It was at a modest house in the Toronto suburb of Don Mills where Jay Woodcroft first dreamed of a future in the NHL, and ideally with the Oilers.<\/p>\n
He was often the goaltender in mini-stick games, armed with a catchers mitt to defend couch cushions splayed out over a coffee table that acted as a makeshift net. Older brother Todd usually served as the shooter in the indoor battles.<\/p>\n
They envisioned they were players from the dynastic Oilers of the 1980s. It was a fantasy land in every sense, including charts and spreadsheets as they tabulated all the stats for each Oilers player they were pretending to be.<\/p>\n
We would keep track of it, Todd said. We were really, really involved in this.<\/p>\n
Woodcrofts grand illusions when he faced off against his brother were to one day star on the ice, of course. However, it was the work he did with a pencil and paper after the sticks were down that provided a truer glimpse into the future.<\/p>\n
Woodcroft organized, detailed and a copious notetaker then as he is now became the Oilers latest coach last Thursday when he replaced Dave Tippett.<\/p>\n
The new bench boss is tasked with turning around a team with two of the NHLs signature superstars that was in first place two and a half months ago but has been sinking like an anchor basically ever since.<\/p>\n
Its a tall task for someone whos never run an NHL bench. His boss feels hes well equipped to handle the challenge. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Link:<\/p>\n
Jay Woodcroft's ascension to Oilers head coach is more than a dream come true: 'Winning is a skill' - The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was at a modest house in the Toronto suburb of Don Mills where Jay Woodcroft first dreamed of a future in the NHL, and ideally with the Oilers. Continue reading