116 versus 143.
Thatsa国际传媒檚 the number of playoff games Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Ian Cole has participated in versus the combined total of J.T. Miller, Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser and Thatcher Demko entering this post-season.
Take Miller and his 78 games out of the equation and thatsa国际传媒檚 116 games versus 55.
When it comes to playoff experience, Cole is the dean of the Canucks dressing room.
The 35-year-old native of Ann Arbor, Michigan was part of back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017 and has been part of playoff runs with Colorado and Carolina.
For Cole, the playoffs are familiar territory.
While most of his teammates were soaking in the rabid atmosphere at Rogers Arena on Sunday night when Vancouver defeated Nashville 4-2 in game one of their first round series, Cole didnsa国际传媒檛 let the moment get too big.
Although he appreciated the fan support, the veteran defenseman didnsa国际传媒檛 try to soak it all in.
sa国际传媒淣o, not really to be honest. All that stuff is awesome and you can feel the energy but personally for me I do better when I block out all the external stuff,sa国际传媒� stated Cole.
He admits that having experience in that type of environment does help in terms of focusing on the task at hand.
sa国际传媒淲hen you go and you step out here, itsa国际传媒檚 your fans and the atmosphere is so great. Itsa国际传媒檚 like sa国际传媒榳ow, this is amazing.sa国际传媒� Then you go to Nashville, and yousa国际传媒檙e like, sa国际传媒榳ow, this is so intimidating.sa国际传媒� Well, itsa国际传媒檚 neither. Itsa国际传媒檚 great here. Yeah, I feel the energy and use it. And there? Itsa国际传媒檚 going be loud. Itsa国际传媒檚 not intimidating - feel the energy use it,sa国际传媒� explained Cole.
sa国际传媒淚t all should be the same mindset right? It shouldnsa国际传媒檛 matter where yousa国际传媒檙e playing, theresa国际传媒檚 going to be energy everywhere at this point of the year. The fans were great. They were awesome and you could definitely feel that but I donsa国际传媒檛 think focusing on it is beneficial.sa国际传媒�
As a veteran on the team, Cole picks his spots when to say things and is always open to helping out teammates when asked.
sa国际传媒淵ou try to say some things here and there but I also donsa国际传媒檛 want to stand up here and pontificate sa国际传媒榦h, Isa国际传媒檝e done this and this is what we need to do.sa国际传媒� No one really appreciates that either. When guys come to you and ask questions, you answer them. If you see things that you think you can add some insight to or fix, you do that when the time is right. But again, I donsa国际传媒檛 think standing up and telling people what to do or how to playsa国际传媒e got here for a reason.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e got a great hockey team. Wesa国际传媒檙e deep. Wesa国际传媒檙e skilled. We have elite players from our goaltending all the way through our sa国际传媒楧sa国际传媒� all the way through our forwards. So let guys do their job and let guys experience it for themselves and grow and learn.sa国际传媒�
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet recognizes that Colesa国际传媒檚 experience is valuable and pointed out and example of it from earlier in the year.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 been times this year I felt our team get a little antsy and Colersa国际传媒檚 demeanor after the game has helped our team. Isa国际传媒檝e seen it. Itsa国际传媒檚 easier when it comes from the player or their peers than the coach when you have that player that can settle guys down,sa国际传媒� said Tocchet, referring to a four-game late-February swoon that was snapped with a 3-2 win over Boston at Rogers Arena. sa国际传媒淚 think we lost four in a row one time and Coler talked to the guys. The next night we played we had a good night. Some of the older guys I think won us that game.sa国际传媒�
Cole is the epitome of what Tocchet and the organization want from players in terms of a mental approach.
Now in his 14th NHL season, Cole has seen it all yet he doesnsa国际传媒檛 get too high after success or too low after failure.
sa国际传媒淚 mean, listen, wesa国际传媒檝e talked about this many times over the course of the year, which essentially is sa国际传媒榟ey, we win a couple games everyonesa国际传媒檚 riding high. Theysa国际传媒檙e amazing! Or wesa国际传媒檙e gonna win the cup!sa国际传媒� Well, itsa国际传媒檚 not true. We got to win a heck of a lot more hockey games.
sa国际传媒淥r just like if we had lost the first game and got blown out 8-1. sa国际传媒極h man! Theysa国际传媒檙e a phony - theysa国际传媒檙e a fake. Theysa国际传媒檙e not there.sa国际传媒� Thatsa国际传媒檚 not true either.
sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 try to stay level-headed through this whole thing. Letsa国际传媒檚 try to stay even-keel. We have a lot more hockey games to win. They (Nashville) are going to push back. Theysa国际传媒檙e going to come back even better. And we need to be ready for them.sa国际传媒�
OVERTIME
* The discussions have already started about the sa国际传媒榗oaching adjustmentssa国际传媒� that take place in a series but donsa国际传媒檛 kid yourselves. You donsa国际传媒檛 change the foundation of what got you to the post-season. The adjustments are more like sa国际传媒榯weakssa国际传媒� according to Tocchet. sa国际传媒淟etsa国际传媒檚 face it. They know us. We know them. There might be some stuff they might adjust to and we have to be ready for it and vice versa. A lot of times there are in-game adjustments too whether you take a guy off a line or try different things. You cansa国际传媒檛 be afraid to do that in-game. I think thatsa国际传媒檚 important,sa国际传媒� stated Tocchet.
* Asked if he learns anything more about his team after watching game video, Tocchet said it reinforces what he sees from the bench during the course of a game more so than any eye-opening revelations. sa国际传媒淔or me in real time I kind of know. I donsa国际传媒檛 need the next day to validate it. There is the odd time where I may have misread (what occurred in the game) but I kind of know what I thought last night is what I watched today.sa国际传媒�
* Tocchet believes the main purpose of looking back at games is to use the video as a tool to help players moving forward. sa国际传媒淭o me, good coaching is how do you present it to the players without being negative or even too positive. I think itsa国际传媒檚 important you tell the story. Whatever our story is today with the players is going to help us tomorrow. I think thatsa国际传媒檚 what I look at video for sa国际传媒� creating your narrative to the players. What can we do to get better?sa国际传媒� he explained.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob sa国际传媒渢he Mojsa国际传媒� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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