Head coach press conferences are boring, and usually, the fans aren’t watching them. It’s long, a lot of talking, not much action, and the coach usually says the same old cliche lines, especially at the introductory presser. 

It’s that time of the year in the American Hockey League when teams are hiring and introducing their head coaches for the first time. So, what better way to follow along with the otherwise unwatchable press conference than with The Hockey News Head Coach Introductory Press Conference Bingo? 

Below is the list of things to fill out your bingo card with. Let’s start with the free spot in the middle of the board, something that happens at every intro presser. 

Whether it’s the announcer, public relations director, general manager, or the owner, this line is a given. If the coach isn’t introduced at the introductory presser, something’s wrong. 

This is another line usually stated by the GM before introducing the head coach. To be fair, it’s a great day for the coach and probably the high point of their tenure. After all, coaches are hired to be fired. 

The head coach is usually there, and maybe the GM is too. The announcer or owner, however, is a rarity. If they make an appearance, it’s usually at the end for a staged photo shoot but not at the beginning. So, this is a wild card to put at the end of the board. 

Because, of course, without the one above running everything, none of this is possible. Right?

Now, this is who the coach is truly grateful for. The one up above who is calling the shots and ultimately made this hire in the first place. 

The family deals with all of the hardships. The relocations, jobs, schools, and tough lifestyle that come with a hockey coach's family. So, if anyone deserves the recognition, it’s the ones who had to endure it while the coach chases the dream job, which presumably is this one. 

Yeah, that’s why it was asked. One of the best parts of any press conference is when a media member asks something, and that’s the response. Usually, this is done for one of two reasons by the coach. Either they are trying to flatter the media and get on their good side, or they are simply buying time as they think about it. Regardless, both are better than this response.

These can be five seconds or 10 seconds, yet they feel like an eternity. Rarely does this pause happen at the introductory presser but once in a while, there’s a tough question that makes the head coach fumble together an answer. 

This is exceptionally funny after a team does an extensive search. After interviewing 30-plus candidates and talking to coaches from all backgrounds, the GM states that this was the coach they wanted the entire time.

This is a cliché line that every coach uses for how they want to play. After all, who doesn’t want to be “tough to play against” or the like? The bonus points are when the coach gets into detail about their style or philosophy; they rarely do that. 

Culture is an overused word in sports, yet coaches can’t help themselves. Any chance to talk about building a winning culture, or changing the culture, and explaining what culture is (aside from being in yogurt) is taken. Mentioning culture at the introductory presser is almost as much a given as the intro itself. 

Once in a while, the head coach recognizes the person from. It usually happens with a coach who has been in the league long enough and the media member covered their playing days. Bonus points if the media member mentions the coach by their first name.  

This happens at the end for one or two reasons. Either the press conference has gone on for too long, or everyone is tired. Or, the PR director was told by higher-ups to cut the press conference short, especially if it’s not going well for the coach. The latter option probably destroys any chance of having a full Bingo card. 

An easy button for the coach. They’ll talk about how the fans, the city, and everyone who supports this team are unlike any other. It’s always funny when a retread coach says this line at every stop (although admittedly, it would be funnier if Peter Laviollete said, “These fans aren’t even in the top five of Metropolitan teams, and I should know since I’ve coached them all!”)

It’s often why they have the job in the first place. From the head coach working with the GM in a previous stop, or the GM having a close eye on the assistant before promoting them to the head coach role, it’s vital to mention this inseparable bond. Surely, the two will see eye to eye on everything and never break up, right? 

This is another easy win for the head coach during the intro. Everyone loves to hear about a franchise icon, and it’s better when the new head coach has ties to that player. It’s a sign that this head coach will bring this team back to the good ol’ days.  

There’s a theme about who the coach mentions in their presser. Of course, before taking the job, there was an in-depth meeting with the players or the captain beforehand. The fans want to know who to blame for the hire if things go south, aside from the head coach, that is. 

“I want this team to play a lot like (insert recent winner here) and they are a fast-playing, hard-forechecking team that’s tough to play against.”

This is the best when a retread does it. They mentioned a team that they coached 10 or even 20 years ago as a reference for why they can lead this team. My coaching style worked in 2006, so clearly it will work in 2026, right? A bonus is when this coach mentions a few minutes later how the game has changed a lot since then. 

Under the same theme of coaching a team a decade ago, coaches like to mention this to sound relatable. Sometimes, it’s to talk about the type of coaches they had as players, whom they liked, so they mirror now. Other times, it’s to show that they made mistakes back in the day, so they won’t blame their players for making the same mistakes. Then there are times they do it to show just how much the game has changed. 

Usually, during these pressers, there’s a small water bottle on the table right in front of the coach. Will they struggle to open it with their giant hands? Will they nervously grab for the water during this high-pressure event? Will they constantly drink water as it drags on? Stay tuned to find out!

This is next-level stuff and always planned out somehow. Teams that wear black, like the Los Angeles Kings or the Philadelphia Flyers, have it easy. Teams that wear bright green, like the Minnesota Wild, don’t. Sometimes, the coach isn’t wearing a suit at all (gasp). 

That awkward moment when someone’s phone goes off. Sometimes, it’s the coach or the GM, while most of the time, it’s a media member getting a call. A good tip for those who attend these pressers is to put the phone on airplane mode (nobody wants to be the one who gets a call when the coach is speaking). 

When the coach does this, it means that they can’t wait for it to end. They are anxiously waiting for the PR person to say “Last one, please!”

Sometimes, the optimism the coach says this with wants the fans to run through a brick wall. Usually, when this is said, everyone agrees they just want hockey back on this otherwise boring summer day. 

Every item listed above has a letter corresponding to it. It’s why you can take the letter and put it in the table below. For example, “A” is the line, “And Now Introducing, The New Head Coach Of (Insert Team Name Here), (Insert Name Here)!” 

So, print this out and have fun. Let us know how well your bingo card does at the next head coach presser!