Canucks Assistant Coach Scott Young joined Canucks Insider Podcast host Chris Faber to discuss his new role and share his experiences that make him feel prepared to take on the challenge and get back into coaching.
Young discussed lessons he learned during his playing days, specifically when he won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He shared his views on the importance of a strong team culture fostered by player accountability. He highlights the Canucks' recent playoff success and the importance of maintaining high practice standards and a competitive atmosphere.
“I think we have the players to do that. Especially since the bit of a run a couple of years ago going into the playoffs and taking Edmonton to seven games - they see what it could be, or what it's like to be in the playoffs and the atmosphere in Vancouver, and it's really second to none. It's tremendous, and that's why it was so disappointing this year to not get there. It has to be a daily commitment and practice level has to be extremely high, and the details that you bring into practice,” Young said.
“I felt like I truly became a professional, which was in Pittsburgh after winning the Cup, then I felt like everything changed, and my commitment level changed. It's like you think you're working hard, and then you see what it takes, and you see Paul Coffey going in between periods after Game 4 and he's just played 30 minutes in the second round, and he's doing pushups, sit ups, and getting on the bike, and it's like, ‘Okay, I am not working hard enough. I need to change.’ When you see those types of things, it changes your attitude, it changes your mentality.”
He talked about the camaraderie of his early career with the Hartford Whalers. Young reflected on his 14 runs in the playoffs, crediting his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins for teaching him the importance of winning, sharing memories of playing with legends like Mario Lemieux.
“I was really fortunate to go through my time playing with the Penguins. It was short, but we won the Cup and that experience for me made a world of difference - as a player, as a playoff performer, learning how to win, and learning that it was actually possible to win,” Young said.
He emphasized the importance of building relationships with players and leans into vulnerability. He talked about his own struggles with confidence as a player, how he was able to bounce back from it, and how he can help players going through the same thing.
He talked about the transition from playing with Adam Foote’s to coaching with him and Foote’s evolution as a coach and his supportive approach. They met playing for the Nordiques and have had some great battles against one another, and Young is excited to join forces with Foote again behind the bench.
“[I’ve got] nothing but praise for Footer. He’s a winner, and to see how he's evolved over the years now, and the way that he talks to players and treats players. I think it's amazing what he's done on the psychological side of it, and that's why I think he's going to be a heck of a head coach,” Young said.
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