Lovullo ‘drills down’ with Tocchet

D-Backs manager, Coyotes coach meet, share leadership styles

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has a line for the media whenever he is gathering information. Lovullo calls it “drilling down,” and although it usually applies to getting answers for hungry reporters, it also explains what he was doing at Gila River Arena on Monday.

The full story is that Lovullo met with Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet and veteran TV host Todd Walsh for an upcoming piece to air on Fox Sports Arizona. But Lovullo was there to learn, too.

“It’s a lot of fun for me to cross over into the other sports in this community,” said Lovullo, who is entering his fourth season as Diamondbacks manager. “It’s something that is really important to me. For me personally, I always want to be growing and evolving so it was great to sit down with Rick and pick his

brain and see some of his thoughts and beliefs.”

Tocchet echoed that same sentiment after the Coyotes wrapped practice on Monday, suggesting that coaches can learn from other coaches — even those who work in a different sport.

“We were just talking about certain strategies with players and stuff like that,” Tocchet said of his conversation with Lovullo. “I really enjoy talking with him. He’s got a good presence with him and he’s a good guy. It was good.”

Lovullo said that, as a child growing up in suburban Los Angeles, he often wondered whether coaches mingled with one another. Did Lakers coach Bill Sharman ever cross paths with Kings coach Bob Pulford?

“That was just me being a fan,” Lovullo said, “so I’m sure fans in this community wonder if we talk and get along. I think it’s a way for us to extend ourselves in this community. To know that we’re all aligned, I think the fans would want to know that.”

Coyotes President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka is another individual who relishes any opportunity to learn from coaches or executives from other sports or businesses. Chayka has spoken in the past about the importance of perspective when doing this sort of work.

For Lovullo, it really is as simple as “drilling down” to find as much information as he can regarding his craft. In his conversation with Tocchet, Lovullo said he discovered much of their values are synonymous — despite the differences in the sport itself.

“It can just be a simple conversation where they might not even be that zoned into what they’re saying,” Lovullo said. “It’s just them being themselves, so you get that authenticity and some good feeling about what works inside of their culture and inside of their clubhouse. Rick and I share the same vision about having a culture that is very positive and permits growth for players and staff members.

“But how do you get there? That’s sort of what we talked about and shared. I think it’s defined as a sport, period. Hockey, can you relate it to baseball? Not exactly, but mostly we were just talking about the bigger picture.”

Coyotes goaltender Antti Raanta might want to work in a comic-book deal into his next NHL contract.

Raanta made a spectacular save on Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks in which he, from his belly, lifted his legs behind him and stopped a puck with the blade of his skate.

The style of save, known as the “scorpion” since the goaltender’s legs resemble the stinger of a scorpion, earned Raanta a place on highlight reels everywhere.

Raanta said he had no idea that the save had a scorpion namesake until media made him aware after the game. After all, Raanta has had his run-ins with scorpions in the past; his house was infested during the 2017-18 season, his first in Arizona.

Perhaps Raanta was stung by one of those scorpions and gained the ability to make a scorpion-save?

❚ Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower body) practiced with the team on Monday but was forced off the ice early. He is still day-to-day and is questionable for Tuesday’s game.

❚ Darcy Kuemper (lower body) continues to partially practice with the Coyotes but has not been cleared for a full practice, Tocchet said.

❚ Barrett Hayton (shoulder) is close to being cleared for full contact as he continues to practice with the team, per Tocchet.

❚ Jason Demers (undisclosed) took a maintenance day on Monday but looks to be probable for Tuesday’s game.