Talk about making a good first impression.
Guy Boucher, the 11th Head Coach in the history of the Ottawa Senators, was officially introduced to the media in the Nation’s Capital today.
It was a whirlwind day that included 17 one on one interview and a forty minute press conference. By the time it was all said and done, Boucher had made a strong impression on Sens fans and shown exactly why Pierre Dorion and the rest of the Management group were so high on the 44 year old Quebec native.
Whether it was the way he addressed questions about Erik Karlsson, or about Mike Hoffman’s role on the team, or his plans to fix the power play, or his emphasis on defensive structure but not at the expense of creating offence- Boucher came off as well-prepared and passionate about his role in improving this hockey team.
With all due respect to the previous Coaches of this hockey team, I can’t recall ever being so impressed by the words of a Head Coach. Listening to his various media appearances today I was left with an overwhelming confidence in his ability to get the most out of this team.
Talk is one thing but getting results is an entirely different challenge. With that said, based on what we heard today, Boucher really does seem like the right guy to coach this team. He was that convincing today.
It’s early but the initial reaction from the players seems favourable too. Curtis Lazar showed support for the hire. Last night, I had a short conversation with Dion Phaneuf at the Pearl Jam concert and he seemed legitimately excited by the addition of Boucher. Said he would be a perfect fit here in Ottawa.
Gotta give Pierre Dorion some credit here too. The sideshow around the Bruce Boudreau interview and subsequent contract discussion had the potential to completely derail this process. He confronted that story head-on today and made it clear that Boucher was his guy. And while there was certainly some tension in the fan-base after Ottawa missed out on Boudreau, it seems like that tension quickly subsided today.
A coaching staff including Guy Boucher and a cup-winner with over 1,000 games as a Head Coach (and who seems to have an open mind to analytics) in Marc Crawford is a great way to set the tone for next season. Boucher is still expected to add a couple more people to his coaching staff too.
Guy Boucher and the Ottawa Senators obviously have a lot of work to do. But if day one was any indication, this is a guy that’s up to the challenge.
The video of this afternoon’s press conference can be found below.
