Jagr a fan and mentor of Gaudreau
Flames veteran offering sage advice to young phenom, who is soaking it all in
After talking hockey for most of the day, Calgary Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan snuck away to the hotel gym for a sweat on the elliptical trainer.
And, as it turns out, more hockey talk.
Workout machine and one-of-a-kinder Jaromir Jagr was there, too.
“Of course, you can always find Jags there,” Gulutzan said with a grin, recalling a moment from earlier on this six-game road trip. “He was talking to me about how much he thinks of Johnny (Gaudreau) as a player and his offensive instincts.
“He’s told him that, and he’s talked to him about his mindset going into games and how he has to think like a top guy and want to win and to do well every shift. That’s one of the challenges for high-end players is that they have to will themselves every shift to get something done, so Jags has talked to him at length about those kind of things. He speaks very highly of him. He says he’s got a great seat a lot of nights to watch him play. He really thinks a lot of him.”
Gaudreau has been a go-to guy since his arrival at the Saddledome, but perhaps it’s not a coincidence the 24-year-old left-winger seems to be cruising at a new altitude this fall.
If you’re looking to consult an expert on production at hockey’s highest level, you can’t do much better than Jagr, second on the alltime charts with a mind-boggling 1,920 points (and counting).
The 45-year-old thinks Gaudreau should be a perennial contender for the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer, an award Jagr claimed five times. He told reporters that. He’s told Johnny that more than once.
“It’s pretty special when someone says something like that to you. Because it’s not every day that someone as good as him says something about a player that has only been in the league four years,” said Gaudreau, whose 10game point streak was snapped in Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus, the fourth stop for the Flames on a six-game roadie.
“We’ve talked about a lot of little things that make you a better player day in and day out, whether it’s staying out a little extra on the ice or when you’re not feeling your best that day, you have to push and make sure you get better that day instead of kind of going through the motions. I’ve had a few conversations with him, and they’ve all been pretty good and pretty positive, so hopefully I can keep those little things going, keep picking his brain.”
The Flames enjoyed an off day in Dallas for American Thanksgiving and continue this trek with Friday’s showdown against the Stars at American Airlines Center (7 p.m., Sportsnet Flames/Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
It was in the Big D that Gulutzan first worked with Jagr.
He was in his second season as head coach of the Stars in 2012-13. The long-haired legend was on his roster for most of that lockoutshortened campaign, although he was shipped to Boston at the trade deadline.
With just six months of age difference between them, Gulutzan and Jagr have been reunited in Calgary — one getting his second shot as an NHL bench boss, the other admitting this will likely be the final chapter of one of the most incredible careers in hockey history.
During his brief stint in Dallas, Jagr mentored current captain Jamie Benn and others.
Gulutzan lauded his approach with all of Calgary’s kids, but it’s no surprise he’s taken a shine to Gaudreau, who is third in league scoring with 31 points in just 21 outings.
“(Jagr) is always talking about the mindset of top guys. Even this year, in our conversations, again he’s enlightening me about the mindset of top guys and what top guys need to feel,” Gulutzan said.
“It helps you as a coach when you get these tidbits from some of the top players that have ever played the game. It helps you coach the next generation guys that are coming up because there is a different mindset to being a guy that is relied upon to produce every night, like Jags has for 20-plus, almost 30 years.
“I take away those little nuggets when he tells me what his mindset was when he was at the top and trying to beat the top all the time.”
Johnny seems to be gobbling up those nuggets, too.
The wee winger has always been determined to be a differencemaker. Now, he has the support of a teammate who has been stuffing NHL stat sheets since before he was born.
“I think what Jags is helping Johnny with is clarifying some of those thoughts and what it means. There’s a little deeper meaning for Johnny now, or a deeper focus, than what he had before,” Gulutzan said.
“I think he had the mindset of it before — that’s my opinion, just watching it and being around other top guys — but I think Jags, when you have another top guy who has done it for so long, he’s kind of reinforcing or focusing that mindset.
“It means a lot more coming from him.”
ICE CHIPS
Flames G Eddie Lack was available on the NHL’s waiver wire Thursday. The 29-year-old backup has an ugly stat line — a 1-2-0 record, 5.29 goals-against average and .813 save percentage — in four appearances this season.