Rod Brind’Amour is no stranger to self-improvement — Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell joked this week that the gym at Brind’Amour’s house is nicer than the one the team uses at PNC Arena. But the NHL’s coronavirus pause has offered him an unusual opportunity to take a step back and hone his coaching skills.
By watching old game tape and communing with his fellow NHL coaches, Brind’Amour has used this time without hockey to do the same thing he has encouraged his players to do at home: Find some way to come back stronger than you were, even if that isn’t necessarily physically.
“Use this time to get better at something,” Brind’Amour said. “For me, I can be a better coach by listening to other coaches and hear them. Or family time. Our guys during the year, that’s one of the things they don’t get, so utilize this and find positives in all this, and when we come back hopefully we’ll be better and stronger in some areas. We’re in the same boat with everyone. There’s no one really getting an advantage here as far as the training and this and that. That’s the one area when we do come back, we’ll all be behind the 8-ball a little bit.”
The physical conditioning players can do is limited by their circumstances and surroundings. Hurricanes strength coach Bill Burniston even delivered equipment to some of the players who have remained in the area. Workouts plans are concocted, then accomplished the best they can.
For Brind’Amour, there’s no real change from the usual there. He remains as dedicated to his fitness as he did as a player and assistant coach, with perhaps even more time to work on it during this hiatus — while also serving as phys-ed teacher for his 8-year-old son, who earned the sympathy of former teammates and current NHL coaches Craig Berube and Rick Tocchet on an NHL Zoom call Friday.
But Brind’Amour has also tried to hone his coaching chops, in part by exchanging ideas with not only his coaches and staff but a few of his peers in the game, setting up Zoom calls to pick brains and share coping strategies. Some of it is preparation, working with his assistants to game-plan as much as they can given how few variables they control. Some of it is professional development.
“That’s been interesting,” Brind’Amour said. “Just trying to stay on top of it, doing everything we can to be ready when we get back.”
It’s the same thing he has asked of his players during their time away from the rink: Stay safe, stay fit, get better. No one knows when they’ll be back together as a team, only that it will all happen very quickly when it does, and the teams that turn this time off to their advantage will be better off when that time comes.
“The main message we left to all of our guys is stay safe,” Brind’Amour said. “Make sure you’re doing your part, take care of your families, but stay home and try to do the best you can to stay in shape. For me, it’s trying to find different avenues to continue to learn the game and be better. There’s certain little things I’ve been doing to stay busy on that front.
“I’m as anxious as everyone else to get started and get back. We’ve also talked with my staff about different scenarios that may crop up, because you’re hearing different things, but just just be prepared for it. If it happens to be small groups, whatever it is, we need to have some sort of idea so we’re not unprepared when the time comes.”
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