Stanley Cup – PARADIGM Sports

Ode to Joey

Posted January 16, 2021January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Organization Executive, Parents

As an avid hockey fan due to playing, coaching and now coaching coaches for many years, one of the things I look forward to is the start of the season, starting with getting back to the ice for minor hockey and then when the NHL ramps up with exhibition games and the first Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.

As I moved often growing up including a stint living in the Northwest Territories on Baffin Island, it was one of my vivid memories growing up watching games on Saturday’s on CBC with my family.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic going back to March 2020, however, the start dates for completion of last season when teams entered the Edmonton Bubble and Tampa won the cup in July, and uncertainty when the next season would start up until recently in January 2021, the passing of one of Canada’s true Icons was not shared until recently.

Before the start of the Vancouver Canucks Game vs. Edmonton Oilers, the oilers did an amazing tribute to two they lost during the break of past coach/general manager John Muckler (Jan 4, 2021) and their long term locker room assistant Joey Moss (Oct 26, 2020) who Wayne Gretzky helped get a job with the Oilers and became close friends.

As Wayne eloquently shared at the beginning of the documentary that was shared on Sportsnet the following day (Anything for Joey), he wanted to help Joey as he was an amazing young man who had down’s syndrome but as all of the players and those that evolved to executive ranks shared during the documentaries Joey was the one that taught them core values, not the other way around.

Joey started his role with the Oilers in their glory days, when they went on to win their 4 Stanley Cups and many of their players on those teams shared insight how much of an impact Joey made on them. Then players for subsequent teams also shared nuggets from the 90’s until his passing in Oct 2020.

In addition to Wayne Gretzky, Grant Fuhr, Keven Lowe, Pasani, Kelly Buckberger, Taylor Hall, Raffi Torres, Connor McDavid, Leon Drisital, Sam Gagner, Ryan Smith, Shane Corson and others shared how he made such a positive impact on them during their time playing for the Oilers.

Several of his siblings (he had 12 brothers/sisters) also shared stories about Joey.

Some of my big takeaways …

Always smiling – Love the Game – Loved to Hamm it up – Could give as much he took – Was an ambassador for Edmonton – Loved to Sing (AKA Belt) the Canadian Anthem (I looked forward to seeing Joey sing before Edmonton home games, much like Mark Donnelly for Canucks games) – Taught us patience – Made us better people – Kept Game in Perspective – Was there to cheer us up after a tough loss – Could count on him to get things done

The biggest one for me and sharing it as our quote of the week he would share with everyone around him especially when they were down, had a tough night, team had a tough loss

Having been one who has suffered a lot of adversity myself, I have always tried to have the half-full approach as things can only get better which is whey Joey’s favorite saying really resonates with me.

When Wayne asked Glen Sather if they could find work for Joey he said absolutely and he became their locker room attendant and then Wayne reached out to the Edmonton Eskimo’s Equipment manager where Joey was working a similar role and joined the Oilers in 1984-85 season (coincidentally during their legacy Stanley Cup run).

In the off season he worked in a similar capacity for the CFL Edmonton (Eskimos) Football Team

During his tenure with both organizations;

The Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1984/1985/1987/1988 and 1990 and lost in 2006 although Joey delayed hernia surgery so he could be with the team during their amazing run in 06.

Wayne was traded to the LA Kings after their 88 Cup victory and the first time that he returned to Edmonton as a King he went to see was Joey who told him “Sorry Wayne but I can’t talk to you”, but like Wayne, every other player that was traded when they returned Northlands, Rexall Place they too would go see Joey to give him a hug, share a few words and see his infectious smile.

He also worked in a similar role in the hockey off season for the Edmonton (Eskimos) CFL team where they went on to win their 6 of 14 Grey Cups in 1987, 1987. 1993, 2003, 2005 and 2015).

11 CUPS between the two organizations who had numerous hall of fame inductees and various other awards !!!

WHO else in professional sports can say they have been part of so many cup runs? No one …. and now due to free agency, salary caps and everything else now, getting to ONE cup final in itself is a big accomplishment, let alone winning the final game or legacies with multiple cups as the Oilers and Eskimos have done in Edmonton.

Joey also was acknowledged by the NHL in 2003 for his contributions with the Seventh Man Award (given to NHL members that make a difference behind the scenes) and inducted in the Alberta Sport Hall of Fame in 2015

The Oilers also founded “The Joey Moss Cup” inner squad game trophy that award every year and many of former players shared they all wanted to win coveted cup for bragging rights.

