Latest / The Armchair GM's Sports Network / The Art of Coaching w/ Buffalo Sabres Alumnus Jay McKee - Sabres Semantics

Transcript

The Art of Coaching w/ Buffalo Sabres Alumnus Jay McKee - Sabres Semantics · The Armchair GM's Sports Network

0:00
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair Gym Sports Network.
0:34
Speaker 2: Times to sharpen those swords. You're listening to Saber Semantics,
0:39
Speaker 2: a hard hitting interview and discussion show featuring players, alumni,
0:46
Speaker 2: media and all others who covered the NHL's Buffalo Sabers.
0:57
Speaker 2: With interesting stories from the past and current oft of analysis,
1:01
Speaker 2: this show is sure to provide an entertaining and unique
1:03
Speaker 2: perspective for both Savers and hockey fans alike. Exclusively on
1:11
Speaker 2: the Armchair GM Sports Network.
1:14
Speaker 1: And we're back with Branford Bulldog's head coach and Buffalo
1:17
Speaker 1: Savers alumbus number seventy four, j McKee. Jay, really appreciate
1:20
Speaker 1: you taking the time to do this. Obviously it's an
1:22
Speaker 1: exciting time for your Bulldogs club as a head coach,
1:25
Speaker 1: but obviously you know great things going on in Buffalo
1:28
Speaker 1: as well right now. Just how excited are you to
1:30
Speaker 1: kind of watch that from afar but also be an
1:33
Speaker 1: exciting time for yourself personally.
1:35
Speaker 3: We're excited here. Obviously, we've had some really high energy
1:38
Speaker 3: practices and feel the guys are well prepared and I
1:42
Speaker 3: think they've been waiting to get to the playoffs for
1:44
Speaker 3: a while now, so they're all excited Buffalo. It's been
1:47
Speaker 3: a treat to watch. Been a bit of a magical
1:50
Speaker 3: season the way things have turned around. And you know,
1:53
Speaker 3: I've made Buffalo the area home for the past eighteen years,
1:58
Speaker 3: so I've seen the high and the lows, and and
2:01
Speaker 3: the energy around the city, the fans. It's coming back again,
2:05
Speaker 3: and it's it's like it was back in the old day.
2:07
Speaker 3: So it's it's got to be fun for the players,
2:09
Speaker 3: and I'm excited for him.
2:11
Speaker 1: Talk about how special that was for you being able
2:13
Speaker 1: to go back for that alumni night oh five oh six.
2:15
Speaker 1: We know how special that team was. You know, if
2:17
Speaker 1: they didn't get have a thousand injuries on the back end,
2:19
Speaker 1: you might have beat Carolina in that series. But how
2:22
Speaker 1: cool was it to reunite with some of those guys
2:24
Speaker 1: throwing that black and red jersey again and just you know,
2:26
Speaker 1: reminisce on some great times that you had in your
2:28
Speaker 1: playing career.
2:29
Speaker 3: It was special. You know, It's funny. I just said
2:31
Speaker 3: I've been made it home for eighteen years. You reminded
2:33
Speaker 3: me it's been longer than that. It's been twenty eight years.
2:35
Speaker 3: So no, it's to see those guys. You know, you
2:40
Speaker 3: play the game, you make really close relationships and friendships,
2:45
Speaker 3: you know, and just when the game takes guys different ways.
2:49
Speaker 3: Sure you stay in touch via text here there checking
2:51
Speaker 3: on guys, but there's a lot of guys I hadn't
2:54
Speaker 3: seen for a long long time, so it was it
2:57
Speaker 3: was pretty special catching up the guys being there in
3:00
Speaker 3: that moment, and you know, watching the Savers they just
3:03
Speaker 3: started to go on their run there, and I think
3:06
Speaker 3: that brought some excitement back to the fans. Seeing some
3:09
Speaker 3: of the little clips, I know I felt it, and
3:11
Speaker 3: seeing Danny Breer talk on the Jembotron, I think hit
3:13
Speaker 3: home for a lot of the fans and the players.
3:16
Speaker 3: It's been fun to watch.
3:17
Speaker 1: For you personally, how cool has it been to see
3:19
Speaker 1: Danny go on to become a general manager. Some of
3:22
Speaker 1: those other guys you played with are in prominent positions
3:24
Speaker 1: in the National Hockey League. Like when you look back
3:26
Speaker 1: on that, you know, as a player, you might have thought,
3:28
Speaker 1: you know, no way this guy's going to become that,
3:30
Speaker 1: or maybe you thought that this guy might be a
3:31
Speaker 1: general manager one day. Just seeing those guys that you
3:34
Speaker 1: played with now in those other roles and everybody sort
3:37
Speaker 1: of still involved in the game.
3:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty amazing when you when you're a player,
3:41
Speaker 3: you're just focused on playing and you live in the
3:43
Speaker 3: moment and you're living your dream at that level. It's
3:47
Speaker 3: not until you're a little bit later in your career.
3:49
Speaker 3: For me, it was, you know, maybe in my last
3:51
Speaker 3: two years that I started thinking about and asking questions
3:54
Speaker 3: with the coaching staff about how they got into it,
3:57
Speaker 3: how they felt about it, what they enjoyed and and
3:59
Speaker 3: did you know, you don't think about, hey, is this
4:02
Speaker 3: guy going to go? Is that kind of go? But
4:04
Speaker 3: you know now that I think there's maybe seven former
4:07
Speaker 3: teammates of mine that are GMS, and when I when
4:09
Speaker 3: I sit back and think about their character traits and
4:12
Speaker 3: the work ethic, and a lot of it's aligned. You know,
4:15
Speaker 3: really really good leaders that were on teams that I
4:18
Speaker 3: played for, and you know, I certainly wish them all success.
4:22
Speaker 1: At what point in your career did you start to think, Okay,
4:25
Speaker 1: maybe coaching is going to be something that I might
4:27
Speaker 1: want to pursue. I know that you talked about wanting
4:29
Speaker 1: to start in junior hockey instead of going right to
4:31
Speaker 1: the pros. You obviously coached a lot in Niger University
4:34
Speaker 1: arie Otters kitchen arrangers nowt here with Branford. So why
4:38
Speaker 1: did you sort of choose to go to the coaching route,
4:40
Speaker 1: And secondly, why did you choose to start in junior hockey.
4:43
Speaker 3: When I my lot Well, I had a major injury
4:46
Speaker 3: pelvic injury in Saint Louis my first year, and I
4:49
Speaker 3: couldn't train my lower half or my abdominals for two
4:53
Speaker 3: summers and I could feel myself slowing down in those
4:56
Speaker 3: following two years. So that's when I started to think
4:58
Speaker 3: about it. You know, I knew my my leash was
5:00
Speaker 3: getting shorter, you know. And then the year that I
5:04
Speaker 3: didn't sign after Pittsburgh, I skated with Niagara. Dave Burkholder
5:08
Speaker 3: was my junior coach, and he allowed me to skate
5:11
Speaker 3: with them to stake condition in case the contract came
5:14
Speaker 3: later on. And then maybe a month or two into it,
5:17
Speaker 3: he just asked, Hey, if you don't sign and you
5:19
Speaker 3: want to get into coaching, we'd love to have you here.
5:22
Speaker 3: So I I did that, worked with him as as
5:25
Speaker 3: a volunteer, and and uh, you know, Dave's a guy
5:28
Speaker 3: that mentored me as a as a young player in
5:30
Speaker 3: this league. You know, he's a fantastic person and really
5:35
Speaker 3: learned a lot from him as a player and then
5:36
Speaker 3: as a coach, and then was able to move on
5:38
Speaker 3: from there.
5:39
Speaker 1: How were you able to, I guess, be relatable as
5:42
Speaker 1: a coach because you played years in this league, Sudbury,
5:45
Speaker 1: Niagara falls, things like that, Like you were first round
5:48
Speaker 1: pick in the National Hockey League as well, so you
5:49
Speaker 1: understand the pressures of of that comes with that as well.
5:52
Speaker 1: So how do you think you're sort of relatable to
5:54
Speaker 1: these players now and able to get the most out
5:56
Speaker 1: of them.
5:57
Speaker 3: I don't I don't talk about I don't like talking
6:00
Speaker 3: about myself, so I don't talk about myself really with
6:02
Speaker 3: the players. Maybe some funny stories here and there, but
6:05
Speaker 3: I think there's naturally you can relate to them, building relationships,
6:10
Speaker 3: having a sense of humor, letting them know you're human,
6:13
Speaker 3: while also have in the authoritive elopment when the time
6:16
Speaker 3: is right. I just think building relationships is the most
6:20
Speaker 3: important thing, and building a connection to the players, and
6:24
Speaker 3: you know, if they have questions about certain things that
6:26
Speaker 3: obviously I have some experiences to draw on through my
6:31
Speaker 3: history of playing in this league and spending time in
6:34
Speaker 3: the HL and then playing in the NHL. You know,
6:37
Speaker 3: I know as a former player, I would lean on
6:40
Speaker 3: guys like that that had some experience for whether it's
6:43
Speaker 3: life advice or hockey advice.
6:46
Speaker 1: Talk about maybe some of those best leaders and I
6:50
Speaker 1: guess coaches that you had that that helped maybe shape
6:53
Speaker 1: how who you became as a leader and as a coach.
6:55
Speaker 1: Like who were some of those those guys that you
6:57
Speaker 1: looked up to and that you sort of tried to
6:58
Speaker 1: take little bits and pieces of to use in your style.
7:01
Speaker 3: Well, there was a lot of guys. I mean, I'm
7:03
Speaker 3: very grateful to have learned as a player under a
7:06
Speaker 3: lot of good coaches. Lindy Ruff obviously standing out. I
7:09
Speaker 3: had him for nine years in Buffalo. Dan Baals might
7:13
Speaker 3: just come off winning a Stanley Cup. You take different
7:16
Speaker 3: things from each guy. Assistant coaches obviously, you know, can
7:20
Speaker 3: be a little more personal. Back in the day and
7:22
Speaker 3: age that I played, where it was coaching through intimidation
7:25
Speaker 3: a little bit. So. Tony Gernado was fantastic, Bradshaw, Rick Walmsley.
7:30
Speaker 3: There's a lot of guys, Scott Arneill too many really
7:35
Speaker 3: to mention. Really grateful for all the help and advice
7:39
Speaker 3: and development they all they all help provide me.
7:43
Speaker 1: Was it nice to catch up with Lindy? Were able
7:45
Speaker 1: to see him at the five or six alumni night?
7:47
Speaker 1: And just you know, now that you become a coach yourself,
7:50
Speaker 1: was it cool? Is it cool to see him back
7:52
Speaker 1: now at the latter half of his career.
7:54
Speaker 3: I didn't go back in the morning. We had practice here,
7:57
Speaker 3: so I got there for a game time after they
7:59
Speaker 3: had us out. I just skated over and shook his hand,
8:02
Speaker 3: knowing that I was going to get out of there
8:04
Speaker 3: quickly after because we had a three and three coming up.
8:06
Speaker 3: So it would have been nice to stick around for
8:08
Speaker 3: the festivities and talking with the guys, but obviously my
8:11
Speaker 3: priority is here in Bradford.
8:14
Speaker 1: Is it cool to see Lindy back with the team?
8:16
Speaker 1: For obviously this resurgence and because when you think of
8:19
Speaker 1: the Sabers, you think of a few small individuals probably
8:23
Speaker 1: count them on one hand. I think Lindy rough would
8:25
Speaker 1: be one of them.
8:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean Lindy, he's been doing it for a
8:28
Speaker 3: long time now, He's had success and one of the
8:33
Speaker 3: you know the best parts about coaching is you know
8:36
Speaker 3: through your failures or struggles is where you have to
8:39
Speaker 3: find solutions, and you know, I can't think of another
8:42
Speaker 3: coach that he's coached for so long and been through
8:45
Speaker 3: so many scenarios. If anyone's going to find a way
8:47
Speaker 3: through the struggles that Buffalo is going through, it's certainly
8:50
Speaker 3: a guy like Lindy. So, you know, I'm excited for
8:53
Speaker 3: the organization, excited for him. You know, as a coach,
8:57
Speaker 3: I could just imagine going through those early struggles and
9:00
Speaker 3: finding a way to turn around that. The way that
9:02
Speaker 3: they did is pretty special.
9:04
Speaker 1: And you were there from nineteen ninety six to two
9:06
Speaker 1: thousand and six, you know, favorite memories on and off
9:09
Speaker 1: the ice. I know the ninety nine run was special,
9:10
Speaker 1: going to the Cup final, and also that five six
9:13
Speaker 1: team was very special as well. But as when you
9:15
Speaker 1: look back at your time in Buffalo, is there a
9:18
Speaker 1: couple of memories on and off the ice to stick
9:19
Speaker 1: out to you?
9:21
Speaker 3: There's so many memories. No, I don't think there's. Obviously
9:26
Speaker 3: those you mentioned were special times in my playing career,
9:29
Speaker 3: But it goes back to building relationships, you know, making
9:32
Speaker 3: so many not just within the team, but the city
9:35
Speaker 3: of Buffalo is it's a blue collar town. The restaurant owners,
9:39
Speaker 3: the people you meet the security of the arena. There's
9:42
Speaker 3: just so many good people that I've been blessed to
9:44
Speaker 3: have crossed path with. And obviously you lose touch, like
9:47
Speaker 3: I said, with a lot of them when you move on.
9:49
Speaker 3: But I just really enjoyed my experience, my time in Buffalo.
9:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, when you talk about I guess now with the
9:55
Speaker 1: buzz coming back to the city and everything like that,
9:58
Speaker 1: for I guess those younger fans that are younger than
10:00
Speaker 1: us that maybe weren't around to experience what ninety nine
10:03
Speaker 1: was like RO five or six or even six oh seven.
10:06
Speaker 1: With the buzz coming back into the city. What can
10:08
Speaker 1: you tell the fan base about how or even the players,
10:11
Speaker 1: how exciting of and a special of a place is
10:13
Speaker 1: Buffalo when you're winning.
10:15
Speaker 3: Well, I have a thirteen year old son who plays
10:17
Speaker 3: hockey and he hasn't seen a Buffalo Savers playoffs, So
10:20
Speaker 3: it's it's exciting. I mean, the fans there, it's a
10:24
Speaker 3: it's a true sports down. They love both you know,
10:26
Speaker 3: all their sports teams. You know, you can see the
10:29
Speaker 3: excitement building up, you know. I think everyone should just
10:32
Speaker 3: buckle up for Game one the playoffs. For them at home,
10:34
Speaker 3: it's going to be it's going to be electric. I've
10:36
Speaker 3: seen it, I've felt the building shake, and it's going
10:39
Speaker 3: to be special too. For the players that have been
10:41
Speaker 3: there for an extended period of time that haven't been
10:44
Speaker 3: a part of the experience, it's ahead of them. So
10:47
Speaker 3: I'm a bit envious because I enjoyed it so much,
10:49
Speaker 3: but I'm proud and excited for them.
10:52
Speaker 1: Was it odd those first couple of times you went
10:54
Speaker 1: back with Saint Louis and Pittsburgh as an away player
10:57
Speaker 1: to go to Buffalo and sort of have the fans
10:59
Speaker 1: get on you different ways.
11:01
Speaker 3: It's very strange. Fortunately, I, you know, I had good
11:05
Speaker 3: fans support there. They appreciated just guys that work hard
11:08
Speaker 3: and block shots, and so they were. They were fair
11:11
Speaker 3: to me when I returned. But it's unique going back
11:15
Speaker 3: to a team that you played for for so long,
11:18
Speaker 3: playing in that arena, it sort of feels surreal. It
11:21
Speaker 3: feels like a game outside of the game. I don't
11:24
Speaker 3: think I ever felt fully comfortable when as a player
11:27
Speaker 3: playing there. I felt incredibly comfortable. So yeah, it's unique,
11:31
Speaker 3: but it's something a lot of guys go through.
11:34
Speaker 1: Was there a favorite jersey that you liked? Did you
11:37
Speaker 1: like the black and red. Did you like the blue
11:38
Speaker 1: and gold? Which one did you like better?
