Coaching Connor McDavid w/ Jay Woodcroft | 32 Thoughts Pop-Up Edition

Fire, how are you? Okay, cameras, okay, so Jay, first of all, thank you so much for doing this. Second, we're doing this interview the day after your Edmonton Oilers did something no one does in the NHL, come from behind and win. the Boston Bruins a third period come from behind victory in the details of you and the Oilers and everything, but how did you do it? because no one else does, yeah, well, it's our players, sure, I thought, I thought, I thought we started the game very well, very. Well, I executed the game plan that we wanted to execute and they came, got us one, but what I really enjoyed was our perseverance, our level of persistence, we just stuck to our game plan.

Something else happened at the end of the first period where we gave up a goal in less than a second was atypical for us and, you know, I think I walked into the room after that first period and it was just about understanding the challenge that we had before us. We could cut that game in half, which means if we could find the next goal we would be in a good place. Sure enough, we did it in the second period and then we stuck with it. We made an adjustment here and an adjustment there, but um.

In all honesty, that's what we hope to do. The Boston Bruins are not TD Bank Garden or whatever it's called, they're in Boston or they're not. For us it's about, you know, a standard that we play towards and when we do that, we believe that You're a tough team to beat and last night we were, that's one of the things I want to ask you a little bit more about in a few minutes. , but your group, they went to the stands and said what is the last initial file of the Stanley Cup. year in the Western Conference finals, yes, and I don't want to say that it seems like a joyless season because I don't think that's true, but when I watch the others play against Jay I see a team that is not interested in anything else besides beating where they were last year like you saw mcdave the nice score his 50th goal.

He doesn't want to talk about scoring 50. And I like it. I look at your group and say it's all business, all business, yes, I would say. um, you know, internally we have a little bit of fun together, you know, it may not be something that we advertise or we wouldn't do it, um, but I would say that, for us, the joy is in the journey, um, and for me, um , you know what we want. We have to do better than last year, but the first hurdle you have to overcome is getting to the playoffs and the 82 games of the NHL schedule, not everything is going to be perfect, so what we're trying to do.

We are trying to capture moments that happen within the season that help us with our ultimate goal, but we still have to move forward in the regular season and for us it has not been an easy season, there have been some moments where we have played in Short alone because of the implications of the salary cap. We've lost some people you know up front at the beginning of the year, which really affected some of the things we were trying to do. what do I want to say with that? You know, we went many times. With 11 forwards on seven defenders we were doing what we had to do to earn points and stay afloat in some sort of divisional race.

We've made a real step, I think since Christmas. And there have been a lot of positive stories within our year, but ultimately what we're trying to do is prepare for game number 83 and that's our focus, but we have to get to game number 83 before you can worry about winning that first game. in the playoffs. or winning the first round of the playoffs, you need to make sure you capture certain moments within the year that will set you up for a long playoff run. You know, Elliot talked about how you know the team and you look determined and focused, we see it all. about that about Conor McDavid, I know you referenced the 50 goals and I don't want to talk about that and like it's for everyone else, we've said it before on the podcast, it gets scary like he's at the next level just when you think which is okay, he's not in Gears anymore, there's another one and we've all seen a lot of Conor, like here in Toronto where we're doing this, a lot of people saw him play with the Marlies before in York Simcoe or he played with the Erie Otters throughout This is the most intense and concentrated thing we have ever seen.

Connor McDavid, what does the coach think? I'm impressed. You know something he would say just about the ice side of things that we can't be numb to? to what we're witnessing here um this is a historic season in this um this type of hockey that's being played by this generation um you know, usually when we get to a different city the only thing the local media wants to talk about is Connor and um, you know something I said earlier in the year and I wish I could attribute it to where I heard it, but I heard someone talk about someone at the top of their game or at the top of their field and the way they equated it was um, you know.

It's like being at the foot of Everest. Sometimes you become numb to the brightness of what you're seeing and what I mean by that is you know you walk out the door, you look up and there's a beautiful mountain. Well, you do that for several years, sometimes you take it for granted. I don't think we should take for granted what we're seeing from not only the best hockey player in the world but one of the best athletes in the world right now. On the hockey side, his season is really spectacular in leadership, you know, the growth of him as a captain.

