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
guys hard hurt players
Players get hurt and we don't how long they're going to be out for. We're going to get a real hard look at these guys right away.
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,
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.
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.
chance coaches fighting given good job management players
Management has given us a real fighting chance here to have a real good team. And it's our job now, coaches and players together, to try and put this thing together.
best owed player players talk thinks understand week
Any player who thinks he is owed anything is wrong. You talk about the best players in the world, and they understand that. They always think they are a week away from going into the stands.
found level period players playoffs roles short themselves time veteran
I've always found that veteran players play significant roles in playoffs because they know what the level is like. And over a short period of time they can get themselves to that level because they know it's a two-month season.
building committed facility fans players practice quality second stuff talk winning
It's quality of life. The players already know the building is full, the building is loud, the fans are knowledgeable, the organization is committed to winning and the practice facility is second to none. Players talk about that stuff all the time.
bump continue forward good hit hoping move players realize wake whether
It's really up to the players whether this is a bump (in the road) or a (big) hit (to the team). This is a good wake up call... I am hoping that the players realize what we have done and that we continue to move forward and (the loss) was just a bump.
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.
bizarre
It was a really hard, really bizarre game.
category lead league nature
It's the nature of our season. We're in first place in one category. We lead the league in the unfortunate category of injuries.
plus
It's huge. He's a point-a-game guy, a big-time plus player.
pulled saw sore talking
He has a sore groin. I saw him talking to the trainers so I pulled him out.