‘You want to play games that really matter’
Canucks coach talks about playoff hopes, managing players and how he loves coming to work
The Canucks are in a playoff chase. They are also hosting the draft this summer.
There are a lot of variables in play as the they enter the final third of the season.
We sat down last week with Canucks head coach Travis Green to take stock of where his team is at and how he is evolving as a coach.
The second-year head coach has been looking for progression from his players, with a focus on whether there is more to them, and whether they can take their skill set to a level that would see them play a role on a contending team, not just an also-ran.
Talent gets players to the NHL. The challenge for any coach is to find out if these players can move beyond being “just” NHL players and become difference makers. Many players don’t realize just how much more they have to give or how much more they are actually physically capable of.
The stars are obvious. It’s the next tier which makes the difference.
Q:
How important are playoffs to the team as a motivational tool?
A:
We talked about playing meaningful games in February and March. We’re doing exactly what we hoped we’d be doing. I don’t have to talk about playoffs. The guys are smart. They can look at the standings. Our players are going to notice, especially our young guys, the temperature of the games is a lot different coming down the stretch.
You want to play games that really matter. The heat’s on you individually, on you as a team. It’s different from when you’re playing those games (near the end of the season) and you don’t have anything to play for. The preparation is different. Your mindset is different, even during a game. If the game matters and something’s on the line, how you react to a pressure situation is different. That’s what you want your young players to go through.
Q:
How does this play from your experience as a player and your development as a coach? Was that understanding always there or did you have to learn that yourself?
A:
You can hear about it all you want, until you actually play in those kind of games, you don’t really know the intensity or the magnitude of the compete level. We talk about the will to win a lot. When you’re playing games that matter, anything, whatever you do in life, you need to give your best. And you find out what your players’ “best” is, because you need your best to win.
At this time of year, if you’re not playing your best hockey, you’re not going to win. We’re going to go through those games, we’re going to learn a lot about our players.
Q:
What have you learned about coaching in the last year and a half?
A:
I get asked that question a lot. You’re always learning and developing. I think it was Mike Babcock who said it, “If you’re not learning, the game is going to go by you.”
The game is constantly changing. Different tactics. We as coaches try to install some different tactics in our team, but you also can’t overload it, because it depends on where your team is and what kind of team you have in terms of compete, skill, whatever it is, you really have to gauge where your team is at.
For me, I think I’ve gotten a little more used to the schedule, the media, the league, other coaches, coaching against other coaches.
I feel like I’m a better coach this year than last year. I hope that I say that for another 20 years.
Q:
Is how the game is evolving a good thing? Obviously it’s different from when you played. It’s even different from five years ago. Is there a danger that it’s moving toward something that’s perhaps too stale?
A:
I don’t think it’s stale this year at all. I think the game is more exciting this year. There’s more skill in the league than there ever has been. I think when you add skill and speed — it is as fast as it’s ever been — it makes it exciting.
You watch the top teams, they’re skilled, they’re fast and they compete. If you don’t have those elements, you can’t win.
Look at Washington last year: They’re fast, they’re skilled, they’re big, they’re strong, they compete, they want to win. The teams in the semifinals, Winnipeg, Vegas, Tampa — fast, skilled, strong. That’s exciting hockey. We talk about their skilled players, they also know how to play in the league. They know how to win a puck battle, how to win a 2-1 hockey game.
Q:
What about the idea of getting not too high, not too low? You talk a lot about that, about how your players need to manage their emotions. Was that something you were good at as a player?
A:
I think it’s something that I’ve learned. Looking back, there were probably times I could have managed that better as a player.
Players are emotional. I think the guys that compete hard and love winning, they wear their emotions on their sleeve a little bit — not everyone, everyone controls it differently — but I think it’s really important given 82 games that you can reset, that you cannot get too high if you’re playing well, not get too low if you’re not. Every game is a new game.
Q:
How do you manage your down time? Or is it hockey 24/7?
A:
Pretty much. Sometimes I’ll send the assistant coaches texts at 1:30 in the morning, if I’ve got something on my mind about our team.
I’m (always) watching hockey. I always have my whole life.
I feel very lucky to be in a game that I love, that I’m doing it for a living. It never feels like I’m working a job, it just feels like I’m getting paid to do something I love. It makes it easy to do it all the time.