What I know on a day-to-day basis is seeing someone truly sacrifice to be the best at their craft. and I've seen him take a step on the leadership side and what I mean by that is that it's no longer just about setting an example, it's about holding people to a certain standard and, you know, I'm fortunate to be able to get it.

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the best player in the world can give us an example, obviously, have you seen it any other way? um, you know, I think if there's something that happens in the play, um, where maybe in the past, we would talk about it, uh, the next day or between periods, he's not afraid to nip things in the bud, whether it's with a teammate, whether it's something he feels on a special team, something like that, he's not afraid to express his opinion and I think that's part of it intellectually and emotionally. maturing, but I think he's really maturing into the role of Captain.

I think that playoff run last year whetted his appetite and he realizes that for our team to take the next step, a lot of it comes down to how he plays. and what he values ​​as a player, but the leadership side is more than impressive. You know, one of the things is so fascinating to me because one of the things and I think what you're referring to here Ellie and I have talked about this. Before, with great athletes, specifically, one of the hardest things to do is have the talent to manage your talent, like there is talent and then be able to manage that talent.

Talent is what you mean with McDavid, we've seen players, oh you. I know I'm going through what I'm going to do, you know, try hard and work hard, work hard, I can work on polish and polish and polish, you know, hit the sword, hit the sword, hit the sword, but be able to manage your life, your skill, your profession, your craft is like that, it is its own Talent, yes, and you are looking at McDavid, if I am reading you, yes, I see it for sure, it is someone who wakes up in the morning, it is motivated to be the best, it can be yours, yours.

The decisions that he makes and the sacrifices that he makes to be the best that he can be are, um, you know, it's beyond impressive. What I'm seeing now as a leader of our team is that he's holding people to a certain standard to where the standard is our standard and if we don't live up to it he's not afraid to, um, you know, make sure that people listen to his displeasure and he's not someone who's going after anyone or anything like that, but it's with the ultimate goal of thinking about us, uh, being the best we can, playing towards our potential, he's not afraid to coming to the

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staff if you feel something, um, for me, I love seeing that as a coach and like I said, it's beyond impressive what he coaches.

J Woodcroft beeps Conor McDavid for uh why am I beeping him? I know sometimes, you know, it might be better if he had played 24 minutes the night before, it might be better if he maybe sat out a little bit, but he's such a good leader that I think when he chooses to skate in certain situations it all comes down to him. it shows the team that he's willing to do that for the team, um, but I don't think too much of it because I remember Bruce Boudreau telling a story about the first time he was hired in Washington, the first time he had to do.

Alexander Ovechkin, the star of the film session that day, yes, and he said he went to see Ovechkin first and said you'll get him today. Have you ever done that with McDavid? Yes, and I would say this happens quite often and that's the job. of the coaches to provide leadership, you know, in that sense, to ensure that everyone is held accountable. I think Connor would love that. I think we have to give our best players, you know, things that they can sink their teeth into and that they can help. Let them be the best they can be, that has been my experience.

I've been around a lot of really good players over time and in my experience, the best players in the world want to be guided and that's what I'm here for. Are Conor and Leon different in the way they have to be trained or managed? Yes, I think Leon, first of all, is the son of a coach and is someone who has been in that world longer. He gets to the range early, you know he has certain patterns that he follows. I think what's similar about both is they have Elite hockey set up like off the charts Elite hockey, they feel like they understand the patterns in the game, they understand the way the game is being played which teams are having the most success why they're having it uh They both crave information that will help them be the best they can be but their different personality types um they are different presences um you know, I think uh in the end, they are both great friends because they are different, they are not the same, let's turn to the dry south.

