Hawryluk can’t wait to meet Quenneville
Forward excited he’ll get to play for legendary coach
The NHL season may still be a few months away, but Jayce Hawryluk is more than ready to get going right now.
“I never enjoy a long offseason,” the Florida Panthers forward said. “I always want to be playing and obviously watching the playoffs this year, it just makes you that much more hungry to get back at it.”
But this season, there is an additional reason for Panthers players to be eager to get back: a new head coach with a championship resume.
Joel Quenneville, the second-winningest coach in NHL history, will be taking the reigns for Florida this year, and expectations among players are already running high.
“I think it’s super exciting for myself and for the whole squad,” Hawryluk said. “Obviously everyone knows what he brings to the table, and he’s a player’s coach. He’s a guy that guys can relate to and they want to play for.”
Quenneville is coming off an impressive run as the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. The team was very successful during his 10-year stint, winning three Stanley Cups in six seasons and making a postseason appearance in nine consecutive years.
“We play the game to win the Stanley Cup,” Hawryluk said. “So when you got a guy that’s got that many Stanley Cups under his belt, you’re obviously gonna listen and you’re gonna do what he says so I think that everyone can see that and I think we’re just looking forward to getting things going.”
A player-centric coach is especially exciting for a younger player like Hawryluk, who is still looking to improve and become more effective as his career progresses.
“I’m looking forward to meeting [Quenneville] in person,” he said. “I’ve talked to him a little bit but I’m looking forward to hearing from him more and just trying to learn from him and become a better player, and I think that’s something he’s gonna be able to help me do.”
Quenneville, who was fired by the Blackhawks after a sluggish start to the 2018-19 season, will certainly have his work cut out for him in Florida. The Panthers have made the playoffs just three times in the last 20 years and have won only 47% of their games since their most recent postseason appearance in 2016. This past season, they went just 36-32-14. But, so far, Quenneville has embraced the challenge.
“It’s Monday, first … practice day going into the playoffs. I want every one of you guys to remember where you’re at right now and remember the feeling that you have today,” he said in a message directed to his players during his introductory news conference. “Next year we want to be right now coming off the ice with our skates on, and we’re preparing for our first-round opponent.”
But despite the recent shortcomings, the Panthers are excited to begin working toward their first successful season in years under a new leader as wellregarded as Quenneville.
“Having a guy like Joel come in with the championship pedigree he has is very, very exciting,” Hawryluk said. “And I’m just looking forward to the season going and meeting him … I can’t wait for September.” Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt tags out the Marlins’ Brian Anderson in the first inning Monday in St Louis.