Senators assistant coach Alfredsson relishes opportunity to shape next generation

OTTAWA — Some NHL franchise icons lie away on a warm beach never to be seen again. Not Daniel Alfredsson.

He’s not only around the Ottawa Senators, he’s a coach for them.

After retiring in 2014, Alfredsson had an on-again, off-again relationship with the team under previous owner Eugene Melnyk, which will not be relitigated here. After new owner Michael Andlauer took control of the hockey club in 2023, one of his first acts was to bring Alfredsson back into the fold. Within six months, he was behind the bench as an assistant coach.

For Alfredsson, who had not coached anything higher than minor hockey, it’s obviously been an adjustment to coach in the NHL.

“It's been a steep learning curve, I'm still a rookie," Alfredsson said. "This is my first full year, so I'm learning a lot. A lot of teams are kind of similar, but there are small subtleties that everybody does differently. And it's been super interesting learning all that.”

He loves being a rookie coach, but he’d still rather be a rookie player if he could.

“It's not comparable to playing, but I guess it's as close as you can get,” Alfredsson said. “You’re on ice level, to see how fast it is, how good everybody is, and it's just fun to be part of the group and see how they put their work in. And playing some good hockey. And to be a small piece in it. It's fun.”

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Alfredsson’s coaching has evolved since taking the role in December 2023. He sits in on all the pre-scout meetings and is now tasked with making video sessions for the players. The coaching side is coming together for him.

“Yeah, I think I'm better at presenting videos and putting meetings together,” said Alfredsson, about how he’s improved as a coach. “So that takes a lot of time, when you're not used to it.”

Alfredsson credits head coach Travis Green and assistants Nolan Baumgartner and Mike Yeo for helping him learn the trick of the presentation.

In a pivotal game against the Boston Bruins at home recently, Alfredsson’s video sessions made the difference when he instructed a game-clinching goal.

“Like he does video for the guys for shootouts,” said forward Drake Batherson. “He told Timmy (Stutzle) what to do last time in the shootout (against Boston), and it worked.”

Tim Stutzle’s shootout move was Alfie-esque, holding onto the puck and waiting out Jeremy Swayman by quickly carrying the puck onto his forehand around the Bruins goaltender to finish the shootout winner.

That’s a move Alfredsson could do but isn't one many other coaches could help their superstars pull off.

“He’s helped me a lot with how to wait out goalies,” Stutzle said. “And how to make them think they know what I'm doing.

“I'm pretty sure (Alfredsson) could have done that move."

It’s obvious how much detail and thought Alfredsson puts in, even when analyzing shootout moves, including Stutzle’s.

“Stutzle has quickness, and a good shot, but then there's a difference of how you release your shot and what you show the goalie that I kind of introduce," Alfredsson said. “And then it's up to them to implement it or not. And those are small tips. They don't work all the time, but when they do, it's fun.”

As effective as Alfredsson is in the video room, he’s at his best when he’s on the ice, working with players on their skills. Not everyone can have Alfredsson's talent, but he does show it off. At practice, Alfredsson is always launching shots at goalies, helping players with their shots and playing “keep-away” (which he typically wins).

“I catch them when they're a little bit off guard,” said Alfredsson, about winning keep-away challenges with Senators players.

“So, I probably look better than I should. I was joking about that today with Cole Reinhardt. We did some one-on-ones, and he was owning me. So, I said, if they saw that today, I probably wouldn't be on the quarter-century team anymore.”

Checks notes … he still would be.

Nevertheless, the players notice the talents of the Hall of Famer and a recent unanimous pick for Ottawa’s quarter-century team released last week.

“He's just a great athlete. He's good at everything,” Batherson said. “He's skating so much now that he's got his hands and he can shoot it. So, I think he can still play a couple shifts.”

“No I can’t,” Alfredsson said without a second thought.

Stutzle called Alfredsson “humble” about his playing skills. Well, he took line rushes earlier this season in practice.

“I'm not close to being in good enough shape,” said Alfredsson, about still being able to play. “I need to lose 30 pounds and get a little better stamina.

“But obviously it's muscle memory. I played this sport at a high level for a very long time. I was always a student of the game, so I have the smarts. Could I make it a power-play shift here and there? Yes.

“But there's zero chance I could last a game.”

He might not be able to last a game on the ice, but he sure knows it.

“Competing against Alfie, it's always good,” Stutzle said. “I can still see him scoring a lot of goals in this league because he's just so smart and now knows what the goalie is doing. He's definitely helped me.”

Both Stutzle and Batherson mentioned how Alfredsson has helped with the power play, their own release points on their shots and protecting the puck.

“He's been awesome,” Batherson said. “Just the way he sees the game, with his experience, he'll just see something that you did on a certain rep, and he'll come over and just talk to you about what he thinks you could have done differently. And as a player, getting that feedback, you love that.”

What was his favourite moment so far as an assistant coach? The win he directly helped seal.

“The favorite moment was the comeback against Boston,” Alfredsson said. “Just the atmosphere in the building and how we played extremely well to start the game, and then we got a little bit careless, let them back in it. They had the lead, and then scored two late goals, and then won it in a shootout that was a huge character win.”

For Alfredsson, he relishes passing the baton to the next generation.

“That's the best part,” he said. “I said at the end of my career, when Erik Karlsson came in, and he was a young guy, I was kind of a little grumpy when you get older, some stuff you don't have the same patience for. You're around young guys like that, it makes it fun again.

"The same thing now with coaching, they're very driven people. They're fun to be around, tons of energy, so it's a very rewarding job that way.”

When Alfredsson entered the league in 1995, the Senators had been the doormat of the NHL for years. It changed quickly when then head coach Jacques Martin instilled defensive principles leading to 11 consecutive playoff runs. Thirty years later, Alfredsson thinks this current iteration of the Senators can take a similar step.

 “I think this team has shown that this year too,” Alfredsson said. “They committed to playing all over the ice, and I think we’ve shown the results for it. We're in a good spot where they haven't been in the previous years.”

Alfredsson has helped mould the Senators into a type of team he used to captain, that's defensively responsible and knows how to win. He is passing the torch of knowledge from the previous face of the franchise to the next in Stutzle.

Wherever Alfredsson goes, winning follows. 

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