Q&A with Head Coach Dean Chynoweth
Published on January 14, 2004 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Seattle Thunderbirds News Release
Seattle Thunderbirds head coach Dean Chynoweth recently returned from the World Junior Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Chynoweth was an assistant coach with Team Canada and won a silver medal at the championship. The Thunderbirds had a chance to sit down with him and talk about his experience at the World Juniors.
Thunderbirds: Thanks for taking some time Dean. First off, what was the whole World Junior experience like?
Dean: Very exciting, emotional and long.
T: Had you had any previous experience with the World Junior tournament?
D: Yes, actually I was involved as a player back in 1987-88 when the tournament was in Moscow, Russia. I was playing in Medicine Hat with the Tigers that year and we ended up having seven players invited to the selection camp in Ottawa (I don't think that number has ever been matched). In those years they let the NHL players come back all the way up until we left for the tournament. We had one player that was hurt during the selection camp and one player that did come back from the NHL, so we still had one cut to make. They decided that they would make the cut overseas after the exhibition games. I knew I was one of the players on the bubble, along with one other guy, so it made for very competitive exhibition games. Anyways, to make a long story short, I was the last cut that year. When the team left our training facility in Finland to go to Moscow, I headed west for Calgary. Five players from Medicine Hat made that team and brought home gold from Moscow. It was great to have been a part of it even if it only lasted for a while. I was so proud of my teammates when I got to watch the medal ceremony.
T: What was your area of responsibility as an assistant coach with Team Canada?
D: My responsibility was to work with the head coach Mario Durocher on offensive tactics, power play, video breakdowns, pre-scouting of the opposition and team building activities.
T: What was it like coaching players like Nigel Dawes, Shawn Belle and Dion Phaneuf, players you coach against in the WHL?
D: Very exciting. Remember I was dealing with the top players in the world and a very strong group of 18-year-olds. This group is easy to coach because of a couple of things. First, these players are extremely talented or they wouldn't be there, second, they possess a tremendous amount of character, almost every player wears a letter with their club team, and third, because they are focused on one thing and one thing only â winning â that you don't have to deal with off-ice distractions or egos. I had previously coached some of these guys at the U-18 Eight Nations Tournament in the summer of 2002. We won gold then and had the same thing on our mind for this tournament.
T: Sidney Crosby is a player who is getting a lot of attention in the hockey community. What did you think of the 16-year-old forward, from the QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic, who is leading the QMJHL in scoring?
D: Sidney is a very mature 16-year-old and a tremendous talent. His statistics speak for themselves in the QMJHL. What impressed me the most about him is his desire to be the best. The other thing he has which most of these players do is an unmatched passion for the game of hockey, its fun for him every time he laces up his skates.
T: Zach Parisse of Team USA was named the tournament MVP. What did you think of the New Jersey Devils draft pick?
D: Also very impressive. He was USA's best player game in and game out. He is extremely competitive and has very good skills. His leadership with his team stood out and I'm sure was a factor in the Gold Medal game.
T: Chris Durand and Scott Jackson took part in the U-17 Tournament while you were in Finland. What do they have to do in the future to try and make Team Canada's World Junior team?
D: Continue to develop and improve each year. The U-17 tournament is the first of a three-step process in the evaluation of these players for Hockey Canada and their Program of Excellence. The next step for them is to make the U-18 team next summer. The U-17 is regional where the U-18 is the first time these kids will have the opportunity to represent their country and wear the flag on the front of their jersey.
T: Last year Brooks Laich won a silver medal with Team Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He mentioned how enthusiastic and supportive the Canadian fans were for Team Canada. Was this type of support evident for the Finnish team and what were the crowds like overall in Helsinki?
D: The crowds were good but not quite like Halifax. We had approximately 800-1000 fans that made the trip overseas and they were very loud and patriotic. There were painted faces that were a sea of red, lots of flags and an incredible amount of support. I know there isn't much coverage in the U.S. during this tournament but if you have been to Canada between Christmas and New Years it is something to experience. The entire country (30 million people) gets behind the team and tunes in for every game regardless of the time change. The coverage is greater than some NHL teams receive.
T: Did you and the team get a chance to see or tour much of Helsinki, or were you mainly practicing and playing games all the time?
D: We had some down time and did have a chance to see the sights. Helsinki is a very nice city and I have been told even better in the summertime. The amount of daylight when we first arrived was about 4 hours per day. This increased the longer we were there. In the summertime this changes where they have long days with lots of sunlight. I learned a couple of interesting facts about Finland, they have over 180,000 lakes and their main industry is Nokia cellular phones. Everyone has one and there aren't a lot of pay phones. They also build some of the largest Ocean Liners in Helsinki (Carnival and Norwegian are built there).
T: The World Junior tournament is such a huge tournament for Canada. Did you sense any disappointment on the team's performance on your return? If you did how do players and coaches handle this?
D: Yes, I did sense disappointment. Canada expects gold every time we go to these events. It has been five years since we last won a gold medal and people expect nothing less. You can see the pressure that goes along with putting this jersey on. These kids deal with it everyday of the tournament in the media. Each year the talent pool is different so I believe you have to be realistic in our projections. Though as the old saying goes "you don't win silver, you lose gold".
T: Team USA had never won a gold medal at the World Juniors before. What do you think this will do for hockey in the United States?
D: I think it is a very positive situation and hopefully will continue to grow the game of hockey in the USA. I have said all along that the numbers are in their favor and their program continues to get better. This is a tough pill for a lot of Canadian fans to swallow, but that is reality.
T: Will you be involved with Team Canada in the future in any way?
D: I'm not quite sure. I will take some time to reflect on the whole experience and process. It is very time consuming and a huge commitment you make when you apply for one of these positions. It was very tough to leave the T-birds for that amount of time, especially with where we are in the standings. Over time I will discuss this with my family, our ownership group and make a decision at that time.
T: Thanks for your time and good luck with the rest of the season.
D: Thanks
Western Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2004
- Blazers, Keg Raise over $700 for Elizabeth Fry Society - Kamloops Blazers
- Q&A with Head Coach Dean Chynoweth - Seattle Thunderbirds
- Weekly Ice Report - Kootenay Ice
- Blazers Midseason Open-Line Goes Tonight - Kamloops Blazers
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