Aaron, thank you so much for doing this with us. Your journey is so fascinating, from player through to now an NHL coach. As you were playing, when did you start to realize that you not only wanted to coach, but it might be a fit for who you are?
In the later stages of my career, there were positions in the leagues I played with the label ‘player/assistant coach,’ and when you're one of the older guys and you're with an organization for a long time, and there's…contracted players, young guys coming in and you want to help them get to the next level, they naturally lean on the older players. And I think it's just part of the responsibility of a veteran player to help these younger guys achieve success.
What are the skills or the mental muscles that you started to flex as you started to transition more into coaching? How do you define what makes you a good coach, or perhaps your coaching style?
I think everyone's different…just being yourself and your personality and how you communicate with people is probably a big factor in that. You can't pretend to be somebody you're not. (So) just being honest with yourself and how you want to communicate, and the message you want players to receive is, I think, really important.
We watch players practice to get better at their game. The season is so demanding on coaches. How do you get better? How do you find new ways or skills to continue to improve as a coach?
Well, I think you have to be open to new ideas and how different people think in different situations. I think that's one of the great things about growth…all the people that you've played with or worked with or coached with, using some of their concepts and ideas and molding your thoughts into it, and helping those ideas and concepts grow; and always communicating with people in your in your coaching circle and players. I think it's just important to be open to different scenarios and how people view them. (That) helps you continue to be a better coach and a better person, because the game is always growing.
When (head coach) Lane (Lambert) hired you, one of the things he mentioned was, you know, yours was a name on the rise, and we were hearing about you in many hockey circles even before you came here. What's it been like joining this coaching staff and coming together as a coaching team?
It's been an outstanding experience, obviously. Great staff, great people, I’m happy to be a part of it, and (to) continue to grow as a coach. I think to get to the NHL is a huge success as a player, as a coach, (and never) being satisfied. You want to find that success at this level.
Let's switch to what you're responsible for, which is defense. When you think about a quality defender, what are maybe some of the top skills in that player's toolbox?
Obviously, (defense itself) hasn't changed a whole lot over the course of my playing and coaching career. Different defenders define and fit into different roles. But obviously, the way the game is trending and where it is right now, you have to be able to skate, you have to be able to make good passes, you have to be able to defend.
What would you say about how the game is changing? We used to talk about ‘stay at home’ defenders. Now you have players like Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes. Some coaches call them rovers. Where is the line between aggression and defense and some players leaning in more into one and some leaning more into the other?
I think there is a balance. If you look at the game and how well it's pre scouted, and how well players identify their systems and play within their systems, it almost can be a little positionless hockey at times. And, to create offense, you're looking to get four or five players involved, getting a lot of motion in the offensive zone, and then you're relying on everybody to understand your tracking protocols and your D-zone arrivals, things like that. So, I think just the overall picture of players, their growth in IQ and understanding of each position has changed probably the (most). And I think teams are really utilizing those concepts.
This team wanted defensive play to be a hallmark of how they play, and they've been very effective. What have you learned about your D corps and what are you maybe most proud of at this point in the season, of what they're accomplishing on the ice?
Well, I think (I’m most proud of) the commitment to how we want to play and how we need to play to have success. I think over the course of 50-some-odd games, it's no secret we need to play with a certain identity and be committed to certain areas to have success in this league. And we can be a very competitive team when we're committed to those areas.
Lane has talked about some players, maybe that he didn't see as much before, being in the East versus out West. Are there any players that are here that you've maybe learned something about that you didn't expect or that surprised you?
(Laughs) Well, all of them, for me coming from a different league, and not really diving in to how each individual plays, you just see them on the highlights at night. So, I've learned a lot from all the players on this team and who they are and how they play and what makes them achieve success. It's been a great experience for me and taking a little bit of time to build those relationships, (and) I’m happy where things are at.
We hear about systems all the time. When you are coming into this season, from a defensive perspective, how do you think about designing systems? And maybe, does that also tie to goaltending, maybe even the forward group as well?
I think most of that relies on what Lane wants and the structure he wants to play with, but (then there is) the collaboration that our staff has, and the small details of what can make it a little bit better, more successful; talking with the players as well and the goaltenders, so everyone has a clear understanding of everyone's responsibility and how we can defend high end skill teams that are playing different offensive structures. So (we’re) always evolving, always changing, but there's a foundation that we will continue to rely on.
People will say a goaltender can be even more effective because they know what chances they're going to see, right? How does that partnership work in practice between goaltenders, defense and the coaches as well?
Yes, with the resources we have, where we can videotape practice, look at pre scouts, look at tendencies of individuals…there's a lot of work that goes into preparing your team for an opponent. And you have to give the players a lot of credit for the information that they retain, how they can make adjustments in game. But you're always talking to your goaltenders, defense, forwards, especially special teams-wise, or off face-offs, so we understand where shots are going to come from. That is going to give everyone a better chance to have success.
You mentioned special teams. Big picture wise, just like we talked about defenders, penalty kills are evolving, and you have to have the personnel for it, right? But it's no longer always just set up, box out, defend. There can be opportunities. I think of Freddie Gaudreau, being able to take time off the clock by carrying the puck into the offensive zone on the penalty kill. And sometimes there's a point of being even more aggressive. What are you thinking about the trends on the penalty kill side in general?
Yes, penalty kills are always evolving. From my experience, having a successful kill, you've got to live it. You have to live it…not just watch video and expect to be good at it. You've got to create some chemistry. There's a lot of communication. And with that experience and that chemistry usually comes success, and we're starting to see that now.
Lane has shared there were tweaks that you want to make on the penalty kill, and it's been improving as a result. When you're in this kind of season, there's hardly any practice time whether it's a penalty kill or not. When you know you want to tweak something, how do you come up with that change and then implement that change so that it's successful?
Well, you come up with it, you know, just by your you know your personal views and obviously, experiences and what's happened in the past on the ice. (It’s a) lot of collaboration with the staff and the players. And, when you're in a season with this kind of schedule, it's learn on the fly, so lots of individual video. Anytime you get an opportunity to touch the ice in practice, you're going over some routes and routines. And that's the beauty of coaching players at this level is they have the IQ to really grasp that quickly.
I've always been curious about coaches’ thoughts on when you're practicing special teams, you're practicing against yourself, right? So how do you get prepared for a team that's going to come in and do something different and prepare your side of special teams the best way?
With the limited practice time, you probably don't get to devise a plan for that opponent. So, you're actually just looking to get the power play guys their touches and reps, and then the penalty guys same thing. And a lot of the times, some of our power play guys are (also) on the penalty kill, so they don't get the reps that you want them to have, but every team goes through that. There's no advantage for any team with a schedule like this, so you just have to make the most of those opportunities.
You've been able to get quite a few forwards involved on the penalty kill. What have you liked about some of the different faces that maybe fans wouldn't have perceived as a traditional penalty killer, but they're contributing?
Yeah, I think you give guys some opportunities, and it's up to them how they can respond. And we've used a lot of our forward group, and we found six guys that have done a really nice job for us, and we're going to rely on them to continue to do that down the road.
Okay, if you're willing, I’d love to end with a game of Fact or Fiction. I’ll say some common tropes about defense, and you can say if it's fact or fiction, and you can explain if you wish. Fact or fiction, defense wins championships?
Fact!
Fact or fiction, instead of having just a best defenseman award (the Norris trophy), the NHL should have two, one for best defensive defenseman and one for best offensive defenseman?
Fact. I just feel that there are some very valued players in this league that should be recognized.
All right, last one, a defender is playing well when you don't notice them on the ice. Fact or fiction?
Fact. I think you can categorize that with your previous question. Everyone's going to see the highlight reel offensive defenseman jumping in and making offensive plays, but the guys that defend really hard and that play a nice two-way game probably don't end up on the highlight reel.
