Jordan Hill: Epitome of a Grinder

LA Kings' Prospect and Sarnia Native Jordan Hill

Jordan Hill, a 23-year-old defenseman in the Los Angeles Kings’ system says he was a chunkier kid growing up and throws that around as a reason for maybe never having been drafted into the OHL. But there’s no way he’d use that as an excuse for not pursuing his passion. Hill is a steady two way, grinding defenseman who played a full season with the Manchester (New Hampshire) Monarchs of the American Hockey League this past season, scoring 1 goal and adding two assists to go along with 35 penalty minutes in 41 games. Barring a lock out this year, Hill will report to the Los Angeles Kings’ camp in the fall hoping maybe to grab a spot in the NHL. However the road to this point has been a long one.

As a 16 year old, Jordan Hill wasn’t drafted into the OHL due to some flaws in his game and a self-proclaimed chunkiness that held him back. But it didn’t stop him and after splitting time between the Junior B Sarnia Blast (now Legionnaires) and the Junior C Wallaceburg Lakers, Hill was invited to training camp for the OHL’s Sarnia Sting in the summer of 2007 and never looked back. Hill became a leader with the club, eventually going on to wear the ‘C’ while playing alongside NHL bound players like Steven Stamkos, Ryan Wilson and Matt Martin. Hill, being a Sarnia native loved the opportunity to play for and represent his hometown, and develop his play in a familiar area. Hill was traded to in conference rival Saginaw at the trade deadline of his overage year, and while disappointed to leave Sarnia, he said “it was an opportunity to benefit my career and it also gave Sarnia some draft picks, so it was the right move”. Hill, who was never drafted into the OHL, nor the NHL said that both were shots to his confidence and that he “can’t imagine what it must feel like for those kids to have that opportunity, but some kids do get drafted and never make it, and some kids don’t get drafted and do make it”. He was determined to be the latter, and made his professional debut with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose following the completion of his final season in the OHL.

Hill went from that stint with the Moose to a professional try out contract with the Los Angeles Kings and split time between the Ontario (California) Reign of the ECHL and the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL in 2010-2011 before making the transition to being a full time defenseman in the AHL this past season with the Monarchs. When asked about the emotions of being part of a team that went through such a roller coaster year having what seemed like a parade of players being shuffled between the NHL and the AHL, Hill said it was “bittersweet. You can’t help but be happy for those guys, but we lost Loktionov, Slava Voynov who is a great Russian defenseman, Dwight King who had a big role in the King’s playoff run, and Jordan Nolan. It hurt us and we got knocked out of the playoffs early, but it’s awesome seeing those guys do well”.  Being in that environment and knowing that it could be you who gets the call up next is motivation enough to push yourself to be better and that’s what Hill is doing this offseason.

“I’ve always been weak with my power skating, and it wasn’t something I really started to work on until I made it to the OHL, but that’s my focus this offseason” Hill said. He added that he enjoys being a steady shutdown, two way defenseman, but knows that there are areas of his game he has to improve if he wants to keep progressing, going so far to say that “if there are things that Sidney Crosby feels he needs to work on in the off season, then there are things I need to work on as well”. This season the focus is his skating, and Hill is making the three hour trek back and forth from Sarnia to Toronto during the week to see a power skating instructor and develop that area of his game a little bit more, but aside from that he’s lucky to have been raised in and played in such a hockey hotbed as Sarnia.

His offseason workout buddies include Matt Martin of the New York Islanders who led the NHL in hits this past season, as well as led the Islanders in fighting majors (17), the Abbot twins who played collegiate hockey at the NCAA’s Cornell and are now professionals over in Europe, and Mark Katic who just signed a contract to play in the professional league in Germany. “Working out with a guy like Marty is great. You learn a lot from someone like that who goes 110% every minute, and is really just a massive man helps. Getting to be around guys like him and Dustin Jeffrey (Pittsburgh Penguins centreman) helps in the learning process”. The skills he develops this summer will be crucial when he reports to NHL camp this fall, if there is one. “The CBA hasn’t been signed yet, so who knows what’s going to happen with that. Hopefully it gets signed. If it doesn’t, all guys with 2-way contracts will be able to play in the AHL. The supserstars like Crosby and Stamkos won’t, but it’ll be a trickle down affect and guys from the NHL will go to the AHL, and guys from the AHL will go to the ECHL”, Hill said.

For now though, Jordan is focusing on developing his own skills, while also developing those of tomorrow’s future hockey stars. Hill runs the Jordan Hill Hockey School, which is based out of the RBC Centre in Sarnia and aims at developing the skills that hockey camps Jordan attended in the past didn’t focus on. “All I did was go to the Aaron Brand camps when I was younger, and they were awesome, but they didn’t focus on certain aspects that it took me longer to develop. And if I’m making the trip to Toronto to develop my skating, I figured why not take some of these drills that the pro’s are doing and give kids the opportunity to become better”. The hockey camp has guest coaches like Matt Martin, and also focuses on off ice training as well, giving these aspiring NHL stars a glimpse of what is involved in becoming an elite hockey player.

