Though he never touches the puck, an NHL coach might be the single most important ingredient in a team's success or failure.
It falls to the coach to organize, teach, motivate and deploy the talent on his roster in order to generate on-ice results. Good or bad, he's the one who will be left at the podium at the end of every game to explain his matchups, his strategies, his players' performances and where he thinks his team can improve.
Being a spokesperson is only a small part of the job. The best coaches are the ones who truly bring out the best in their players thanks to their work behind the scenes.
Each year, the NHL Broadcasters' Association presents the Jack Adams Award to the coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success," per NHL.com. It's a directive that leaves plenty of room for personal interpretation among the voters.
Though there are exceptions, a look at the award's past winners shows that the broadcasters seem to favor newer coaches who generate big changes for their teams—like winner Patrick Roy did last year with the Colorado Avalanche. Also worth noting: Votes must be submitted at the end ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
Ranking the Top Early Candidates for 2014-15 Jack Adams Award
October 29th, 2014 by Carol Schram Leave a reply »
Advertisement