Ford Looks Back on "Whirlwind" Time Behind the Bench with the Preds

Scott Ford skated almost 700 regular-season games as a professional hockey player, but he never made it to the NHL - at least not with a stick in hand.
Now behind the bench as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville's AHL affiliate, Ford received his first-career recall to the Predators last week under the most unique of circumstances.

After their game against Calgary last Tuesday was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Flames, the Preds began to deal with their own outbreak a day later, and their coaching staff was not immune. John Hynes, Todd Richards and Dan Lambert were among those Predators coaches who had entered protocol ahead of a Thursday matchup against Colorado. Then, the morning of the game, Nashville's lone assistant with NHL bench experience, Assistant Coach Dan Hinote, also received a positive test.
Nashville needed some help, and along with Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor, Ford answered the call from Milwaukee.
"It's been kind of a whirlwind,"
Ford said on Episode 155 of the Predators Official Podcast
. "What a crazy kind of 72 hours from just getting the call and the opportunity. Obviously, it was COVID related, but being able to come in and help out, both Karl and I, to do what we do and lend a hand to get a couple big wins, it was a dream come true and obviously a great couple days. I mean, I don't even know what day it is. It's still so crazy… I really don't have many words for it. It was really wild, but so fulfilling, and just kind of an unbelievable three days."
Prior to Thursday's 5-2 victory over the Avalanche, Ford and Taylor had never been behind an NHL bench in a regular-season game, but they had some assistance from near and far to make the sudden transition a bit smoother.

Along with Predators Assistant General Manager and Ads GM Scott Nichol, who also took a spot behind the bench on Thursday against Colorado and Friday in Chicago, Ford and Taylor were in communication virtually with Hynes and his staff, and Predators players were also willing to assist in the undertaking. In fact, Ford, who had captained the Admirals toward the end of his playing career before stepping behind the bench six seasons ago, had either played with or coached many on the Predators roster, including Josi.
The combined effort led to successful outings on back-to-back nights, rather remarkable considering the circumstances. Although, when Nashville's now seven-game win streak is taken into consideration with the confidence the team is playing with, perhaps the wins helped by a consummate professional like Ford should have been expected in the first place.
"The Nashville players] are prepared, they had won five straight prior to us coming in, so it's kind of like, 'OK, let's not screw this up now,'" Ford laughed. "[But with Roman], like playing with those guys on the backend and then a bunch of our guys up front when I was playing here in Milwaukee and then coaching a number of them, it is pretty cool how it came full circle… But I just felt the guys played so hard for us, and they obviously want to win, too, but I just thought it was a special moment in that regard, just how it came full circle.
"But the NHL is the NHL for a reason, and it takes some people longer [to get there]. Whether you play in the minors for a number of years, like myself - I treated the minors like my NHL because I never got there - so to be given that opportunity as a coach was pretty special. And the people around me, family and friends and everybody, it was pretty emotional and pretty special."
To hear more from Ford, including additional insight into the games, thoughts on Tanner Jeannot and his niece and nephew cheering him on,
[listen to Episode 155 of the Preds Official Podcast
.