GUEST APPEARANCE AT CAMP
Wickenheiser tests coaching chops
JASPER Hayley Wickenheiser has done more in hockey than all of the young prospects at Oilers Development Camp combined, but putting on Edmonton’s colours and skating onto the ice as a guest coach still gave her chills.
“I definitely had a bit of a surreal moment,” said the four-time Olympic gold medallist and seven-time world champion after her first day on the job. “This is a team I grew up idolizing as a young player. I grew up loving the Oilers and I watched everything they did as a kid.
“To retire and be back in the game here is a full circle thing.”
The opportunity was head coach Todd McLellan’s idea. When he found out Wickenheiser is interested in pursuing a career behind the bench he was quick to offer a summer internship in Jasper.
It’s just a one-off, there are no plans to make Wickenheiser a full time staffer, but it’s a great learning experience.
“Todd and I were talking after I retired and he asked me if I would be interested in coaching and invited me to the development camp to see what it’s all about,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to be here. So many great coaches. There is a lot of knowledge you can pick up and just being around the team is a lot of fun.”
She said she is already picking up valuable on-the-job training.
“It’s really refreshing. I’m really impressed with the way the coaches communicate. They recognize the difference between a developmental player and a pro player, but their philosophy on the game and how they want the Oilers to play is the way I would want to play the game if I was coaching.
“Coming from Hockey Canada I came from a very detailed, prepared program, so to step into this is similar in a lot of ways. I really like their style, it’s fun to be around.”
Hockey is hockey and coaching is coaching, so Wickenheiser believes it is only a matter of time until women start moving into the ranks of NHL coaching staffs.
“I think for sure we’ll see women in the NHL in a coaching capacity at some point in time. Whoever that would be would have to be competent enough to do it, would have to have the experience and knowledge of the game and also want to be in this environment.
“It’s a different environment and it’s male dominated so you have to be comfortable being around these guys.”
That sounds like Wickenheiser, who admits she would love to work in the NHL one day.
“I think being in hockey is something I want to do at some point. Certainly being around the NHL would be something I’m interested in. I’ve been around it a lot through my career. I’ve been to two (Hockey Canada) development camps and trained with players and been around a lot of coaches so I know the environment. I also know that it’s a lot of work to get there, too.”
Adding Wickenheiser to the Development Camp staff caught the players by surprise, but they are very receptive to the idea.
“It was pretty cool,” said Edmonton-born forward Tyler Benson. “We weren’t expecting it. Just seeing her on the ice, it was good to have her out there.
“She’s won some gold medals, she’s big in the Canadian hockey world. It’s special to have her out there.”
The interaction between prospects and rookie coach has been very smooth. The players have an instant respect for Wickenheiser because of what she’s accomplished in the game and Wickenheiser understands where they’re coming from because she was once a prospect, too. She also has a son their age, so communication isn’t an issue, either.
“I was looking at the roster and these are guys are 17 to 22 years old,” she said. “Well, I live that every day. You can see they’re nervous, they want to do well, they want to make an impact. They want to be respectful. They’ll come up and ask me questions or I’ll go up to them and offer what I can. You just want to make sure you can have that dialogue where they feel comfortable.”