'They Want a Coach That's Invested': A Q&A with Marlies Head Coach John Gruden About Developing Prospects

Nick Barden

Oct 27, 2023, 12:00

Nick Barden

Oct 27, 2023, 12:00

Gruden, previously, has been an assistant with the Boston Bruins (2022-2023) and the New York Islanders (2018-2022).

It's been a couple of weeks with John Gruden at the helm of the Toronto Marlies and the team has looked really strong.

Only one loss in regulation so far for AHL Toronto, a team that features the likes of Nick Robertson, Alex Steeves, Bobby McMann, Topi Niemela, and others. It's a team filled with players all at different points in their careers, too.

So as head coach of a team like that, how do you approach development? What type of coach do you need to be? How do you get the best out of your players?

I spoke with Gruden one-on-one about that very subject, and more this week. Here's the entire interview in a question-and-answer format.

The questions below have been edited for clarity.

How would you describe yourself as a coach? From afar, you seem like a player's coach who's not afraid to give a player a push if they need it.

"Yeah, I think you kind of nailed it. I think that's me. I want them to feel comfortable, I want them to be excited when they come here. But, like, I have three kids and they're older — 25, 23, and 19 — and I parented the same way. You're there to help and support them through life because it's tough, and these guys are all — some of them are parents now and some of them are fathers. So, I want to be there to help and support them through the tough times and I also want to let them know when certain things need to pick up. Again, it's not anything bad, it's just trying to help them grow as players, just like I did with my kids as far as growing as young men and young women.

There are coaches who are harder on players and sometimes that brings out the best in players. Would you say that's the same?

"I think (the players) want a coach that's invested. Like, they know that he has their back at the end of the day. Like, they want to know that I'm there to help them. I'm not there to tear them down, I'm there to support them through tough times, because times are tough. And the last thing a player needs is a coach to be down his throat all the time and not be there to support him. [We're there to] help him get better and be able to identify it. When I was a head coach — it's been a while — at the OHL level (in Hamilton), that was me. But even as an assistant coach in the NHL level, I had responsibilities, so you're more focused on what my responsibilities were and I handled it that way with the players. I probably didn't have to do as much yelling because that's what the head coaches would do, so it kind of allowed me to coach and help support what the head coach was saying, if he was saying something like how I could help them out, so I was in that support role.

What's the most exciting element of development for you?

"I think everything. I think, for me, it's allowing everyone to develop. If everyone gets better, the Leafs can't call everybody up. In a perfect world, that's what a coach would want, right? You always want the best for your players and get them an opportunity because that's what all their aspirations are. But at the end of the day, we work just to make our guys better. And then again, we keep saying you can't control what you can't control, and they've all done a good job of that. But in a perfect world, I'd like to all see them get an opportunity which they are here. They're getting an opportunity with us and then at the end of the day, we want to be able to help them achieve their goals."

What was the biggest thing you learned as an assistant coach with the Boston Bruins?

"How hard it is to win. The regular season, and it was such a special group. And I learned so much from the leadership of that group in (Patrice) Bergeron, (David) Krejci, there's so many leaders in that locker room and there was a reason why that team was so successful for so many years is from the leadership. I always knew that from the outside. You always figured they were good leaders. But you don't know until you're inside of that locker room and that's written in how hard they work in practice. I learned a lot from those guys. As much as we all learn as coaches from each other, (the players) learn from us, (and) I think we learn just as much from them."

With Toronto being such a big hockey market, how much did it excite you to come here?

"It's such a great spot for me and my family to be able to come here in this great market. I know how great even it was when I was in Hamilton. I loved it. I love the people there. The people are so passionate in Toronto and in Ontario, and I knew it was going to be exciting. I knew people loved their Leafs, again, maybe I didn't know much. But now that I'm here and I'm a part of it, I'm blessed and I'm very fortunate and excited to keep moving on in the role I'm in."

An off-day in Toronto, what does that look like for you?

"As coaches, we stay and try to figure out ways to get better. And then, my wife (and I), we're empty nesters now, so she's in town with us. So, maybe I'll walk in the Distillery District and I try to get some workouts in. And then I guess the biggest thing when you're empty nesters is: 'OK, where are we going to eat tonight?' As parents, when we're empty nesters, it's different than when you have your kids around. But it's fun, like we haven't really saw much, we'll go to different places to eat. I went to the Pitbull concert, that was fun. But again, it's unique to see all these areas of Toronto. They're so cool. There's so many."

If you could describe your experience in Toronto so far, how would you?

"Well, there's a lot to do as far as, it's got different areas and pockets — it's just very unique. New York-ish for me. I didn't spend much time in the city when I was in the Island, but I was there enough to know that (Toronto) reminds me a lot of New York. It's big and there's pockets of different things. Each area has its own identity. Like where I live in the Distillery District, it's different than by the Financial District, so it's really unique in that regard."

For my last question, I'm going to give you a player's name and I want you to say the first word that comes to mind when you think of that player.

Nick Robertson:

"Talented."

Alex Steeves:

"Gamer."

Nick Abruzzese:

"Playmaker."

Topi Niemela:

"Competitor."

Mikko Kokkonen:

"Dependable."

Dennis Hildeby:

"They call him the beast, so let's go with the beast. The Hildabeast."