Kirby Dach involved in pre-game discussions: great Martin St-Louis

When the Habs chose to hire Martin St-Louis as their coach, the risk was minimal. After all, he had been brought in on an interim basis and the club was going nowhere.

Then we saw that he was doing things differently, for better or for worse. This convinced Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton to offer him a three-year contract to stay in town.

Incidentally, he’ll be out of contract in just over a year. Will he get a contract extension this summer?

Anyway. One of the things he brings to the table is the way he talks to the players. He likes the youngsters to see the game in a different light, and he doesn’t hesitate to take the time to talk to them about it.

As you can see, when a player is left out for the evening’s game, the coach doesn’t ignore him in training.

And that brings us to Kirby Dach. He’s unlikely to return this year(although the door seems open…), but that doesn’t stop Martin St-Louis from keeping him involved.

As the center-forward said, and as reported by Eric Engels (Sportsnet), Dach is invited topre-scout meetings to keep himself involved.

Dach recently started skating again, and we imagine he’d like to play better than on the sidelines. However, we all know that’s not how it works.

And that’s why St-Louis wants to involve him in the pre-game meetings: to keep him involved. And Dach likes that… especially as his opinion has value in the meetings.

That’s the great thing about having a coaching staff like Martin and his assistants.

They want two-way conversations. I don’t have to just be there, be told what to do and think about it: my opinion is important. – Kirby Dach

Do you know many NHL coaches who do this? Hint: it’s not common.

Not only must it help the Habs and keep the player involved, but nobody’s going to tell me it’s bad for the player. After all, it’s something he’ll be able to keep in mind when he starts playing again.

And that’s even if he won’t be back until next season, after what will hopefully be a relatively normal summer of training.

Everyone knows that seeing the game in a different way can only help. I have a feeling that he’ll have a tough start to the season (learning to trust his knee may take a while), but once he’s unblocked… watch out.

In bursts

– Remember the historic comeback?

– Carey Price has the right to be at home.

– Matt Chapman in Seattle?

– Olympic Stadium: the problem isn’t just the roof. [JdeM]

– LPHF is on the rise.

VICTORY FOR WOMEN AND HOCKEY

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– BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) February 19, 2024