You want to go back to McDavid in a couple seconds, but I'm putting you on the spot because you've been around both who scores better from the red line Leon dry Seidel or Joe Thornton from the red line you're from the goal line oh you're talking about when yeah, when they fall down there uh, the first thing I thought you were talking about Central ice too, yeah, you know what I think. I would say it's such a unique place to score goals, but sometimes also the best players in the world find ice that others don't, so it's in response to maybe how they are. being defended in certain situations, I would say, you know, jumbo, uh, jumbo was and they're both elite passers, but, um, Leon probably scores from that spot a little easier than jumbo would have, for um, We were all surprised by Leon last year in the playoffs, yeah, this is one of the best playoff performances I think we've all seen and you know you agree with that, that's obvious, we see it from the point of view of a fan. see through the eyes of a fan you coach Leon dry settlement you know hockey you played you've coached what impresses you like what we're missing say guys guys here's why the dry cycle is great yeah well I'd go back to that series of playoffs pain tolerance that he played with and not only played, but played at such a high level, yeah, I mean both him and Connor destroyed three different teams offensively, you know, the numbers they put up were incredible and, for um, that Leon did it.

That on a leg, uh, it's incredible. I thought what we learned about Leon was that he found a new way under a special circumstance, meaning that, given his injury, there were certain things he could do on the ice, there were certain things he couldn't do. On the ice we changed his position largely because of that, but dealing with the pain and finding a new way, he still found a way to have an effect and help. Driving our team forward, I go back, you know, to this year's hockey. You feel like you know the goal he scored the other day when he put the goal back on his peg against Winnipeg and then found a hole in this big um, you know from an almost impossible angle that the goal doesn't happen unless he has the sense of hockey in the media to understand that that Peg had to be put back in the Mooring or whatever, let me, uh, that's brilliant, let me go back to the playoffs, how close were you, if ever, to say Leon, can't I leave you?

Come back there, I'll tell you a funny story about that. I don't know how funny it is, but what happened is we were playing for our lives in the playoffs in game six against Los Angeles and there was a scrum they throw him down from behind uh hertz's uh you know, an injury to the bottom of the body has a lower body injury a year later we can say what you can do now even though it wasn't a press release but you can I can say it right so yeah but he hurt his ankle come back to the bench and yeah, like he knew something was happening and the play had continued, there was some kind of timeout for the television, at the end of the period and him and I was uh coach comes up to me and they both say what are we going to bring it back and we evaluate it.

I said well, just leave it, leave it, don't show the cameras that he's leaving the bank for this reason oranything else and he looked at me and said if I do it I'll come back in the second period. I said, well, see you later and so he did it and he played the rest of it. um the rest of that game, but um man I mean the pain threshold to be able to do what he did was incredible. I think what we tried to do from that point on was manage, you know, what we were asking him to do between games or between series um but what he did was incredible and you talk about the effect that that has on the entire organization if you're Ryan McLeod and you're seeing Leon Dreisset will play with that kind of pain um you know, I think uh that goes way beyond me saying something because he witnesses it, you know, and Leon's not the only guy who plays with it. pain.

Vander Kane, yeah, he's done an incredible job handling some things and, you know, coming back so early from a horrible situation. Injury. I would also say that the only thing about my David that no one talks about is how tough a player he is, the abuse he receives and how physical he is with his body. It's amazing what these guys go through and you know. I'm grateful that we have players of that caliber and that character on our team. I want to talk about you, for sure, on February 10 of last year 2022. Tell us about that day, when did you receive the call?

Who did you call first? What was your reaction? Yes, I received the call very early in the morning. I'm usually an early riser, so I go to work very early. Our staff was there to take the call. If you're in your office, yeah, did you have any idea what it was? coming no um it's not something I thought about I was worried about my own team uh our team at the time in Bakersfield was going through a covid crisis we had games where it was just me on the bench or me and a goalie coach on the bank we're losing people day by day to covet was hitting us at the time but we were finding ways to win games um and uh you know that's the call that makes it all worth it all the sacrifice uh your family sacrifice all the years that You've been in an arena, you know, it was everything you ever want, but I also knew some things and I knew that the challenge ahead of me was going to be big, but I felt ready and I can do it.

