Rangers coach David Quinn met with the media on Thursday as training camp for the 2018-19 season gets underway (MSG):
- On being prepared for training camp, "I've been very fortunate in my career and I feel that every stop along the way has prepared me for this. I felt like summer ended a month ago so I've bee looking forward to getting going and getting training camp started."
- On knowing the players, "I've been fortunate to be around the last few months so I've been able to get together with a bunch of the guys so there is a familiarity with a bunch of them. It will take some time once we get on the ice and I get a clearer picture of what everyone is capable of doing, strengths and weaknesses, guys are always getting better and every year brings on a new challenge."
- "We are certainly excited about the veterans coming back, got a bunch of guys that will help lead us in the right direction and we are excited about the young core."
- On the captaincy, "that takes care of itself, a captain emerges from a group, especially when there is a coaching change and there is a lot of dynamics when you have a new team and a bunch of changes and I think the captaincy will take care of itself one way or the other."
- On the tone he wants to set, "we want to talk about getting better on a daily basis. We want to be a fast, physical, relentless hockey team and you can't play that way unless you practice that way. We have to do this together, this is a we thing and that is the message we have been telling the players since we got together and individually but we will reiterate that collectively."
- On trying to connect with today's kind of player, "it's our responsibility to find out what makes a guy tick and at the end of the day our job is to get each player to play to the best of his ability. One way may work with one particular player and not with another and that is our responsibility as coaches to figure out what it takes to get a player to play to the best of his ability."
- On competition for spots, "nothing like competition, spots are open and good play will reward further play. Our guys get evaluated every day and those who play well will be rewarded."
- On his trip to Europe, "it was an opportunity, not just with Henrik but with every player that I met with to start a relationship and find out what makes people tick, what their mindset was. We were talking with each guy about moving forward, talking to each player about what they can do to make the situation better. We want to move past last year. It was an opportunity for me to get some face-time and get to know them a little better."
- On Henrik's mindset, "he is in a great mindset. He wants to be part of the next wave and a chance to win the Stanley Cup here and is in incredible shape, incredible competitor and one of the best in the business and we are fortunate to have him."
- Can you play your style with the players here, "it's our job to make these guys embrace our system and what we want to do defensively, not only defensively but in all three-zones. It's about creating a mentality in all three zones, five-man gaps ."
- On McQuaid, "I have a little bit of a history with Adam, our paths have crossed quite a bit in Boston and I have an awful lot of respect for him on and off the ice. He's a hockey player and we think he can help us move forward on and off the ice and think he was a great addition."
- On Kevin Shattenkirk, "he's in a great spot physically and mentally and last year a lot of his problems were attributed to his health. I think he feels great health-wise, he looks great, best shape that I've ever seen him in. I know he is eager to get going, that is for sure."
- On Traverse City, "we've got some good young talent. We felt that some of our young guys made great showing and that we are as optimistic about our youth as we were before Traverse City."
- On expectations for this season, "as a coach, we want to win every hockey game. We want to come to the rink everyday, be the best team we can be. Our job is to make players better on a daily basis and if you do that you will be better collectively and winning and losing takes care of itself. We think we have returning players that maybe didn't have great years last year, when you have a career sometimes you have a down year and we have a bunch of guys that feel they are going to be better this year. Our job is, to simplify it, be the best team we can possibly be and get better daily."
- On Lindy Ruff," Lindy and I got together shortly after I got the job and he checked every box for someone I was looking for to have on my staff. We hit it off instantly. I've only known him three months but I feel like I've known him for three years and he will be a big help for sure."
- On where young players should be, "that is a case by case situation. I think that some guys might be mentally prepared to play maybe not as many minutes, some guys might not be, that is a case by case situation. Every player is different and you may put a player down in Hartford because he is going to play more minutes or it might be more beneficial for him to stay here and experience NHL life."
- "It's about creating trust and when the player knows you care about them, they will trust you. That will take some time and that falls on me as a coach to create that bond and trust with the player no matter how old he is."
- Are you anxious to see how center plays out, "I'm anxious to see a lot of things and that being one of them."