EDMONTON — Todd McLellan said he saw something in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle at the recent world hockey championship.
And when he became head coach of the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, he pointed to the promise of those young players as a big part of his decision.
The Oilers made the announcement two days after McLellan coached Canada — including Hall and Eberle — to gold at the world championship in Prague.
LISTEN: Todd McLellan: “McDavid played into decision”
“It fit for what I want to look for in a future as a coach, young players that are craving to win, finding ways to win, and again having spent some time with Jordan and Taylor, it was evident that I think we would have some good days ahead of us,” McLellan said a news conference Tuesday.
“They won’t all be great. It’s very easy when you’re winning 10 or 11 games in a row overseas, to be comfortable. There will be painful days ahead for all of us, we know that. But for me, your gut tells you when it’s right, and the people. And that convinced me that this was the right spot for myself and my family.”
McLellan spent the past seven seasons as coach of the San Jose Sharks, making the playoffs in his first six. He has a career 311-163-66 coaching record in the regular season, but is 30-32 in the playoffs.
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He led Canada to a perfect run at the worlds capped with a 6-1 rout of Russia in Sunday’s final.
McLellan appeared to be Edmonton’s top target since Peter Chiarelli took over as general manager earlier this month. After the Oilers won the draft lottery for the right to select Connor McDavid, Chiarelli met with McLellan in Prague and hammered out a deal.
“Very impressed with him, meeting him face to face, I had been very impressed with his teams over the years in the NHL with Detroit and with San Jose,” Chiarelli said. “Both those teams. . . you look at them and how they play and the personnel and they know how to play hard, and Todd’s one of the main reasons for that, instilling a level of confidence, energy and discipline into these players.’
Before joining the Sharks, the 47-year-old Melville, Sask., native was an assistant on Mike Babcock’s staff in Detroit.
Babcock has yet to announce his plans for next season, with a return to the Red Wings still possible.
The Oilers have not made the playoffs since going to the Stanley Cup final in 2006.
The future of Todd Nelson, who took over for Dallas Eakins in December and was a popular interim coach, was not immediately clear.
