Rob Williams: Coaching change is necessary before damage is done to developing young players.

Here is the national sports editor of the Daily Hive and its offside sports vertical television

star Rob Williams, Rob, the hockey guy.

I think he's still wearing the makeup.

CTV Morning Live with Carrie Adams and CBC will rue the day they bumped you, Rob.

How are you?

It was too busy.

It was back at your old stomping grounds, guys.

I remember popping by there, that's a secure some price, so yeah, that was good.

How are you guys?

The building is still up right then.

Okay.

Good to know.

Nine, six, nine, forever emblazoned, you know, did owe me as well.

Okay.

Rob, I plan to discuss with you here on the Vancouver Canox.

So let's start with our poll question because quite a admission yesterday from Nils Hogan

are about his confidence and where it's at and how it's hurt by the yoyoing in and out

of the lineup.

We're asking today on our poll question, are you worried about damage being done to the

young players development?

What says you?

Definitely, such a shame with Hogan or two because I, he was probably the guy more than

anyone else for me that stood out in training camp in Pentectin.

I thought he looked like a really motivated player and even still now, you don't really

question the effort, whatever reason it is though, multiple coaches seem to have an

issue with the details of his game, I guess, his positioning, playing the system, those

sorts of things.

But yeah, it just seems like this is a guy that should be, like, this is the worst team

in the NHL by a lot.

It just seems like this guy should be in the lineup.

He's not a player that I think that, I mean, you're going to have to give him away if you

trade him now, right?

Like, I, that's not a player I would trade.

I would, like, I still think that there's something there.

They've just got to find a way to get it out of them.

I guess.

Is that required a new coach then, Rob?

Is that, or is it, because it is like, it's fifth coach in the NHL.

That's what I'm saying here.

Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I, I do wonder about Adam.

I mean, look, I, I think they've got to make a change at head coach, regardless, you

know, not just for Niels Hoglander's benefit, but I think that there's, you know, this

is one of the worst seasons in, in Conox history.

The messaging from Adam foot at times is really hard to decipher for the media.

Yeah, I wonder if he's any better at speaking to the players and the dressing room.

And I also wonder how much with Adam foot changed from Rick Talkett in terms of, you know,

this is somewhat of a carryover from the last regime.

You know, I do wonder, like, did it change much for Hoglander?

Was it truly a fresh start for him?

So yeah, I do think he needs a fresh start, you know, would that, does that necessarily

need to be in a new city?

I don't know, but certainly a new health head coach, you know, could, you know, it could

change things.

We, you know, we don't know, but I, I would go that route before just giving him away.

I think that there's, you know, there's still some talent there.

I think there's still a player that has a good motor.

And I think that, you know, surely there's the, the things that, that are missing from

his game, you think would, which, you know, should be teachable, should be learnable.

And I think that there is enough this season where you can explain, like, you know, getting

off to the, to the rough start with the injury and being behind the ball right away.

And all that is fair.

But I'm a little worried that players a little further up the lineup, like young players

develop, like, as, the lander has EPD, have Z, Buium, Leibogren, up front, like, are

those guys developing under this coaching staff and particularly with this defensive system,

what's it doing to the collective confidence of that young player group that seemingly

still hasn't been able to get the system down and is still giving up goals aplenty?

Absolutely.

And I think this would be a different situation if Adam Ford had a long resume of success.

Certainly, he did not, right?

He had the, the one year in Colona, it didn't go well.

He had been an assistant coach.

People had spoken highly of him as an assistant coach running the defense.

But it's a different, it's a completely different job to be the assistant coach, to be, you

know, working with six defensemen then to be running an NHL bench, being the spokesperson

and the media, being the guy that, that sets the strategy for the entire team as a whole.

That's a totally different job.

And, you know, and I don't think there's any way to, to sugarcoat how this season has

gone.

I mean, look, he was dealt a bad hand.

I think we can all agree with that, you know, they, they were, they were weak at center

to begin the season.

Philip Headle goes down, Teddy Bluger goes down right away, and now suddenly A2 Ratu is

your second line center.

I mean, that's going to be hard for, for any head coach to succeed.

But, they still have, I think, of under achieves, under, underfoot this season, and I, you

know, for me, for me, it was a, it was a bit of a, a bit of a questionable decision to,

to, to name him head coach in the first place, and, you know, could this season have gone

any worse?

