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Notes and Quotes from a Relatively Straightforward Rick Tocchet Introductory Press Conference
Published:
The Flyers introduced Rick Tocchet at a Friday morning press conference:
- opening statement: Briere referred to Tocchet as a “teacher” and said he learned a lot from him as a player. He called Tocchet a communicator and relationship builder and talked about the importance of both moving forward.
- Tocchet is excited to be here (no shit), learned a lot during his time in Philadelphia and has learned from some of the best hockey minds in the coaching ranks over the last 25 years. He hopes to bring that back here. He’s all about heart and passion but says “it’s not going to be easy, won’t happen overnight, but it’s my job to develop these players… I take it very seriously to make sure they maximize their talent.“
- Among the positives, Tocchet mentioned prospects, draft picks, untapped talent, the salary cap situation, stability, basically the positive trajectory he thinks the team is on. He thinks he has a lot of tools to work with as a coach, which made the job attractive.
- Tocchet didn’t want to mention specific players he’s looking forward to working with, but had nice things to say about Travis Sanheim from his 4 Nations experience. “To get a frontline defenseman like that on your team is a plus for me.” He also thought Travis Konecny was terrific and lauded his work ethic and leadership.
- Tocchet sounded like he was having trouble clearing his throat. Maybe he got hit bad with the pollen upon return to the east coast.
- Danny B had a bit of a hot take when he talked about Tocchet’s tenure with the Coyotes, and getting that team into the playoffs. It was a politically correct way of him saying that Tocchet overperformed with a shitty roster. The question was about track record and he took the answer in a different direction than the obvious Jack Adams/Vancouver response.
- Anthony SanFilippo asked a question and it was answered, so the John Tortorella blacklisting has officially come to an end.
- Tocchet talked about the importance of balancing accountability with allowing the players to steer the ship as well. Can’t be a “dictatorship.”
- He knows the power play is a “sore point” and he has thoughts on how to turn it around. He thinks there are offensive-minded players to “unleash.”
- RE: Matvei Michkov, Tocchet thinks he has a “high-level” brain and can make some big plays. He thinks he can help him understand how some of the high-level NHL players think and operate. He thinks it’s a privilege to coach a guy like that.
- He was asked about the breakdown with some Vancouver players and the organization in general and he more or less said there was “no bad guy” in the situation. He talked about learning experiences and evolving as a coach.
- Tocchet loves the direction the franchise is moving in.
It was alright. Nothing super-interesting was said. Maybe we can bring back Torts just to do press conferences, but not actually coach the team. That’s a way to get some blog-worthy soundbites.
Here’s the full thing if you wanna watch it:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com