You hear a lot about the coaching bump in the NHL, and it appears the New York Rangers may be in the midst of that with Mike Sullivan.
After a season where the Rangers missed the playoffs while losing their identity in the process, Blueshirts president and general manager Chris Drury made the move to hire Mike Sullivan as the team’s head coach to help establish a lasting foundation and strong culture.
Through one day of training camp, it’s safe to say that Sullivan is both making his presence and voice felt profoundly.
After multiple hours of practice with three different groups, Sullivan walked into his press conference and joked that he had lost his voice from all of the shouting he had done over the course of the day.
Sullivan was barking out orders, giving out critiques when necessary, and put his players through a number of difficult conditioning drills.
It was clear from 9 AM to 3 PM that Sullivan was in full command of the practice.
"If you didn't observe, conditioning and fitness is going to be a priority in this first part of the camp,” Sullivan said. “I told them all from the meetings that I've had with them in the offseason that I was going to push them hard. Today was the first day of that... It's my responsibility to try to help them become the best versions of themselves.”
Sullivan’s way of conducting on-ice training brought an excitement and thrill to the Rangers’ practice facility that we just didn’t see both during training camp and the season last year.
While Sullivan is strict about what he wants to see on the ice, he also preaches an enthusiastic environment, which he believes he saw on Thursday.
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“I thought it was productive,” Sullivan said of the Rangers’ first day of training camp. “I thought there was good energy on the ice. It’s something that we talked about during our opening meeting with these guys. I think there's enthusiasm out there. I think that the group is excited about the opportunity we have in front of us, and now it's time to put the work in, so I thought it was a productive first day.”
There’s just a different feel to this Rangers team.
The Blueshirts’ failures last season and Sullivan’s past with the Pittsburgh Penguins is old history, and now, the Rangers are looking to flip the page and start a new chapter.
“We are going to be a forward-thinking group,” Sullivan emphasized. “We’re not going to live in the past. What we are going to do is we are going to try and learn from the past. That’s a conversation that I’ve had with some of the players. I think it’s more about being forward-thinking and getting excited about the challenge that we have in front of us.”