11:40
Speaker 3: I wore the black and the black and red started
11:43
Speaker 3: my first year and ended my last year, so I
11:45
Speaker 3: wore the black and red throughout. I loved it. I
11:50
Speaker 3: am a big fan though, of the classic blue and
11:53
Speaker 3: goal that just I grew up watching, you know, hockey,
11:57
Speaker 3: and those are the colors, and you know, so part
12:00
Speaker 3: of the inspiration for me and and loving the sport
12:03
Speaker 3: was seeing those jerseys, all the old school ones Minnesota
12:06
Speaker 3: and North Stars, go back Gardiaks. You know, those those
12:09
Speaker 3: old school jerseys when you see them just kind of
12:11
Speaker 3: brings back old memories.
12:13
Speaker 1: Spencer Hyman told me that he's looking forward to hopefully
12:15
Speaker 1: having you show him a good wing spot in Buffalo
12:18
Speaker 1: in the draft in June. Is there a favorite one
12:21
Speaker 1: that when you're back in the city you like to
12:22
Speaker 1: go to?
12:23
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I live in a small I'm outside
12:26
Speaker 3: of the city about forty five minutes in a small
12:28
Speaker 3: harbor town up by Lake Ontario. We've got Maddie's Barbecue Wing.
12:32
Speaker 3: So I know I'm going to disappoint a lot of you.
12:34
Speaker 3: There's there's way too many good wing places to pick one,
12:37
Speaker 3: but it's my go to just up the road. Yeah.
12:40
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I guess what would be one. I guess
12:43
Speaker 1: common trend as a coach that you know you need
12:46
Speaker 1: to be successful as far as is there one common
12:49
Speaker 1: thing that you've seen from successful coach that you've had,
12:51
Speaker 1: or coached against, or coached with within your your staff, Like,
12:54
Speaker 1: is there one common trend that you really think that
12:56
Speaker 1: you need to have as a head coach to be successful,
12:59
Speaker 1: either at the junior level or the pro level.
13:02
Speaker 3: I don't think there can be one common trait. I
13:05
Speaker 3: think it's it's such an all encompassing position. You know,
13:10
Speaker 3: there's there's a lot of relationships. Obviously I mentioned is
13:13
Speaker 3: very important, but you know, the work ethic, the attention
13:16
Speaker 3: to detail, the connection between your staff and the train
13:20
Speaker 3: I mean, there's so much involved with being a head
13:23
Speaker 3: coach that number one. Every head coach, I'm sure embraces
13:27
Speaker 3: it's I'm not saying it's not fun, it's the best job.
13:30
Speaker 3: It's not a job, but it's the best thing to
13:33
Speaker 3: do in the world. But I couldn't point to one
13:36
Speaker 3: specific trade because you look at all the different great
13:39
Speaker 3: coaches that have coached in NHL history, and they're all
13:42
Speaker 3: so different. You know, every coach that I had the
13:45
Speaker 3: NHL very different personality, traits, detailed traits, the way they
13:51
Speaker 3: press buttons or don't, So I couldn't pick one common denominator.
13:56
Speaker 1: Okay, fair enough, Just a quick few more questions for
13:59
Speaker 1: Eja talking about this. This Branford team really looks like
14:03
Speaker 1: it's gonna be a special season. You guys have high hopes,
14:05
Speaker 1: high expectations from yourself and outside the pressures as well.
14:08
Speaker 1: How are you sort of being able to keep that
14:11
Speaker 1: those guys together focused and getting the number one seed
14:14
Speaker 1: the Hamilton Spectator Trophy, being I guess the top dog,
14:16
Speaker 1: so to speak, but knowing that you're going to get
14:18
Speaker 1: the best everybody's best effort gaming and game out, getting
14:21
Speaker 1: through the entire regular season and now heading into playoffs.
14:25
Speaker 1: How have you been able to manage all the different
14:27
Speaker 1: changes and all of the new players coming in and
14:29
Speaker 1: out of the organization.
14:30
Speaker 3: Well, adversity is part of a lead that leads to success.
14:34
Speaker 3: You have to go through challenging things, whether it's injuries,
14:37
Speaker 3: new players, new ownership, new staff. You know, we focus
14:41
Speaker 3: one day at a time. I don't believe in pressure.
14:43
Speaker 3: When you when you focus one day at a time.
14:47
Speaker 3: You know, I'm greatful that fantastic staff alongside with me here.
14:51
Speaker 3: Ownership is incredible and we have a great dressing room,
14:54
Speaker 3: a great culture in the room. So you know, when
14:58
Speaker 3: you go one day at a time, and as as
15:00
Speaker 3: a coach, when you feel you have them very prepared,
15:03
Speaker 3: You've got a strong room, you know, great execution, they connect.
15:11
Speaker 3: I don't feel pressure, so I don't want our players
15:13
Speaker 3: to as well. I feel when you go out there,
15:16
Speaker 3: you're prepared, you give everything you have, You come in focused,
15:20
Speaker 3: and you can as a team if each player can
15:22
Speaker 3: look in the mirror after and say they were for focus, prepared,
15:25
Speaker 3: gave their effort and their best performance possible on the ice,
15:28
Speaker 3: it's not about wins and losses. To me, success as
15:33
Speaker 3: a byproduct of just playing the right way and being prepared.
