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NHL WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: SHARKS v CANUCKSMay 14, 2011Todd McLellanDoug WilsonVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA: Practice Day THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What do you remember from last year's Western Conference final with Niemi in particular, and take that to how he's playing for you now in these playoffs? Very similar? COACH McLELLAN: The memory of last year isn't that long ago. Again, it was a hell of a series. In my opinion, it wasn't a four-goal series. Pardon me, a four-game series. As far as Niemi goes, he was very, very good in that series. He's one of the big reasons why Chicago had success and was able to move on. He left us frustrated many nights, left us scratching our head and trying to solve him many nights. We're excited about having the prospect of him playing in this series and hopefully doing the same thing to the Canucks. Q. Todd, what do you learn from last year's Western Conference Finals? COACH McLELLAN: We understand the intensity goes up a little bit more. We experienced that, we felt it. We played in a building where there was 23-and-a-half-thousand people in Chicago. That environment, we've experienced it. I felt we started well in Game 1. We let our guard down a little bit in Game 2 last year, and it really cost us. So we can revert back to that experience. Other than that, this is brand-new, completely different. We can't completely compare the fact that we're back again. We have two new goaltenders, we have some defensemen that never played, we have a number of guys on our fourth line that didn't get to experience it, and the opponent is obviously different. It's always good to refer back a little bit, but not completely. Q. Doug, did not make a lot of changes in the regular season. Added a couple of guys. Did you feel at the beginning of this journey, this is where the eventual team would end up? If not, why did you add guys like Eager and Wellwood? What do they bring? DOUG WILSON: I'll go back to the first question. We started this group three years ago when Todd came here. We talked about the term 'growth.' We want to give the opportunity to our young players to come in and understand the system. Halfway through the year this year, January 16th, we struggled for a few games in a row, had a couple injuries. We needed to add a couple pieces to our team. Ben Eager came in. We needed physical presence. Kyle Wellwood fit in very well for us and we picked up Ian White. We're always looking for players that are familiar with the Western Conference, understand the type of play our coach wants, and are good team players. I will say this team has grown from the day Todd got here. Last year the experience in the playoffs was a good sign. Obviously, some of our players playing in the Olympics, too. Growth is a necessary thing to not only stay where you're at, but improve in this league. Q. What is it about Wellwood that has made him a good fit? COACH McLELLAN: Kyle has been a real good fit for us. He has found a home on our third line. We don't ask him to do more than he has to do. He has some confidence. I think that he's a very motivated young man right now. His life line as far as the NHL was cut short. He experienced life elsewhere as far as a hockey career goes. Probably wasn't the most enjoyable experience. He has now in front of him another opportunity that he wants to make good at. He's done a very good job so far. We're fortunate to have him. We're excited about having him. Q. Coach, Ryan had a tremendous series against Nashville. The Sedins can be hurtful. Do you have an idea of who you will match against who? COACH McLELLAN: Well, Ryan Kesler had a tremendous series against Nashville. He was a catalyst in that series. He not only played well defensively, but he played well offensively. Then the Sedins, you don't even have to say any more than that. They're tremendous as a pair. Anybody that plays with them plays well. They have two dynamic lines. We'll have a plan for both of them. When you start on the road, you don't necessarily get to dictate your plan. You have to be reactionary. We will be. Alain is a bright, smart coach. He'll have a good idea of how he wants to work his lines through and we will in turn react to that. Q. Todd, Doug mentioned your struggles in January. You came in here and got an overtime win. How was that? What impact did that have on your season? COACH McLELLAN: At that point it was real important for us. We were struggling. I believe we lost six games in a row. We played in Phoenix. We were on a father's trip. Our first or second win coming out of that was in Phoenix. Our third win coming out of it, a huge test for us at that time, was playing against Vancouver. When you're that far in front, and I've had this experience, during the regular season and you're number one in every category, as Vancouver was, and is right now, you're a testing ground for just about every other team. That was a huge test for us. It tested our resolve. Tough building to play in. We weren't sure how confident we were at that time. We found a way to win a game. From there, our season started to expand and grow a little bit more and we became a better team. Q. Todd, Kesler sat up here before and said, I have to get better, I can be better. Can you comment on that? Can he be better than he was against Nashville? Also on Niemi, is he a different goalie in the regular season to the playoffs? COACH McLELLAN: The Ryan Kesler one, I think that's how high-end athletes approach games. I believe that's how the elite push themselves, is to demand more from themselves. I sat and talked with our captain. I do that almost on a daily basis. He basically gave me the same message. He says, I'll be better, I can be better. He used those words. I've seen it with Yzerman, Lidstrom. The elite approach that game that way. They're never happy with what they have. Obviously, Ryan is playing that way. We have players that are approaching it the same way. The further you go, the tougher the task, the more you've got to elevate your game. Whoever does a better job is probably going to move on and get a chance to play for the Cup. Niemi, the second part of your question, I don't see a huge difference in his play from regular season to now. I think that's a valuable thing for him. He's just even keel. Never too high, never too low. An incredible work ethic. He has built up the trust amongst his teammates and coaching staff. He's just steady on the rudder with him. Nothing really fazes him. Q. Everyone keeps talking about the big three. It seems like those young guys, the Couture, Setoguchi, these are the ones stepping up just as much, if not more, than the so-called big three. How proud are you of the fact that those are home-grown guys? Talk about Couture, basically still a rookie, is playing out of his head. COACH McLELLAN: I'll grab the first part of that question. Doug has been here and drafted these young players, maybe he can address the second. As far as the first part goes, how important is it? I think we've proven that. We've had the big three. We've had one line in the past. We've had a line and a half. When it doesn't work and you get shut down, you have nothing else to turn to, you seldom win. That's why the playoffs are special. You can lose a player or two, and somebody else has to step up. If they're unable to do it, you usually don't succeed and move on. Right now we're lucky enough to have the Setoguchis, Coutures, the Torrey Mitchells. Kyle Wellwood, we talked about producing for us both offensively and defensively. That's allowed us to get to this point. We'll need more of it to win. DOUG WILSON: First of all, our scouting staff, led by Timmy Burke, deserves a lot of credit, the hockey sense that these players have. Make no mistake about it, it comes down to the coach that gives these players the opportunity. Players need to know they're believed in. Age doesn't matter. Look at Jonathan Toews last year, obviously Sidney Crosby. There's some players in the league that are going to have a huge impact very quickly. The players we have, whether it be Couture, Setoguchi, Demers, Vlasic, you can go down to the list, it does start right here. You'll see them out in key situations in any building at any time. Q. Who is the pressure on in this series considering the story lines, where these franchises have come and have been? COACH McLELLAN: Both of us. Both teams. You can't be in the final four without pressure. We have the same goals. Doesn't matter the story line or how we got here. Really doesn't matter. We're playing a seven-game series and both of us want to win. We have pressure on us, they have pressure on them. The fans in both cities are rabid fans. They're excited about the two teams. They want to prolong their hockey season, too. They want a June season. There's pressure on both teams. DOUG WILSON: Pressure as an athlete, that's what you want. That means opportunity. You want to be out on the ice when the game is on the line. I think both teams have groups of players. I go back to a year ago in this building, watching the Olympics, where we had a group of players that played in the gold medal game that wanted to be on that team, wanted to be in that environment. That's what you want in your people. Give us the opportunity to do something special. I think both teams feel pretty comfortable with their players having been through it, in their career, and as recent as last year. THE MODERATOR: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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