Two Coaches, One Vision: A Meeting of Minds Between Rick Tocchet and Curt Malawsky

Both agree that having a coaching staff you can trust is key to building a successful team. Tocchet wants to support the development of players and to do this he wants people who are good teachers. He wants his players to build relationships with the entire coaching staff so they can have a variety of perspectives and feel supported when they need something.

“For example, today we are off, today Daniel – or Henrik – one of them will come and meet (Aatu) Räty and watch some videos. He knows what I want but takes the initiative. Yogi will send players videos about power play and individual things. “It’s 24/7, it’s not just being at the track two hours a day, then you’re allowing them to build a relationship.”

Malawsky admits it was difficult for him to give up control of some coaching duties in the beginning, but when you have a great coaching staff supporting you, the process becomes more effective and a little less stressful.

“Now that our guys have been with me in Calgary with Bob McMahon and now he’s with me here, I can count on him for anything. He’s made me a better person, a better father, a better coach and he’s got tremendous relationships with the players. So Robby Williams is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever had on the back end and when you talk about video, he’s always on video. I’ve got a phenomenal goalkeeper coach as well, Tyler Richards, and he’s been phenomenal with the younger players sometimes I can’t look down, (if) the kid is on the drill. “If he lets me go five times and I say, ‘Take this right now,’ I have to get out of there and he handles it.” Malawsky said.

When it came to implementation, the tone of the conversation became a little more serious. Both Tocchet and Malawsky believe in the importance of maximizing every minute in training and ensuring their players understand the high expectations for preparation and effort.

Although life in the NHL is daily, Tocchet likes to be transparent with his team and gives them a multi-day training plan with intensity level and days off so they can mentally prepare for what’s coming.

The schedule in the NLL is a game-oriented one-week schedule and players understand the routine throughout the week so they are ready to practice and play when the weekend rolls around.

They talked about the importance of dealing with pressure on and off the field or field and benefiting from the experience of players, assistant coaches, experienced players coming together and supporting each other to “Meet Pressure with Pressure”.

With five Cups between them – three Stanley Cups for Tocchet and two NLL Cups for Malawsky – it’s not about the stats on a page or in the history books that make them proud of their team, but the care they show for others.

Tocchet is proud that his players take defeats seriously, not just as competitors, but also as people who care about the community they play for and don’t want to disappoint the fans.

“We might have a bad situation here and there, we lose 6-0 at home or something and people pay so much money, they (the players) actually feel bad. I know some fans (think) they don’t care, but they do care,” Tocchet said.

“When we bounce back from a bad loss, they’re all about it. It’s a matter of pride, I think they realized that we don’t want to show these bad efforts in front of the fans. “They’re trying to play their own game and fix their mistakes, so I think that’s what I’m most proud of.”

Malawsky recalled an impromptu post-exposition meet-and-greet with fans usually reserved for regular season games. His team cares about growing the game in the Lower Mainland and being role models for young children.

“We got all the kids out on the field, there were close to 100 kids and my guys were down – the last thing they wanted to do in pre-season games was sit down – but they know how important it is and they know how important it is and it made me very proud. For half an hour.” we signed autographs,” Malawsky said.

The conversation between Tocchet and Malawsky revealed the essence of leadership: adaptability, teamwork and a deep-rooted concern for players and fans.

They create cultures of pride and responsibility, whether it’s building trust in their coaching staff or building resilience in their players.