While most people’s attention was focused on the players’ growth in the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens]’ rebuild, someone else was growing before our eyes: coach Martin St-Louis. Much was made of the fact that he had no professional experience when he was hired to take the helm of the most storied franchise in NHL history, but not enough has been written about how he has adapted since then. Speaking to the media earlier this week, the bench boss confessed that giving everyone their fair share of ice time in the NHL was on him, and that some players’ reduced ice time was on him, too—they didn’t necessarily deserve so little time. It was a refreshing sight to see a coach do his mea culpa, but for St. Louis, that’s just normal. He explained that if he asks his players to be accountable and face their truth, it’s only logical that he does the same: Canadiens: For The Last Two Weekends Michael Hage… [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-for-the-last-two-weekends-michael-hage] Canadiens Will Attempt To Put An End To An Eight-Game Losing Streak Against The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-will-attempt-to-put-an-end-to-an-eight-game-losing-streak-against-the-kings] Canadiens Prepare For The Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/latest-news/canadiens-prepare-for-the-kings] > Because I feel if I’m asking my players to self-assess with some truth, I’ve > got to be able to do the same thing, So, I have to own it. If I expect my > players to own it, I better own it myself. - St-Louis on accountability His players respect St-Louis not only because of his Hall of Fame career, but also because he holds himself to the same standards he holds them to. He’s not playing the games anymore; he can’t help them on the ice, but he’s the one who decides who’s on in which circumstances and for how long. After doing his mes culpa about ice time, the pilot started the next game with the Kirby Dach, Brendan Gallagher and Zachary Bolduc line alongside his third pairing formed by Arber Xhekaj and Alex Carrier. Sure, the players the Utah Mammoth [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah]chose to start allowed him to do that; they weren’t the ones he wanted his first-line to face, but he could have gone for the Jake Evans or Oliver Kapanen lines just as easily. Going from bantam hockey to the NHL was quite the jump for the bench boss, and while he’s improved by leaps and bounds since then, he feels he still has a long way to go: > The first game was so fast on the ice … I couldn’t believe the speed of the > game. But two, three games in, it slowed way down. At the youth level, it was > easy; you just rolled the lines, and everybody played the power play. It was > fun, it was easy. Let’s go. At the NHL level, you got to be a little more > calculated. I feel I’ve come a long way, and I’ve got a ways to go.” - St-Louis on coaching in the NHL This is what makes St-Louis a great coach: he can be critical of his players when needed, but he can also be critical of himself. He knows his players are still growing, still learning, but so is he. While he had seen it all as a player throughout his 16-year career in the NHL, behind a bench, he’s still learning. Last year, he was a Jack Adams Trophy finalist for guiding his young team to the playoffs; this year, he has them leading their division and showing no signs of slowing down. When St-Louis agreed to join the Canadiens, he knew he was joining a team with potential for greatness but that needed to be built up, much like his coaching career, and he’s doing a fine job of both. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Karine on X @KarineHains [https://x.com/KarineHains] Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/karinehains.bsky.social] and Threads @karinehains [https://www.threads.net/@karinehains]. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens/] for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens. Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens' roundtable [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] on The Hockey News. Subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I].