Current Player Leon Drisital shared “He’s probably the biggest legend in this town” and in the video below Wayne shares he has more championships than Hugh Campbell (5 Grey Cups) due to his long tenure with both of Edmonton’s professional teams during their Stanley and Grey Cup Runs.

One would hope that the NHL consider Joey being considered for the Hockey Hall of Fame for his amazing contributions to the game, the impact he had on so many players, coaches and the fans.

According to Equipment Manager, training camp would not start until Joey was there, sadly the Oilers camp for this season started without him as will others in future BUT he will forever be with them and all of us in spirit, I suspect with a microphone belting out the Canadian Anthem ….

We could all learn to be better people from the legacy Joey left behind.

Kudos to the Oilers and then Sportsnet for their amazing tributes in his memory and when I or others get down around me as we continue to claw our way back from this crazy pandemic will share “Feel Good – Why not?”

Below is the interview that Wayne Gretzky had where he shares many of the amazing anecdotes about Joey a few days after he passed away in October.

Why the stars are aligning for Dallas

Posted September 19, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach, Early Sport Specialization, Organization Executive, Parents

I never thought in my lifetime that I would be having discussions with people regarding the NHL playoffs in September when all prior years they were finished by May/June timeframe.

Nature of the beast as they say during the COVID-19 era that the NHL and all other professional sports are dealing with to complete or start their seasons with various protocols to ensure the safety for all parties concerned.

Although I am a long time Habs Fan having grown up in Montreal, and was disappointed when they and then the Vancouver Canucks were knocked out of this years Bubble Playoffs, I am happy to see that Rick Bowness and the Dallas Stars will be heading to the final for the first time in 20 years.

Two reasons why I feel that the “stars” have aligned for them to get there this year, the amazing coaching job that “interim” coach Rick Bowness has done since he took over the reigns after former head coach XXXXX was fired mid season and the later is the leadership from team captain, Jamie Benn, whom I have highlighted in numerous talks and interviews when I been asked to share insight on the benefits of multi-sport participation.

RICK BOWNESS – AKA BONES

Rick Bowness played in the NHL for a number of teams like many other NHL coaches after he played Major Junior and in the NHL. He has been a head coach for a number of NHL teams but this is the first time in his career that he has lead a team to the Stanley Cup Final

His coaching career ironically started out in 1982-83 as a player coach (AKA Reggie Dunlop for the Chiefs in Slapshot) for the first Winnipeg Jets minor league affiliate Sherbrooke Jets.

Much like the infamous “Chiefs” in Slapshot, the team really struggled under his watch so he retired as coach and player at the end that season and a year later was recruited by Winnipeg Jets Head coach in 1984 to join his coaching staff as an assistant.

He has gone on to coach a number of teams in the NHL since, many as the head coach and several years as associate or assistant coach, including the Vancouver Canucks where he was Alain Vignault’s right hand man when they had their amazing run in 2011.

He moved on from the Vancouver Canucks in 2013 and was with Tampa when they advanced to the final in 2015 but lost to Vancouver’s long time nemesis, Chicago Blackhawks.

Rick has now been in the NHL as a player and now a coach for 45 years and many are pulling for him to win his first Stanley Cup.

Why are so many pulling for him?

#1. He is a player’s coach – loved by all of his players who will do everything they can to win for him

#2. He truly cares about his players as people, not just as hockey players.

The list of players under his watch for decades have all shared in interviews time and time again how he connects with them as individuals, is approachable and takes the extra time to help them not only become better players, but better people.

“He Cares about his players. You can just see it in his actions. He will never chastise them, he will never embarrass them in front of his peers or in front of other people, if there is a tough conversation to have he does it behind closed doors.” George Gwozdecky (Tampa Assistant Head coach with Rick 2013-2015)

#3. He has a high level of emotional and social intelligence.

Although this past Hockey Season the NHL saw several coaches fired from their roles due to what many feel are no longer (nor were they ever) appropriate coaching styles, Rick has always set the bar as the players coach

“He’s a coach you just want to do everything for, lay your body on the line for”

Jamie Benn

#4 – He has coached more games than any other coach EVER in the NHL, now over 2,500 games leaving Scotty Bowman’s record of 2,164 3 years ago and he is still going

#5 – He has adapted to being either a head or an assistant coach depending on the team needs, many of his head coaching stints he took over mid season when the head coaches were let go much like this season with the Stars.

#6 – Cody Hodgson played under Rick and Alain while in Vancouver and shared that “you get some coaches that are very talented but not necessarily good people (as the firings in recent year showed). But Rick ‘s a great coach and a great person …. and will be able to stick around as long as he wants to”

#7 – He is very humble. Whenever people try to give him credit for his leadership, he defers to the players, much like he did when was interviewed after they advanced the final.

