Well-travelled Hitchcock retains soft spot for Dallas
It was with Stars in 1995 that he got first head coaching job, writes Jim Matheson.
DALLAS As their dads scurried around the rink after their sons’ morning Oilers skate, you didn’t have to read coach Ken Hitchcock’s mind to know what the head coach was thinking, because he came right out with it.
“They’re my age and that’s a little scary,” said Hitchcock, on the first stop of his coaching reunion tour with St. Louis upcoming Wednesday on the 13th day of his Oilers job. “And when they’re younger than me, that’s really scary.”
Alas, Hitch turns 67 eight days before Christmas so he’s considerably older than most of them. Darnell Nurse’s former pro pass-catcher dad Richard is 51. Matt Benning’s EX-NHL defenceman/father Brian is 52. Such is life in today’s NHL where there are a lot more 23 and 24-yearolds playing than 33 and 34-yearolds give or take the odd guy like Jason Garrison (34) on the Oilers.
“I coached one of these dads (Benning) and I watched Kris’s (Russell) dad all the time. Every time I’d go to an outdoor rodeo, he was the clown. He was the guy fighting the bulls,” said Hitchcock. “I saw Darnell’s father play in the CFL. It’s pretty neat. The scariest part for me going back to Edmonton is I met a player who played midget hockey for me (Sherwood Park) whose grandson played exhibition games in the NHL. That shows how long I’ve been in the damn business.”
Actually, the scariest part of being coach of the Oilers was driving on the highway Sunday to get the charter here with the snow and the ice. It was a white-knuckler for him. Coaching in Dallas, Columbus, Philly and St. Louis in the winter is nothing compared to living in northern Alberta.
Hitchcock, who plans to keep his place here through the winter, stopped by to pick up a few suitcases full of clothes. He’s lost more than 80 pounds on the keto diet and doesn’t have a lot of suits or dress shirts that fit him. But he’ll get by. He’s happy here.
He started his NHL head coaching career in Dallas 22 years ago and won a Cup in 1999, so he’s got a soft spot for this place.
“We loved it here and when you’re here at the starting point, that’s something. We (Stars) started a program that led to minor hockey and led to the building of rinks and a terrific triple-a program,” said Hitchcock. “I’ve got friends in the Western Hockey League who have a number of players from Dallas in their programs.
“It’s not just winning games or championships here. It’s the growth of the game. I think our legacy, the players and the management group from back then is going to a minor hockey rink and seeing it packed.”
In his first go-round as Stars coach, he leaned on Mike Modano and Brett Hull to get them to be two-way players. Last year, Tyler Seguin was his pupil.
“Pushing people is what we do, trying to get them through walls,” Hitchcock said. “But as long as you stick with them, they usually get through those walls.”
The Stars have one of the NHL’S top half dozen lines with Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alex Radulov. The Stars trio has all the ingredients: Seguin’s speed and shot, Benn’s size, toughness and smarts and Radulov’s underrated strength to fight off checkers.
“When they’re dialed in, they don’t just beat you with skill, they beat you with work,” said Hitchcock.