The Hockey News caught up with Phillip Barski, who was named the Bloomington Bison's first head coach ahead of their inaugural ECHL 2024-25 season
As part of a special event to announce their affiliation with the New York Rangers last week, the Bloomington Bison also introduced the franchise's first head coach and general manager, Phillip Barski.
The 44-year-old brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Bison, most recently serving in an assistant/associate coaching role with the OHL's Barrie Colts. Prior to Barrie, Barski was also an assistant coach for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits for two seasons, so he is certainly no stranger to the ECHL.
The Hockey News recently spoke with Barski about a wide range of topics, including the hiring process, his previous coaching experiences, what the Bison's identity as a hockey team might look like, and much more.
Here is a complete Q&A with the new head coach and general manager of the Bloomington Bison.
Q. What was the process like for you to become the Bison’s first head coach and general manager?
A. It happened pretty quick. I got on a call with (team owner Jim Hallett) on a Friday, and he presented me with the opportunity. I thought there was a connection there on our initial call, and I shared with him at that time that I had things really good with (the Barrie Colts) in the Ontario Hockey League. I had just extended my contract for an additional two seasons and really enjoyed working with (head coach Marty Williamson) and the rest of the staff.
(Jim Hallett) said, "Well, do some due diligence on me over the weekend and circle back with me." I spoke with my wife over the weekend. I called some people that knew Jim or had worked with him in Indy. I think by Monday, I reached back out and said, "If this is something you guys want to do, I'm definitely interested." It just checked a lot of boxes. From there, I gave him my resume, and I got on a call with (New York Rangers Assistant General Manager and Wolf Pack General Manager Ryan Martin).
He just wanted the affiliation to be really strong and for Ryan, at least, to have an opportunity to get to know me and for me to get to know him. Then, Thursday and Friday, my references started calling me that either (Jim Hallett) or Ryan had been reaching out. By Friday, I got the offer, and Tuesday, I was on a flight with my wife for the press conference on Thursday.
Q. What were some of the boxes that were checked in terms of your professional goals?
A. I think first and foremost, it was character. If you look at any great organization in the world, it always starts at the top. It starts with the president. When I had an opportunity to do my due diligence on Jim (Hallett) and then understand the success he's had, both in the hockey world and in the business world, and just the way that he goes about living his life, that aligned with my core values and my core principles.
When I talked to Ryan Martin and got the backstory on him, the Stanley Cup he won in Detroit, the two Calder Cups he won in Grand Rapids, he hired Derek Lalonde, he hired Dan Watson, he obviously had Kris Knoblauch in Hartford, his ability to promote his people, and just the person he was and just the amount of time that he took with me on our initial call.
We talked for about two hours on the phone, and we talked about everything. What really stuck out to me was the support that I would be surrounded with and the quality of people that would offer me a mentorship opportunity. It just seemed like something that I'd been waiting for for a long time.
Q. How do you think your time with Greenville and in the OHL helped prepare you for this new role?
A. I always say that "the teacher appears when the student is ready." That has followed me my entire career. I believe those two stops have definitely prepared me for this opportunity, but I also think it's the 15 years that I've been coaching. I've had opportunities to be part of the player recruitment process, even though I necessarily didn't get credit for it on Elite Prospects.
I've had opportunities to negotiate contracts for players and find what I would consider undervalued assets. Then, just getting the opportunity to have a worldly view on things. I coached three years pro in Europe. I had an opportunity to see players maybe on the other side of their career and find out how they got there.
I talk a lot in terms of your trajectory or your arc as a player. Getting that opportunity to be in the Ontario Hockey League and seeing them underneath the ECHL, now having to see them above the ECHL, and then having seen them in the ECHL, I just think that really suits me well to bring the right type of players and the right type of people into Bloomington.
Q. And I'd imagine being able to develop those players as well?
A. Yeah, I take a lot of pride in that. Whether I was coaching in minor hockey and moving a kid up from AAA to Junior A or even AA to AAA, whether it was when I was in Tier II and moving guys on to NCAA or the OHL, spending time in Europe and even there, moving guys up into better leagues and for more money, bigger contracts, in the ECHL, moving them to Europe or the AHL, and, then, the Ontario Hockey League. The cool thing about the Ontario Hockey League is you get to see guys get drafted and develop, and it's just been a really, really incredible journey for myself.
Q. What kind of identity do you see the Bison having as a hockey team in terms of their play under your direction?
A. For me, the big identifiers of the hockey team that I've been a part of, you want accountability from your players, and it starts with the coach. You want to implement structure. Again, it starts with the coach, but then it's obviously in the system and the infrastructure that we plan on building out in Bloomington.
Then it's discipline, and it's discipline in everything we do. With that, the teams that I've been a part of, the attention to detail has been at a very high level. Even as I've been going through this, a lot of the success I've had as a coach is that I believe in my players. I believe in the players that I recruit. I believe in the players that I work with.
It's our job as coaches to put players in positions to be successful. In order to do that, you have to understand their skill set. You have to understand their strengths and weaknesses, and then that makes your job as a coach that much easier.
Q. There figures to be no shortage of firsts for the team this year: first player signed, first home game, first goal, etc. How fun is that going to be for you personally, and what have you noticed about the level of excitement in the Bloomington community?
A. It's the recruiting piece that I've been talking to our potential players about. You can go to another organization, and they already have a culture in place. They already have their veterans there, and they do things in whichever way they already do things.
Where I think things get really exciting is in a spot like Bloomington, where you'll be given such a large platform to make such a huge impact, and that is both on the ice with all the things that you had mentioned and all the things off the ice. What I mean by that is your opportunity to make an imprint and be part of the creating process of creating a culture.