Buffalo Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger was formally introduced as the 19th head coach in franchise history on Wednesday since being hired by the team on May 19.
Krueger was asked about his coaching style, the status of Jeff Skinner, the leadership of Jack Eichel and plenty more in his opening press conference.
Here is some of what he had to say:
Krueger on his talks with pending free agent Jeff Skinner:
"For me, more than anything, the conversation was about how I, as a coach, would like to utilize his skill set and his talent. I work on the basis that Jeff Skinner is a Buffalo Sabre and, as a result, that's how our conversation went."
Krueger on the status of Skinner as a Sabre:
"His tone and his voice, when it came to the past and the future, he was comfortable on that line. I initiated the call in that way and it never went another direction. Jeff had the opportunity to change direction if he wanted to, it was the flow of the conversation that made me feel comfortable."
Krueger on how his unique experience will aid his coaching style:
"I worked at 17 World Championships, Olympics and World Cups, 17 different tournaments where they were little capsules of time compared to a National Hockey League season. But the build up to tournaments like that and then the three weeks within them, those are such intense spaces, it's playoff hockey, it's always seventh game of best-of-seven and that's what your life is about in those tournaments."
"Playing meaningful games was what my life is all about and dealing with that pressure together with the players, and finding ways to perform under that pressur. And I think that's what the National Hockey League season was all about, is being able to deal with that for 82 games in a row and to continually push yourself into a mindset that is comfortable there."
Krueger on meeting Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart and their conversations:
"In a very modern way, it began with a whole string of text messages. It was interesting how strong those conversations were before we actually met. I can feel the passion in both of them and because they were on seperate teams (at the World Championships), I kept them apart. I met with Jack one evening and Sam the other. I have to say that both of the meetings ended up running much longer than expected, it was very natural. The conversations were strong, they have a very experienced mindset for their young age.
"There was a clear understanding of what needs to be done here, I thought. In the conversations, we didn't just speak about the weather, we spent a lot of time speaking about what needs to happen off-ice, on-ice and through."
You can hear the entire press conference of Krueger with the media below:
