Brock Boeser isn’t the only notable rookie on the Vancouver Canucks. Travis Green is 55 games into his National Hockey League coaching career.
He has helped Boeser and Bo Horvat get better, settled on a starting goalie in Jacob Markstrom, shrunken Daniel and Henrik Sedins’ role and been unyielding in his demand that players play the right way – a message he has had to defend numerous times when asked, almost daily, why Jake Virtanen isn’t playing more (or at all). But two-thirds into Green’s first season, we still hardly know what to make of the Canucks.
They were one of the National Hockey League’s surprise fast starters, going 14-10-4 in their first 28 games. Then key injuries hit by the half-dozen, and Vancouver went 7-18-2 in its next 27 games. What in the world will the final third of the season be like?
We figured it’s a good time to ask.
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Sportsnet:Your leading scorer and greatest source of hope, Brock Boeser, was injured last week in the middle of a losing streak. Is the psychological blow as big as the physical one?
Green: It’s funny, when you’re in the locker room, players believe in themselves. Pro athletes, that’s the way they are. The mental psyche of a player is different than a fan, even different than you are as a coach. As a coach, you have to fill holes — find someone to play the power play, whatever, everything that Brock does. But from a player’s angle, it’s not like that.
SN: How do you prevent hopelessness from seeping back into a team that finished in the bottom three the last two seasons?
Green: You hope that that’s not creeping into your team. I’ve been asked that question a few times – to the point I’ve even asked our staff, ‘Do we need to worry about this?’ From my end, if I’m a player on this hockey team, I’ve got a lot to play for. My message when we win or lose doesn’t change a lot. From the first day of training camp, I told our team, ‘We need to make changes. We need to become a better team. We need to start to have the habits and style of play of a winning organization.’”
SN: Doesn’t that hinge on getting better players and continuing to develop the good young players you have in the system?
Green: You look at winning teams, yes, there’s a certain part of it that is skill and you need to have high-end skill and top-end pieces. I’m confident Jim (Benning, Canucks general manager) is adding those pieces. But we said right from Day 1 we were going to push to have winning players. And we need to make sure were instilling those traits into our team and our young players.
SN: You may have been asked this once or twice or a thousand times, but then why not give the young guys more ice time?
Green: I’m always looking to play young players as much as possible. But I don’t want to play them at the cost of them (failing to develop) into players that we can win with. It’s a fine line. We try to balance it, try to juggle it. Jake Virtanen is a good example. He does not play special teams. He’s learning the game, learning little details in the game. There’s so much that goes into what I’m talking about in developing players we can win with. We do not want to overload Jake. I want to make him the best even-strength player that we can. I thought in Tampa (a 5-2 loss on Thursday) he played well. He had a drive in him. He had purpose in his game. He had shots. He carried the puck.
If you watch teams that win, they hang on to the puck and make plays. They’ve very aggressive and very consistent. They do it every day. They know what it means and what it takes to win. We need to make Jake a winning player – not just a player. I’m not going to bend just because we’re in the last third of the year. He’s got to come back next year and prove that he’s a winning player. And it’s not just him, it’s our young guys in general. We want to make sure our young guys want to win so badly that they’ll play the way they have to play to win. I understand there’s a step for everything. We have to get from where we are to making the playoffs, then take another step. (But) I want to win championships. My goal is not just to squeak into the playoffs.
SN: The Canucks have never had so many good offensive prospects on their way to the NHL, but there aren’t nearly as many promising defencemen in the pipeline. So as far the defencemen you already have, can you say that Troy Stecher, Ben Hutton and Derrick Pouliot are going to be reliable NHL players?
Green: I think each one is a little bit different. Stecher has a certain compete level within him and a quickness in his game that when he doesn’t play well, he still finds a way. That’s a really valuable trait to have. When you look at teams that win, their compete level is really high. Hutton and Pouliot have, at times, looked like different players. Derrick has looked like a top-three defenceman at times, and other times he has struggled. We could say the same thing about Hutton.
Part of that is them learning as young players how they have to be ready to play and where their compete level is. It’s their play with the puck and how they defend, how quickly they defend and win puck battles. I’m always looking at the big picture. How do we make these young defencemen defencemen who can play regularly on really good teams? That’s not something we take lightly.
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SN: Nobody predicted playoffs for your team, but the organization’s stated goal was to play meaningful games in March. How will that happen now that you’re already 16 points back in the playoff race?
Green: When I say that, of course that’s what we want. That’s what every team wants. If you don’t go into a season wanting to make the playoffs, you shouldn’t be in this game. But as a coach, you have to be very honest and see where your team is at. First 25 games, I really liked the way our team played. When we lost Bo (Horvat) and Brandon (Sutter), plus Chris Tanev, plus Eddie (Alex Edler), it really took a lot of wind out of our sails. And that’s been hard to get back. Maybe these games won’t be as meaningful as we hoped at the beginning of the year, but I’m always keeping my eye on: ‘How can I push this team to win a championship.’ That might sound crazy, but that’s what I want. I want to find out if our young guys have what it takes to win.
SN: What about the two not-so-young guys, the 37-year-old Sedins, whose roles and ice times have been drastically reduced this season?
Green: Danny and Hank have a good idea how I’m going to use them. They understand it. We talked about right from Day 1 – and I mean last May. There were games earlier in the year when I had them down to nine (minutes) but we had a good discussion the next day. Then we had injuries, and they played more. The good thing about them is they don’t need to be stroked. They are superstars that don’t need to be stroked. They get it. They rarely complain. They may have discussions with me, but they understand it. Sometimes when you talk to players, they don’t see reality. Danny and Hank do.
SN: Is their presence slowing or hindering the Canucks’ rebuild?
Green: I don’t think it has this year, for sure. I haven’t seen that at all.
SN: As a rookie NHL head coach, what is the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make after coaching the Utica Comets the last four seasons?
Green: Dealing with the media is a lot. I’m a very prepared guy. I’ve done my homework and talked to lots of coaches in the NHL. I know the grind; I played in the league. I have a good understanding where our team is at. I’m as committed as you’ll find to pushing this team to win and, long term, win a championship. But the one thing that took a little bit of getting used to was dealing with the media every day. Training camp was an eye-opener about it. But I enjoy talking about our team. I think it’s important to let people know, fans, where your team is at. I try to be as honest about it as I can. I want people to understand where we’re going and how we’re going to get there.
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SN: Is the actual coaching much different than in the American League?
Green: In ways, it’s easier. The players are older and have a stronger understanding of the game. I like to think my communication skills with players are a strong point, and how I deal with players individually has been a strong point of mine. I like to think I’m a fair coach, but demanding. You need to be. But you also need to know when to push on your team and how to push them to things they can do. As we get better as a team, I could be harder as a coach. As your team gets better, your demand on players is higher.
SN: What do you hope to accomplish in the final third of the season?
Green: I never said we needed to win X-number of games. I want our team to be competitive. I want us to push and continue to develop. I want guys to strive to be on the team next year. And they’ve got to strive to be on a team that’s going to win. I’ve used a saying with our guys, ‘You’re either in or you’re in the way.’ When you’re in, I’m all in with you. And the guys that are in the way, those are players you have to go by. That’s building a team.
SN: Is that team-building more complicated than people think?
Green: You can’t just place a bunch of young guys in a lineup and expect you’ll become winners. As much as I love all the young guys we have coming, we’re going to have some who don’t play. That’s just reality. Some young guys aren’t going to make it, and we’ve got to make sure those who do are a big part of our turnaround.