I mean, I guess the, their, their star players aren't fighting anymore, so there's that.

But, but otherwise, you know, I think Adam foot needs to take some responsibility, you

know, for this season.

20, 25, 26 Vancouver, connects the year the stars did not fight, at least there was no

infighting.

And on that, for season 10, on the eve of game 70, Rob, they're practicing, they're changing

on the fly the other day of practice.

That's who they are, and, and where they are, and of course, all of it adds up to the

eight home ice wins at the tail end of this eight game homestand facing Los Angeles

tonight.

So I guess the total could reach nine, but it's going to be a push to have to get two

of the final four, just to get to double digits in home ice, and a lot of the storyline

this week has been the letter from the connox to the season ticket holders or season ticket

members, as they like to call them.

They pointed out and off a lot of what they've done for those members, but they haven't

done much winning.

Ultimately, when push comes to shove, wouldn't you make of just the messaging, and ultimately

the takeaway that has not been well received by the people that pay the freight?

Yeah, I've got it in front of me here, I mean, like, it's just, I mean, a lot, look,

it's marketing speak, it's sales speak.

But I do think that there's an element here of, you know, talking to your, to your

paying customers, like, their idiots, I mean, and your bet, that's what's been right.

Exactly, exactly, you know, you know, that I'm just like, it was like, now we're building

the next generation with 10 picks in the 2026 draft, two of which are in the first route.

I mean, like, like, this is a full rebuild, like, everything went wrong.

Like, you would, I think what's missing here is some, a bit more thankfulness from, from

the organization, and a bit more of a vision going forward to say, like, look, this is

what we're going to be doing, instead, they say, you know, you know, pair that with a

young core ready to break through, like, they're acting like it's, it's, it's here, it's

now, like, as if, like, you should be so lucky to come and check out Kanak's hockey,

like, look, they've got to spin it, like, you know, marketing teams can't just come out

and say, like, look, we were a God awful, please forgive us and come watch us, they've got

to sell something.

So I'd get that, but I think that they could have done this in a way that didn't insult

the intelligence of their fans.

And particularly, like, look, when you mentioned the eight wins in 37 home games, four games

left, this is the worst season, this is the worst home record the Kanak's have ever had

in 56 years by a lot.

Like, a 400 points percentage was the previous low mark set in the 1970s.

They're at 2.284 points percentage currently.

That is the worst home record of any team in the NHL in the last 30 years.

Like, this is the previous, you know, the previous mark is, they're just a little bit worse

than the Anaheim Docks in 2020-2021, which was the pandemic shortened year.

So it was only 28 home games and there were no fans in the building.

So they didn't subject their fans to this.

And then after that, you have to go back to the 1999-2006 expansion Atlanta thrashers.

Like, the Atlanta thrashers and their very first year gave their fans more to cheer about

than these current Vancouver Kanak's, which is just unbelievable.

And also, that predated the loser point.

Like, they still have ties in the NHL at that point.

You didn't get points for shootout wins and three on three wins.

So yeah, so this is a historically terrible season for the Kanak's Justin General,

but particularly on home ice.

So for them to be raising ticket prices in any shape or form is, you know, I think, toned

out to say the least.

Mike, if you put the graphic back up there about the message, the note, please.

So you mentioned what wasn't said here, Rob, what was missing and some of the arrogance

and lack of gratitude.

The one line that I saw that didn't necessarily land with a lot of fans was pair that with

a young core ready to break through and that phrase in specific specifically.

And you just mentioned it as though you're on the verge of something and not at the beginning

of a rebuild.

Do you read that and get any kind of concerns that they're going to try and fast track

it again?

I mean, I don't know that I would make that leap necessarily.

That's, oh, I think that's in the back of every Kanak's fans mind right now though.

The worry about, okay, the minutes, something good happens.

Like if they win the draft lottery or suddenly they're going to start trading draft picks

to find a young center to play with Gavin McKenna or something like that.

If they get off to a decent start next year, like is the messaging going to change?

You know, I mean, the funny thing is, you know, ever since they mentioned the hybrid

rebuild, the Kanak's, I mean, they haven't gone on a win streak of any kind since then.

