Howl They Approach It: Tocchet Wants Coyotes To Speak Up

Rick Tocchet wants the Coyotes to make noise. Literally.
During an interview Wednesday with Jackie Redmond and E.J. Hradek on NHL Now, the Coyotes head coach stressed the importance teammate vocal support will have to generate energy in an empty arena when the team returns to play.
"The home ice advantage is not going to be in effect," he said. "Our team, I wouldn't say we're a quiet team, but we're not a loud team."
Tocchet and his staff have monitored European soccer teams performing in empty stadiums. He's been discussing his observations with players.

"We're going to have to generate noise," he said. "A guy makes a big hit or makes a good play, coming off the ice the crowd's [usually] into it. He gets that instant gratitude: 'Hey, great job', from the fans. But [now] we're going to have to generate that kind of excitement on the bench because it's going to be quiet there.
"We've talked about that as a team, to make sure we're very vocal and positive. Especially when a guy makes a good block, a good play, or a goalie makes a great play. I think that's an advantage if you have a team that really talks a lot."

Tocchet knows any edge can be important in a short series. He coached against the Predators in a series-style format in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final as an assistant coach with the Penguins. Pittsburgh defeated Nashville in six games.
"I remember being on the staff in Pittsburgh when we played them in [2017] in the Final, and they still have a bunch of players from that team," he said.
Tocchet noted Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi. The Coyotes head coach has watched a lot of video on the Predators' star defenseman.

"He's probably target No. 1 for us," Tocchet said. "He's a fourth man out there, he's going to be up the ice, he's an excellent offensive player, and he can defend, obviously. He's a guy that's hard to defend because you don't know where he is. We have to be really careful and keep an eye on him. You go down the list, and I think their top-4 defense corps is as good as any in the league."
Tocchet also is familiar with Predators head coach John Hynes. The two worked in the same organization in 2014-15; Hynes coached Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during Tocchet's first year in Pittsburgh.
"John Hynes is an excellent coach," he said. "So, we're going to have to pay attention to the tweaks that Nashville makes.
"He's kind of spread out their lines. You've got Forsberg on one line; you've got Johansen on another line, Arvidsson on another line. So, they've kind of spread it out. I think their last four or five games they only let in about two or three goals. They really defended well the last part of the season. So, it's going to be a tough series for us. But we're excited about it."
The Coyotes will start preparing for the Predators in full Monday, when formal training camp opens at Gila River Arena. The qualifying round is expected to start less than three weeks later, on August 1.
"We have to approach it differently," Tocchet said. "Obviously, there's a short runway. Whenever the games start, you're right into it. There's no warming up, there's no October. 'Well, if you don't play well, now you've got November.' Now, if you have a bad week, you're out.
"We're going to try to get these guys into it right away to make sure that they're in playoff mode. Lots of competition drills. More scrimmages for our team. A crash course in video."
And, hopefully, a lot of noise.

Lead Photo Credit: Norm Hall - Arizona Coyotes // Second Photo Credit: John Russell - NHLI via Getty Images // Footer Photo Credit: Norm Hall - NHLI via Getty Images