By Eric Stephens (The Athletic)
The first day that Greg Cronin took the ice with the Ducks marked the first official practice he ran as an NHL head coach. More than three decades of assisting or running teams at the college and professional levels led to general manager Pat Verbeek introducing him at a June press conference in Anaheim.
And on his first day of training camp, Cronin had every player throw away his stick for a drill. Defend without using one. Defend up and down the ice, defend within their own zone. Defend without the very thing that’s become so natural that it feels like an extension of their body.
Weeks later, as the Ducks have surprised many across hockey with a promising 7-5-0 start — including a six-game winning streak that ended Tuesday against Pittsburgh — Mason McTavish reflected on Cronin’s task to immediately instill something different in a team that had lost its way — a change in method that reflects a smidge of the 60-year-old’s madness.
“Maybe it’s a little drastic,” said McTavish, the Ducks’ standout second-year center. “But you do really learn a lot. Who’s making the rules that you should always have a stick? I don’t know. Who knows? Everybody just does that, and it makes sense because you have it. But when you actually think about it, you defend a way different way without a stick. And then, when you get a stick that should be kind of like a weapon, it’s almost an advantage you’re getting. Because there’s so much you can do with your feet. How you gap up and how you align yourself with the person attacking you.
“I think it’s cool. Obviously, it’s a little weird. But as I said, who makes the rules on if it’s weird or not?”
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