GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Arizona Coyotes, like every other NHL team, went into the 2015-16 season filled with optimism.Realistically, they -- and nearly everyone else -- knew it would be a rebuilding year, even after the team got off to a fast start.The Coyotes again have that optimistic slant heading into this season. This time, with a core of talented young players and some veteran additions, they expect to live up to it.Just walking in the rink, you feel it, Coyotes goalie Mike Smith said. You feel a different vibe. You feel like this team can do some damage.Arizonas talented core remains intact, headlined by All-Star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, with forwards Max Domi, Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder. Captain Shane Doan returns for his 21st season and goalie Mike Smith is back after being sidelined with an abdominal injury most of last season.The Coyotes also were active during the offseason under first-year general manager John Chayka, adding defensemen Alex Goligoski, Anthony DeAngelo and Luke Schenn, along with forwards Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and Ryan White.Whether the group can end a four-year playoff-less run remains to be seen, but theres no reason to think the Coyotes wont improve upon their 35-win 2015-16 season.Youve got to be careful with optimism because theres 29 other teams that have a lot of optimism, too, but I think ours is genuine, Chayka said. I told the guys the other day were not looking to be a mediocre team. Were trying to be the best and we certainly feel we have the skilled players to get there, but its going to take some time to get there.A few more things to look for from the Arizona Coyotes in the 2016-17 season:DOMI AND DUCLAIR: Arizonas two young forwards burst upon the scene last season, giving the franchise the jolt of youth and speed it had been missing. Domi, son of former NHL tough guy Tie, was second on the Coyotes with 52 points and had 18 goals. Duclair, who arrived in a trade with the New York Rangers prior to last season, added 20 goals and 24 assists. Both players are 21 and work well together, so theres no reason to think they wont get better after that dynamic first season together.DOANER RETURNS: Doan took part of the summer to decide whether to return for another season in the desert. It didnt seem like much of a decision after the season he had in 2015-16. Coming off a couple of disappointing, injury-plagued seasons, Arizonas captain was at the top of his game a year ago. Doan seemed to be rejuvenated by the influx of young players on Arizonas roster, leading the Coyotes with 28 goals while chipping in 19 assists. Doan turns 40 next week, but he still has game and is one of top captains in the NHL.SMITHS RETURN: Smith was the key to Arizonas run to the 2012 Western Conference finals, often stealing games for the Coyotes with his stellar play. The past few seasons have been filled with injuries and inconsistency. Smith was limited to 34 games in 2012-13 due to injury and played 32 last season due to abdominal surgery. If he can stay healthy and play well, the Coyotes could make a strong playoff push.OEL RISES: Ekman-Larsson was considered one of the NHLs top up-and-coming defensemen his first few years in the league and has lived up to that hype the past few. The 25-year-old from Sweden has been an All-Star each of the past four seasons and last year led the Coyotes with 55 points, including 21 goals. If the Coyotes make the playoffs, expect him to be a strong contender for the Norris Trophy.IN THE SYSTEM: Chayka, who took over after Don Maloney was fired after last season, has been praised for building up Arizonas minor league system, turning it into one of the best in the NHL. The Coyotes are loaded with top prospects, including centers Dylan Strome, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft, and Christian Dvorak, who had 121 points for London of the OHL last season. The talent pool is deep in Arizona, setting up the Coyotes to be good for a while once they turn the corner.Tyler Johnson Heat Jersey . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. 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Thats a bit of a feeble effort, one of the New Zealand commentators said.Fourteen years later, at one point in a one-day international on the same ground, West Indian batsman Dwayne Smith smashed New Zealand spinner Jeetan Patel into the crowd. Nathan Astle, 5ft 10in and 34 years old, was fielding on the boundary. As the ball dropped, it looked as if it would just about make it over Astle and the rope. Then Astle did something that back then was considered to be amazing.He jumped vertically, and while in the air, only a few centimetres from the boundary, he stretched out his right hand behind him, took the catch one-handed and then landed just inside the rope. Steadying himself for a split second, Astle then sprang off towards Patel and his team-mates to celebrate the wicket.During post-match interviews, New Zealand coach John