‘Taylor-ed’ Fit: Power Play, Young Players

When newly announced Kraken head coach Lane Lambert phoned Chris Taylor this past summer, the two former NHLers didn’t have a prior personal relationship. But their respect for each other was absolute.

“I knew of Lane, first as a player and then as a coach,” said Kraken assistant coach Taylor during the just completed road trip. “He’s coached for a long time. Very successful and he started from the bottom up. He's done a tremendous job. When he was with the [New York] Islanders and I was with the [New Jersey] Devils, especially when he was the head coach there, I respected his teams and how they played. But that was all I knew. On the call, we kind of hit it off. We think the game the same way.”

For his part, Lambert clearly did his research about Taylor even though there was no history between the two.

“I went after Chris because I knew of his character and his work ethic,” said Lambert this week. “He played at every level and was a captain of his teams. His advancement as a coach to the NHL took time. As a result, I knew he would have the experience I was looking for.  He’s worked as an AHL assistant coach [four seasons in Rochester, NY, one at Wilkes-Barre, PA] and as an AHL head coach in order to become an NHL assistant coach.”

The Kraken power play currently ranks in the top 10 among NHL teams. Lambert more than once has pointed out Taylor’s dedication to work with individual players, including Matty Beniers, among others.

“The work he did with the power play in New Jersey over the last few years was terrific,” said Lambert. “Chris is an extremely good teacher which is not only important for our younger players, but our veterans as well. He is running the power-play and working with all of our young players plus others on an individual basis. He was a good faceoff man in his playing days. He is helping our centers in that area. We’re lucky to have him.”

‘Really Close-Knit Staff’

The impact of interpersonal relationships among coaches on an NHL staff is not to be underestimated. It’s a credit to Lambert’s created staff camaraderie that he not only didn’t know Taylor, he also had no prior personal connection to retained assistant coach Jessica Campbell, defensive/penalty kill-oriented assistant coach Aaron Schneekloth, promoted goalie coach Colin Zulianello, or Justin Rai in his newly created director of player strategy role.

“It's a really good group,” said Taylor, an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils the last five seasons after three winning years as head coach of American Hockey League’s Rochester franchise. “Lane is very open. He's a communicator, which is great. He shares everything. He wants us to share everything back and just have an open dialogue. We’ve become a really close-knit staff.”

Taylor has particularly meshed with Rai as they team up working on player development at the NHL level with young players newer to the league but also veterans.

“I love his work and approach,” said Taylor about Rai. “He's a really good person and it’s great to have him be part of the coaching staff. I think he's going be a huge asset in this league.”

Getting on the Offensive with Beniers

Matty Beniers is arguably playing the best hockey of his NHL career over the last month. He scored his 10th goal Saturday, this one by getting net front, staying there and not giving ground or giving up when his first close-in shot hit the post. The 23-year-old has notched six goals and seven assists for 13 points in his last 14 games.

“I've been working with him individually a lot right now, just looking at his video,” said Taylor. “We know he is a 200-foot player. We’re trying to get more of an offensive aspect out of him, being creative, because he's got that creative mind. He knows where to go on the ice. He thinks the game very well. I was a centerman too. We can help him out with those situations and the creativity.”

Just how does creativity factor into the individual work with Beniers, or Berkly Catton, or Shane Wright?

“Just attacking inside, more, using the other four people on the ice, how Matty can create space for himself and create space for others,” said Taylor referring specifically to Beniers. “He's doing a really good job. We count on him a lot, even his face offs, it's working on that with him. He’s thriving. He's a good, really good young player. He's just going to keep getting better.”

“Matty's a very coachable person. That's what I love about him. First and foremost, you have to be very coachable and have a growth mindset. He has that growth mindset. He is very open-minded with me. We have good communication. He shares what he thinks, I share what I think ... To get more offense from him, that's what he wants and he'll create more offense for his line mates as well.”

To this reporter, Beniers looks to be faster this season and shooting more. Taylor didn’t dismiss the observation. He explained why fans might be thinking the same thing.

“He's getting to the spaces better,” said Taylor. “He's cutting his routes better. He's anticipating a lot more. He's transporting the puck very well and using his line mates to create space for them. That's big.

“He's attacking more [with shots at the goal]. He's getting better looks just because of the positions he's putting himself into. With him and Ebs [Jordan Eberle] together for the whole year, it creates that bond and creates that chemistry between the two of them. Ebs has been in this league a long time. He's helping too. We’ve had some line meetings with them, which I think has really helped them out. It's their imagination. It's their skill. How can they manipulate the game a little bit more that they'll create more offense.”

Powering Up the Power Play

The Kraken rank seventh in the NHL in power play success percentage. It’s required time to reach such elite territory. Taylor has been confident in what the Kraken units must do to improve upon seasons past.

“I learned a lot as assistant coach in the American League, running the power play and then New Jersey and coming here,” said Taylor. “It's a big responsibility. I don't take it lightly. There are a lot of coachable, really good players here. It took a long time at the start of the season to keep working at the systems that I wanted to work on. But it's been working out.

“We've put guys in different positions than they were last year. I think they have bonded. It took some time, but they have worked at it ... I look at it like a player that I was. It’s all up to the players to get it done on the ice. Our players have done a great job with it. The growth mindset and coachability is big for any team. But the power play, especially, is about taking in the ideas and talking on their own, making up different plays and moves on the ice. That's what I encourage. They’ve got to take ownership of it's their power play.”

A big change for the power play units is that players have moved to new positions in the five-man configuration.

“We put them in different positions,” said Taylor, “Every day in practice, they've worked at it. They've come a long way with it ... Jared McCann was never on the [left] that is his one-time side. Chandler [Stephenson] never came downhill [toward the net, where he has scored on man-advantage situations this year]. I tried to put all guys in different positions, in different situations, and it's working ... But, again, it’s about the players. You see it on the ice. They're talking each time deciding what they want to do and how they want to do it. They see things on the ice that sometimes you can't really pick up on video or adjust right away in-game.”

When asked what is the most vital part of executing on the power play, which is what the Kraken are achieving this season among the NHL’s best, Taylor is quick and strong to the point. The same way he was as an NHL player and playing for Rochester (the team he coached), including a night when he notched six assists in one game-- which every fan of age in Rochester remembers, believe me, and I have impeccable sources. He was born to play hockey and be a coach. Let’s give Taylor the last word:

“The most important thing of the power play is the structure of it. We have a structure of what we want, the base and then their imagination inside of that. Plus the creativity. I want them to have creativity, but embrace a ‘play fast’ attack mentality. When they recover the puck, how fast can you play to get the guys on the other team out of position? That's the biggest thing.”