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.
promise
We will be better, I promise you that.
coach deal everyday fingers fixing great problem quickly spend talked time
We talked this summer, and the one thing I told him is you find out pretty quickly you have to put a lot of fingers in dikes. You spend a great deal of your time just fixing everyday problems. That's kind of what a coach is, a problem solver.
colorado envision players protect scoring worked
I try to envision what worked in Colorado and the thing I know that worked there is that (Forsberg) had scoring players who could also protect the puck,
blow eye eyes problems ruled
His eye was pretty swollen. A concussion has been ruled out, but who's to say when you get a blow like that? He has problems with his vision. His eyes get heavy.
competent develop everybody extra feeling gets good level opportunity players pressure proper skating skill special terrific
He's real impressive. His skill level and his skating level are incredible. I think that he's a special player, but I don't think there is much extra pressure on him right now. I think right now he's able to find his own level because we are competent back there. We have good players back there so he's going to be able to develop at the proper pace. But when you have a player who is that strong, everybody gets excited. And I think we are all feeling like this is a terrific opportunity for him and the franchise.
checking game learn protect shut
When we protect a lead, what we still have to learn to do better is checking for 60 minutes. Sometimes we let up and we need to learn how to shut a game down.
game protect puck
We didn't protect the puck when the game was on the line, and that's disappointing.
decision difficult easier ground hard playing proving team win
I think the proving ground is when we play this way, we have success. It's a hard way to play. It's difficult and very demanding. The decision you have to make as a team is do you want to play this way and win or do you want to find an easier way to play and take your chances? They like playing and winning.
flashes looking needs players playoffs pro start stepping third year
He needs to have a big year. It's his third year pro and that's usually when players start stepping ahead. He showed flashes in the (Calder Cup) playoffs and now all we're looking for is consistency.
biggest fans goal stands sure
I'm sure the fans in the stands were, 'Oh no, here we go again. I think for us, that was the biggest goal of the series.
change guy job three
I know a guy like Simmer, he could do the same job as two or three other guys, but it's working right now. I don't want to change it if it's working.
good happens hockey next playing start trying waiting weekend whatever
I know about playing back-to-backs, and they're up there waiting for us. Whatever happens in that game, if we play the right way, we'll feel good about it. You don't want to start next weekend trying to find your hockey game.
dealing eight fire game giving good level penalties period rules seven team third took
It's still not good enough. We know the rules and we took two penalties in the third period that we can't take, not when the game is on the line. You're just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight penalties.