#8 – He’s a great coach.

Ironically he played as a forward, but has spent much of his coaching career working with defence and is acclaimed for helping develop many D-Men over his career, most recently was helping Victor Hedman become one of, if not the best, d-men in the NHL currently.

#9 – He is transformational and focuses on connecting with his players vs. many coaches still focusing on the X’s and O’s. Per former player he coached, Brad Barry who is now coach of University of North Dakota X’s and O’s are one thing, but if you don’t have the communication skills or the ability to connect, then I don’t think the X’s and O’s matter anymore.”

#10 – He loves the game as much now as he did when he was a kid.

In every talk I do with coaches I end with key takeaways and one is the measurement of a great coach is one that creates a culture on their teams where kids love the game more at the end of the season then they did at the beginning and come back the following year with big smiles on their faces.

JAMIE BENN – AKA Chubbs

Below is a slide from one of my core talks LTPD vs. Early Sport Specialization where I talk about Jamie Benn’s path to the NHL.

Jamie and his brother Jordie grew up on Vancouver Island and played a number of sports growing up, both played hockey in the winter and baseball in the spring as well as tried several other sports until they both found the one they loved the most – Hockey.

Note on the slide some of Jamie’s accolades – Gold in the World Juniors, Gold in the Olympics, Art Ross Trophy and now he is going to the Stanley Cup Final.

Did you know that he did not decide to focus on hockey until he was 19?

This is why Hockey Canada did not even identify him for any of the U16, U18 or U20 Junior Camps until he was 19 as his path was junior B, then Junior A, then WHL and was drafted in the 5^th round to then become the captain of the stars in 2013 when he was 24 years old.

His path the NHL, much like the majority of players, was playing multiple sports until his later teens. When I interviewed Ken Martel for one of our summits last year, he shared with me that over 90% of NHL players were multi-sport athletes until at least 14.

“Just a game boys, there’s always next time” Tyler Sequin

Now at 31 he is considered the old guard with the NHL youth movement, but as much as I would love to see a Canadian team be in and ultimately win the final since the Habs won their last one (and last one for a Canadian team) in 1993 27 years ago, I will be pulling for the stars to align for Rick, Jamie to hoist their first and ultimately drink from the Stanley Cup.

Why Barry Trotz is a Great Coach

Posted September 11, 2020January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyPosted in Athlete, Coach

As a result of COVID-19, many of the professional sports schedules have been delayed since the global shutdown mid March 2020 with the exception of the NFL who started their season as they planned, albeit with no exhibition games that many have argued were not meaningful other than to generate gate revenue as starters would not play until the game before the season started.

Although some of the professional sports have had challenges finishing or starting seasons, once the NHL figured out the bubble format and the cities to host them in, since the beginning of the NHL qualifying round and subsequent Stanley Cup Playoffs there have been no positive COVID-19 cases reported so they have set the bar for others as we continue to deal with the pandemic.

One of the annual events that was impacted as a result of no large gatherings (although you would not know it with certain NFL cities have fans in the stands, others not), was the annual NHL awards ceremony, where Barry Trotz, Bruce Cassidy and John Tortorella would have been seated in the auditorium waiting for their names to be called out to receive the Jack Adams Award for the best coach.

John and Barry have both been recipients of the award two times so was their third nomination, and this was Bruce’s first year which he nominated and also the recipient of the coach of the year award for the great job he has done with the Boston Bruins.

Although I feel Bruce deserved the award, it was Barry that I wanted to highlight this week due to the fact that he not only was nominated a third time, but had he been the recipient, it would have been his third, a feat only done by one other coach in the history of the NHL.

NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 20: Barry Trotz head coach of the Nashville Predators watches the action against the Detroit Red Wings in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bridgestone Arena on April 20, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Early Years – AHL and Nashville Predators

Barry’s initial coaching experience that lead him to the NHL was coaching the Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates of the AHL, and in 1994 he lead Portland to the AHL championship title where he received he first coach of the year award, the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, the AHL equivalent of the Jack Adams trophy Barry has now won in the NHL

After a few more years in the NHL, when the expansion Nashville Predators were looking for their first head coach, GM David Poile decided to bring Barry along to be their first head coach in 1997 before their first NHL season in 1998-1999

He went on to coach the predators for 15 seasons, the longest tenure for any coach of an expansion franchise and their most successful season was in 2006-7 where they accumulated 110 points, second in the western conference and third overall.

