Ken Hitchcock
Ken Hitchcock
Kenneth S. Hitchcock, nicknamed "Hitch", is an NHL hockey coach and pro scout, currently coaching the St. Louis Blues. He has also served as head coach of the NHL's Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He coached the Stars to a Stanley Cup victory in 1999...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth17 December 1951
CityEdmonton, Canada
carries confident guys mike motivated pro reminds younger
We just want the younger guys around confident people. Mike is a guy who doesn't need much direction. He's already motivated -- he reminds you of a 10-year pro the way he carries and handles himself.
absolutely emotion great guys intensity literally played players position raise seen series
I've seen young guys who've played great and I've seen them absolutely overwhelmed. I've seen young players literally in the fetal position during a series because they're overwhelmed by the intensity and the emotion of what's going on. And I've seen guys raise their level.
both counting good guys help players season start
Both guys are going to start the season with us. We are counting on them being good players for us. They are here because they can help us win. They are not here because they are young players.
guys healthy talk
We have to regroup. That's the big thing. We have to get some healthy guys back in the lineup. We have some things we have to talk about from a competitive standpoint.
goals good guys hard players puck reward score
Those are usually a reward for hard work. Good players score those goals. Guys like you and me, the puck would end up in the seats.
couple digging fighting guys lost
We are fighting through a lot of adversity. We lost a couple more guys and guys are digging in.
allowed aside coach ego flourish found friend good great guys loyal man pat people respect role skills wonderful worked
I found him to be a good friend and a great competitor, and one of the most loyal guys I worked with and for. He has wonderful people skills and he allowed everyone to flourish in his respective role ... he put his ego aside to allow that. I respect Pat Quinn the coach and Pat Quinn the man much more.
fear guys love type whatever whether
I don't know whether it's the fear of getting embarrassed or whatever but we've got a lot of competitive guys and we really love to play in these type of games.
build defense eric games great guys join offensive saw six top
We saw 12-14 games where we had our top six guys back there. Our defense on the back end was awesome. When we were healthy, we had a great group. We could defend, we could join the rush, we could be offensive and we could do anything. Getting Joni and Eric back will give us something to build on after the break.
guys monitor year
It's been our year (for injuries). We've had to manufacture and monitor guys all year.
fall guys penalty
It's embarrassing when those two guys fall down (and a penalty is called). That's embarrassing. But that's the way it is.
center gets goals guy man player plays puck seen
When I look at Simon, I see the same player I've seen for two years. But now he plays with a center man who is a playmaker. I see a guy who gets to the puck who never got to it when he was here previously. He gets a lot of goals off the rush, which he never used to get before.
bang change games guys knew locker played rooms switch
We knew they were going to play games for us, but to switch locker rooms before we even played a game, we never even thought about that stuff. We had our 23 guys and we thought that was it, then bang, bang things change dramatically.
guy lose move sudden walk
Yeah, a little bit. Especially where he was with all the skates. But we had to put him through this because we can't move him from non-competitive drills and then all of the sudden walk him into a game, which is real competitive and have him say he can't go. We've had too many of those where we lose a guy after the first period.