The Columbus Blue Jackets enter the 2024-25 season with new management. Final week, GM Don Waddell stopped by and mentioned the upcoming season and offered updates as we rely right down to the beginning of Coaching Camp.
At present, it’s head coach Dean Evason who stopped by. Like Waddell, Evason’s early time with the Blue Jackets has been fairly hectic given how late in the summertime he was named head coach. However as you will note, he and his workers have put within the work and are in a great place to get the season going.
Evason spoke with us for 20 minutes on Tuesday morning whereas he was on the airport. He opened up about quite a lot of subjects, together with his prime priorities at first of his tenure, what went into naming his teaching workers, and getting ready for coaching camp. He additionally opened up on a few of his philosophies in relation to how he’ll run camp, how he handles participant interactions on lineup selections as soon as the season will get going and rather more.
Right here is our full dialog.
Dean Evason Q&A
THW: Thanks for doing this, Dean. How have the primary few weeks on the job gone and what have you ever tried to prioritize that you just needed to perform throughout that point?
Evason: “Nicely, it’s a little bit hectic as a result of it’s a little bit bit later in the summertime. So, we’ve picked away. The primary precedence was placing the workers collectively which we expect we’ve completed a incredible job of getting high quality folks and really educated coaches put collectively. After which simply type of familiarizing ourselves with the group speaking to the gamers. After which now we’ve taken the following step into getting the coaching camp construction arrange in order that we’re in a great place to be detailed and tight once we get to camp.”
THW: Has there been numerous adjustment that you just’ve needed to make by way of that preparation due to the condensed schedule?
Evason: “No, it’s only a matter of taking the steps proper. You don’t need to soar too far forward. So we’re all the time simply going one step at a time. I believe when you attempt to get all of it completed in a shorter time period, it doesn’t bode effectively since you get forward of your self and then you definitely overlook about just a few particulars. We’re simply attempting to do all the things step-by-step and hopefully we’ve completed the proper factor and we’re on the proper tempo to get all of it completed.”
Rounding Out Teaching Employees
THW: You talked about the workers, Mike Haviland up from Cleveland to affix your workers. You’re clearly acquainted with Scott Ford and then you definitely determined to retain each Jared Boll and Steve McCarthy. Simply what stood out in a few of these selections to retain Boll and McCarthy, however then convey on Haviland and Ford?
Evason: “Rather a lot goes into it. With out going into nice element, as a head coach you do the analysis, you speak to those that and that you just belief which have labored with the personnel that you just’re bringing on board. Then it strikes to the interview technique of chatting with them by way of telephone or FaceTime or what have you ever. After which bodily assembly them and hopefully all their accomplishments and their resume matches up with their persona. Their group first mentality has been an enormous factor for me. We would like good folks inside the group. However clearly, we wish folks which have been round, which all 4 of them, together with Nick Backstrom, have been within the league or in hockey for a very long time and have a large amount of expertise.”
THW: Have you ever been in a position to set up what roles the coaches can have but, resembling who would function within the energy play, protection, penalty kill…?
Evason: “I’ve, and I’ve been requested this query rather a lot. There’s numerous duty and to enter all of them at nice element is troublesome. The underside line that I’ve stated to different folks is that, one factor that I stress to media and I additionally stress to the teaching workers is that it’s our programs, it’s our particular groups. It’s not one man as a result of one man heads it up or does the vast majority of the conferences. It doesn’t imply it’s his energy play. It’s the Columbus Blue Jackets energy play. And truthfully, in the end, it falls on me as the top coach if it messes up. I don’t like when folks say it’s so and so’s energy play, or it’s so-and-so’s PK. It’s our penalty kill, it’s our energy play, it’s our D zone, it’s our offensive zone, it’s our impartial zone and we’ll do it collectively. The workers need the identical as I would like. I would like our hockey membership to be shut and tight and collectively as a group. Our teaching workers must be the very same method.”
THW: We’re speaking the morning after the Patrik Laine commerce went down. Once we spoke to Don Waddell final week, he stated you and Laine had a dialog. What sort of a dialog was it after which what ideas do you’ve on Jordan Harris?
Evason: “Nicely, I and our teaching workers received’t become involved in trades. I don’t know if you wish to name it compartmentalize or what have you ever. Our job is to educate the group that we’ve in entrance of us. Don Waddell and his circle, the professional scouts, the assistant GMs, they make that decision with our enter if they’re in search of it. I spoke to Patrik about coming to camp as I spoke to each different participant and whoever comes by means of our door. It’s our job as coaches to educate them and to get one of the best out of them and provides us one of the best alternative to win video games. I didn’t have any expectations of who was going to be in our lineup or who wasn’t going to be in our lineup. It’s once we get to coaching camp, we’ve obtained our line combos arrange as of the previous couple of days. And we’ll attempt to discover chemistry inside these traces and the D pairs with a purpose to put our greatest group on the ice and greatest alternative to win hockey video games. So far as Harris, I don’t know a complete lot. We’re diving into watching video as we do with each participant and we’ll slot him in the place we see that he suits greatest for our hockey membership.”
THW: Have you ever been in a position to speak to the entire Blue Jackets up to now?
Evason: Just about everyone. There’s a few the fellows in Russia which have been overseas that I haven’t spoke to but, however just about each participant, sure.
THW: That would come with Kent Johnson. Do you’ve a sign of if he’ll be prepared for coaching camp?
Evason: “I don’t have like a definitive sure or no however yeah, we predict him to begin coaching camp for us.”
