Philadelphia Flyers: Thoughts on the Alain Vigneault Press Conference
The 57-year-old bench-minder was introduced to the media and fans by the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
After hiring the 16-year NHL Head Coach on Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers officially presented Alain Vigneault to the Philadelphia community on Thursday morning. With General Manager Chuck Fletcher by his side, Vigneault didn’t say anything too noteworthy as he’s still getting accustomed to the ways of the franchise, but a couple of quotes caught my attention from the near 25-minute presser.
Vigneault praised the youthful talent currently on the Flyers roster, going on to say that they have “lots of upside” and that great goaltending is one of them. He was obviously referring to Carter Hart, who he’ll get the chance to coach at the 2019 IIHF World Championships for Team Canada in May.
He also made it clear that age won’t play a factor into whether a player makes the team or not, believing that “talent has no age” and if a 19-year-old can step in and help Philadelphia win, he’ll play. This was a good thing to hear from the longtime NHL coach and gives me confidence that guys like Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee will be given every opportunity to make the roster out of training camp in the fall.
I liked his comments on team leadership as well, citing that a player is “never too old to learn something and never too old to develop.” That may sound a bit concerning to some, as guys like Dale Weise and Jori Lehtera never changed during their Flyers tenure, but I’d say that Vigneault is twice the coach that Dave Hakstol and Scott Gordon are/were. Coaches like him don’t just waltz into the type of success he’d had in the past, and I have to think his teachings will get through to the players for the same reason.
Lastly, Vigneault said he specifically chose Philadelphia because he was “looking for an opportunity in the short term to win a Stanley Cup .” That was one of three things he was looking for in a potential landing spot, along with needing to be on the same page with his GM and a “first class” organization to work with. I tend to agree with the first reason and think that with the right moves in the summer, the Flyers could easily be a real playoff contender next season.
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Vigneault and Fletcher didn’t specify whether or not the current assistant coaches on the Flyers would be retained but said that he would talk to each one individually to get a sense of their ideas before heading to the World Championships in the coming weeks. Additionally, I liked that he showed a humorous side to his personality, sarcastically asking if he got criticized in New York when a question about it was asked. We won’t know if this was the correct hire until we see the on-ice product, but nothing in his press conference led me to believe he’s a bad fit.