Since he has been behind the bench, Martin St-Louis has never ceased to amaze us with his analogies and metaphors. By illustrating his ideas with examples from everyday life, the Canadian head coach makes his message more understandable and less boring.
In 2023, St. Louis has offered us some pearls of wisdom. Enough to make it a top 10.
10. As in love (November 21)
Wishing to put an end to a streak of four losses, Martin St-Louis, for two days, subjected his players to training specifically focused on work and battles along the ramps. Details often essential to victory.
“These are things that aren’t necessarily fun, but you have to do them as if you were in love!”
“Like emptying the dishwasher, for example?”
“Yeah, that’s it!”
9. Constant temperature (November 18)
The emotion was likely to be at its peak during this visit by the Canadian to Boston. Evening during which the Bruins would honor the members of the champion teams of 1970 and 1972. Discipline would be the watchword. Especially for Brendan Gallagher, recent subscriber to the dungeon.
“It’s a Saturday in Boston. We have to be a thermostat, not a thermometer. We have to settle.”
8. The train (January 21)
We knew the expression “building a plane in mid-flight”, but not the one involving the construction of a train. The men from St. Louis apparently achieved this feat during a victory against the Maple Leafs in overtime.
“We’re trying to build a train. There are guys who will enter and exit the train. The guys on the train have to take care of the train. About how we want to do things, the culture and everything. Tonight, we did that.”
7. A puppy (January 11)
The plan, the process and the progression are principles dear to St-Louis and the organization. Since being under the leadership of the former Lightning star, the team has reached different stages in its evolution. Starting with this one:
“We look like a puppy. You can train a puppy. He’ll behave fine for two weeks, but you know he’ll end up escaping with a pee on the carpet again. That doesn’t mean you don’t love your puppy. I know we will escape on the mat again as a team. As a coach, however, we must help our players to remain productive. They must learn to lie down and paw. Over time, we know there will be improvement. There will be accidents along the way, but that’s part of being young.”
6. The Older Child (September 20)
Then, at the opening of training camp, St-Louis felt that his team had reached another stage of its evolution.
“Last year, we remained like a child or a baby. You don’t ask the same thing of a baby compared to a seven or eight year old boy. You have to take care of the baby. An older child, you can give him responsibilities like brushing his teeth and making his bed.”
5. Not a Picasso (October 23)
The Canadiens head coach likes to use this expression when he has the impression that these flock were all crooked on the playing surface. Sometimes, that doesn’t stop the team from winning. As was the case that evening in Buffalo.
“It wasn’t a Picasso, it wasn’t anything perfect, but we defended well, but we remained patient and we found a way to win.”
4. Chess players, checkers players (September 25)
At the end of Logan Mailloux’s first preseason game, St-Louis used this metaphor to illustrate the difference between the behavior a player must adopt on an NHL ice and what he can afford when he climbs the ranks .
“In the junior ranks, guys play checkers. In the National League, they must learn to play chess. They must learn to read the game. To analyze what is happening in front of them. It’s harder. But in the National League, the game of failure is more important than the game of ladies.”
3. Chairs (September 20)
It didn’t take long for Martin St-Louis to get back into his good habits. As soon as training camp opened, the Laval resident launched this analogy popularized by Alain Vigneault to describe the struggles that could be expected over the following weeks.
“You always want to go and get the best chair you can. But you have to stay realistic too and you have to know who the players are sitting in the chairs in front of you. You have to take a chair and play the role of that chair. But still trying to get on the chair. You have to understand the role that the coach is trying to give you. Don’t be afraid to steal a chair, even if you’re an American League guy. There are always chairs that get stolen.”
2. Waze (November 6)
To journalists who were worried about Juraj Slafkovsky’s progress, Martin St-Louis demonstrated that he was not worried by comparing it to Waze, a road guidance application. Brief! He didn’t beat around the bush. Do you grab it?
“You use Waze as an app when you’re driving somewhere. […] Sometimes you hit traffic on your way. What happens to time? He climbs. […] If you miss an outing, do you become cursed and return home or do you wait for her to find a new path for you? […] That’s what we do with Slaf. He is going to a beautiful destination. We don’t know exactly how long it will take. Sometimes there is traffic, he should not get discouraged or angry. There are also times when you will miss an exit. But it does not matter. He will get back on track.”
1. The game within the game (2022)
“I want them to bring their game inside our game. You can’t just play game. You have to play it game. You bring your game to the game.”
This lyrical flight immediately became a classic. But since it dates from 2022, it should not normally have been eligible for this year’s ranking. However, Hydro-Québec having included it in an advertising campaign that has been running continuously since the fall and which features St-Louis itself, we said to ourselves that we could not miss it.