15:36
Speaker 1: I guess how much did the ownership how much does
15:39
Speaker 1: that play a factor in it as well? Obviously the Anlauers,
15:42
Speaker 1: what they did for you and Hamilton moving to Branford
15:44
Speaker 1: here and now with the Hyman family, how much has
15:47
Speaker 1: that those relationships with those two ownership groups helped you,
15:51
Speaker 1: you know, become the coach that you can and give
15:54
Speaker 1: you all the resources possible to make this, you know,
15:57
Speaker 1: such a sustainable or a winning organization.
15:59
Speaker 3: Well, the transition was seamless. Both fantastic ownership groups. You know,
16:05
Speaker 3: I believe leadership starts at the top, and that starts
16:08
Speaker 3: with your ownership. Culture starts from the top, That begins
16:12
Speaker 3: with ownership, and it filters its way on down. So
16:15
Speaker 3: we're incredibly grateful here, very blessed you know Michael Anlauer
16:20
Speaker 3: and what he did for this organization and bringing it
16:22
Speaker 3: here and building this facility and providing what he did
16:26
Speaker 3: for the organization was incredible. And obviously when you have
16:30
Speaker 3: a couple of HL championships a show for as an owner,
16:33
Speaker 3: you're doing things right. The Hymen group has been incredibly energetic,
16:37
Speaker 3: incredibly passionate, and like I said, it's been a seamless transition.
16:42
Speaker 3: They provide everything possible for these kids to have success.
16:47
Speaker 3: We're in a we're in a spot I certainly.
16:48
Speaker 1: Love being absolutely gonna have homeless advantage hopefully throughout the playoffs.
16:52
Speaker 1: But I guess Jay, my last coaching related question for
16:55
Speaker 1: you is, let's say tomorrow, just for whatever reason, you
16:57
Speaker 1: decided to stop coaching, tomorrow was your last day of
17:00
Speaker 1: of ever coaching a game. I don't want to put
17:02
Speaker 1: that pressure on you, but you code, you know, over
17:04
Speaker 1: three hundred wins in this league, two hundred with the
17:06
Speaker 1: Bulldogs organization. How fulfilled and how just I guess happy
17:10
Speaker 1: would you be with what you've been able to accomplish
17:14
Speaker 1: after your your obviously successful playing career and now you
17:17
Speaker 1: know as a coach, if you were to say, you
17:19
Speaker 1: know what, I'll hang them up tomorrow, well.
17:21
Speaker 3: I won't hang them up tomorrow. What I do, No,
17:25
Speaker 3: I'm I'm very happy with my my my family. I
17:28
Speaker 3: have a wonderful children, a wonderful wife, the relationships, like
17:32
Speaker 3: I said, that I've built, you know, I'm I'm I'm
17:36
Speaker 3: grateful for life. I'm looking forward tomorrow. You know. I
17:41
Speaker 3: love this job and I certainly, like I said, I
17:44
Speaker 3: won't be hanging them up. But I just feel very
17:46
Speaker 3: fortunate for what the game has provided me and the
17:49
Speaker 3: relationships that I've made. And I'll continue this as long
17:53
Speaker 3: as they can.
17:54
Speaker 1: Developmental league for the players and the coaches as well. Right,
17:56
Speaker 1: you know, maybe taking that next step level or that
17:58
Speaker 1: next level at some point to something and that maybe
18:00
Speaker 1: you'd be interested down the road. But maybe with a
18:02
Speaker 1: couple more rings on your fingers right with the bulldogs.
18:05
Speaker 3: No, I, like I said, I love I love it here.
18:07
Speaker 3: I love this job. My focus is here, and you
18:11
Speaker 3: know we're obviously, whether you're a player or a coach,
18:15
Speaker 3: you're in a sport where it's already taken me down
18:17
Speaker 3: a number of different paths. And I don't know what
18:19
Speaker 3: the future holds, but I do know how much I
18:22
Speaker 3: enjoyed here right now.
18:23
Speaker 1: Absolutely so. My last question for you, is there a
18:25
Speaker 1: favorite Rick Geneet moments that you had with Rick or
18:29
Speaker 1: in passing, or a favorite call that you had of his?
18:33
Speaker 3: Oh so many good calls. No, you know what, I
18:36
Speaker 3: think it wouldn't be one specific moment. For those who
18:40
Speaker 3: knew Rick On on a personal level, just a really
18:44
Speaker 3: kind hearted human being with an incredible sense of humor.
18:47
Speaker 3: He had a different joke every day, and you know,
18:51
Speaker 3: I don't think I ever saw him without a smile.
18:53
Speaker 3: He was just lit up a room. He's a treat
18:55
Speaker 3: to be around and grateful that I had the opportunity
18:59
Speaker 3: to get to know him.
19:00
Speaker 1: The message for the fans going down to our j
19:02
Speaker 1: way now that it's called for those block parties and
19:04
Speaker 1: everything that's hopefully going to come at the end of
19:07
Speaker 1: April would be your message to the Sabers fans to
19:08
Speaker 1: get ready for it.
19:10
Speaker 3: Now, do you believe No, it's exciting to watch what
19:14
Speaker 3: they're doing. I think the fans know, they can see it,
19:17
Speaker 3: they can feel it, and I'm just excited for the
19:21
Speaker 3: city they deserve. There's such a passionate fan base that
19:23
Speaker 3: they deserve success.
