Flames turning to outside inspiration
Gulutzan tries to harness competitive spirit of his charges by showing how the greats did it
You never know who will show up for the Calgary Flames’ daily video sessions. On the screen, that is. From slam-dunking stars to homer-hitting heroes, gridiron greats to business tycoons, one of Glen Gulutzan’s go-to tactics is to mix in motivational clips from those with a track record of success.
“Obviously, the best ones are when you see champions like (Bill) Belichick and (Tom) Brady and Michael Jordan. We have Steph Curry. We have Muhammad Ali. All those guys … ” Gulutzan, a former Canucks assistant coach, explained.
“There’s a common theme in a lot of those, whether it be Belichick or Pete Carroll, or whether it’s what Jordan is saying or what the Blue Jays were saying about what they value in their organization or the business guys that we show the little excerpts of what they say. There is a lot of overlap, right? Get the right people on the bus. Get the character. Work ethic. Focus.
“Jordan has a great little piece on practice and how he practised. He was notorious, famous, for lots of things, including his practice habits — the way he competed in practice and made other guys compete, challenged guys in practice to be better.”
Jordan, on that particular day, was not the only Basketball Hall-of-Famer to make a cameo appearance — a clip of an old interview — in the Flames’ video room.
To hammer home the point, Gulutzan followed up with footage of Allen Iverson’s infamous rant — ‘We talkin’ about practice?!?’
Jordan, of course, led the Chicago Bulls to six championships.
For all his individual accolades, Iverson retired without a ring.
“You kind of collect those bits and pieces and just try to make it a little bit more interesting — your video sessions — and captivate their attention maybe before you start to show them clips. And then those clips have more meaning,” Gulutzan said. “We meet every game day. We meet every non-game day. We show video every day. That can get monotonous, so it’s nice to have a little bit of something different in there just to get the guys’ attention.” It has, by all accounts, done that. “I think the important thing, at least from my perspective, is the guys that he shows us clips of, they’ve succeeded at the highest level of their sport,” said Flames rookie defenceman Brett Kulak. “And I think coming from them and seeing what it takes from them and hearing it firsthand from guys like that in the video, it really grabs everyone in the room. I think it’s really helpful for us.”
“It gives you an outside perspective,” added alternate captain Troy Brouwer. “Sometimes, you feel like you’re isolated in the dressing room and the only one who is talking is your head coach or the only ones trying to give motivational talks are the coaches or the older guys.”
Gulutzan’s catalogue of video clips dates back to his six-year stint with the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers and continued to grow during two winters as head coach in Dallas, which happens to be the next stop for the Flames as they open a two-game trip Tuesday against the Stars at American Airlines Center. But he really beefed up the collection while working with Willie Desjardins and longtime assistant Perry Pearn in Vancouver.
Anytime Gulutzan is watching highlights shows or ESPN’s superb 30 For 30 series, he’s on the lookout for future material.
Other staffers at the Saddledome have started showing up with their own suggestions.
What’s fascinating is when you ask around the locker-room, you’ll hear different answers about which video ‘visitor’ resonated the most.
Two-way winger Michael Frolik, for example, mentioned the message of Brady, the New England Patriots superstar and three-time Super Bowl MVP who made more history Sunday, surpassing Peyton Manning’s record for the most victories — regular-season and playoff — by an NFL quarterback, with 201.
“He was talking about what his team means to him and that he can’t do anything without his teammates,” Frolik said. “I think that was kind of the message, too, that the team is kind of family and that you can’t do anything by yourself. So that’s the video that kind of stands out in my mind.”
Flames goalie Brian Elliott, meanwhile, was especially struck by the words of Brady’s sideline boss, owner of a half-dozen Super Bowl rings.
“I think the one that sticks out is Belichick, about being happy for your teammates and being excited to play,” Elliott said. “That excitement is what gets you through those tough times, when you’re in the trenches.”
If the 45-year-old head coach is worried his group is too flustered or frustrated, he might simply show a knee-slapper.
“I don’t think every video will strike a chord with every guy. I never go into it thinking that way,” Gulutzan said. “But I know some of them will strike chords with different guys.
“You’re just trying to always, bit by bit, move the pieces of your 23-man ahead.”