So there hasn't been any opportunity for them to even kid themselves.

Like they haven't won two in a row since December.

They've had, I was looking at it, like they've had two win streaks all season.

They had a three game win streak in October.

They had a four game win streak in December, that's it.

They haven't won two in a row on home ice in over a calendar year.

Like they haven't had a moment to even kid themselves.

So what happens when they inevitably have a bit of run of success?

I mean, we saw like the Willie Desjardins years, like the team like stayed afloat for a few

months.

What they do that are they, you know, is the team going to change?

So I do think that that's a concern, you know, Kanak's fans have been hurt before, like

the betting years, I think are all still fresh in people's minds.

So I think there's a definite concern that this organization is going to try to take a

short cut and fail because of it.

Yeah, I can sort of hear it now coming out of, you know, training camp.

Marco Rossi's here.

We've got the one to punt down the middle.

Oh, no, it's going to be a healthy, Tha-Ther-Demko who's had a full season, don't go there,

Jeff.

I can't wild card too.

There we go.

The British Columbia brain cannot process.

Tha-Ther-Demko is healthy now, okay?

That is not a statement that connects the wires in the BC brain anymore.

We've been, we've been talking about this, Rob.

We've heard a lot about new culture, fresh culture after the trade deadline.

And can X culture truly reset with number 40 here?

Or does Elias Patterson have to go for them to get to, quote, unquote, new culture?

Yeah, I mean, this was a topic of discussion in the press box on Tuesday.

Yeah, I kind of go back and forth on this.

I think clearly they would be better off if he was out of that dressing room for the purposes

of the culture.

I don't necessarily think that it's, you know, what happens if you don't get the deal

you want, though, in a trade?

Can you bring him back?

Because I do feel like this is a player that if he has any sort of run of success, maybe

a new coach, maybe, you know, good summer, maybe just, you know, being able to breathe a

little easier coming in October, if he has any run of success, if he shows any sort of

signs of improvement, signs of life, this is a player whose value I think will go up

significantly, because I think you can sell that.

You can sell, okay, no, he's, you know, he's back to some extent.

But I've also been the guy the last couple of years saying, no, he's going to be better

next year.

No, he's going to be better next year.

And every year that he does that, his value drops just a little bit more.

So at what point do you just cut your losses and say enough and get rid of him?

It just would seem like, are you going to give him away?

I don't know that does that make them better?

What if you get a Gavin mechanic, who's he going to play with?

I guess Rossi, but, you know, so that's a question, right?

Like, he's not a loud voice in that room, I don't think.

So I think he's that, but exactly.

But is just his mere presence is his or his off ice habits or his practice habits?

Is that a bad influence in the room?

That is a concern for me, certainly, and just the vibes, right?

Like, this is a guy that, you know, even in his latest media availability, you know, after

Tuesday's game, he was asked some very easy questions by the media, these were not hard

hitting questions.

One question sort of alluded to maybe he might have been, he might be better defensively

now than he used to be.

I think you can see, he was like, irked by that.

Like, how dare you say that, like, I was, that I wasn't so good at playing defensively,

and it was honestly, like, it wasn't a gotcha question, it was just really just an honest

question.

So, you know, and it just kind of makes me go like, okay, this is just, you know, I worry

about the attitude in that room, and, you know, I think we're seeing like some of the

young players that, you know, she's just starting to see them bond and starting to see

them connect, and I wonder, you know, do you need to remove that and bring a different

veteran into the room to kind of show that the young kids the way?

I think it's a fantastic point.

Sorry, Jeff, Rob, that the culture would be better without him for all the reasons you

list, and, you know, he's not the hardest worker, but that the team on the ice would be worse,

particularly if you're adding a high scoring winger or a top six winger in McKenna or

Stenberg in the draft, and yet when, when, when I think about Elias, Patterson, Tray, and I've

probably been guilty of not mentioning this enough when we've discussed that, I have been

hell bent on, no, you cannot retain salary for six more years.

You could take bad salary back, but put yourself in the shoes of the acquiring club.

He's already got a reputation as a coach killer.