Evason’s Coaching Camp & Programs
THW: Dean, how are you going to function camp? How will having eight video games and restricted practices have an effect on the best way that you just attempt to function the camp by way of the selections you need to make and what the teaching workers has to do to with a purpose to be prepared?
Evason: “I believe there’s fairly just a few practices on the times off after which the times that there’s recreation days. There’s a group that’s going to play and mainly a group that’s not. I believe we’ve 40 one thing gamers. We’re going to have two groups. Our construction is we’ve obtained three days, excuse me, 4 days earlier than recreation one. We’re going to D-zone protection and penalty kill. Impartial zone, energy play, O-zone the next day with PP vs. PK. After which the fourth day goes to be an intersquad recreation that can lead into that fifth day and our first exhibition recreation.”
THW: You talked about your programs at your introductory presser, however then you definitely talked about tweaking it to suit the roster. Taking a look at what you had with Minnesota and now what you’ve with the Blue Jackets, do you’re feeling as if that there need to be a pair extra tweaks as a result of you’ve a little bit of a unique roster right here?
Evason: “No, I don’t. I believe the hockey membership is constructed with many alternative dimensions. I believe we’ve obtained a really well-rounded hockey membership that has talent and chew and offense and protection. I simply suppose we have to place or put the construction in place to ensure that our group to have success. Now we have to construct some relationships to get one of the best out of the gamers individually. However our construction will likely be set. I’m very large and our workers goes to be very large on particulars and construction. However we’re going to permit them additionally to play the sport freely from there. And in the event that they’re going to make errors, they’re going to make aggressive errors.”
THW: Out of your expertise, Dean, how lengthy does it take somebody to have the ability to adapt and study your system? Do they suppose for a lot of gamers it is perhaps one thing they’ve seen for the primary time?
Evason: “That’s why you’ve coaching camp and why there’s video shows. Then it strikes ahead into observe after which when you get these first couple of exhibition video games, now we are able to train. And I believe what numerous instances I believe at this stage, folks overlook that we nonetheless want to show. And that doesn’t imply simply our programs. However you might want to regularly train find out how to play the sport on the highest stage. We expect that if a man will get to the NHL, he doesn’t want any extra video or he doesn’t want any extra conferences as he is able to play. I believe coaches at our stage need to proceed to try this. And like I stated, I don’t suppose it takes very lengthy. We undergo these first 4 days of educating our programs. Then we’ll clearly break camp into our group and Cleveland’s group. After which as soon as we get some video so far as our exhibition video games, now we are able to proceed to show by means of that after which simply transfer ahead with our system construction.”
THW: What’s your philosophy in relation to lineup selections? I do know you’re not going to speak to the media about that a complete lot, however simply in relation to a person participant, what’s your method? Do you let your assistants deal with speaking to them? Do you personally speak to them? Simply what’s your particular person method when somebody doesn’t agree with one thing that you just determine?
Evason: “The most important factor for me is honesty and upfront and doing it personally. As an ex-player, no person desires to stroll by means of or stroll into the dressing room on recreation evening and see that their title’s not on the board. Communication is a significant factor for me and will likely be for the workers. I’ll converse to the gamers. I imply there’s conditions the place generally the assistant has to go converse and that’s why we construct the relationships with the gamers. However so far as making personnel selections on a game-to-game foundation or taking part in minutes or taking part in that given evening, I imagine it has to come back from the top coach. It has to come back head to head.”
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THW: Have you ever had an opportunity to speak to Trent Vogelhuber in Cleveland but about if the Monsters will play the identical system so if there’s a callup, a participant can seamlessly enter your lineup?
Evason: “I believe you hit it on the top. Trent was in our Zoom video assembly yesterday. Trent and his workers will all be in our video conferences previous to coaching camp and sure, they may play the identical system as we play. Actually, their workers must have the liberty to educate and make tweaks as they see match, however the guts of our system, how we play in all areas of the sport need to be in line. There’s nothing worse than a participant developing and attempting to study the system while you’re in a scenario the place you’re nervous, it’s your first recreation and now you’ve obtained to study your new system. It provides not solely the participant the chance to have success, however clearly it provides the Columbus Blue Jackets a possibility to have success from there.”
THW: And going again to that introductory press convention once more. You have been requested about the place you thought that you’d enhance. You’ve had time to replicate in your time in Minnesota. What do you suppose will make issues completely different this go round with the Blue Jackets? What’s going to you’re taking from all of your earlier expertise into this new one?
Evason: “Truthfully, you’re taking all of your experiences and hopefully you study from not solely the great ones however the dangerous ones. And simply going by means of the conferences with our teaching workers now, it’s great to already debate various things that we need to do within the defensive zone and within the impartial zone structurally. After which going by means of the American Hockey League after which in Minnesota, you do little issues that change the ambiance within the dressing room right into a optimistic setting and that’s what you need to do, proper? I imply our job is to get the gamers in essentially the most comfy place and assured place that they will exit and have success on the ice as a result of clearly we’re assist workers to assist the group, the gamers to get on the ice and win hockey video games.”
THW: And eventually, what can followers anticipate to see out of your group as soon as the common season will get underway and as soon as it’s all programs go?
Evason: Work, work primarily based, aggressive stress hockey. It’s not defensive hockey. It’s not offensive hockey. It’s each. And we need to be a well-rounded hockey membership that performs onerous each single evening. The one factor that we’ll stress to our group is that we’d get beat by some talent or one thing completely different. However we’ll by no means get outworked on any given evening. And I believe that’s what the followers will develop to like about our group. Anticipate that each day.”
