NASHVILLE – Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis is listed at 5’10″ and is offensively gifted. He lit up box scores on a nightly basis at the junior level. That success has yet to translate to the pro game, but he’s only 22 years old and has a lot of potential that is untapped. Nashville’s new assistant coach, Phil Housley, should help him move in the right direction.
Housley was also listed at 5’10″ and put together a great NHL career. To put in simple terms, his 1,232 points in 1,495 career games ranks fourth all-time among NHL defencemen. Housley proved for over two decades that an undersized defenceman can make a considerable impact, and the Predators are hopeful that experience can be passed on to Ellis, among others.
“With the number of young defencemen we have, they can really learn from a guy like Phil who has played 21 years,” Predators head coach Barry Trotz said.
“Not only with situations on the ice, but dealing with those situations from the standpoint of being a pro when aren’t things going really well. I think he (Housley) is going to add a lot to our group.”
The Predators are high on Housley, who replaces the recently-fired Peter Horachek as an assistant alongside bench boss Trotz. Housley has impressive credentials; just this calendar year he has led the U.S. to a gold medal at the World Juniors Championships as head coach, and helped them capture bronze at the World Championships as an assistant.
Though he has yet to coach at the NHL level, Housley certainly has potential to succeed as a coach like he did as a player.
The organization also has high hopes for Ellis, who split the last two seasons between Nashville and Milwaukee (AHL). His offensive numbers at both levels have been underwhelming since he turned pro.
Ellis finished his banner OHL career with a 101-point year with Windsor in 2010-11, but he ended the 2012-13 season with a combined 20 points in 64 games between the NHL and AHL.
Still, that didn’t keep him from receiving high marks after the season.
“I think he’s going to be a star in the National Hockey League,” Predators assistant general manager Paul Fenton said earlier this month. “Sometimes it takes guys a little bit of a bump in the road before they get there, but he’s headed in the right direction.”
Ellis is just one of a handful of young Predators defencemen Housley will have to work with. Mattias Ekholm has a bright future and is expected to see more time in Nashville next season. Roman Josi, who shined under a spotlight this season, may not need as much tutelage but certainly has room to grow. It also wouldn’t hurt Victory Bartley or Jonathon Blum, pending restricted free agents, to learn from a defenceman that is in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
“Reading the play is one of the biggest things and when knowing to jump in and not being reckless, and sometimes that can take some time because to read those situations and have that feel for the game it takes a little bit of experience,” Housley said.
“Over the years I learned there are times when to go and it’s all about reading and reacting.”
More than just helping the up-and-coming defensemen, Housley will be counted on to turn around the Predators’ power play. Though Nashville finished first in the NHL in 2011-12, their man-advantage was 17th this season and didn’t finish higher than 24th from 2007-08 through 2010-11. Outside of that one season, the power play has never been a strength for Nashville.
“Our power play may have gotten to a point where it’s as good as I could get it,” Trotz said Wednesday. “If we want our power play to increase in terms of its effectiveness, Phil is as good as anybody out there in terms of his knowledge and new way of looking at the game.”
Sometimes in sports, the best players on the ice or the field don’t turn out to be the best coaches. Those individuals may not know how exactly to teach younger players how to succeed since that talent just came natural to them. Wayne Gretzky is an example of this. Contrarily, Hall of Famer Adam Oates didn’t have an issue steering Washington into the playoffs. Some have it, some don’t.
Housley isn’t on that level, but he is one of the best offensive defencemen to ever play the game. The Predators expect the knowledge he’s gained over time, including the last decade of coaching, to carry over to the team. Housley will be the first defenseman with NHL experience to step behind the Predators’ bench as a coach. The hiring is out-of-the-box for Nashville, too, since they tend to promote from within.
“Phil has a lot of passion,” Trotz explained. “He’s got that rink rat passion where he wants to be around the game and wants to spend the time and have success at it, and he has. He has a good way about him. There are no errors in terms of when you talk to him, and when you talk to him you’d never know he’s one of the greatest American defencemen to ever play the game.”
The first change of the off-season, albeit on the staff and not the roster, is a bold one. Horachek is a good coach that was in contention for head coaching positions in Dallas and Calgary in recent years. He had been with the Predators for the last nine seasons, seven of which featured a playoff appearance; Housley has never coached in the NHL.
However, Nashville is aiming to become more “dynamic” offensively this off-season, as general manager David Poile likes to put it. While Housley won’t be scoring goals on the ice, bringing him onto the staff has to help even a little bit if he can improve the power play and/or get the Predators’ young blue liners on track.
The Predators’ problems this season – finishing 14th in the Western Conference and tied for last in offence – didn’t necessarily reside behind the bench. Injuries, underachieving veterans and the occasional dose of bad luck all were factors into the Predators’ second-half woes. But change can sometimes be a good thing, even if it’s not on the roster, and something needs to change if the Predators wish to bounce back in 2013-14.
“We’re not rebuilding; we’re probably retooling,” Trotz said. “Part of that retooling is the coaching staff.”
