Post by Otis B. Driftwood on Sept 3, 2017 10:20:52 GMT -5
Exclusive Q&A: Stars' Ken Hitchcock on Martin Hanzal/Jason Spezza logjam, carrying eight defensemen
Ken Hitchcock was hired in April to become the Stars' next head coach. Hitchcock already is the all-time franchise leader in coaching wins and led them to the 1999 Stanley Cup championship, so this is a return engagement. However, he has been gone a long time after being fired in 2002, coaching the Flyers, Blue Jackets and Blues, so he comes back as a different person and coach at age 65. Hitchcock is getting ready for training camp and staff writer Mike Heika caught up with him this week in Frisco:
Q: You have a new coaching staff with Rick Wilson, Curt Fraser and Stu Barnes. How important is it to get on the same page with assistants before camp starts?
Hitchcock: We met today to go over every session on the ice until the start of the regular season. But you have to go over that every day too, because you have a new staff and new responsibilities and everybody has to know what they are supposed to be doing. We don't want to be surprised.
Q: Is it fun to come up with your strategy?
Hitchcock: This is the best time for coaches, because you're not preparing for an opponent, you're simply preparing your own team. This is the most fun time to be a coach, because you're focused on how can you be the best team you can be. You're not worried about two points, you're worried about getting the most out of the players you have.
Q: It seems like that's been your philosophy throughout your career...you seem like a coach who believes if your team plays well, then the opponent has to make adjustments.
Hitchcock: I think it's complicated, and you do have to worry about the other team and what they're doing. But I do like to think if we concentrate on what we do well, and if we do it right, it doesn't matter who we play. Two weeks into the schedule, every game plan sounds the same, so the biggest assessment is are we doing our best, are we playing our game?
Q: So how do you do that?
Hitchcock: Right now, we're building a relationship with the players. There's no stress, there's no heat of the battle, so now is the perfect time to just sit down and talk with each player. The big thing for us is to let each player know what is going to happen in training camp, in exhibition games, what we're looking for in them and what they can expect from us. We want them to be comfortable, so they can just go out and play. If we are all on the same page, then there are no surprises later. Whatever emotion they have to deal with, they deal with now.
Q: You and Rick Wilson coached together in Dallas back in the day and then Rick joined you in St. Louis last season. How important is your relationship with him and what can he bring to the Stars?
Hitchcock: I need to have a guy who I can just let go. The trust is there, so I can focus on other areas. Rick has a group of defensemen and the penalty killing, and I don't have to worry about it. We obviously discuss how it all fits together, but he takes charge of that group, and that works very well for me. Getting back with Rick last year was a really great experience, because he really embraced a lot of the things that we were doing (in St. Louis) and he adopted them. I think we're definitely on the same page going forward.
Q: What is your history with Curt Fraser? What will his role be?
Hitchcock: I know a lot of people who have worked with him, and we're getting to really know each other now. He's going to be very important. He's going to be the extension of me for day-to-day meetings with the players. He's going to be addressing the entire team a lot, and that will be a change for him. He will have the game plan and he will spend a lot of time talking to the players and prepping the team, so we have spent a lot of time together so that he knows how I think and what I want. This is a completely different role for him, because he is going to have the perspective of looking at things from up top (in the press box during the game), and then he will come down and tell me what he sees. So he needs to know what I'm looking for and what can help me, like maybe it would be good to flip these two wingers, or maybe it would be good to make this personnel adjustment. That's critical to me.
Q: What will be the role of Stu Barnes?
Hitchcock: Curt has transferred the power play over to Stu, so Stu is going to work a lot with the top end players. I think that's going to go beyond the power play and it's going to lead to Stu having a very strong relationship with the highly skilled players.
Q: But you will have the biggest say in how the power play runs? It's what you have done in your career, and you've been very good at it.
Hitchcock: It's going to be the way I want to do things, and Stu will play a big role in delivering the message. But, yes, I will play a big role.
Q: What do you think of the personnel for the power play?
Hitchcock: We have great players, and there is some strategy we have to look at in how we're going to use those players, but to me my job is accountability. My job is work ethic, determination, grit, togetherness. Stu understands how I think, and a lot of what has been done here before is similar to what I do. (former coach) Lindy (Ruff) and I both believe in how things were done on the Olympic team, so there are a lot of similarities to how we do things on the power play. But I will concentrate on big picture stuff and a lot on accountability. That's my job.
