bond
among your teammates, you really do play for each other. Having said that I
am not naïve enough to think it doesn’t happen in sports, it has been
proven. As the case in hockey I can’t picture a player fixing a game but can
a referee have an outcome in a game, absolutely. I also read recently that
President Jacques Rogge of the International Olympic Committee said that
their biggest concern in sport is not Doping and Performance Enhancing Drugs
but match fixing!
hear some good stories?
I have had the pleasure of playing with and against some very great players.
One of the coolest experiences for me was playing against one of my favorite
goalies from the New York Islanders, Glen (Chico) Resch. This happened at my
first training camp with the Rangers. I made it through rookie camp and then
the moved me to the main camp, once exhibition season started our first game
was against the Islanders, it was so surreal for me to be playing in a game
looking down at the other end of the ice and seeing my favorite goalie whom
I watched on TV for years.
Some of the players I played with are, Guy
Lafleur, Barry Beck, John Vanbiesbrouck, Pierre Larouche, Ron Dugay, Tony
Granato, Mike Richter, Peter Laviolette, Cliff Ronning, Ken Baumgartner,
Glen Healy. After my first training camp with the Rangers, I came back to my
junior team in New Westminster for one more season and the Rangers opening
game that season was with the Vancouver Canucks, I was able to fly back home
with the team and Phil Esposito drove me home from the airport which was
quite a treat. Phil is an amazing guy and the stories he has are priceless.
Some coaches I have had that people may be familiar with are Pete
Mahovolich, Robbie Ftorek, Ken Hitchcock and Ernie (Punch) McLean.
goalie or also on the defensive players?
This really is a collaboration between goalie and team. A great example is
the Edmonton Oilers, they are criticized as having inconsistent goal
tending, but if you look at their d corp their top 8 defensemen would have a
tough time cracking the lineup of other NHL teams. You really do have to
build your team from the goal out to be competitive in today’s NHL
hockey?
It can be as much as 95% if a goaltender is having an off nite. Nothing is
more demoralizing for a team than when you are outplaying your opponent and
the puck is down at the other end of the rink for most of the period and
then the opposing team comesdown and scores. Goalies are like starting
pitchers in baseball.
Bigger goalie pads? Bigger nets?
As far as the rules about hockey I am kind of a purist. Leave the size of
the nets alone, the size of the goalie gear is fine to me, when I look back
at what kind of gear I played with, I laugh. It was so small, I actually
felt shoots through my goal pads that would often give me stingers, which
means your legs go numb for a few seconds. I really hate the format of
today’s NHL with shootouts.
Why should a team be punished for being a good
regulation time team and only get two points. I can’t stand that a game gets
settled in a shootout, even more so now that I am a sports investor. I would
rather see a 5 min period of 3-3 hockey. With the skill level of today’s
players and that much room on the ice with 3-3 hockey I believe 95% of the
games with produce a winning goal and if the game end in a tie so be it.
Fighting in the game is essential, the biggest mistake the NHL did was to
initiate the instigator penalty rule. When I played there was a code, the
tough guys fought the tough guys and if you went out and attacked a team’s
star player there was retribution waiting to happen.
They would attack you
star player & when that happened the tough guys stepped in and brought some
order to the game. Today’s NHL leaves the star players very vulnerable to
cheap shots and tactics because if you try and stand up for your teammate
you get the instigator penalty and with the parity in today’s teams you
can’t give up shorthanded situations.
consider the most?
I use two stat programs that take into consideration things like – Previous
games against each other, last 3, 5, 10 games played, home games avg, away
games avg, vs Div, vs Conf, vs top ranked, middle ranked and bottom ranked
teams. After a win, after a loss avg . After an over game avg, after an
under games avg, after a push avg, goals for and goals against.
Once my
programs agree on a game I then make note and check to see who is the
goalie, what is the injury report, did they play last nite, was travel
involved, do they have a winning record against their opponent, does the
starting goalie have a good record in the building they are playing in. Then
I check the lines near game time to confirm my leans on the teams for that
evening. The most important parameter for me is when the two programs
actually agree on a game, that’s my cue for more due diligence.
11. When the goalie comes from a long absence or injury many people try to
bet against him calling him “rusty”. Is it really true in pro sports?
Yes to a certain extent. There is no way to simulate game intensity in
practice and as a player you do get used to being in a rhythm on game day,
that is why teams often struggle coming off a road trip and sitting for a
couple of days before their next game, that first game back is often very
flat. You can rehab in practice all you want but the actual games are that
much faster and more intense.
tired played on back to back or it is exaggerated by the bettors?
Playing back to back games can be fatiguing if travel is involved and how
tough the game was the nite before. Personally when I played junior hockey
we would often play three games in three nites and I found I played really
well when I was tired, I felt more relaxed and found I didn’t worry about
the games as much. The biggest factor for fatigue is travel and time zones,
it’s not fun pulling into a city at 3 or 4 am, checking into to your hotel
and trying to get some decent rest because your routine is all out of whack.
13. When a top team plays against the last, how is it possible that upset
happens so often?
I tell the kids I coach this all the time, if you are not ready to play
anyone on any given day can beat you. The level of talent each team has is
very strong and bottom teams will always try to get a morale boost by
beating a top team. Another reason why you see upsets is that top teams will
often give their starting goalie a break that nite and play a backup which
can make things more even if the top team takes the weaker opponent lightly.
14. When team returns home from a long road trip how does it influence the
performance in the first home game?
I don’t know why it happens but that first game back is often flat. When you
are on the road you have no distractions, like family friends etc. you can
just focus on playing and having a good time with your mates. When you come
back off a road trip you get back into responsibilities and obligations on
the home front, other things compete for your attention besides hockey, I
also think the main reason is that most guys find themselves feeling looser
on the road than at home, when you are a visiting team you just play more
relaxed.
take it professionally and move on? Are there emotions or just a job in pro
sports? Do they play defensive after that?
After a huge loss or blowout you are pretty upset especially if the game had
real meaning to it, like a battle for a playoff spot or losing a 4 point
game. With the amount of games you play in a season you have to have a short
memory, it’s just a fact that you will have some stinkers during the course
of the season, you will go through slumps. Good teams and players just make
sure that they don’t last more than two to three games.
Every NHL team breaks down their season into 10 game increments and sets
goals for how many points they want to achieve during that 10 game stretch.
Momentum and injuries play a key factor into why a team is streaking or not
and final ?
I would not be surprised to see a Bos, Pitts vs Chi finals and I think Chi
can repeat again!
18. Your tips to hockey sports investors ?
My tips to a hockey sports investor are watch which teams have momentum in
their last 10 games played, who is injured and who is the starting goalie,
if you like what you see there then use the Line Reversals Tool and see if
it confirms your data, I can’t tell you how many times after checking the
lines I ended up playing the opposite team because the data dictated a
different outcome. My final tip would be don’t feel compelled to make a bet
for the sake of making a bet, know why you are placing the bet and make sure
the data supports the play, be a mercenary when it comes to your profits.
Thank you!
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