LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Vegas Golden Knights head coach Ryan Craig said the team is starting over this season after coming within two wins of a Stanley Cup a few months ago.
Craig spoke about the team’s identity and goals during training camp.
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Building a new identity
“Well, we’re starting over in the sense that everybody starts at zero again,” Craig said. “You know, there was the talk of the unfinished business, I think, kind of as camp started here. We have guys that are competitors and want to win the Stanley Cup. So we’re not going to shy away from talking about our goal. But you don’t get there on game one. You work, you build, you go through things. I’ve talked about hardening ourselves as a group in those situations. So when we earn the opportunity to play in mid-April and beyond, we’re ready. And we’re going to have to create our own identity that way. This team is not exactly the same as the team was last year, just like every other team isn’t. So we’ll work and forge our way through that. We’ll find out lots about each other as we go through our successes and the times there where we have to refocus or regroup, and we’ll build.”
On communication and accountability
Craig said communication and directness are central to his coaching approach.
“Well, I think part of it has to be awareness,” Craig said. “But as a player, what I went through is I wanted to be told the truth. I wanted to know where I stood. That allows you as a player to do something about it, respond to it. Yeah, I think accountability is a great word, but communication might be the most important part because in order to hold people accountable, you have to communicate with them. And, you know, that’s something that we’ll continue to do here. We’ll continue to grow as my relationship grows with the players as the head coach. But direct, we don’t need to… Something I learned from all three of the coaches I worked with before, and even when John Tortorello was my coach playing, was we don’t need to let things grow. You deal with the things you have to deal with right now. Let’s deal with those problems because we’re going to move on to what’s next, and it’s about pushing ahead.”
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