Q: Some fans are not pleased with the drop pass on the power play. What is your feeling?
Hitchcock: This team is one of the best in the league at it, and their entries are very good. This team has a unique situation in you have several players who are able to bring the puck up by themselves. That way you can use one or two players to skate the puck up, and that is very effective. They've been one of the best in the league, so why change it? It's a major strength of this team, that drop pass.
Q: How do you see Martin Hanzal and Jason Spezza in regards to the center position?
Hitchcock: To me, Hanzal is a center. The role Jason will have is a split duty role, and if I play Spezza on the wing, it will be a left wing. Jason will play a lot of center and some wing. We need to start with the puck, so he's definitely going to be taking draws on his strong side.
Q: So will Spezza and Hanzal play on the same line?
Hitchcock: Probably not. You could see Faksa on a line with Hanzal. I think those two could fit well together.
Q: How good could this team be at faceoffs?
Hitchcock: We could be very good. This team was third in the league in players winning draws on their natural side, and we're going to use that aspect. We should have situations where we have a lefty and a righty, and that should help us. You have to start with the puck, so faceoffs will be really important to us.
Q: How do you feel about carrying eight defensemen?
Hitchcock: We will have a lot of tryouts in exhibition games. Once we decide on the six who are going to start, we'll stick with it. If you're not in there and they're playing well, you have to wait your turn. Both Rick and I are firm on the fact we don't want to use the rotation. We don't think that's the right way to do things. Now whether we carry seven or eight is irrelevant for me, what is relevant is if we're happy with the six, they're staying in there. That's competition, and if you're out, you have to get yourself ready and you have to be ready when your turn comes. That's pretty much it. It's all about the team and winning.
Q: What is your vision of how you end your coaching career with the Dallas Stars? Your contract is open-ended and you will become a consultant with the Stars when you retire, so do you have a big plan?
Hitchcock: My vision is this is the organization I started with and this is the organization I want to end with, so I'm here long-term (after the coaching career is over). I want to coach as long as I know I can build a team. My view of myself is not based on wins and losses, my view of myself is can I build a great team, a team that can come together and reach its potential? My gauge is do I have the ability to build the team, and I'll know whether it's working or it's not.
Mike Heika - Dallas Morning News
Q: You have a new coaching staff with Rick Wilson, Curt Fraser and Stu Barnes. How important is it to get on the same page with assistants before camp starts?
Hitchcock: We met today to go over every session on the ice until the start of the regular season. But you have to go over that every day too, because you have a new staff and new responsibilities and everybody has to know what they are supposed to be doing. We don't want to be surprised.
Q: Is it fun to come up with your strategy?
Hitchcock: This is the best time for coaches, because you're not preparing for an opponent, you're simply preparing your own team. This is the most fun time to be a coach, because you're focused on how can you be the best team you can be. You're not worried about two points, you're worried about getting the most out of the players you have.
Q: It seems like that's been your philosophy throughout your career...you seem like a coach who believes if your team plays well, then the opponent has to make adjustments.
Hitchcock: I think it's complicated, and you do have to worry about the other team and what they're doing. But I do like to think if we concentrate on what we do well, and if we do it right, it doesn't matter who we play. Two weeks into the schedule, every game plan sounds the same, so the biggest assessment is are we doing our best, are we playing our game?
Q: So how do you do that?
Hitchcock: Right now, we're building a relationship with the players. There's no stress, there's no heat of the battle, so now is the perfect time to just sit down and talk with each player. The big thing for us is to let each player know what is going to happen in training camp, in exhibition games, what we're looking for in them and what they can expect from us. We want them to be comfortable, so they can just go out and play. If we are all on the same page, then there are no surprises later. Whatever emotion they have to deal with, they deal with now.
Q: You and Rick Wilson coached together in Dallas back in the day and then Rick joined you in St. Louis last season. How important is your relationship with him and what can he bring to the Stars?
