Here are a few quotes from Stars head coach Lindy Ruff and newly hired assistant coach James Patrick.
Ruff on the hiring of Patrick
“He played in the league for 20 years. He’s coached with me for a number of years. He’s played in just about every situation. He knows the game very well and I think he’ll be a tremendous asset to our young defensemen.
“We do have really good chemistry. I went through a long list of candidates, some with head coaching experience and I ended up going back to James, who I am very comfortable with. I like that he played defense and he’ll be working with the defense. I think he’ll be able to skate with them, he’s in that good of shape. I think from a development standpoint, he’ll be really good with our defensemen.”
Ruff on coaching responsibilities
“Curt (Fraser) will be working with the power play and hand-in-hand with me on the forwards. James will be handling the defense and a lot of the penalty killing for the team. We’ll share some of that responsibility. I like to have a little bit of input seeing that I am standing down at the end of the bench with the forwards, they’re coming off the ice, and he’s at the other end with the defense. He’ll be the voice of it, but I’ll be involved to a certain extent.”
Patrick on getting the Dallas job
“I certainly love working with him. I played with him in New York and I played for him my last six years and coached with for over seven now. I have a ton of respect for him as a person and as a coach. I am really excited that it was able to work out this way. I know he had a lot of options and I am really excited that he wanted to stay with me.”
Patrick on his relationship with Ruff
“We do see the game the same way, but not always. We have discussions on parts of the game that turn into debates. I’ve been able to feed off of Lindy. It came closer in my last years as a player. When I came to Buffalo I was an older player and I was able to stay there, even as I got up there in age, because they had some young defensemen – Brian Campbell, Jay McKee, Rhett Warrener, Dmitri Kalinin, Henrik Tallinder – and my relationship with Lindy started then because for me it was a good fit to be a good mentor to the younger D. As far as how we worked together, it almost started there and it’s just continued. I’ve learned so much from him as far as coaching. You certainly don’t know it all when you are a player. I’ve learned so much more. He’s a great teacher. I have so much respect for him as an all-around coach. He’s been able to change with the times, he makes great adjustments during games, during points of the season. He can have tough love, but he can also be very sympathetic and forgiving to players and staff when they are going through certain things.”
Patrick on his initial impressions of the Dallas defense
“My first impressions are they are very mobile. They’re a veteran defense with Stephane Robidas, Sergei Gonchar, Trevor Daley and even Alex Goligoski is not a young defenseman anymore. Daley, Robidas and Gonchar are experienced guys who have been around a long time, know how to play the game and have very good mobility. Brenden Dillon, I know is the young one and there is so much excitement about him. I heard how well he played last year. When I look at the D as a whole, they have really good mobility, they all play with pretty good gap and they all move the puck, which I think is so important.”
Patrick on the fresh start in Dallas
“I think for both of us it is an exciting fresh start. Being a coach in this business you’re fortunate to stay in one place only for so long. I never would have expected to be in Buffalo for so long, coming there as a player and being there for over 14 years. It’s a fresh start and it’s going to be real exciting. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Dallas. I talked to Stu Barnes, who said you are just going to love it here. And to work with different people. It’s exciting to work with Jim (Nill), Curt and getting a different perspective. It’s a new challenge, working with different players and a new group of guys. It’s going to be fun. I know in talking to Lindy he is super pumped about the challenge.
“There’s a lot of excitement about the team. They’ve put a big a stamp on their team as any team has. When you bring in (Tyler) Seguin, (Shawn) Horcoff and (Rich) Peverley, three guys who can play the middle, it should improve our faceoffs. Just right there that can have a huge impact on the team. There’s a buzz around the league about the moves Dallas made. To be part of it is definitely exciting.”