Don't stress enough, you know from my life experience growing up in the family, which I have, from my work experience, starting in Detroit, going through San Jose, working in Edmonton for the first time and working with and for some hockey mines really cool. and then making the decision to go to Bakersfield and become a head coach on my own and work with our own staff there, all of that left me feeling like I was ready when they tapped me on the shoulder that day, it happened very early. The morning I called my wife and told her this was happening.

I told him he might keep the kids home and not go to school. My wife was a substitute teacher at her school. She said no, I'm teaching today. I can't, I can't do that and what's it called? My wife's name is Jackie, who ironically is from Edmonton, yeah, and um, so I said goodbye on the phone, I went home, I packed my things, I had to get tested so I could get on a plane, um, I called to some people who were there. It was special for me to let them know so they knew about me before the news broke.

Both Dave Manson and I got together, that was important to me because Dave has been what I call my left tackle since he was the head coach in Bakersfield and we came together. I didn't really have a moment to think about the challenge and what I was going to say to our team and the media until the door closed, you know, on the plane because I knew I had three hours then from Los Angeles to Edmonton um landing in Edmonton um take a car to our hotel there I had a meeting that night it was late at night I wanted to hear from the people who were still on the coaching staff about their

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on where the team was and what they were seeing I wanted to take the temperature of some things once I did it, I fell asleep I got up in the morning I addressed the team before a quick practice I addressed the media and at that moment I really felt I was addressing our fan base to try to come up with a plan that you know we could continue and that would help us have a little success.

We went and played a game against the New York Islanders, we found a way to win that game and and the rest is history, you know, I talked to a couple of people in the last few days, or you know mostly players that you played with growing up, ya whether you know Markham Aurora, several minor professional teams and one of the questions I asked if you ever thought Jay would be a coach and everyone said at the time no, but when I look back, yes, you were the all-in 24 , 7 in the hockey group, collecting hockey cards, watching hockey games, studying other teams. like you were that guy and almost every person said it should have been obvious to me that this guy was going to be a coach one day, when did it first get into your brain that maybe I can coach one day?

Well, that's a great compliment. Whoever they were talking about as a couple, yeah, and you know it, it's because part of what they were basically saying was that we didn't think they were smart enough back then, but we probably should have realized, yeah, or maybe their brain 10 years he didn't do it. Think about that, but for me, you know, I'm the youngest of three kids. Everyone is involved in hockey. I was someone who considered himself a student of the game. I enjoyed watching my brother play and watching them practice and discover some things. things along the way I think when I knew he was going to make me a coach.

He was a product of the Toronto school hockey system. I remember taking power skating lessons at Larry Mars and I'm still friends with yes, yes, the instructor was someone named Spence Curtin, who is still involved in minor hockey to this day here in Toronto, and they were people of the What I learned and who I admired. I think you know when I actually went to hockey school. Seneca College Hockey School. I know in Toronto, here at Seneca College, yes, it was coached by Vern Buffy and they had a great way of attracting the best young players from Toronto.

They would allow them to work as instructors and pass on their passion for the game. The next generation of players and I went to those schools and I looked up to guys like Adam Graves and Steve Spot and eventually Steve Spot took over that program at Seneca College and when I was 13 or 14 I started working. there and I learned a lot of valuable lessons working there over the summer, one of them was how to behave around older players, you know, and understanding the culture of hockey in terms of work ethic and rewarding things by passing on your passion to the younger players still.

I have bruises from all the skates I laced up that first summer, but as I got a little older, I was trusted to lead groups and now all of a sudden you have to figure out, how am I doing? The best thing we're going to do is use our time on the ice to give these kids something to really make them better and you know, even as a player while I was coming up, you know, my own career, I still really enjoyed those summer times because , you know, you're trying to solve problems and find solutions to things and I would say that's where the seeds of coaching started, so what was your big break?