19:26
Speaker 1: Absolutely. There's j McKee, head coach of the Branford Bulldogs,
19:28
Speaker 1: top seeded Brandford Bulldogs and obviously sid Buffalo Sabers alumnus
19:32
Speaker 1: number seventy four. J really appreciate you doing this. I
19:34
Speaker 1: know there's a lot of Sabers fans that still try
19:36
Speaker 1: to keep up with you and are excited to see
19:38
Speaker 1: your coaching career and then this success. You've had so
19:41
Speaker 1: best of luck down the stretch and continued success here.
19:44
Speaker 3: Thank you. I appreciate your time.
19:45
Speaker 4: Did you know that the global pet food stores in
19:47
Speaker 4: the Niagara region are all independently owned by members of
19:50
Speaker 4: the local community. We believe that pets are truly part
19:53
Speaker 4: of the family and are a source of joy and
19:55
Speaker 4: everyday homes around the world, Yet that living loving experience
19:58
Speaker 4: usually doesn't happen all on its own, but takes extra
20:01
Speaker 4: effort to create and maintain. And we want you to
20:04
Speaker 4: know that the owners and staff at Global Pet Foods
20:06
Speaker 4: are always there to help you keep it going anyway
20:09
Speaker 4: we can, because we believe we hope to see you
20:11
Speaker 4: at one of the following locations across Niagara thirty six
20:14
Speaker 4: forty three Portage Road in Niagara Falls, one sixty Highway
20:17
Speaker 4: twenty in font Hill, as well as four hundred Scott
20:19
Speaker 4: Street and Saint Catharine's Global Pet Foods, where pets are
20:23
Speaker 4: undeniably part of the family.
20:29
Speaker 2: You're listening to the armchair GM Sports Network. Hey, here
20:39
Speaker 2: we call what talking died in Bookay.
20:42
Speaker 1: Here we call the boys and Blue light Boat.
20:46
Speaker 2: Here we call me some North's.
20:51
Speaker 3: Here you.
20:58
Speaker 4: Say, let's go.
21:02
Speaker 1: Here with the Vice president General manager of the Branford Bulldogs,
21:04
Speaker 1: Spencer Higman. Spencer, really appreciate you taking the time to
21:06
Speaker 1: do this right before an exciting, hopefully the playoff run
21:10
Speaker 1: for the Bulldogs. Uh here doing a sit down with
21:13
Speaker 1: obviously your head coach j McKee, great Sabers alumni as well.
21:17
Speaker 1: You know, a lot a lot of a lot of
21:19
Speaker 1: people look back on his playing days but his coaching
21:22
Speaker 1: career has almost been as impressive. What has been I
21:25
Speaker 1: guess the biggest thing getting to know j McKee over
21:27
Speaker 1: the last two years.
21:29
Speaker 5: Yeah, Jay's been Uh, he's been awesome. You know, obviously
21:32
Speaker 5: just come into the league as a you know, a
21:35
Speaker 5: new manager, you know, to have a veteran presence behind
21:39
Speaker 5: the bench, a guy that you know has won a
21:42
Speaker 5: championship at this level. You know, it could have asked
21:45
Speaker 5: for a better guy to to be my coach.
21:48
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And so what what has sort of impressed you
21:50
Speaker 1: about Jay getting to know him? Did you did you
21:52
Speaker 1: have any prior knowledge of him, a relationship or or
21:55
Speaker 1: anything like that, because I know the hockey world is
21:57
Speaker 1: really small in that sense. So I guess what we
22:00
Speaker 1: your first impressions when you got to see him as
22:02
Speaker 1: a coach here.
22:03
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know what like first impression like meeting Jay
22:07
Speaker 5: is you know his first He's a great human being, right,
22:09
Speaker 5: He's a great guy, very friendly.
22:12
Speaker 6: You know, obviously I knew of Jay, you know, being
22:14
Speaker 6: a you.
22:15
Speaker 5: Know, long term NHL player and a veteran played I
22:17
Speaker 5: think over eight hundred NHL games, which is you know, unbelievable.
22:20
Speaker 5: And you know I watched the Savers two follow them.
22:22
Speaker 5: I'm obviously being being close and you know it's uh,
22:28
Speaker 5: it was great.
22:29
Speaker 6: You know.
22:29
Speaker 5: The one thing that I noticed through last year, you know,
22:32
Speaker 5: down the stretch into playoffs.
22:34
Speaker 6: You know, it's just a calmness on our bench. Uh.
22:36
Speaker 5: You know, my dad always said to me the number
22:38
Speaker 5: one trait that a coach will give your team as
22:40
Speaker 5: his personality. A team will always take on the coach's
22:43
Speaker 5: personality and very happy that they're taking on Jay's because
22:46
Speaker 5: he's he's calm, He's still like he's humble.
22:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, and what sort of makes him special as far
22:51
Speaker 1: as like delegating how he deals with his assistants as
22:54
Speaker 1: players the media, like how how how does his day
22:58
Speaker 1: to day? How is that a reflection of what you
23:00
Speaker 1: guys want from this organization?
23:02
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's great.
23:02
Speaker 5: I mean, like you know, for for for me, I
23:05
Speaker 5: think the biggest thing is the managers empowering people in
23:07
Speaker 5: your organization to do everything they can do to the
23:10
Speaker 5: best of their ability and giving them responsibility. And that's
23:12
Speaker 5: what I see from Jay. You know, Vince Lace runs
23:15
Speaker 5: our power play, Ryan Kubert runs our penalty kill. Uh,
23:18
Speaker 5: He's there to support them, but empowers them to to
23:22
Speaker 5: take on the responsibility and to do a good job
23:24
Speaker 5: with it, you know. So for for me, uh you know,
23:28
Speaker 5: I think Jay's got a great staff here, you know,
23:31
Speaker 5: and he's unbelievable leading them.
