Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverKast
I love Sutter's coaching style and he's one of my favorite coaches. It'll be interesting to see which players thrive under him and which can't handle it - because there will definitely be a few who aren't going to be able to handle someone who straight out tells it like it is. Sports in general has taken a real shift towards making sure everyone feels good and is happy, where we all get a medal just for playing. I like the old school approach - if you want it then you better be ready to work for it.
I think there may be a few surprises with who does well and who crumbles under the pressure.
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I think we have to differentiate how different types of 'hard ass coaches' go about their business.
"Iron" Mike Keenan: (In his prime, not semi-retired Keenan we saw in Calgary) - he would rip you, but it was also the mind-games that he would play on you apparently. It kept everyone unsure of where they stood. You played hard because you didn't want to get chewed-out, or have Keenan try and scramble your brains.
Bob Hartley: Much more of a straight-shooter. He is not afraid of telling you like it is, but he goes too far at times. He didn't play mind games like Keenan did - not exactly. Sarich shared his story about being scratched a bunch of times in a row, so he said screw it, and went golfing and had a few beers the day before a game. Hartley found out, and suddenly inserted him into the lineup. I don't really consider that much of a mind game. He would threaten players with getting sent down, stuff like that. That's not terrible really. What is terrible is how much and at what times he would take a strip off a player, and keep doing it.
Darryl Sutter: He will yell at you, and he is all business. Don't feel like working hard today? That's fine. Have a front row seat and enjoy the game. He is not afraid of using what coaches have absolute power in - managing minutes and who gets to play. He will rip you for not playing right, but he will hug you too. You hear about players disliking him, but you also hear about players absolutely loving him. So many players are ready to run through a brick wall if Darryl asks them to, and that's because they want to win for him, not because they are scared of what he will do or say. He is definitely a hard coach who makes you work, takes a strip off of you, but builds you back up and makes you feel important. That's the difference.
Bill Peters: I don't really know how he was (outside of a not so great human being, as we all know by now), so I haven't got a clue as to where he fits in.
That's how I differentiate between the hard asses. For the record, I think Torts is more like Darryl Sutter, but just not as good of a coach