Great opportunity um Born into the Woodcroft family number one uh they won the lottery two great parents uh uh two great brothers, I won the lottery with my own family now with my jockey wife and our two children. um, you know, I would say professionally speaking when I was, you know, I had done some things professionally where I got a college degree. education, so I got something in return for all those hours of hard work, you know, I played in the minors, I was playing in Europe and it was during the 2004 lockout and Mike Babcock had lost someone on his coaching staff and I wanted to know if I wanted to talk to him about the possibility of joining his coaching staff and at the time I was in Anaheim and Greg Carvel had moved to Ottawa and is now a great coach in his own right, but Mike, I had a long conversation about the closure bosses ended up lasting all year.

Mike went to the Detroit Red Wings, we stayed in touch and you know I had to make a decision at 28 if I wanted to continue playing in the leagues in Europe, which is a great lifestyle and I really enjoyed it, but in the end You know, I wanted to make the decision to be around the best in the world and the Detroit Red Wings at that time had a great team and learned from a great coaching staff. There, each member of that coaching staff went on to become an NHL head coach. I'm very proud to be in that room and as the lowest man on the totem pole, I made sure my ears were open and my mouth was open.

I closed as much as possible and I learned a lot, what was the most important lesson you learned, just the amount of hard work and preparation it takes to do things the right way, and you know everyone was a star in their own right, you know , and uh, you know it was an education and how to do it well on a daily basis. I would joke that my undergrad was at Red Wings University hmm, what's the perfect length for a video session? Not too long, you know, I think. We have to understand the world we live in now, so I think one of the best qualities for young coaches is learning to boil things down to what's most important, what's most essential.

I think there are ways to reach people. In the small details of things, a lot of that will happen one on one, but in terms of a video session for the team, you know, I try to keep it under two or three minutes max, that's quick, yeah, I try, sometimes it's a little. a little longer if we've lost a few in a row, it may be a little longer, but I still believe that the brain can only maintain tension for so long and that is learned through experience. I'm curious about this. build throughout the season. I remember talking to a video coach who was talking about the idea of, you know, initially just focusing on one thing and then building from there throughout the season.

Okay or yes, I would say that for us, you know, it's like adding a layer to the onion, so to speak, and you know, where we are now is quite different from where we were in September, in September you are laying the foundation and as As you move forward in the season, that's why I said it's important to capture moments that occur during the season we had a great meeting the other day in Boston a review of our Buffalo game in certain areas and then I saw growth in our team last night in those areas that make me feel really good as a coach, you know, sometimes when you play against the best team in the league, you know, it highlights those moments, so today I wanted to make sure that we didn't just focus on that the other day , but we surprised them doing some. things correctly too what was that what was that oh do you want me to explain all the secrets here uh you know, just some defensive things and I think for us everyone understands that we feel that we are going to score enough goals, but the better we are at the defensive in certain parts of our game, the more likely we are to be successful in the long term.

I think the other day in the media we played Buffalo and I said it came out and I said, you know, since Christmas we beat. Buffalo three three to two since Christmas we have 17 wins, three losses in overtime or penalties and two losses in regulation when we concede three goals or less, so for me that is our model last night we played against Boston, we won 3-2, You know? Just those kinds of things reaffirm what we're trying to talk about here and I think the better we are in those areas, the better chance we'll have of success.

You know, one of the great things about three-on-three. When it started, it seemed like the coaches didn't know what to do with this thing and they just went, they just went and played, and it went up and down and up, it's the prince prince prince impression and then, like everything else, the coaches grabbed the hooks , Yes like. Do you train three against three? What do you want to see out there? What don't you want to see out there? What makes you shudder? What makes you smile? I mean, listen to the Oilers at three-on-three, seriously it's 97 and 29.

That would be Automatically Make Me Smile, right, how do you coach that with this team? Well, last year I came up and we had a lot of success in that regard, it's very impressive to see the most skilled players in the league when they have all that ice. year, I think we won our first two games in overtime, but recently we found ourselves in a stretch where, you know, we couldn't find the wins, we had opportunities, we just didn't find the wins, you know. I think the first confrontation is important. I think it's important that if a team puts two forwards out there and you have possession of the puck to maybe try to find the forward to attack the forward defensively, you know, I think you're looking at it as a tactic for some teams that only we are talking about that.

This morning, some teams will be holding on to the puck to try to tire out your bestplayers so you have a change and then you choose the change and they find their way um in the end I agree with you. I think every time you leave a part of the game to the devices of the best coaches in the world, they find ways and for us it is our channel challenge in which we can be better. That area in Edmonton, even though we have some of the best players in the world, we can be better when when you took over last year there were notable changes in the way you defended the neutral zone on the blue line, yeah, what did you think the orders needed to do uh for that specifically I would say um you know, that was when I sat on that plane going from Los Angeles to Edmonton and I had a film to sink my delve into that was just an area that I thought the team was going into. giving up maybe too much and that's just one thing and that was very important for us was that I tried not to complicate anything by going in eight different ones. areas I got some great advice from Paul Maurice, someone I really respect as a coach, and he suggested that I pick one or two things at most and then go from there, so that was the area that in doing my job and the answers become clear we wanted to put greater emphasis on controlling the gap from our forwards we wanted to make sure the lines were contested and that if the teams were going to get to our side they had to earn that right, not just get there freely, and it was like it was a difficult cell at all, not, um, you know, I tried to find.

Again, I didn't just go to the negative. I tried to find examples of the team doing things well. I tried to set some rules to give our players a compass. I think it's important for players to have a sense of direction. why you're doing certain things, we had immediate buy-in, we had success with that first win and then it just grew from there, it almost became a virtuous loop where you know they were performing at such a high level and then, ya You know, it fed on itself and that became one of our calling cards and part of our identity as a team and organization.

So what are the Wood Cross rules for hockey? Oh, whatever, no, no, I thought you were just talking about Back, no, but I like that, okay, that's a good example, like what are the rules of Wood Cross. Well, I think we want to be known as a group based on work ethic, right? and, you know, controlling the center of the court both offensively and defensively, I think that's how it is. It is very important that the other team knows which ice is going to be highly contested. I think there's a physicality to our team and it's not always just about the big hits, but it's about chunking people and you know, chopping bodies and that kind of stuff, so I'm not going to go into all the rules because I'm not going to go into detail here, but I would say that our players are very clear about their responsibilities and that is important to me.

I think if our players feel prepared. If they understand the type of team we are playing and what awaits them and are armed with the tools to be successful, they can go out and play because we are predictable for each other. You mentioned Paul Maurice. A second ago I want to ask you a question that I asked Paul Maurice 10 years ago. I remember asking him what your welcome moment to the NHL was, the moment you realized, it's different here like I was coaching in the NHL. and he said his first practice and he blew the whistle, he said Sammy Captain took off faster than he'd ever seen anyone take the first three steps before and he said, wow, that's the NHL, yeah, did you welcome the moment from the NHL?

I did, but maybe not in the way you're asking the question because I had been with Detroit in San Jose and Edmond, so I had been in the NHL for over a thousand games. I coached a lot of the Oilers players when I grew up, I coached them in Bakersfield or as an assistant coach in the NHL, so it's interesting because most coaches start out like Paul, he came up through junior hockey or college, Some guys come from college hockey and their first NHL experience was all new to me, it was almost the opposite. I started in the NHL.

I took a step back to work on my head coaching game and then I came up and felt very comfortable. It was very natural for me. My original welcome. The NHL moment would have been in that training camp in Detroit when you had Eiserman Robert Lang Brendan Shanahan um Pavel Datsuk in his prime Henrik Zetterberg Tapas of these guys and I remember watching the first practice and just coming up and saying I thought work hard. As a player, what these guys do and their level of skill and execution was incredible, and I saw the difference, it was the first time you had to do it.

I don't know, Babcock ever said "It's okay, Jay." I want you to tell this player that this is not going well and that you're going to do it, yeah, I mean, I remember one time, he had me do something, where I went to the front of the room and We were in Los Angeles, it was early and I was only 28 years old, many of the players on the team were older than me and I just said something: we were putting on some kind of video for the group and I was not a leader. a meeting or something, it was more like, you know, telling the group what was going to be shown and all that and when I came in and started talking it was like the music stopped and everyone turned their heads and I wanted to know what I was about. this young whip talking, but you know what I learned and I learned this in Detroit, was that even the best players play and this is probably where that philosophy came from, but the best players in the world did it.

