This morning on Robby & Rexrode, Dan Hinote joined the crew to talk about the Nashville Predators’ start to the season. During their conversation, Hinote, who was hired as an assistant coach under John Hynes, mentioned that Brunette has expanded the mindset of the other coaches in the room.
“His brain doesn’t work like other coaches,” Hinote said.
When Rexrode asked him to clarify, he gave an interesting example as a response (watch the full video of his response below):
“For instance, we were talking shop last night and we were talking about player X, on whatever team. And I have certain values that I value as a coach in players, and this player we were talking about didn’t necessarily have those characteristics that I personally prefer in a player. But [Brunette] started talking about how few players in the league are able to see the play and make the play and, and how the players that I was talking about, there’s a lot of those players in the NHL. You can go and you can find them. They’re very valuable, but they’re out there. Versus the player that actually sees the play and makes the play, those are few and far between.
So when you’re weighing and measuring Player X versus Player Y… Player Y makes plays. That makes him a little rarer and harder to find, and therefore more valuable to a team than Player X. So that was a cool thought process that I had never even thought of.”
Hinote also went on to explain that the players who “see the play and make the play” are the ones who most likely make the leap from the AHL to the NHL.
At the heart of this comment from Dan Hinote is a struggle the team has had for a while now.
For nearly all of their existence, the Nashville Predators have valued hard working, grind-it-out type players. Players that “go to work” on the ice, fight as hard as they can for the puck, and who will give you 100% effort every night. This mindset was the spark that ignited their drive to “be hard to play against” for so many years.
Given his role as the penalty kill coach and his general personality, Hinote seems to prefer the hard working, gritty players over the skilled, more graceful “Player X’s” who are more likely to “see the play, make the play.” It’s why Hinote works so well with players like Cole Smith, Colton Sissons, Yakov Trenin, and the like.
But Andrew Brunette seems focused on changing that mindset.
We don’t know the identity of “Player X” that the coaches were discussing. It could have been a player on another NHL team. It could have been a player in Milwaukee. It could have been a potential prospect playing on a junior team.
But it sounds like “Player X” might be a skilled playmaker or scorer that the previous coaching staff might not have valued as highly. Or maybe he’s a guy the Preds might have overlooked in the past, simply because he didn’t have those “hard working” characteristics that coaches like Hinote prefer.
It’s an interesting comment from Hinote, because it shows two things. One, it shows a willingness by the assistant coaches to defer to Brunette on skill evaluation and player development. As a first year head coach, that’s a good thing to hear. Two, it suggests a potential shift in the mindset of the organization overall. Maybe they are more willing to take a chance on players with a more advanced playmaking skill set, even if it means coaching them a different way.
Is “the Predator Way” finally evolving? It will take a while to find out.
In the meantime, we can spend our days wondering who “Player X” might be.
