Martin St-Louis recently gave an interview on a morning show, since it was in French, here's a breakdown of what was said as Eve-Marie Lortie helped us see the man behind the coach.
Quebec’s morning show, Salut Bonjour, aired the highlights of a half-hour interview with Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St-Louis, and he opened up on several topics. Host Eve-Marie Lortie, who’s a Habs fan, did a good job with her one-on-one interview with the coach, discussing his family, childhood, and current life. Since it was in French, here’s a breakdown of what was said.
It was a lighthearted affair that allowed the bench boss to make a couple of jokes, including recalling how his mother instilled in him a fear of big towns. He said that growing up, she had convinced him that big cities were dangerous. He lived on the north shore, in Laval, and feared Montreal and all big cities. Quite amusing for a man who ended up playing in New York City with the Rangers, one of the world's largest cities. Nowadays, he lives on the island, near Ste-Catherine Street, and he walks a lot, discovering the city, which he really enjoys.
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St-Louis explained how Habs players had always been his idols; Mats Naslund and Guy Lafleur, they are part of the reason why he dreamt of playing for the Tricolore, even though it never happened, he’s now living the dream, in a different role sure, but he’s still getting plenty of love from the fans as demonstrated by the ovation he got at the home opener.
Recalling his childhood, he explained that wonderful people brought him up; his parents were hard-working and honest. He adds his dad was severe but with a lot of love, which he reckons helped make him the demanding coach he is today with his players.
Asked who had served him the best “on the tape” pass in his life, figuratively speaking, he replied Eric Perrin, not on the ice, even though they played together for a year, but in life. Skating alongside him for 13 years, he said he learned a great deal from his childhood friend; they pushed each other hard, and ultimately, they won the Stanley Cup together with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
About living in Montreal while his family is in the USA, he explained that if he asked his three boys if they’d rather he lived at home or coached the Canadiens, they would all reply Coach the team, of course. He wasn’t expecting to get such an offer so early. He had told his wife that the only way he would leave home would be if he got an offer to be a head coach in the show, quickly adding that it wouldn’t happen. She had a good laugh when it did, but she supported him, nonetheless. His youngest son will soon leave home; he’s in his last year of high school, and he says it’s the last year he has to live away from his wife, as she’ll join him next season.
He describes his wife as really smart and rational, but adds that she’s less rational when it comes to their relationship, before bursting out laughing. The coach takes one big meal a day; he doesn’t eat breakfast, but drinks coffee before hitting the ice for practice. He gets back home around 1:00 PM and takes a power nap, lasting 20 to 30 minutes, which is significantly less than he slept when he was a player. He then heads to the rink for the game at 4:00 PM.
Speaking about how emotional he gets when coaching, he explains that when the team goes on an odd-man rush, for instance, the players all get up, so he has to jump on the bench to see. When they score, even though he’s not playing, he’s just as emotional as he was when he was playing and fistbumps his assistant coaches.
As for coaching his players, he says that he conducts extensive research and reads numerous books. Even though he’s a hockey coach, he’ll sometimes use examples linked to other sports, such as baseball, which is fine for North American players. Still, when it comes to Juraj Slafkovsky and Ivan Demidov, for instance, he’s not even sure they know much about baseball, so he tells the other players to explain the sport to them.
Overall, the interview was a great way to discover the man behind the job and how he sees his team as a family in which team spirit is paramount.
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