Bracewell said that Astles catch probably secured the win. He called the catch sublime in judgement and skill.Ten years on, modern boundary fielding makes Astles effort look rather ordinary. The rise of T20 has seen many more batsmen trying to hit many more sixes on much smaller grounds.Back in the day, boundary fielders were usually either bowlers having a rest between overs or spells, or the less mobile members of the side, or both. If the ball went straight to one of these players, theyd usually stop it. If not, at least there was someone out there to get the ball back from the crowd. Today every run counts and teams send their best fielders out to the boundary, not just to save runs but also to take wickets.Over the past few years, the likes of Trent Boult, Kieron Pollard, Eoin Morgan, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers have all taken the kind of spectacular boundary-line catches that are increasingly common in the game.In 2014, in a T20I in Dominica, West Indies had 126 for 3 in 17 overs and were in need of quick runs to set New Zealand a decent target. Corey Anderson sent down a high-bouncing half-tracker to Pollard, who got into a bit of a tangle while pulling it, but that massive bat of his still sent the ball out towards the midwicket boundary. Boult was out there a few metres in from the rope. He took a few steps backwards and flung out his right hand, his weaker hand, and caught the ball over his shoulder.Great catch, but it didnt finish there. Boult realised that his momentum was taking him over the boundary rope. In a flash he threw the ball up in the air, stumbled over the rope, but rather than falling flat on his face, Boult sprang back over the rope, back onto the field, dived to his left and caught the ball two-handed before either he or the ball had touched the ground. Cue standing ovations, roars from the crowd, on-field celebrations, and a barrage of superlatives from the commentary box.Pollard himself has taken a few boundary-line screamers. Playing for Mumbai Indians in the 2014 IPL, he did to Rajasthan Royals Kevon Cooper what Boult did to him, except, Pollard threw the ball a bit too far infield and so had to complete the catch with a full-length forward dive.Former Surrey and England allrounder Adam Hollioake, who played the first two years of domestic T20 in England before he retired, believes that boundary fielding standards have improved in recent years out of necessity.If someone did anything like that back when T20 started, it would be seen as a one-in-a-million effort, Hollioake says. Now cricketers take catches like this as a matter of course because thats what the modern game demands.Former West Indies captain Jimmy Adams, who played in the 1990s and has coached Kent since 2012, says that theres a practical reason why boundary catching has improved in recent years. When we played, the boundary rope was tight against the wall or the fence. There was no room to do this sort of thing. Now the rope is four or five yards in.As a result, fielders no longer give up on the ball when they are near the boundary. Thirty-five years ago, someone like Derek Randall used to throw himself around a lot, but he was considered unusually athletic, says Julien Fountain, a specialist fielding coach who has worked with Pakistan, West Indies and England. Now you see cricketers all over the world throwing themselves around.To the casual observer, these catches might look like an instinctive blur of arms and legs, something only a super-fit fielder might try. However, like any other cricketing skill, they can be performed by a cricketer who has the right combination of technique, natural ability and fitness.Look at any of the slow-motion replays and youll see the same thing. The catcher tracks the ball from the bat, through the air, towards him and then into his hand. As soon as the catch is safely taken, or parried up, he looks to the ground, checks to see whether hes on or off the field, then steadies himself and moves into the position needed to complete the catch. All this within a second or two.Thats the same skills you need to field in the slips, at backward point, anywhere on the field, Fountain says. Combine those with ground fielding and catching skills and you have the ideal fielder for modern-day cricket.During a 2014 T20 Blast game between Yorkshire and Lancashire, Lancashire batsman Tom Smith skied a shot straight back over the bowlers head. Adam Lyth, rushing to his left from long-off, leapt into the air and clawed the ball back ffrom over the boundary edge before it landed.ddddddddddddHis team-mate Aaron Finch, who had run across from long-on, then took a simple catch. A few weeks later, the two combined again against Leicestershire.Yorkshire players have been doubling up around the boundary rope for a while now. Their coach Rich Pyrah confirmed that his players practise boundary catching regularly in twos. One fielder stands at long-off, the other at long-on or at deep square and deep midwicket. Pyrah, standing as close as he can to the stumps out in