Can you drop an $11.6 million at best second line, but maybe just third line center into

your room and not affect that culture and that chemistry, right, with guys looking around,

going, this guy's one of the high spade players, he's instantly the high spade player on our team

or one of them, and he's bringing that day to day, that's, that's going to be a tough

trade to make, even in the summer. I mean, it's not my money,

but I would be willing to retain on Elias, Patterson, Tray, he, that means a better return,

right? And I know, look, okay, it's on your, on your books for six more years.

How many of those six years are the connects going to be right at the cap? Because that,

that's the only, if we're talking about cap dollars, that's the only thing that really matters is,

is this going to put you at the cap? If you're going to be below the cap, who cares if you're,

if you've got dead money on the books, that's fine. Maybe by year 456, you're going to be thinking,

oh, cheese, like, you know, it'd be great if we didn't have this, this Elias, Patterson,

money on the books. But you're, you know, 456, the cap's also going to go up, you know,

expected to go up quite a bit. So that, you know, retaining two million dollars, three million

dollars, is going to be, what's that in today's dollars? That's going to be like retaining,

like a million and a half million. So I don't think it's as bad as it sounds because you're going

to get, that's going to, that's going to boost the return. I'd rather than have a bit of dead money

on the books and, and get a nice return than, than, than giving them away. I just want to bring

it back to basically where we started, where you suggested that it feels like they have to

move off this coach and, and find another one. Do you think it's as simple as promoting Mani,

another first time NHL head coach? Or do you think Mani might have some options? And as Mani

want this to be his jumping on point, even though he's got the connections with some of the players

in the organization, he also has ties to Toronto. He played in Columbus, if the Blue Jacket

select to go and look for a new coach, like, you know, he's got the championship bling to show

from last year. Do you think it's as cut and dry as, replace Adam foot with Mani Melholtra?

I don't, I mean, I also wonder like, like, what if they, I don't think they're going to draft

Caleb Melholtra, but if they do, I think you can't promote Mani, right? I don't think I think

having the father's son, maybe it would work for marketing purposes and give them something else

to send to season ticket numbers, but I think that would be a bad situation if you had the,

the father coaching the son at the NHL level. I don't think the connoxer number one on

any coach's list of teams, of teams to take over. I don't think there's a guarantee that Mani gets

hired by another NHL team. I think that he, you know, there's only 32 of these jobs, and I think

if he gets an opportunity, he'll take it. But yeah, I think that's something that the connox

need to look at. Like, is it, is Mani the right guy? Are you better off hiring someone that's

coached at the NHL level before? I think it's an interesting question. I think they need to look at

guys that can, that are, that can connect with young players. So probably a younger coach,

Skyline was early 40s, like Mani would make a lot of sense. They're not going to win a lot

anyways. So, you know, if there's a, if there's some grung pains in your one or your two,

you know, it's not the end of the world. But I do wonder, you know, I'm looking sort of through

the list of coaches that are out there that they could, you know, I'm compiling a list for,

for an article coming up in the next couple days here. You know, is Jay Woodcroft? Is that the guy?

Is, you know, Dave Hacksdall? Is that the guy maybe? I think you want a teacher, you want a guy

that can put in really good structure into this, to this team. But I think you want one that does

that without stifling the creativity. You want somebody that, you want Zeeb William to be, to be

thriving under this next head coach and not being stifled. Yeah, and we do have a precedent on

the father's son thing because the connox of Long said they could not, they had drawn a red line

and said, Cal foot, no one foot, we're not going to be a part of the organization here because

the presence of Adam, they viewed that as a conflict of interest. They wanted to avoid, although

maybe standards have changed here after a season like that. The denines, like I can't,

I'm trying to think of father's son coach. Can you imagine, like this, it would be great for

shows like this to talk about, it would give lots of, uh, uh, fodder. But like, could you imagine

if, I mean, we would be looking at the ice time every night, right? Did the coach's son play

a little bit too much? Is he being too hard on his own son? Yeah, he is, you know, like,

a scholar. Yeah, he's in the Carolina system. No, honestly, um, Rob, it would kind of be like a

minor hockey storyline. And that just might be appropriate for what's coming here with these Vancouver.

You know, even a, even a minor hockey, I don't remember working on line changes, you guys, so.

They assumed you had the line change thing down. Uh, Rob, great stuff. Thank you for this.

Have a marvelous week. Hope to see you on TV again. Until then. Thanks guys.