There are stories of players going undrafted in the OHL and NHL, like current Edmonton Oilers right winger Ryan Jones, also a native of south-western Ontario, and there is nothing to suggest that one day Jordan Hill might not be another player on the list of NHL players to come out of the Sarnia Sting system.

Solving Sam Gagner's Contract Issues

Can we expect this from Gagner in the future?

The Edmonton Oilers and 22 year old centreman Sam Gagner are currently at odds in a contract dispute that seems headed for arbitration. Obviously the Oilers brass don’t want to pay Gagner what he is asking for and Gagner doesn’t want to be low balled by the organization that drafted him. However Gagner searching out a big money, long term deal seems a bit unjustified considering the numbers he has put up for the Oilers. Gagner’s production levels and value to his team simply pales in comparison to other members of his 2007 draft class.

Gagner is coming off of a contract that saw him earn 4.55 million over 2 years. In 2010-11 Gagner produced 15 goals and 27 assists in 65 games, and in ’11-’12 he netted 18 goals and helped on 29 others in 78 games, upping his point production slightly. Keep in mind that 8 of these points in 2011-2012 came in one record setting game against Chicago. Regardless, are back to back seasons of 42 and 47 points really enough to justify the type of contract Gagner is seemingly holding out for? Gagner averages .60 PPG in 366 career NHL games. And as I alluded to earlier, his production levels and value to the Oilers are at odds with what he’s demanding. He is looking for Patrick Kane type money when he hasn’t proven he deserves it.

Patrick Kane was drafted first overall in 2007, 5 spots ahead of Gagner, and since then has become a household name for hockey fans for both his on and off-ice activity. Kane has played in 399 games since he entered the NHL and has 369 points to show for it as well as a Stanley Cup ring with Chicago, the Calder Trophy, an Olympic silver medal and multiple All Star appearances. Kane is currently in the middle of a 5 year, 31.5 million-dollar contract that expires in 2015 with an average cap hit of 6.3 million a year. Obviously Kane is worth this type of money because of his knack for coming up when it matters, and while Kane is at the top end of the contract range (there aren’t many contracts for 22 year olds that pay much more than this), it’s proof that certain types of money are reserved for certain types of performers, and Gagner doesn’t necessarily look like he deserves that type of money right now.

David Perron of the St. Louis Blues is another product of the 2007 draft class, being taken 14^th overall by the Blues and having appeared in 292 career contests for the Blues. Perron has 173 points in those games, and while his PPG production sits at .59 is very much like Gagner’s, Perron’s value to the Blues is heightened because of his ability to play the grinder role and fit into various situations well – an attribute that was a huge part in the Blues extremely successful year. These factors made it easy for St. Louis to sign him to a 4 year, 15.25 million dollar contract – one that is easily justifiable. Gagner hasn’t quite yet displayed the consistency of point production, nor has he demonstrated the ability to fit into a role other than what he played in major junior (a role he has severely struggled to emulate in the professional ranks).

If Gagner wants to sign a contract that is fair to him, he should look towards the contract that San Jose forward Logan Couture is currently under. Couture is about to start making 5.75 million over two years. Over the course of his 3-year entry-level contract, Couture amassed 130 points in 184 games (more PPG production than Gagner at .70 to .60) and has become an NHL All-Star. While Couture has had a more successful career thus far than Gagner has, he is only making 2.875 million a year, on a 2 year contract – significantly lower numbers than what Gagner is searching for.

As an Oilers fan, my interest in this matter is heightened mainly due to the fact that I want to see my team succeed. And while I like Gagner, I see him being a hindrance to that success, especially if he’s searching out money that he is clearly not worth. We as fans can’t really blame him though. Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini made it obvious he is perfectly fine with handing out ridiculous contracts (Ales Hemsky, 2 years, 10 million dollars), and has lead Gagner to believe he is worth a big money, long term deal. This is Tambellini’s fault, but I feel as if the solution to this stand off is fairly easy, and quite favourable to both sides. No one can blame Gagner for wanting to maximize his earnings, and no one can blame Tambellini for wanting to put money in the proper places. I believe that Gagner should be looking at a 1 or 2 year contract, worth anywhere between 2.5 and 3.5 million dollars per year. This affords Gagner the chance to prove his worth to the Oilers organization and show that he is deserving of a long term, big money contract. It also protects Edmonton from getting locked in to a contract that hurts them in the long run, which is ultimately a quest for Stanley Cup championships. But what do I know. I’m just an opinionated blogger.