During many of those seasons, the payroll that Nashville allocated for player salaries was significantly lower than all other franchises, yet year after year Barry and his coaching staff were able to lead their teams to the playoffs.

Many would say that Barry was able to get the very most out of his players in order to do so.

Washington Capitals

In 2014 Barry was replaced by Peter Laviolette and soon after the Washington Capitals came knocking, who had offered Barry his first opportunity to coach their minor league affiliates in the AHL.

He was offered a 4 year contract, and in his 4^th year he lead the Capitals to their first ever Stanley Cup, and also his first Stanley cup after coaching in the NHL for 19 seasons.

Sadly, the Capitals did not opt to extend his contract so Barry resigned and within a few weeks was recruited by the New York Islanders GM Lou Lamarello, former GM for the New Jersey Devils.

New York Islanders

Barry became the head coach in 2018 and in his first season as head coach swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in 4 games, then lost to Carolina in the second round but was nominated and received his second Jack Adams award.

During the COVID-19 season, he has now lead the Islanders to the eastern conference final, and as the day of this being written are down 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightling, although had a much better game in game two than the first and I suspect will come out flying in game 3.

So how has Barry accomplished so much, when many say, with so little (the early years with Nashville, the egos on the capitals, and the young up and coming roster of the Islanders?

#1 – He truly cares about his players.

In all of the surveys I have done over the years, the #1 characteristic shared by coaches is the greatest coaches they had cared about them as people first, athletes second.

#2 – His Philosophy

In the video that we shared in our newsletter, Barry shares he core values;

When I stand behind my team it means something.

It means having respect, integrity….

It means responsibility.

Coaching is about caring about people.

Like many high level coaches, Barry is very knowledgeable about the systems, tactics (X’s and O’s) but what separates the good coaches to the great coaches is having core values that recognize the importance of coaching and caring about the person which I have shared with all coaches for years.

#3 – He makes the players believe

Like he did with Nashville leading them to the playoffs for numerous years, he lead the Washington Capitals to their first ever Stanley Cup after many coaches before him with their high payroll star lineup had not often been knocked out in the first round.

Now with the New York Islanders, a young team that many felt would be bottom dwellers after losing their best player, John Tavares, to free agency before his first season, he lead them to the playoffs with a mix of young up and coming players and veterans and has gone even deeper this year.

Based on how he has guided his teams over the years, developed his players into such great people, and is passionate about his core values, I believe that Barry may just get the nomination a third time and potentially win his third Jack Adams as a result which has only been done by one prior coach, Pat Burns, who won the award coaching three different teams.

I imagine that he, like all the others in the bubble since the qualifying round started, is looking forward to when his family can join him so he can give them all a hug, including Nolan who was there by his side during the Capitals great Stanley Cup run just a few years back.

How Clare Drake’s Legacy Lives On

Posted June 9, 2018January 27, 2022 Glen MulcahyLeave a commentPosted in Athlete, Coach, Uncategorized

There are so many things that I could write about this week as two of the top 5 professional sports concluded their seasons but I would be remiss in not talking about the legacy of Clare Drake, former coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears for 28 seasons and the impact he had on Washington Capitals Head Coach, Barry Trotz.

Check out prior post It’s amazing what you can accomplish for more insight on Clare

Barry was one of Canadian top coaches that pushed for Clare to be inducted in the hall of fame, along with the $50 Million Man, Mike Babcock, and Ken Hitchcock, who have cumulatively have amassed over 2200 NHL wins in their coaching careers.

Barry, however, just achieved the milestone that eluded the Caps since their francize inception over 40 years ago with only one trip to the Stanley Cup in 1998 losing out to the Detroit Red Wings coached by Scotty Bowman, whom Ken Dryden compared to Clare Drake “I can think of only one other Canadian hockey coach at a high level how had such a record of long term success – Scotty Bowman” in this Edmonton Journal Article.

Barry started out his coaching career in university at the university of Manitoba and would fear any time his teams would meet Clare’s University of Alberta Golden Bears.

“Clare was one of those iconic coaches when I was growing up that won at every level, but to me, he was a teacher of the game….If you were an opponent or you were a young kid, he was a guy that would try to teach and show he didn’t care if you were the opponent.” Trotz said in this oilers nation article.

Ken Hitchcock shared with the National Post “The last time we attended clinics ..together, he was still in the front of the front row taking notes at the age of 78.”. This is why Clare was called Canada’s John Wooden of Hockey, passionate about his craft and was still learning well after he retired.

After 3 years coaching in Manitoba, where he also served as a part-time scout for the very same Washington Capitals, he became the head coach of the Capitals minor league team, the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1992 then the franchise moved to Portland, Maine where he lead the team to two Calder Cup Finals, winning the cup in their inaugural season.