Hitchcock: I need to have a guy who I can just let go. The trust is there, so I can focus on other areas. Rick has a group of defensemen and the penalty killing, and I don't have to worry about it. We obviously discuss how it all fits together, but he takes charge of that group, and that works very well for me. Getting back with Rick last year was a really great experience, because he really embraced a lot of the things that we were doing (in St. Louis) and he adopted them. I think we're definitely on the same page going forward.
Q: What is your history with Curt Fraser? What will his role be?
Hitchcock: I know a lot of people who have worked with him, and we're getting to really know each other now. He's going to be very important. He's going to be the extension of me for day-to-day meetings with the players. He's going to be addressing the entire team a lot, and that will be a change for him. He will have the game plan and he will spend a lot of time talking to the players and prepping the team, so we have spent a lot of time together so that he knows how I think and what I want. This is a completely different role for him, because he is going to have the perspective of looking at things from up top (in the press box during the game), and then he will come down and tell me what he sees. So he needs to know what I'm looking for and what can help me, like maybe it would be good to flip these two wingers, or maybe it would be good to make this personnel adjustment. That's critical to me.
Q: What will be the role of Stu Barnes?
Hitchcock: Curt has transferred the power play over to Stu, so Stu is going to work a lot with the top end players. I think that's going to go beyond the power play and it's going to lead to Stu having a very strong relationship with the highly skilled players.
Q: But you will have the biggest say in how the power play runs? It's what you have done in your career, and you've been very good at it.
Hitchcock: It's going to be the way I want to do things, and Stu will play a big role in delivering the message. But, yes, I will play a big role.
Q: What do you think of the personnel for the power play?
Hitchcock: We have great players, and there is some strategy we have to look at in how we're going to use those players, but to me my job is accountability. My job is work ethic, determination, grit, togetherness. Stu understands how I think, and a lot of what has been done here before is similar to what I do. (former coach) Lindy (Ruff) and I both believe in how things were done on the Olympic team, so there are a lot of similarities to how we do things on the power play. But I will concentrate on big picture stuff and a lot on accountability. That's my job.
Q: Some fans are not pleased with the drop pass on the power play. What is your feeling?
Hitchcock: This team is one of the best in the league at it, and their entries are very good. This team has a unique situation in you have several players who are able to bring the puck up by themselves. That way you can use one or two players to skate the puck up, and that is very effective. They've been one of the best in the league, so why change it? It's a major strength of this team, that drop pass.
Q: How do you see Martin Hanzal and Jason Spezza in regards to the center position?
Hitchcock: To me, Hanzal is a center. The role Jason will have is a split duty role, and if I play Spezza on the wing, it will be a left wing. Jason will play a lot of center and some wing. We need to start with the puck, so he's definitely going to be taking draws on his strong side.
Q: So will Spezza and Hanzal play on the same line?
Hitchcock: Probably not. You could see Faksa on a line with Hanzal. I think those two could fit well together.
Q: How good could this team be at faceoffs?
Hitchcock: We could be very good. This team was third in the league in players winning draws on their natural side, and we're going to use that aspect. We should have situations where we have a lefty and a righty, and that should help us. You have to start with the puck, so faceoffs will be really important to us.
Q: How do you feel about carrying eight defensemen?
Hitchcock: We will have a lot of tryouts in exhibition games. Once we decide on the six who are going to start, we'll stick with it. If you're not in there and they're playing well, you have to wait your turn. Both Rick and I are firm on the fact we don't want to use the rotation. We don't think that's the right way to do things. Now whether we carry seven or eight is irrelevant for me, what is relevant is if we're happy with the six, they're staying in there. That's competition, and if you're out, you have to get yourself ready and you have to be ready when your turn comes. That's pretty much it. It's all about the team and winning.
Q: What is your vision of how you end your coaching career with the Dallas Stars? Your contract is open-ended and you will become a consultant with the Stars when you retire, so do you have a big plan?
Hitchcock: My vision is this is the organization I started with and this is the organization I want to end with, so I'm here long-term (after the coaching career is over). I want to coach as long as I know I can build a team. My view of myself is not based on wins and losses, my view of myself is can I build a great team, a team that can come together and reach its potential? My gauge is do I have the ability to build the team, and I'll know whether it's working or it's not.
Mike Heika - Dallas Morning News
