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In episode #261, we're joined by Marc Crawford, Head Coach of the ZSC Lions.
Crawford's accolades are almost too long to list, but here are a few anyways: NHL Head Coach at the age of 33, youngest ever winner of the Jack Adams Award, Stanley Cup championship in just his second season in the NHL, and Head Coach of Team Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.
Currently, he’s enjoying his second tenure as the Head Coach of the Zurich Lions of the NLA, who he just led to a Swiss League Championship.
Listen as he shares why he decided to leave Wayne Gretzky on the bench, what he learned from working with a young Auston Matthews, and what all championship teams have in common.
VIDEO TIMESTAMPS:
- 0:00 First NHL job in Quebec
- 5:20 Process for making decisions
- 8:40 Puck battles and defending
- 11:40 Playoffs with Zurich/dissecting a game
- 18:00 Hockey culture in Europe
- 21:00 Defensive strengths in playoffs
- 25:30 Line matching
- 30:20 Coaching against Scotty Bowman/Detroit-Colorado rivalry
- 33:50 Winning first cup
- 38:10 Key lessons learned early in career
- 42:15 Changing the momentum of a game
- 46:55 First impression of Auston Matthews
- 53:10 Managing young players
- 57:30 West Coast Express in Vancouver
- 1:02:15 Coaching in the Olympics/Gretzky in the shootout
- 1:10:45 Coaching tree
- 1:13:40 Roger Neilson/Cup run with Canucks
