He's the ultimate competitor. He's capable of being a part of this team. He plays all the hard minutes in Detroit. |
His all-around game has been especially good. That's why he's warranted more ice time, because he's played solid at both ends of the ice. I thought he was capable of playing good defense because he's a smart player. When you grow up in Russia, you learn to play defense, even if you are an offensive player. We knew he was capable of it. |
His fast start has been very important with Dany out. We needed guys to step forward, and Ilya certainly has done that. He's taken this team on his back. He wants to be the go-go guy and he's proven that he's capable of being that. He's got nine goals in seven games and it's been an unbelievable start. |
His injury is healing, but the endurance part is not going so fast. He's been sore after every game this year. |
I always say the players pick this team, not us. You can't have a team of 12 first-line NHL players. You need role players, checkers, penalty killers. You can't just take the 12 most skilled forwards. |
I can't say Peter is an up-and-coming coach because he is past that. He has proven himself. This is the next challenge for him. |
I don't know exactly how it happened. From what I've been told, he caught a rut or something and parts of his knee cap shattered off. His doctor says it's the kind of accident you normally see in a car accident. |
I had the green light to go out and do this. This hasn't always been the case before. This ownership recognizes that we're close, and this is an opportunity to take us to the next level. |
I hope he plays all the games and I hope we're paying the whole thing. |
I think sometimes experience can play in your favor also. Unfortunately, not everybody had the jump that he had. If they did, we'd probably be talking about something different now. |
I told him that 3 1/2 years with one franchise is pretty good in today's world. Coaches tend to get fired as soon as teams lose a few games. |
I watched him play four times and he may not be as fast or as effective offensively, but he's still outstanding on defense and he's a great leader. That's why we wanted him to help us compete for a medal. |
I'm disappointed, for sure. But you learn from it, and you find a way to move forward. ... You lose every game by one goal ... we're going to take the positive from that, that we were in every game. |
I'm more confident right now. |
If we continue to play as well as we did against Slovakia, we are going to be fine. |