You mentioned the growth mindset from a coaching perspective. You've also talked about how players can always keep developing. Explain that and talk about how you see players evolve and what goes into that work.
I believe that you always have to learn. You always have to adapt and practice the things that you're not good at. A lot of people like to practice what they're good at, and I think a lot of different tools in the toolbox will always help you out.
For example, for me in Jersey, I had some good young players, and they just continue to have that growth mindset. They wanted to get better. They wanted to work at things that they weren't good at. And I think that's something that you can take and give to other players. And I think you see that with the Jack Hugheses, the Jesper Bratts, and the Nico Hischiers and Dawson Mercers of the league. I think I can bring that into this organization: help these young guys evolve and keep getting better. It doesn’t matter what age you’re at; I improved it when I was 34-35 years old and got better even at 38-39 so it’s learning, continuing to learn and having that growth mindset and wanting to learn. That's the biggest thing in practicing what you're not good at.
You mentioned players being self-aware of what they need to work on. How do you approach a player who maybe doesn't see the area on which they need to work?
It just continuously reminding them in a good way. You have to sometimes find the right situation to not make them frustrated or defensive about the things that you're trying to talk to them and ask them about. And I get it. Sometimes, it's the heat of the moment and you're continuing to tell a player, ‘we can't do that, it’s not working,’ then the video always backs up your point…so you have to address things in different times of the game, and different times after a game, or maybe the next day. It might even be two days…let it digest a little bit for these players, because there are a lot of emotions going on. It's just not with the game. It's individual. Players have families, they have a lot of different things going on, so you just have to know when the right time is and try and pick that time and just have that communication. And it's a two-way communication. It's not one way. You just try to talk it out and make them better.
You mentioned how it's getting more and more challenging to create offense, and I think maybe even in recent history, people assume offense just kind of comes whereas defense is where the structure is. How do you develop offense?
You can definitely teach offense and structure. It's more knowing where the other players are at so you can play quicker, and you can play more predictably. It's moving the puck on and off your stick so you don't have to look to see where that player is and how quick he gets to the net. And honestly, you have to have skill. There's no question you have to have that. You're not necessarily going to be Connor McDavid. You're not necessarily going to be Leon Draisaitl. Some players will be. Some players won't be. But how do you work as a group of five or sometimes as a group of four? How do you create offense with everybody in the play?
It's tough. It's a lot of video and it's a lot of work on the ice. But you have to engage the situation and try and watch your own video, and other video that shows how to produce a lot of shots on net, a lot of goals, and that's what we're trying to do. It's continuing every day, and we're going to get better, and that's what I love about this group is that they are willing and they want to get better.
And I have that same question of developing offense on the power play. I think it's exciting to see the steps both units are taking this year. How, if at all, does your strategy change in growing that part of the game?
Well, I think the biggest thing is letting them be the players that they can be. Don't take the puck out of their hands but also have structure. We should have three to four different plays that can work in one particular moment of the game and not just say, ‘this one thing is what we want to do.’ The other team might take that away, and then what do we do? So, you always want to have options for the players, and you also want them to use their imagination. That's what the power play is all about. They're gifted players on the power play. There are only probably 300 players in the NHL playing on power plays for their teams. So, it's a pretty unique situation that they get put into and a lot of people ask a lot of different things from them. So, it's just a lot of video again, and just seeing where people work in different situations and who works well together. That’s a big part of it. And we try to be collaborative with the group. I think it's always a good time to have a group discussion like, ‘hey what can we do better?’ ‘What are your ideas?’ I don't want them to just take my ideas. What are their ideas? It's a process, but I think it's all working together as a group.
Before you came here, you were in the Eastern Conference, so this wasn't necessarily a team you saw a lot. When you were looking at the opportunity, what excited you about coming here and now that you're here, what excites you about working with this group?
There are a lot of young guys here, and I think they all want to learn. That's what I love: when players have that growth mindset of ‘how do I get better?’ And, do you want to be better, or are you just in the NHL to be in the NHL? I think that they all want to work and compete together, and I love Seattle. It's been great. This is a new coaching staff for me. I had never met anybody on the coaching staff-everything's new to me, and I've really enjoyed it so far. It’s obviously tough missing my family back home, but, if you're going to be here, you want to work. And you're going to work hard at what you try and do to get the team better. And our main goal is to play meaningful games at the end of the year and make the playoffs.
Is there anything unique about working with this team’s balance of veterans and young players?
Absolutely, we have a lot of good players that have been in the league for a long time. They've had great careers, and we want to extend their careers and make them youthful again, as well. Not just playing but also having fun. We want them to have fun. When I played when I was 39, I had fun. I loved the game, loved coming and hearing the stories of what a 20-year-old does at night while I'm looking after my kids. I love that kind of stuff. And I love hearing teammates giving it back to each other and all that and the hard work that goes into (playing in this league). They all come together, and it doesn't matter what age you're at, they're just all trying to get better and having fun and enjoying the process.
There is one person in the front office you did know, and that's Jason Botterill. Tell us about what you know about him and all the little journeys you've taken together?
Yeah, we've taken many journeys together: playing together in Rochester; then we both were recalled to Buffalo and played in the NHL together. Our wives are very close, and we have really close-knit families. I really loved working with him in Buffalo when I was in Rochester as head coach, and then worked with him in Wilkes-Barre as assistant coach. It's been a journey, and it's been a really good one.
We still talked when I was in New Jersey, and he was here; we still talked a lot and had great communication. He's very knowledgeable. He loves the game. He's got a growth mindset. He loves the older players with the younger players here. He loves the mixture of it. And we share a lot of the same ideas. So, it's been fun working with him, it's been fun playing with him. He's a good friend, but we know that we're here as partners to work hard and to get this organization to where it used to be, and that is in the playoffs. It's been a great journey with him.
