Vegas Golden Knights: Takeaways from DeBoer’s media conference
Peter DeBoer began his reign as the Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights with a big win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.
After what was a turbulent couple of days, snapping a four-game losing streak was just what the doctor ordered for DeBoer and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Although the Senators are enduring an horrific regular season, they aren’t pushovers and they didn’t make it easy for the Golden Knights.
It was an important win for both Vegas and DeBoer, who met with the media for the first time as the Head Coach of this franchise prior to the game.
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There is such a thing as winning the press conference, and DeBoer certainly did that as he approached the situation with honesty and humor.
After all, DeBoer was behind the bench for the San Jose Sharks, the arch-nemesis of the Golden Knights and he was the architect of that controversial First Round playoff series between the two rivals last year.
So, it was to be expected that things would be awkward between coach and players at first given the amount of ill-feeling that has swirled around between the Knights and the Sharks.
Like bumping into an ex-girlfriend at the store.
But DeBoer addressed that perfectly and he went on to outline what he expects from this group of players and the plan going forward.
It was an impressive press conference from the Vegas Golden Knights’ new Head Coach and we had three main takeaways…
1. Three-game dress rehearsal
Peter DeBoer has to win the trust of these players, and vice-versa.
The key to doing that is to take things slowly and the new sheriff in town certainly plans to do exactly just that.
One of the main nuggets to come out of DeBoer’s first press conference as Head Coach of the Vegas Golden Knights was the fact that he plans to use the three games before the All-Star Break as a dress rehearsal.
By that he intends on using these next couple of games to observe his players and find out what he’s got at his disposal.
He would have no doubt liked what he saw from his players against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, including how some of the Knights’ big hitters in Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty stepped up to the plate.
And the players will get two more chances to impress their new bench boss before the All-Star break, with the bye week allowing DeBoer to dissect what he’s seen and then translate that information into his preferred systems.
There won’t be drastic changes but certain players will have the chance to prove their worth to this team to DeBoer, while others will be hoping to stake a claim for a much bigger role down the stretch.
Any tweaks to the system will be subtle given that there is just 32 games of the regular season remaining, and now is not the time to overhaul systems and execute wholesale changes.
2. DeBoer’s non-negotiables
One of the most interesting lines from Peter DeBoer’s opening press conference was his non-negotiables that he outlined.
Those are:
- Hard on the forecheck
- Playing north
- Defending hard
- Short shifts
- Tracking back
- Roll four lines
Some of those were already in place under Gerard Gallant, including being aggressive on the forecheck and rolling all four lines, but defending hard and giving shorter shifts to his players are hallmarks of DeBoer’s coaching philosophy.
And we saw one of those changes in full force on Thursday as a number of players shaved a few seconds of each shift, a ploy that will play into DeBoer wanting his players to be more aggressive in their own zone.
All in all, these are subtle changes but ones that will no doubt help to unlock the potential of this team.
After all, DeBoer boasts a glittering resume having taken both the New Jersey Devils and the San Jose Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final.
He has yet to win a championship but he now possesses the weapons at his disposal to take that next step, and that talent coupled with DeBoer’s vision of how to play the game could result in a historic summer.
3. DeBoer the right man
Sometimes, it is perfectly fine and normal to believe in two things at the same time.
In this instance, you are allowed to be upset about the firing of Gerard Gallant while being excited about the future under Peter DeBoer.
Because, while we can debate for days on whether it was the right decision to relieve Gallant of his duties or not, there is no denying that DeBoer is a brilliant coach.
He’s well respected by his players and you can tell that he’s already started to win over the Golden Knights locker room due to his infectious personality.
He demands respect because of his achievements and he mapped out during his press conference what his non-negotiables will be, which we covered in the previous slide.
DeBoer is putting all his cards on the table with everyone from the very get-go, and he’s already made it clear what he expects from his players over the last 33 regular season games.
He has already won over a lot of the media and some section of the fanbase, but it is his resume that should really impress.
The Sharks never failed to make the postseason under DeBoer and the Vegas Golden Knights have got an experienced coach behind the bench who knows what it takes to maximise talent and win.
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Although winning a press conference is hardly a major triumph, Peter DeBoer certainly made a good first impression and it is now up to the coach and the players to do their talking on the ice.