It doesn't matter that I was only 28 years old. They didn't do it because you knew what you were talking about. Yeah, they wanted to know that you were well prepared, that you had something to offer them and I think that's also a characteristic of a great player: they want to be coached the craziest interaction you've ever had with a player as a coach um craziest interaction um I don't know , but I can tell you that when I was young in Detroit it was pretty intimidating to be around Steve um and I was telling him the story the other day, you know, to our coaching staff, where you know the leadership that I got to see every day from him and not It's the loudest or anything like that, but some of the things I was aware of.

First year in Detroit for a legend in our game, come on, quit, quit. I only remember one time in Edmonton during a playoff series and we didn't win the playoff series, but I saw, you know, the coaches were about to. I got ready to go in to give the pregame talk and Steve got up and he was already giving the talk and I thought a man like that was leadership personified at that moment and what he said, uh, and in the end the coaches didn't need it. giving the talk after Steve gave it and, you know, it was only when he was young that he left a big impression on me.

I just wanted to ask you if you mentioned your brothers, yes Todd is a coach, yes Craig is a coach, yes now you said me? I'm Woodcroft's best coach. No, I'm not saying that because I'm the youngest. I mean, I'm using. Younger people are used to being put in their place many times. I was the goalkeeper. Road hockey and I took a lot of beatings along the way, but you know, I wouldn't trade my experience of being the youngest in our family for anything. The only fun thing for us as a group of brothers was um.

At the 2015 World Championships, Todd was an assistant coach to Glenn Hanlon in Switzerland. Craig was an assistant coach to Dave Lewis in Belarus and I was an assistant coach to Todd McClellan and a great staff for Team Canada. In the end, Team Canada played in both Switzerland and Belarus and we ended up beating those teams and won the gold medal, so, but that was the only bragging rights I had. Of course, did you have money on the board? There's no money on the board, but I was excited when we won. um as you evolve as a coach, I'm curious because you're a great conversationalist.

I'm curious how your style changes, like you mentioned those first interactions with Detroit, you're a very different and confident person, now where are you? You watch or who you watch in hockey outside of hockey to develop your own communication style because that's always something that evolves, like if all of us, Elliot and I, broke up in 94 95-ish, maybe you're a little bit earlier. But how your style evolves, right? Miles Davis always said that it takes a long time to sound like yourself, how do you get there? How did Jay Woodcroft get there? Yes, I think you know that our family Rock was our mother's jewel that she passed down to us. here a few years ago, um, but um, there was always an emphasis on education, um, you know, I think as I've progressed and worked in hockey schools, you find your voice that way when, um, you have to stand at the forehead. of people and convey their point of view.

I think when I entered the world of professional coaching, certainly Mike is one of the best communicators out there, a great public speaker walked into a room and could dominate any type of room he walked into. I thought Todd McClellan's public speaking and his ability to convey his message is incredible so you'll learn that I think you know I had a conversation once and I'm a big believer in how to have conversations with educated people at all. . professions I had a conversation one time when I called Doug Reisbrow and we were talking about the game and he ended up asking me more questions than I asked him and at the end he said something unique to me which was, you know, because he had asked me who they were my influences and all that kind of stuff and then he said just make sure you remember how important your players are and I thought that was one of the things that I just hadn't gotten to that point uh and he said what you can learn from your players and I was very young at the time it is immeasurable and I think about some of the best players I have had to be with in three proud organizations and what I have learned from them how they behave on a daily basis what their needs were and seeing them in the moments more full of pressure, you can see them.

I think that's where you gain experience and find your voice, you know there was, these are some Years ago, Elliot was interviewing Mike Pinball Clemens. He asked a horrible question, but Pinball Clemens gave a great answer and this was the answer, kind of like if you're the smartest person in any room, it's your fault and that always stays with you. To me, that looks like you're kind of that guy and also like the sponge around him. Don't surround yourself with people who will just shake their heads at everything you say. It will be in a room where you can.

You talked about two. heard a mouth before, that's you, well, I think there's something to be said about having an infinitely curious mind, uh, and being willing to ask people questions, um, in any aspect of life. I think you can learn or learn things from people, sometimes that's like Not to do things, um, but for me, in the summer, when I go out, you know, one of the things that I challenge myself to do is have that kind of conversations with people from all fields, and you know, I'm lucky that um. People answer the phone and I'm lucky to be surrounded by a great family and a great group of friends and you know, I like, I said, I take notes and I try to evolve as a person as a coach, in that way the last one for me.

Jay is um and someone on that team told me this and uh I was very, they didn't tell me who was involved, but they told me the story, they said you have a very good relationship with your GM in the sense that your GM will listen to you. when it comes to what he might be thinking and he told me that there was a situation where there was a player that the others were looking at and you said to him: I think we can solve this problem from within and you can't. He didn't acquire that player, he didn't tell me who he was, yes, but he told me that and the fact that you nod tells me that it's true, so tell me about the relationship between you and Ken Holland and the fact that here you are.

I'm guessing you're 13 months into your NHL career and your GM would listen to you about that. Yeah, well, first of all, I think I'm a lucky guy as a first-time NHL head coach to have someone as my superior who has the experience and pedigree of someone like Ken Holland, now combine that with the fact that We've worked together before, we've won a championship together before, I think that's where bonds of trust are built, uh, I went. in a separate way, um, leaving Detroit to go to San Jose and pursue my own dreams of becoming a head coach and we get back together in Edmonton, um, I think for him to ask me that question, I feel very capable to respond. some things he might ask I also understand that, for me, my job is to coach the players in front of me.

I stay in my lane, if they ask me a question, I expect to give a learned answer, but the side. The benefit of having been in Bakersfield and then coming to Edmonton is that I have a clear understanding of what we have in our organization and, you know, I'm not afraid to play some of these young kids and put them in situations becauseI've seen them act in certain ways on a different level the last one for me um I know you're a podcast guy yeah I knew that Dan Carlin asks well no I'm not don't bias the jury here what's the second best podcast Come on , the second best podcast, you know, I've listened to a few here.

Over time, I enjoy doing it if I get up early in the morning in the summer and go for a run or take long walks around our cabin. I like listening to podcasts so I enjoy learning about people so one of the ones I listened to is called presidential and it basically goes through every president of the United States and tells some kind of story about their leadership or what they were dealing with at that time. moment and I've picked up a lot of good information like that, you know, I thought it was interesting. I think the pop culture I'm in now isn't smart, you know.

Yes, the three actors are sitting around talking and have good guesses, but I think I know which one was next. Which is my favorite? Yes, I know you're a big tank. How was it because I had a conference with Andrew who told me about Dan Carlin? He's also a big fan. How did you come to find Dan Carlin's podcast? I think one of my brothers-in-law recommended it to me and They knew I like history and, you know, I listened to the World War I one, it's the best one, yeah, and it was just phenomenal and, you know, I was sitting there and it was like, you know, I was on pins and needles just waiting uh to hear what would come next and um, you know, I just think that his voice, his uh, his studio, um, in the meticulousness that he puts into each of those, uh, it's really impressive and you know, just for you, Elliot, uh, you know, me.

I know Jeff was able to talk to Dan and turned it into a podcast and I really enjoyed listening to it. I always say you like it better than this one. I will say that I have said it before that is how it was. podcast fantasy camp for me that was like what am I, what am I doing here, that was cool, I thought he paid you a really good compliment because they had done something together here in Toronto, yeah, at his book launch, and so on. What if He was going to give a little information about Himself.

I wanted you to be the person to ask the question. We have become friends. He is a special guy. Yes, he is a special guy. Like you. Continued success. You have some Ferraris. the driveway, it should be fun to train, continued success and good luck in the playoffs, thanks for having me guys, I really appreciate it.