The Capitals ties continued, when former Caps GM David Poile was hired as GM for the Nashville Predators and he reached out to Barry to become the expansion franchise first head coach and struggled in their initial seasons as they built their team thru the draft with a very frugal budget for player salaries even before the salary cap to ensure that all teams are on a even playing field.

Unlike the Vegas Golden Knights, who benefitted from a restructured expansion draft format to choose unprotected players to be competitive out of the gate, where former Capitals GM George McPhee strategically put together a team that made it to the final in their first season only to fall short to the Caps coached by Trotz.

For 15 seasons, Barry coached the Predators, leading them to the playoffs almost every year, although they had one of the lowest budgets compared to all their affiliate NHL clubs. He was credited by many in the NHL as doing the most with the least and then when the Caps came calling again, he became their head coach and lead the team to their first Stanley cup in their 40+ year history (est. 1974) and his first in his 19-year coaching career.

Although almost all the media attention is on how Ovie FINALLY won his Stanley cup after 13 seasons, had 165 teammates over that time period, winning every other trophy possible like his counterpart Sidney and was able to get the monkey off his back and leading his Caps to knock their longtime rival, Pittsburgh, lead by Sid out of the playoffs for a potential three-peat.

Each of the subsequent series they came back from behind, also falling 2-0 to Columbus, then 1-0 to the Knights.

How did Barry help the Caps get the monkey not only off Ovie’s back but the franchise that he had been involved with on one way or another over going back to the beginning of his professional coaching career?

He did so by believing in his players.

Believing in the Great 8 (Ovechkin) – who not only scored from his wheelhouse on the power play but even strength, was physically dominant in every game, relentless on backchecks and even blocked shots.

Believing in Lars Eller, who under Trotz’s leadership, flourished after he was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Caps. Eller had his best season EVER since being drafted in the first round by St Louis and traded to Montreal, scoring 18 goals and 20 assists in the regular season but it was the playoffs where he truly excelled, scoring 7 goals, 11 assists, including the game-winning goal in game 5 to win the Stanley Cup, the first player from Denmark to do so.

When asked by the media about his contributions to the Stanley Cup Run, he stated “ he was feeling at home since the day he got there, organization and coaching staff believed in me”

NOTE: Click on volume icon to hear when video pops up

Believing in Devante Smith Kelly (yet another former HAB) who scored as many goals in the playoffs in 24 games, as he had in the regular season (75 games), 7, including the tying goal in game 5.

Believing in Evgeny Kutznetsov, Ovies Russian counterpart who EXPLODED under Trotz’s Watch, who many felt was a candidate for the Conn Smythe (MVP of the playoffs), with 32 points (12 goals and 20 assists).

Believing in Nicklas Backstrom, the player that Ovie handed the Cup to after he celebrated, who had been with Ovie all but one year when he went to the KHL, who contributed 23 points in the playoff run although he missed a few games due to a hand injury.

In the 3 years under Barry, Braden Holtby, starting goaltender, also backstopped the team to over 40 wins each season vs. two prior seasons of 23.

He also believed in all of his other players and demonstrated as many of the top experts, coaches, Olympians have shared with me that I have talked to for our inaugural For the Love of the Game Digital Summit what the characteristics of great coaches, one being coaches believing in their players.

Now the big question facing the Capitals is whether they will renew his contract that has expired, where he not only won the Stanley Cup but lead the team to the NHL’s best record in 2016 and 2017 seasons (Presidents Trophy winners).

General Manager, Brian MacLellan, has already stated publicly if Barry wants to continue in his role as head coach, he will be offered a contract (which all indications are will be a WEE bit of a raise on his current 1.5M/Yr salary).

Ironically, this is just a year after he stated he was doing a thorough evaluation of the team, including Barry’s future, after they lost in the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year last season (two of which after they won the Presidents Trophy).

If Brian, the owner Ted Leonsis, and the rest of the organization don’t sign Barry, he could potentially become the next highest paid free agent coach along with his other Clare Drake mentee and Stanley Cup winning coach, Mike Babcock.

This all took place in the same season after Clare was FINALLY inducted in the NHL hall of fame when he was 89 years old (suspect was still taking notes) and then a few months later sadly passed away.

Remember youth sports coaches, just as Clare, all the players and coaches that he taught the game to, our calling as coaches is to make a difference by developing youth into adults.

Please ensure your legacy is a positive one like Clares and you are not a Kids Last Coach.

Let’s all work together to bring the game back to the kids … where it belongs.