Vincent was consistently praised in Winnipeg for his ability to work with young players and prepare them for call-ups by the Jets. It’s easy to understand why Larsen and the Blue Jackets were drawn to the “teaching side” of his coaching ability during the interview process.
We asked him to describe his approach to players and the game, specifically to teaching young players and to running a power play. Larsen confirmed that Vincent will be running the power play as part of his duties.
First, to the players …
“I’m a student, so I love studying. I love reading. I love watching games and trying to understand how teams move, the X’s and O’s part of the game,” Vincent said. “But the first thing in teaching is to understand where they’re coming from, to listen to where they’re at, how they think, what their goals are, and from there, help them.
“I’ve studied leadership for quite some time now, and the No. 1 quality of any leader is you need to be able to listen. Truly listen, not just hearing words, but understanding what that person is saying. And then you work it quiet and you work it together.
“The only way to make it productive and to push people on the ice is to understand who they are as people. That’s what I do well. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes we have hard conversations. It’s not always fun and sunny outside. But it starts with listening and communicating.”
As for the power play …
“The biggest issue to me is understanding what we’re trying to do as a full unit, not just about one or two guys,” Vincent said. “It’s about pace. It’s about playing fast. It’s about attacking the net as much as possible. You can look at shot volume or shot selection, but I really think it’s a combination of both.”
It was at this point that Vincent’s words started to amplify with passion. And when he was asked if skill or will were the most important component, he really elevated.
“Yes! The difference-maker in all of this is retrieving (the puck) after an attack at the net,” Vincent said. “We call it the first touch after an attack, so you can keep the puck in the zone and continue your attack.
“There’s a point where it’s not about the system, it’s about your will to go get that puck back if you don’t score on the initial attack. It’s pace, for sure, and it’s intensity, yes, but it’s intensity with a purpose, knowing what we’re doing. Those are some of the key components we’ll talk about quite a bit.”
