John Tortorella Joins Us To Discuss Upcoming Flyers Season
Last season did not go well for the Flyers. But could a new head coach turn things around? Flyers coach John Tortorella joined “The Best Show Ever?” to discuss the upcoming season
On How He Feels Heading Into The Season
“It’s a work in progress. I’m still trying to quite honestly put names to faces and figure out who they are. It’s been a process. I’m just trying to go about it the right way. To just get this back in the rails. There have been some good things, and there have been some things that bothered me. Last night’s game really bothered me. I don’t think we had any effort. We didn’t have any puck battles. I was surprised some guys fighting for a spot didn’t show. So I’m still trying to figure out who we are. I have an idea of who we want to be. And we are going to try and get there, and bring that type of accountability.
On Why He Made His Early Practices So Physical
“For me, it is seeing what happens when they are tired. A big part of playing in the National Hockey league is being able to play tired. I think conditioning is one of the things you can control. There are not many things you can control, that is one of them. The biggest thing with me is I don’t look at the score or the times. I look at how they handle themselves when they finish the skate. Does he give in? Does he get to the spot he needs to get to? Body language. And try to figure out what the character of the person is. So physically yea, but more for me mental. It’s a mental toughness that I am looking for.”
On When He Will Name A Captain
“I don’t know if it is in the room right now. I am in no rush to name a captain. What I look for in a captain is he needs to be a conduit for me. The coach isn’t always in there. I think we get in the way quite a bit. We over coach. I think sometimes when we are always in that room they aren’t learning. And I don’t want to hold their hand. You don’t win in professional sports unless the room takes over itself. Its not the coach, it’s a room that self-sustains.”
You can hear the full interview with John Tortorella below…