23:32
Speaker 1: I guess what would what would be one thing that
23:34
Speaker 1: general public wouldn't know about j McKee just about his personality,
23:37
Speaker 1: how he carries himself, because I know, you know, in
23:39
Speaker 1: front of the camera he tries to keep it low key,
23:42
Speaker 1: and but I know he's got quite the personality off
23:44
Speaker 1: the ice.
23:44
Speaker 5: Yeah, he's a big kid, you know, and uh, you know,
23:47
Speaker 5: at times probably you think he's still playing, right, but
23:49
Speaker 5: you know, he he's just a great, great person. Uh
23:53
Speaker 5: you know, you see him with his with his kids
23:54
Speaker 5: and they come into the building. He's a great father,
23:57
Speaker 5: you know, and and just a guy that you know,
24:00
Speaker 5: you're really.
24:01
Speaker 6: Excited for for these boys to get to.
24:03
Speaker 5: Work from, you know, not just on the ice, but
24:05
Speaker 5: off the ice. And for us, it's it's it's an
24:08
Speaker 5: honor that he's our head coach.
24:09
Speaker 1: I guess that that's another thing, right because when you're
24:12
Speaker 1: you're such a successful coach at a at a developmental level.
24:15
Speaker 1: I know he might have had some looks in the
24:17
Speaker 1: past for for pro jobs and things like that, but
24:20
Speaker 1: he stayed here in Branford. You know, if that does
24:22
Speaker 1: happen eventually down the road, just how happy would you
24:24
Speaker 1: be for him in that scenario to be able to
24:27
Speaker 1: obviously grow as a as a as a coach as well,
24:29
Speaker 1: just like the players.
24:30
Speaker 5: Yeah, well, I mean I don't want to lose him, obviously,
24:32
Speaker 5: but but I also you know, understand that the OHL's
24:36
Speaker 5: Development League and when you're a player, a coach, a manager,
24:40
Speaker 5: you know, working in the business staff, equipment, staff, trainers, medical,
24:45
Speaker 5: you're developing to try and get to a higher level.
24:47
Speaker 6: And I think Jay is ready.
24:50
Speaker 5: You know, at the end of the day, we want
24:52
Speaker 5: the best not all for our players, but for our staff,
24:54
Speaker 5: and you know, there's no question he's ready to be
24:56
Speaker 5: an NHL head coach.
24:57
Speaker 3: Yeah.
24:58
Speaker 1: Just how special was that to see him rec regnized
25:00
Speaker 1: that the five or six alumni night, putting on that
25:02
Speaker 1: black and red seventy four McKey jersey again and just
25:06
Speaker 1: seeing him, you know, sort of reflect on his playing
25:09
Speaker 1: career and be recognized for what was a special team
25:12
Speaker 1: at that time. And then maybe for him to just
25:15
Speaker 1: be recognized in Buffalo for all those great years he had.
25:18
Speaker 5: Yeah, it's awesome. You know, I know that night meant
25:21
Speaker 5: a lot to him. You know, I think it's more
25:24
Speaker 5: seeing your old buddies and teammates and guys you went to.
25:26
Speaker 6: Battle with and war with.
25:27
Speaker 5: And you know, I think when you're a part of
25:30
Speaker 5: a hockey team, you really understand that and you know,
25:32
Speaker 5: getting to get back together with them, and you know,
25:34
Speaker 5: in Buffalo, especially with the year that the Savers are having,
25:37
Speaker 5: it's pretty cool, right, So we're excited for him. I
25:40
Speaker 5: know it's great to watch that and see him, you know,
25:43
Speaker 5: have success there.
25:44
Speaker 1: How is he sort of made the team better every day,
25:46
Speaker 1: managed and navigated through a lot of the changes. Obviously
25:49
Speaker 1: you went out and acquired a lot of top end
25:51
Speaker 1: players and trying to put everybody together, fit the pieces
25:54
Speaker 1: of the puzzle together in the best way. How do
25:56
Speaker 1: you think he sort of went about that as the
25:57
Speaker 1: season's gone on, a lot of new players in and
26:00
Speaker 1: and sort of tried to put it all together to
26:02
Speaker 1: try to be a championship winning team.
26:03
Speaker 6: Yeah.
26:04
Speaker 5: I said this actually yesterday to someone. But I don't
26:08
Speaker 5: know if we go all in if Jay's not our
26:10
Speaker 5: head coach. You know, I think our roster was ready.
26:15
Speaker 5: You know, we had a lot of draft capital and
26:17
Speaker 5: a really good core coming back. But at the same time,
26:20
Speaker 5: as my dad always says, you can have a Ferrari,
26:22
Speaker 5: but if you can't drive stick and then the car
26:24
Speaker 5: doesn't go anywhere, you know. So we've got great players,
26:27
Speaker 5: but a coach really molds the team. And I think
26:29
Speaker 5: Jay's don an unbelievable job. And I'd argue that it's
26:32
Speaker 5: harder to coach a team, you know, with this much
26:35
Speaker 5: talent in the sense of managing people, you know, and
26:38
Speaker 5: that's what a coach does. He manages people and expectations,
26:42
Speaker 5: you know, than it is to just throw over three
26:44
Speaker 5: of your best players over the boards, right, So more fun,
26:48
Speaker 5: I would say, you know, But at the same time,
26:49
Speaker 5: it's it's not an easy job, and he's an unbelievable,
26:53
Speaker 5: unbelievable job.
