Derek Laxdal
Derek Laxdal
Derek Laxdalis a former professional ice hockey right winger. Since 2014 he has been head coach of the AHL Texas Stars. Previously he served as head coach of the WHL Edmonton Oil Kings and the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. Laxdal led the Steelheads to the Kelly Cup championship in the 2006–07 season and won the 2014 Memorial Cup with the Oil Kings...
both front great guy knows pull team
You never know in the playoffs. You may have to pull one guy and put the other guy in. And if the team knows it can play well in front of both guys, it's a great situation.
beat game guys points
I told the guys we'd feel a lot better after the game if we won. ... Right now we're beat up and sick, so we'll take points any way we can.
both competing easier five four guy guys hurt stick sure trying
It makes it easier if you can play both guys. If you get a guy hurt or especially if you get one called up, you know you can stick with a guy for four or five games. Right now, we're just trying to make sure both guys are competing down the stretch.
effort finish great guys kept start
I thought from start to finish the guys put in a great effort tonight. I thought they kept buzzing, buzzing.
game good great guys hard hold lead played
I thought our guys played a great first period. You get a big lead and you play hard and sometimes it's hard to hold on to a big lead. But it will be a good character-building game for us.
guys hard third
The guys battled hard and never quit, they even got more energized in the third period.
battling competition good guys healthy hockey pull within work
You want your goaltenders to be good friends and want to work for each other and pull for each other. Competition is very good within a team, but it has to be the right competition. If two guys are battling and they don't want each other to do well, then it's not healthy for your hockey club.
definitely disrespect good underdog
That said, I don't want to disrespect their record. They're a very good team. We're definitely the underdog, and we'll take that underdog role.
becomes captain contest pick popularity reason training
The reason I pick the captain is a lot of the times it becomes a popularity contest in training camp.
good literally
We literally got outworked in every zone. It was a clear, simple, good ass kicking.
coming good solid sure
We have a big one coming up in Alaska. We've got to make sure we go up there and play solid hockey. It will be a good test.
game great hockey normal playoff taste tonight
There's a great taste of playoff hockey right there. ... Tonight was probably more of a normal game you're going to see out of these two teams.
boys
The boys were all over him for the celebration.
coming dressing game last love
The big thing is, when you're coming to the end of your career, your love of the game intensifies. When you're in the dressing room, there's such a camaraderie. They're you're family. If it is your last year, then that magnifies it.