Today marked John Hynes' first ever practice as the Wild's head coach which came a day after the Wild's first win under Hynes.
John Hynes took over as head coach yesterday and sparked the Wild with a much needed 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on home ice. The win snapped a seven game losing streak for the Wild.
But Hynes didn't get a chance to really implement new systems or tinker with any lines or anything. He let his assistants, who have been here all year, construct the lineup which was the same it has been in the last couple of games.
Today marked the first practice under Hynes and as a new coach that is a huge thing. They worked on entering the offensive zone with speed and transitioning from the neutral zone to the offensive zone quickly.
Hynes has made it clear to the team and the media that the word speed is a big part of how he coaches and wants his players to play.
"Yeah for sure I think in the league now you have to be able to play with pace and speed," Hynes said. "That's really in two ways, it comes with your feet and how quick you can play but I also think you can play a fast game when you're organized... When we talk about playing fast it is puck movement as well as playing a skating game."
It is a quick turnaround for Hynes though as his first road game is against the Nashville Predators who he coached last season.
"Nashville was a special place," Hynes said. "I was thankful for the opportunity to coach there. The organization is fantastic, I enjoyed the players, and I really grew there as a coach."
It presents a unique situation though, Hynes' family is staying in Nashville for the season while he travels with the Wild and lives here in Minnesota so it will be good to see his family again along with packing up some more things to bring back to Minnesota.
Nonetheless, it was a good first practice and hopefully it carries over tomorrow when the puck is dropped inside Bridgestone Arena against the red hot Nashville Predators.