New York Rangers: Old school versus new school coaching

After one year of David Quinn as head coach of the New York Rangers, it’s pretty clear that the front office wanted a hands-on teacher that would be able to engage a young roster.

As the sports world constantly looks for an edge over its competition, new philosophies have developed over time. Before the release of Michael Lewis’ “Moneyball,” back in 2003, analytics was considered an alien concept in sports. Now, every organization in every major sport has a department of some kind.

When it comes to coaching, there are two schools of thought. The traditional negative reinforcement system that’s been in sports forever and a more nuanced positive reinforcement system that’s becoming more common as younger people are put in positions of authority.

The best coaches are able to reach their players in a variety of different ways, so no one theory works best in every case.

Under David Quinn, the Rangers hold true to the old school system of if you mess up, you’ll ride the bench. This is in part due to the conservative nature of hockey, instead of trying to win, many coaches will make an effort not to lose. This in effect allows the team to hang around and keep the game closer by minimizing risk.

When the former Boston University head coach healthy scratched Pavel Buchnevich, Tony DeAngelo, Vladislav Namestnikov and even Brady Skjei at various points this season. Quinn’s reasoning was pretty straight forward, they weren’t playing within the requirements of the system so they were benched.

The alternative

The world’s of hockey and soccer do not have significant overlap. Much of the new school thinking in soccer exists because the players are significantly younger. The best clubs in the world feature players as young as 18-years-old and the best coaches want to help along with their progress by any means necessary.

In soccer, a manager is essentially a coach and front office executive bundled into one. They are in charge of establishing a culture and vision from the top down that can be taught to those who are newly brought in. As of now, the best two coaches in the world are Pep Guardiola of Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool.

Both of these coaches are known for building strong relationships with their players and being willing to take the blame for them instead of placing it on them.

For example during the early part of Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson’s career, the 18-year-old was going through the growing pains of a young player. The Scott was learning how to be a professional athlete and what the pace of the Premier League was like for the first time in his career.

Instead of benching him for his mistakes, Klopp went to bat for the left back with the media and always gave him his full support.

This, in theory, leads to a more creative and supportive system for young players to grow into.

The shelf life

It’s always worth repeating that the authoritarian head coach that’s always willing to bench players for performance has a short shelf life. The same group of players can only be ridden so hard for so long before it becomes too much. Think about the Rangers under John Tortorella at the end, it was clear that the veteran group was burned out from constantly being challenged.

I’m not saying the same thing is going to happen with Quinn and the Rangers now, but it is certainly on the table. For now, players like Chytil and DeAngelo are young guys trying to prove themselves and fit into New York’s long-term plan. However, in two or three years, those same players may grow tired of being singled out in the form of healthy scratches.

As a young team that is still learning, it’s important that Quinn encourages creative and inventive play within his system. Freelancing at the NHL level doesn’t go well unless you’re Mat Barzal or Nathan MacKinnon, but the Rangers could certainly do worse than letting the clamps off of its considerably talented prospect pool.

Personally, I’m a fan of Quinn’s no-nonsense style. It’s refreshing to see a coach holding players accountable for their shortcomings especially after Alain Vigneault’s time as head coach. Now at least, it seems like the players understand why they are being benched and that Quinn takes the time to teach during practice.

With even more young players expected to come into the mix next season, Quinn may need to accept that part of getting better is making mistakes.