Asst. Coach Brad Lutsch on first impression of Stanislav Galiev:
“He got over here, we didn’t know a ton about him, had heard some good things, and then when he got here, we had a few weeks to take a look at him, before the USHL Fall Classic [scouting event].
But we could tell certainly as a young player, playing in this league is not easy, but you could tell he had exceptional skill.
He got better each month and he ended up having a great season for us en route to winning the Clark Cup”.
Brad Lutsch on Stanislav Galiev's strengths/development:
“His skating with the puck [is a strength]. A lot of guys can skate well without the puck, but when he had the puck on his stick he could get it going pretty quick. With the puck he put the ‘D’ back on their heels when he attacked the offensive zone.
His stride developed as well. It was a little choppy when he first got here. He worked on his skating.
And he could one-time a puck. We had him on the power-play on the point and he could one time the puck – probably the best I’ve seen in this league”.
Brad Lutsch on Stanislav Galiev leaving the Ice:
“We would have liked to have him come back that 2nd season [2009-2010]. We were a little bit disappointed about that. Our league’s track record speaks for itself. It’s better each year.
The number of draft picks compared to the Quebec league is certainly on par. Last season we had more in the first round than they did. So, we would have liked to have seen him come back.
I think he went through a little bit of a sophomore slump, but the difference to adjusting to a whole new team, whole new people, language, all that stuff, so I think this year [2010-2011; has been] a better year for him.
And we’ll see how he develops next season.
But he’s got a ton of talent, he’s a kid that will make it, he wants to be a player”
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Head Coach Charlie Skjodt's first impression of John Carlson:
“My scouts had told me that he had great finesse for a big guy. He has a great shot, could skate well, covered the ice well, saw the ice well, and was offensive. He’s everything you want in a ‘big D’.
He came to camp – very first day – I told my other two coaches – ‘this guy is going to make the team’. I could see from the second day that he was going to be close to an all-star just [because of] his presence.
He’s got a little cockiness to him, which some of the scouts used to ask me about.
But, it really isn’t cockiness as much as it is confidence and it’s just his personality. John was a special kid.
We were all excited when he went in the 1st round with the Washington Capitals and I knew they got themselves a good one.”
Charlie Skjodt on John Carlson’s time with Indiana:
“He was a kid who played a lot of penalty kill, a lot of power play, and regular shifts.
We always talked about playing in his defensive zone -- and how tough it would be for him to go to college and to eventually go pro.
These guys [in college and pro] are going to be a lot quicker than they are in the USHL – so you have to make sure you use space and time correctly. And you have to play physical.
So really the only thing I saw was he would have to concentrate more on his defensive zone work. He could carry the puck, he could shoot the puck, he could do all of those things, really.
He just plays with such a relaxed style. He never gets pushed or makes bad decisions. He covered all of the basics of the game with the exception of [needing] more experience in his own zone.”
Charlie Skjodt on John Carlson’s demeanor off the ice:
“I will tell you this about John, he always had that half-smirk, the head was tilted back. You know he is more like a kid from California than a kid from the East.
He was the type of kid who was always on time, was always even-keel, always had that smile on his face.
Even the first day I met him and he stood by the boards after his team had gotten off the ice [following a] scrimmage, he just had that pleasant smile and was a great all-around nice guy to the other players and fans.”
Charlie Skjodt on John Carlson being a USHL 2nd team all-star (not 1st):
“What usually happens in this league is when you have a rookie, he has got to be exceptional to be a 1st team all-star.
We had [a handful] of really good second-year defensemen and they were not better than John, but politically it’s the way it sort of works.
You know, [John Carlson] is going to go onto that 2nd-team because he was a ’90 [1990 birth year].
The kids who made the 1st-team were ‘87’s [1987 birth year], had been there a couple of years, and really that’s the only reason.
There’s no way they were any better than John. It’s just the fact that John was a rookie.”
Charlie Skjodt on John Carlson being scouted by the NHL:
“Well I watch him all the time on TV. Me and my brother [Paul Skjodt, owner of the Indiana Ice] went to the [2008 NHL Entry] draft.
The year that John was listed to be a first round pick, I got calls from 29 teams. The one team I did not get a call from was the Washington Capitals - that I recall.
A lot of teams saw him 5, 6, 8, 10 times. [They] interviewed him. I got calls after the interviews. It ended up Washington drafted him.
It’s just ironic that the [Washington Capitals] are the one team I don’t recall calling me and asking me about John Carlson.
I had some teams ask me about his personality – he seemed a little nonchalant – and I was like,
‘that’s just the way he plays. That’s the way he is on the ice. He doesn’t force things. He doesn’t rush things. He doesn’t freak out about things. He just gets the job done.’
I got a call last night [March 29, 2011] from Jimmy Devellano [current Sr. VP of the Detroit Red Wings] and he said ‘You know, we really should have listened to you a little more about John Carlson’.”
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