26:54
Speaker 1: This year, and just talk about like that team cohesiveness,
26:57
Speaker 1: team success for the betterment of the organization and things
27:00
Speaker 1: like that. Like when you've got so many top end
27:02
Speaker 1: players getting them to buy in, it's sort of like
27:05
Speaker 1: like you see at a tournament like a World Juniors,
27:08
Speaker 1: where you have such great players, but it's fitting them
27:10
Speaker 1: all together. What do you think makes this hit, this
27:12
Speaker 1: group special that Jay has and then trying to put
27:15
Speaker 1: together that best lineup card to have you guys go
27:17
Speaker 1: far this year.
27:18
Speaker 5: Well, you know I mentioned it you know as well before.
27:21
Speaker 5: But but you know, when you have a first round
27:23
Speaker 5: NHL player in the OHL, they've really accomplished everything they
27:26
Speaker 5: need to as an individual, you know, you have to
27:29
Speaker 5: be a first round pick. You've likely had great statistics
27:34
Speaker 5: throughout your time in the OHL. You've had tremendous success
27:37
Speaker 5: as a player on the ice, but that doesn't mean
27:38
Speaker 5: you've had team success. You know, speaking to a lot
27:40
Speaker 5: of different people in the NHL, their expectation, what they
27:44
Speaker 5: like to see happen for a lot of their players
27:45
Speaker 5: is success and winning because knowing how to win, you know,
27:50
Speaker 5: is not easy. It's something you have to learn going
27:53
Speaker 5: through a run. And that's why going back to you know,
27:56
Speaker 5: college hockey versus the HL, and both are great paths
27:59
Speaker 5: if you go from the CHL to pro or you
28:01
Speaker 5: go college hockey from HL so holod hockey to pro.
28:03
Speaker 5: But the one thing the HL has is the NHL
28:06
Speaker 5: teams look at these guys are going through a sixty
28:08
Speaker 5: eight game schedule and then they're going through a four
28:10
Speaker 5: round war to win ultimately the Robinson Robertson Cup.
28:14
Speaker 6: So learning how to wins incredibly important.
28:16
Speaker 5: And you know, I think for our guys here, Jay's
28:19
Speaker 5: you know, again, he's always saying, we just have to
28:22
Speaker 5: play the right way, and you play the right way,
28:24
Speaker 5: wins will come, and he's bang on.
28:26
Speaker 1: And lastly, I guess, you know, if Jay were to
28:28
Speaker 1: stop coaching tomorrow for whatever reason, he's got three hundred,
28:31
Speaker 1: over three hundred wins in this league, over two hundred
28:33
Speaker 1: with the Bulldogs organization, what do you think, I guess
28:36
Speaker 1: in a few words, the lasting legacy that Jay would
28:38
Speaker 1: have on this organization.
28:39
Speaker 5: Well, I think he's far and away the best coach
28:42
Speaker 5: that the Bulldogs have ever had. You know, I think
28:46
Speaker 5: he's already cemented his legacy within this franchise. You know,
28:49
Speaker 5: I know he wants to complete the ultimate goal for
28:51
Speaker 5: for for our team and for you know, his his career,
28:54
Speaker 5: and really more so for our players, because I know
28:57
Speaker 5: that's how he thinks.
28:59
Speaker 6: You know.
29:00
Speaker 5: But I think Jay's a special coach. I think he's
29:04
Speaker 5: more than deserving to be at the next level. Uh
29:07
Speaker 5: And I know he's gonna, you know, go on his
29:09
Speaker 5: terms and in a great organization and spot.
29:11
Speaker 6: That's great for him. But you know, if not, you know,
29:14
Speaker 6: next year, we'd we'd be very happy.
29:17
Speaker 5: I would say to get him back if we could so,
29:20
Speaker 5: but I know he's got a lot of business and
29:21
Speaker 5: he wants to accomplished this spring first and and then
29:23
Speaker 5: we'll take it from there.
29:24
Speaker 1: Is he maybe gonna show you a Buffalo wing place
29:26
Speaker 1: at the draft in Buffalo this year?
29:28
Speaker 5: Well we actually went, uh we went last year for
29:31
Speaker 5: the combine and that's where we met without Adam Bannock
29:33
Speaker 5: and went to a nice restaurant there.
29:35
Speaker 6: So you know, Buffalo, Buffalo is a great city.
29:37
Speaker 5: Like it's got lots of great restaurants and especially in
29:40
Speaker 5: summer with the water and everything like that. I think
29:42
Speaker 5: it's one of the hidden gems and in the States,
29:45
Speaker 5: and it takes a lot of unnecessary flak for no reason.
29:48
Speaker 5: But you see what's happening with the Sabers this year,
29:51
Speaker 5: like what a what a what a team, what a franchise,
29:54
Speaker 5: And you know, like I said, it's a special hockey community.
29:57
Speaker 6: So the great fans, best fans absolutely.
30:00
Speaker 1: The vice president and general manager of the Branford Bulldog
30:02
Speaker 1: Spencer him and Spencer. Really appreciate you welcoming us in
30:05
Speaker 1: today for this special interview, and and best of luck
30:08
Speaker 1: to the Bulldogs down the stretch here and hopefully going
30:11
Speaker 1: going pretty far. And uh, you know obviously with Jay
30:13
Speaker 1: at the helm.
30:14
Speaker 6: Yeah, I appreciate Brian, thank you very much.
30:15
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Armchair GM Sports Network