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Coach Pat Conacher not taking credit for Regina Pats’ success

Greg Harder, Regina Leader-Post, December 28, 2011

REGINA — It’s often said that coaches get too much of the blame when their teams struggle and too much credit in times of prosperity.

Regina Pats head coach Pat Conacher takes the good with the bad, although he hasn’t experienced much of the latter in the wake of a surprising first-half performance which saw his team post a winning record (19-15-2-1) and set itself up nicely for a chance to end a three-year WHL playoff drought.

“I’ve said before, the credit goes to the players,” said Conacher, whose club opens the second half tonight in Brandon against the Wheat Kings. “I’ve had some great support. It has been a total team effort. My whole thing when I came here was to try to change the culture. You’re never guaranteed success but we definitely were doing all the right things to give us success. And of course at the end of the day it’s the buy-in from the players. It’s all those little things that add up to the big things, which is winning.”

Conacher often mentions that he and GM Chad Lang have been “on the same page from Day 1” in regards to their priorities on and off the ice. He also lauds the efforts of assistants Malcolm Cameron and Josh Dixon, describing them as “professional coaches” who’ve made invaluable contributions as teachers and mentors.

That said, Conacher is the one who ultimately sets the tone.

“He really keeps guys in line and he definitely got that respect from the whole dressing room early in the year,” noted veteran centre Jordan Weal. “When you have that respect as a coach and the players respect what you want to accomplish, it’s only a good thing. He seems to have that knack as well to get the right guys on the ice at the right times. Not many coaches have that.”

Although he’s technically a rookie head coach in the WHL, Conacher had a long career as a player and a coach at various levels, including the NHL. He has drawn upon all those experiences since joining the Pats, who are reaping the rewards.

“I don’t think he wants the credit but he gets his fair share,” said captain Brandon Davidson. “A lot of our success has come from Pat and the way he has changed things. We’re still the same group we were last year for the most part. A few new faces but mostly a new coaching staff. That has definitely had a huge impact on how we’re playing.”

The same goes for their work off the ice, which is another area of emphasis under Conacher.

“Being part of the community and really reaching out and helping the community has made us better people and made us better hockey players,” continued Davidson. “We respect a lot more things now. I think we’ve just grown as a group and really come together. Things have been happening because of hard work and discipline.”

How about chemistry?

Veterans like Davidson and Jordan Weal will tell you the Pats are a much closer team than they’ve been in the recent past. Being a tight group away from the rink has translated to playing well as a team on the ice.

“The leadership group in this room is really good,” noted Weal. “The older guys have really brought in the young guys and (treated) them as equals.”

“It’s definitely a close room,” added Davidson. “The relationship of the guys in the room and away from the rink, it has been a team unit. If you’re a group off the ice, you’re going to be a group on the ice. It’s better to (go to war) with five guys than one.”

The Pats’ team-first mentality has helped them focus on themselves rather than listen to dissenting voices that projected yet another losing season. Although still in the early stages of a potentially painstaking rebuild, the team has found a way to raise the bar — thus raising expectations for the second half of the season.

“Now we have to go forward,” added Conacher. “It’s the little things we do, it’s our detail, it’s the way we have to play each and every day, our identity as a hockey team. We have to keep pounding on the guys about that. We have to keep dragging that out of them. A lot of the players, as the season goes on, they’re taking a lot of pride in who they are and what their responsibilities are and the identity they’ve created for themselves. But that never ends. You have to keep getting better as a person and a player. It’s always a work in progress. We’re a long ways from the finish line.”

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
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