Devils Insider Summer Series - Episode 7 - Chat with the Boss (Part 2)

On this episode of Devils Insider Summer Series we finish off our chat with head coach Paul Thompson 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Today's podcast is brought to you by Minerva Hearing. Hear the cheers, protect your ears. Shimai Pamba Kroyso. Hello, everybody, and welcome to part number two of our very special midsummer catch-up with Cardiff Devils head coach Paul Thompson in July. All the chats I've had with with players over the summer, I think of Joey Martin, Jimmy Alini, Sam Zug, and pretty much everybody else as well. But those guys, it kind of stands out. There's an overriding feeling that the Devils know how good they were last season and they know how good they could be this year. And there's very much a kind of they've got the bit between their teeth to go after this lead title. And so that mindset has that come from you, from the players? Is that something you've talked about? How has this kind of developed over the last few months?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, I think it's what we all want, you know. I mean, just because maybe I'm the leader of the group, you know, we talk about what we want and how we want it and what we've got to be. And I think there were periods last season where we were the best team, but you know what? We weren't, because Belfast were, because they didn't drop their guard, you know, and and and that comes down to consistency and having players that know how to win on a consistent basis. And well, we ticked a few of them boxes by winning the playoffs last year. So players that hadn't won previously, you know, will get that feeling and that understanding. And and the league in the in Great Britain and then the elite league is is so different to anywhere else in the world because it is that 54-game playoff. And you you have to go through that, you have to win that to understand what it takes. So I know every player here, and you know, the majority of them will be coming back with, say, four or five editions or whatever. So and Welsh coming in understands how it works. He's you know, because he's played in the league. And you know, Sacrutini will understand it because his old man would have drummed that into him as well. So, you know, so it's only a couple of players that you know will need to be just kind of refocused on what the demands are here, you know, night in, night out. But no, I mean, we all want to win, and that's that that's that's the reason I came to Cardiff. You know, I wanted to be coaching a team with this talent pool that we have and then the great coaches that I have and all our support staff and everybody, MERDs and and all our doctors and physios and everything. We've got a we've got an A1 setup here. And uh, but you know what? You don't sprinkle fairy dust, Dan, and win it. You know, it's it's hard work, it's it's dedication, it's it's being an everydayer. And uh believe me, we'll be pushing them as they do us to be that.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

It feels like there's a very healthy leadership group as well within the club right now. Like I talk about guys like Joey and Jimmy and Dougie and Cohen Olyshevsky speaks really well as well. And and and so how impactful is having that level of commitment from the guys? You know, Jimmy talked about the fact that he he speaks to you in the offseason about about this coming year, and and so it is it good to see the guys being as committed as they are.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, they're kind of our veteran leaders, if you like. Well, Jimmy, Jimmy and and Marty, obviously. And but we have leadership everywhere. I mean, you know, it's it's not a room where it's you know, I sit at the end of the room, and I'm not saying I stick my ear out and listen, but you know, it's not a room that is in competition with each other if they've got an A or not. It's it's it's a room that wants to win and and and they respect each other, you know. But it you know, having these guys, I mean, having a Joey Martin who's done everything in the game and everything for Cardiff and won everything, and he wants to win more than anybody. More than anybody. You know, so you know, Richie and look at his experience of what he does. And I mean, he's in here every day working out. And the guy's a machine, absolute top pro, you know. Any young British player, any young British player that in look in the UK that wants to make it to the highest level that they can be, take a look at what this guy does every day. Understand what he does every day, you know. And uh so it's we we've got a we've got a great bunch of leadership men, you know, not just RC's and RAs. We've got a great group that that that that want the same thing, and but of course, the leadership group drive that.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

So far this summer, uh the the vast majority, as you've kind of alluded to already, of the signings have been re-signings, and it's a smaller group of of new players this year. And and what's the thinking behind that in terms of you know, obviously, continuity is important, guys coming in who understand the league is important, but how much of a balance is there to be struck between keeping big groups of guys from last season, but also then introducing new ones as well?

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Well, I think last season we just got into a situation where we never thought we were gonna get Uremko back. We thought we, you know, we were gonna lose him, so we replaced him, you know. Uh, and we had some long-term injuries, so we got them covered, obviously. And then when everybody gets healthy, you know, you you you have a a situation to deal with. And I don't want that being something that I'm happy with, my group. I'm happy with the players. I want competition. But I I I think having the players, a lot of the players back that that that we've re-signed, I can't tell you all because they all haven't uh they all haven't been announced at this point. But uh, and obviously we've got to let guys go and tough decisions have been made in that area, but it's it's not a personal thing, it's because we feel that's what we need for the club going forward. So kind of to answer and answer your question, Dan, it it sport doesn't stop, does it? It's it's life doesn't stop, you know, and and some of our fans will be disappointed, some guys aren't back, some will be happy that other guys are coming back, but we we you know we just have to do what we feel is right that's gonna take us the next step, hopefully.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

And and on the topic of of the guys who aren't coming back, you know, obviously, like you say, it it's it's a very tough decision, and it is a tough business to be in. And when you do have to make decisions like that, is it something that you you will sit and ponder over? Do you do you like discussing it with with with broader kind of people think of people like assistant coaches, Neil Francis, those guys? Is it something that you feel is an instinctive thing? How how do you come to those decisions?

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yeah, I mean, we we I I said to Todd and and and the ownership group, because you know that they're involved in this as well. Uh and and obviously Franny and then the the assistant coaches that when we want it, the you know, the euphoria around the place, we we don't want to take that away. I didn't want to bring them in on Tuesday morning and say, so and and at that point, we we needed the dust to settle. I mean I I've been doing this a long time, and you know, in the past, emotion can make your decision over the right decision, and you have to just let the dust settle. The boys went on their two-week sorte, didn't they? You know, and and and I said to Todd and the owner, let's let's give it a couple of weeks and let's make sure that we're making the right decisions for Cardiff Devils. And and it isn't easy to do, especially when they're great guys, you know, to let good great guys and people that have just helped you win go. It's not an easy thing to do, but it's the business.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

With that in mind, the the construction now of this team for the season coming. I look back to this time last year, and and and we talked a little bit, uh Franny and I and in Gaz on the podcast about the Cardiff Bay bullies and this kind of hard-hitting, hard-nosed blue-collar style of play. And and then as the season went on, it evolved a little bit away from that. So, what how would you want this roster to build? How do you want this team to go? And is it kind of again the finding a balance between both playing that that really tough hard-nosed stuff, but then also the the skill thing as well?

SPEAKER_00 7:53

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, you just try what we want to do is when I was brought in initially, you know, there was a lot of negativity about how the team played and stuff like that. And I wanted to excite the fan base again, you know, and I wanted to bring players in that were gonna get people on the edge of their seats and see that I'm not saying that before I came in, players weren't committed. I'm not saying that at all. I'm only talking about my time and I'm talking about the feedback I was given. So we, you know, we want to play a heavy game, we want to play a fast transitional game, we want to play an exciting game, but you've got to have the right players to do that and the right personnel to do that. And I think in the main, we did that last year. We came, you know, we we finished second in the league. We we had a little downturn there for the Challenge Cup, but that that was kind of the period we were starting to rack up a lot of penalties and and you know, and then the referees were kind of getting on us a little bit. And so we had to adapt and we had to change. And then as it, you know, it's such a marathon the season that that that you know it it comes and goes, and and you know, maybe you have to play a little different in Scotland to what you do down here, and and and and and that's factual. That's that that's the way it is, you know. And uh, so again, yeah, and about me getting used to the league again. I've been away for a few years and stuff like that. So, but at the end of the day, we want to entertain, and we want our team to be committed and be hungry, and uh, and to give our fans, you know, it's not expensive, it's not cheap going to see sport these days, you know. And you want us you want your team, win, lose, or draw, to go away, go, well, you know what? They uh they emptied the tanks today. And and that's kind of the way I am as a coach. And and and then you have to blend that with skill, with size, with toughness, with everything that you need within a team to be successful. So, and there's nine other teams thinking the same way right now.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

It it's hard to win a lead title, maybe the way that you guys won the playoffs last year. You know, you think back in it, and it was that 12-15 games of as the guys have described, you you you clicked into that playoff mode and and you you treated that last stretch as the the the big moment. But how would you translate that to then a 54 game season? Because you you can't always maintain those kind of levels for an entire nine months.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

No, you can't, and and and and you know, you can't get high on the highs and you can't get low on the lows. You've got to stay around it. And but I think the December was a well wasn't a great month for us, you know. And I think we've just got to understand why and how we we had a point system that we were following, that we were pretty much right there. But uh we have to take care of business in other areas mentally as well, because it is a grind and it is tough, you know, and and Belfast, to their credit, know how to get that done, and we're all chasing that right now. And it's funny, you know, I mean, I won a lot, you know, in Coventry and obviously in Sheffield, and and I know, you know, if you look at Belfast's playoff record, it's not the greatest considering what they've won in the league. And a lot of that is because you empty the tank over them 54 games, and even though they won it early this year, you know, it may be as a we've done it now, and then boom, everybody's jumping and rising, you know, and getting ready for the playoffs like we were. We'd focus totally our last league games on getting as high as we could and getting that continuity to going into the playoffs. So I understand why Belfast, you know, in the Coventry years, you know, we won the league on the last game of the season a couple of times. And then, you know, you'd go into the playoffs and you're beat up. You're tired, you're mentally tired. So I can see why Belfast haven't been as dominant in the playoffs as they have been in the league, because of what comes with that. So we've got to, you know, we we wanna, like every team, we want to win all three. So we've got to make, you know, we've got to understand what it takes. And we have a lot of players here that do understand that, and and a coach that understands that, an organization that understands that, but we've got to put it into action, Dan.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

Finally, just do you have a message to Devils fans ahead of the season? Uh, I've said to a few of the guys that there's an excitement building around around the players, and you must be feeling that as well.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

Yeah, I think once we get the team done, and and you know, I mean, and there's a lot of work office side of work that you know I that isn't on me, you know. But uh, so everything comes together. Well, what are we, six weeks away, I think, from our first practice, you know. So it's it's coming around pretty quick. But no, a message to our fans is let's keep it going. I I I I you know, I love being here last year. I love the atmosphere in the ring, I love the uh the attitude of our fans. There were times when we needed a lift last year and we got it. You know, that the fans were the ones that picked us up. And uh when the atmosphere's going here, and I know every coach says it and every player says it, but this is a magical place to play. And and and you know, seeing what that meant to our fans in the playoffs, we want that a little bit more. So can't wait to see you all. And uh we can't wait to get well, not quite yet, but we we we're close to you know, getting excited and and and and getting everything ready for the for the season. But yeah, we uh we're pumped to be back.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

Tomo, still six weeks, still time to enjoy some some downtime, but uh it's great to chat to you and uh and I hope you enjoy the rest of your off season, despite the fact that there's a lot of work to do. So uh thank you for sitting down with me. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Cheers, Dan.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Thank you very much for listening to part two of our Midsummer catch up with Cardiff Devils head coach Paul Thompson. We'll be back very soon with more Devil's Insider. We will see you then. Goodbye. Thank you very much once again to our sponsor, Minerva Hearing, for today's podcast. And remember, Minerva Hearing, hear the cheers, protect your ears.