the middle, hits the ball hard with two hands into the gap between the two fielders. Depending on where the ball ends up, players have to decide whether to catch the ball by themselves or with their team-mate.During these practice sessions, Pyrah is keen to replicate the speed of the ball from the bat that a player would get in a match. The trajectory is different if youre fielding deep-backward square than if youre at long-on and long-off. It comes harder and flatter and faster. Straight down the ground, the ball comes in more of an arc. The players then have to read the length of the ball, get into an early position on the boundary rope, then adjust to wherever the ball is going to land.Fountain says that to take boundary catches, players will need to track the ball, reposition themselves, and if necessary, reposition again after first contact with the ball. Fountain helps his players practise this by having the ball bounce off an object, maybe a handheld boxing pad, which creates a deviation off the object to a secondary fielder. Or by hitting the ball over a players shoulder, who then has to adapt on the move.Yorkshire also practise safe landings indoors during the close season. Coaches set up crash mats and throw a ball over the players head. A player has to be brave and land on the full length of their back, so it takes the impact, says Pyrah.Pyrah adds that players used to struggle with these catches because they wanted to land with their hands on the ground to cushion their fall. The trouble is, when a players hands are free and facing upwards, he can use them to throw the ball up. He wont have time if his hands are facing downwards, ready to brace to take his weight. Pyrah thinks that a player needs to feel secure that if he loses balance during one of these manoeuvres and falls but lands properly, he will be okay.Fountain is not a fan of using big crash mats during practice. He thinks there should be an element of realism in the training. A player will think differently and use their body differently if they know theres a mat under them, he says. On a hard surface, like a field, a player will have to brace themselves, and they need to get used to that during practice.Boundary fielders need to make decisions quickly - whether to catch, parry upwards, involve someone else, which requires communication; or whether to just block the ball from going for six. And they wont know exactly what to do until the ball is almost upon them. Pyrah gets the Yorkshire players to practise these catches under pressure. Well shout to them, distract them however we can.Its not all planning, though. Theres still a level of instinctive brilliance to the sort of catches that Lyth and Finch, Boult, Pollard and Maxwell have been taking.Adams explains that his Kent team practises a lot of high stuff in and around the rope area. Then, when the opportunity arises, there are players who have it in them to do special stuff, he says. Adams has no doubt that outfielding standards have definitely improved from when he played in the 1990s. Youve always had Jonty Rhodes, Ricky Ponting and Herschelle Gibbs, a few as good as that, but now most players are top fielders.Back then, international teams felt they could carry the likes of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Devon Malcolm and Phil Tufnell in the field as long as the player was scoring runs or taking wickets. In 1989 when I started playing, people hardly even dived, says Hollioake. If you missed one, it was Well tried. By the end of my career, in 2007, if you didnt dive properly with the right technique, people were having a go at you.Fountain doesnt think that players today are necessarily more skilled or athletic than their predecessors. Its just that higher fielding standards are now expected, and this drives players towards ever greater things. Whatever is the standard of the day is where people aspire to be.Pyrah agrees that players train harder today. Players will throw themselves around in the field and not worry about the consequences. Its no surprise they can do things we couldnt in the past.However spectacular some of todays fielding might look, though, not everything about fielding has improved during the modern era, particularly in Test cricket. It has been a while since there has been an international wicketkeeper as good as Alan Knott or Ian Healy. Earlier this year, former Australia captain Ian Chappell complained about the decline of slip catching standardsDuring the Edgbaston Test this summer, when Mohammed Hafeez dropped Joe Root off Rahat Ali, it was the ninth time a Pakistan player had shelled a catch in the series. England had also dropped nine by that time. Thats 18 dropped catches in just three Tests.Inzamam and Cowdrey might not have been able to run out to the boundary rope, let alone dive once they got there, but they could safely catch the ball in the slips. And lets not forget that in a Test match, its behind the stumps, not on the boundary, that youre most likely to get the likes of Root, De Villiers and Kohli out. ' ' '
