Tocchet set for his 1st Coyotes camp as boss
Coach Rick Tocchet is still on the lookout for furniture.
“Gotta find a table for my couch,” he said.
But when it comes to his job as the Coyotes’ bench boss, Tocchet is set for his first training camp at the helm after getting hired in July. So is his message, which underscores the process it’ll take to get the Coyotes primed to compete under the direction of a new voice.
“I’ve learned from experience you just gotta take your time,” Tocchet said. “You can’t do everything at once.”
It’s no secret how Tocchet wants the Coyotes to play; he’s hyped an aggressive, up-tempo style that accentuates the young core’s strengths ever since he signed a four-year contract July 11. But once the team gets on the ice for its first practice Friday after training camp officially opens Thursday, the basics will be stressed before introducing more “outside-of-the-box” strategy, Tocchet said.
Day 1 will focus on defensive-zone coverage and another key tenet of Tocchet’s approach: breakouts – how the Coyotes will transition from their own end up ice to the opponent’s net.
“I’m a big breakout guy,” Tocchet explained. “I think that’s where you get most of your offense. So we’ll spend a lot of time on that early on in training camp.”
During a coaching symposium two weeks ago, Tocchet shared some of his concepts with the Tucson Roadrunners staff, and with the American Hockey League coaches running rookie camp, he hopes the prospects execute a few of those ideas.
But in this primer to training camp, team brass has been careful not to overload players with information.
“I think you give them a couple points and let them play,” he said.
Tocchet traveled to California to watch Arizona’s rookies participate in a three-game rookie tournament against the Ducks, Avalanche and Sharks. He was an observer from the stands inside Gila River Arena during the first day of the camp alongside assistant coaches John MacLean and Scott Allen, watching some prospects play for the first time.
“I love the enthusiasm,“he said. “You go and meet some of these guys, and you can feel there’s a lot of energy and they want to play in the NHL. I love that. I think as a coach, you feed off that stuff. Our staff, it’s a big responsibility. We take it to heart that we’re going to be impactful for them for hopefully the next 18, 20 years.”
After just that first day of on-ice work, a few of the rookies expected to contend for roster spots with the Coyotes – like center Dylan Strome and winger Clayton Keller – already stood out.
“There’s good players out there,” Tocchet said. “Obviously, you look at a Keller and Strome. You look at these players out there, and they’re good players. Obviously with bigger competition as it goes on, you want to see how they do. But so far, I like the skill level – especially those two guys – when you watch them and their compete level.”
But how players operate with the puck isn’t the only criteria Tocchet is monitoring as he evaluates the team’s pipeline.
Work ethic is important, too, as is how these youngsters act between practices and games – for example, how do they treat the trainers?
Not only was Tocchet ushered in amid a rebuild and five-year playoff drought, but he’s taken over on the brink of a new identity for the entire organization.
Former face of the franchise Shane Doan is gone.
So is longtime goalie Mike Smith. And Tocchet’s predecessor Dave Tippett.
Tocchet is implementing a different vision on the ice, but he’s also overseeing a demographic change off it – one that could welcome even more youth to the effort. And both processes start soon. “I like the fact that there’s a lot of young guys,” Tocchet said. “There’s a big pack of them, and there’s growth there. You look at Chicago, they had that young nucleus and they lost early. But then all of a sudden, they just stayed with it. They won three Stanley Cups . ... You keep a young nucleus and from what I’m told, they’re very close. They like hanging together. I like that.”