First Impressions of Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan
A new day is dawning on the Detroit Red Wings. Head coach Todd McLellan has spoken at length about his expectations of the group and how he hopes to change the team. Here are a few points that have stuck out to me and why they matter.
I have so much to unpack, especially in terms of the Detroit Red Wings.
The Detroit Red Wings have welcomed a new, stern voice to the dressing room. Todd McLellan is a steady, demanding coach it seems that hopes to turn the ship around. Even if there’s not much ground made up in terms of the standings, the Detroit Red Wings need to play competitive, consistent hockey.
From the moment McLellan graced my screen, the vibes were completely different than I was used to from a Detroit Red Wings head coach. Rather than having uncertainty or a whole bunch of words coming out that don’t mean much (no offense to the previous coaches, but they seemed to have a different vibe), McLellan spoke candidly.
He mentioned watching the Detroit Red Wings this season. With the words he spoke and the picture he painted, I wholeheartedly believe him. Considering he only had a 48-hour turnaround between when he learned of his takeover as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and arriving in Hockeytown, I don’t think there was too much time to do his homework, especially to the degree in which he spoke without having previously watched the Detroit Red Wings all season.
If I could transcribe the entire presser, I would, his words were that important to me. However, I will link the video below and hope you get a chance to check out the content in its entirety, as it’s well worth your time.
The video above also includes a press conference with Moritz Seider, Dylan Larkin, and Patrick Kane.
I want to touch on a few points from both segments, as well as McLelallan’s media availability after the Detroit Red Wings game Friday night.
Here are my first impressions of new Detroit Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan
To start off, McLellan stated it would take five to six games to understand the current state of the Detroit Red Wings. He emphasized that each player will get an opportunity to play, so I’m hoping that this fresh start for players like Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson will do wonders. Already, we’ve seen an increased role for Joseph Veleno. In his first media availability after the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he referenced Veleno as being a very smart player with good legs and the speed to keep up with Larkin and Lucas Raymond.
I appreciate that when things weren’t working, McLellan was willing to try anything and everything. Rather than giving up, he continued to push players and tinkered to find anything that worked in a 5-0 game going into the third period.
Aside from these new opportunities for players, as they aren’t put into boxes that they are incapable of crawling out of, McLellan made one of my favorite points that I’ve touched on before.
- Usually, the best leaders are the ones who adapt to their team. They don’t force their teams to adapt to them. McLellan is of the same mindset. This mindset is a bit different than it was the last time McLellan was behind the bench for the Detroit Red Wings, which is refreshing to hear from a coach that he must evolve his coaching style. McLellan remarked that players aren’t going to change to 32 different coaches. Instead, coaches have to adjust to the players and find ways to get the most out of each player. Specifically, he mentioned that it might be:
