Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Changing with the times

Kris Mallette evolving as a WHL head coach

Sep 20, 2023 | 8:00 AM

The player-coach relationship in hockey is under a microscope.

In the NHL, it seems most players are simply not comfortable with how the player-coach relationship used to exist.

Look no further than to what happened with Mike Babcock this week after dealing with his Columbus Blue Jackets players, or back in May when Darryl Sutter was relieved of his duties with the Calgary Flames, with the environment so toxic, going to the rink wasn’t enjoyable for most of the players.

In the WHL, the old-school mantra of grinding players down simply doesn’t work with the younger generation either.

“On the ice, I am going to be demanding,” Kelowna Rockets Head Coach Kris Mallette told RocketFAN. “Once we are off the ice and in the room, I want to treat them [players] like normal people, almost like my sons.”

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We should clarify, that Mallette made his comments in advance of the situation involving Babcock’s dismissal, which caused a stir in hockey circles.

“When you spend so much time in that [around team] environment, they [players] are like family,” Mallette added.

It is a fine line for any coach who is attempting to teach, correct, and bring positivity when things aren’t going as planned.

“You continue to build relationships in order to get that message through”, Mallette offered. “I’ve learned it is important to communicate with these young men and make sure that what is being asked of them on the ice isn’t taken out of context. Building strong relationships is paramount, knowing you have their best interest at heart.”

With coaches in all sports being heavily scrutinized, is it worth it?

“I love building these relationships when they are young men”, Mallette conceded. “I enjoy watching them flourish and grow as players and people. That is the most rewarding thing for me is watching the maturation of individuals.”

Mallette has been around the game of hockey for a long time, first as a player and now as a coach, so helping athletes is in his blood.

“I love the electricity in buildings. I love to win,” he said. “I love that feeling of being in close games, where your adrenaline is pumping and you are doing all you can behind the bench, but you are watching those players go through the battle.

“I love to see someone find another gear or a different guy be the hero every night, so why do I coach? The team camaraderie, the ability to still be in the dressing room that I basically grew up in, it is fun and rewarding.”

Winning is fun, and Mallette got a taste of it in his first season as an assistant to Dan Lambert, when the 2014-2015 Kelowna Rockets won 53 games during the regular season and ended up capturing the Western Hockey League championship.

“You have to hate to lose,” Mallette said as he enters his third full season as head coach. “I can’t hate losing more than the players. That must come from within the room from your older players, your leadership group that hold each other accountable.”

Coming off a 27 win campaign, where the Rockets’ beat out Victoria and Spokane for eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Mallette knows their will be a fine line between winning and losing, after playing in 21-one goal games in 2022-2023.

“When we played a certain way last year, we had success,” Mallette added. “When we swayed from it, you were rolling the dice. Our players must recognize you are not going to play perfectly every time, but that work ethic and drive has to be there.

“Losing will happen,” he said. “How long you hold onto it is a different story because of how busy our schedule is. That’s what makes great teams. The ones who can rebound consistently, quickly, are often the ones that are playing deep into the playoffs.”

Calm and collected on the bench, Mallette tries to keep himself composed, specifically when a questionable penalty call is issued to his team.

“I like to do a lot of talking on the bench towards my players. You can probably hear me from up top,” Mallette grinned. “I am trying to help our players because it is a lost art. The communication on the ice is very limited, but in the room, I am calculated on controlling my emotions and speaking about what is pertinent at that moment. I give them a couple of things to focus on, where I can’t be too broad to bring us back on track.”

After winning a gold medal in Czechia this summer as an assistant coach for Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, the 44 year-old will use some of the things he learned overseas with his club team.

“I have been fortunate to have had a pretty good career [coaching],” Mallette reflecting back. “This is year 15, most of it with the Kelowna Rockets in my own backyard. It is a dream come true.

“I want to bring something back to something that has given me so much joy in my life.”