Larsen ready for his big chance as head coach of the Blue Jackets

Finally, at some point, Brad Larsen had to put the phone away.
As text message and phone call after text message and phone call piled up Thursday night in the moments after he was officially named head coach of the Blue Jackets, Larsen found it hard to keep up.
His son, Ty, and daughter, Faith, at one point tried to count how many congratulatory messages were coming in for Larsen as the longtime CBJ assistant earned his first NHL coaching job, but there came a time where keeping track was simply too much.

So Larsen put the phone away and instead played a game with his kids -- "They beat me, but it's all good," he said Friday -- before carving out time later to reply to every message.
That tells you two things about Larsen. First, he's a family man who made sure to point out to his wife, Hannah, and kids that he wouldn't be divorcing them for what could reasonably be called a dream job. Secondly, it also shows just how many people in the hockey world were happy to see Larsen get his chance.
"It really was overwhelming, the text messages," said Larsen, who added that the most notable moment came when his father Greg called him and choked up on the phone. "It was insane. You're not expecting that. I've never had that.
"I really had to put my phone away and just get away. I took about three hours and tried to respond because I think people are just happy for you and so you owe them at least a response at some point in a timely manner. It's been incredible. It's a little bit of a surreal day."

It will be a new role for Larsen, but one he's been preparing for for quite some time. A natural leader who was a captain on teams from juniors to the pros, Larsen said he first started thinking about coaching when he was 18 or 19 years old and playing junior hockey for Swift Current of the WHL. He would go on pick up things from coaches during an 11-year pro career that included 294 NHL games with Colorado and Arizona plus 384 AHL contests.
READ MORE: CBJ brass thinks it has the right man in Larsen
And he quickly went into coaching after he played his last game in 2010, picking up a job immediately as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons, then the AHL team for the Blue Jackets. He spent two years as an assistant there, then two years as head coach of the Falcons -- leading division title winners both seasons -- before being promoted for seven years on the Blue Jackets' staff.
Along the way he made mentors like Todd McLellen, Ken Hitchcock and Mike Babcock, who have a combined 2,033 NHL wins, and also either played under, played with or coached with such notable coaching names as Bob Hartley, Sheldon Keefe, Dan Hinote, Tony Granato, Kevin Dineen and Jared Bednar.
But the relationship that may have meant the most to Larsen over the past six years was with Tortorella, who inherited Larsen from Todd Richards' staff and not only kept him around but nurtured him into becoming someone ready to be an NHL head coach. That is one reason why Larsen himself was overcome with emotion when discussing Tortorella during his introductory press conference Friday.
"Torts is Torts," Larsen said. "You don't try to copy a man's style at all. I think the advice I got when I started coaching was to always be true to yourself, and that's what I'm going to be. I think as you get to know me, you're going to see that. I told the guys from the start, I'm my own man, but I would have been a fool to not learn under somebody like Torts or Todd Richards.
"As far as who I am, I'm firm but fair. I 100 percent believe in honesty, accountability. I think that's why Torts and I saw eye to eye so well. I probably will handle things differently than Torts because that's who I am, not because he was wrong and I'm right, but that's just who I am."
And in some ways the biggest challenge for Larsen will be living up to that standard set by Tortorella but doing it in his own image. After the Blue Jackets finished tied for last in the Central Division this year, it appeared some major changes were in the offing, but Columbus was impressed enough with Larsen that it decided to give him the keys to run things.

With that came detailed questions from management about how he'd keep the same culture of success -- including four straight playoff appearances from 2017-20 -- as Tortorella while also freshening things up, and as Larsen said Friday, "Sometimes you hear they need a new voice. I do believe I am that new voice.
"The one thing in this whole process of trying to earn this job was I never wanted to be a salesman. It wasn't about telling them what they want to hear. It's just, 'This is who I am. This is what I believe in. If this is what you're looking for, we have a great fit. And if not, I understand that.'"
For much of Friday's media event, CBJ brass and players lauded Larsen, from his communication skills to his passion for the game to his ability to set the culture required for the Jackets to bounce back from a rough campaign and compete for the Stanley Cup.
In some ways it has to be music to his ears, but he also knows the real work begins now. He'll get his first crack at being an NHL head coach with a base set up from years of playing and coaching experience, and his hope is to mold a cohesive unit that can quickly turn around the CBJ's fortunes.
"The most rewarding thing is when a team comes together and plays with that fire, passion and togetherness," he said. "It's something special when you see it. That's what I'm most excited about.
"There's a checklist about a mile long right now (that I believe in), but some of the players that have been under me, they understand who I am. I'm very approachable. I'm a guy that wants to create those relationships right away, and that what I look forward to doing."
And he has the text messages to prove it.