If you look behind the Golden Knights bench at any time during a game there are a few things you’ll always see.
Of course, head coach Bruce Cassidy will be there calling out lines, chatting with players, and cursing out referees. Equipment managers Scott Boggs and J.W. Aiken are handing out sticks, fixing skates, and swapping gloves. Trainer Mike Miur is waiting to check in on anyone feeling pain, and assistant coaches John Stevens and Dominique Ducharme are sharing their knowledge with the players and Cassidy.
There is one person you may or may not see depending on when you look. That’s assistant coach Joel Ward. The 11-year NHL veteran retired from playing in 2018 before joining the coaching staff of the Henderson Silver Knights in 2020. Before last season, Ward was promoted to the big club to join the staff with Cassidy, Stevens, and Ducharme.
However, he only spends a portion of each game standing behind the bench with the rest of the coaching staff. That’s because he takes a different position in the 1st period, sitting high above the rink in the press box.
He’ll get a look at forecheck situations, some O-zone stuff, what faceoff plays may be available coming out of our end and through the neutral zone. -Bruce Cassidy
Cassidy has been doing this with his coaching staff since his time in Boston. For the 1st period, one assistant coach sits in the press box with a radio in contact with the other assistants. Then, he joins the group in the locker room to share what he’s learned before taking his spot back behind the bench for the 2nd and 3rd periods.
Former assistant Misha Donskov did it the year the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup, and Jay Pandolfo did it with the Bruins.
The 1st period may be different than your pre-scout. Teams will sometimes change how they forecheck if they are sending two hard or one hard. And any general information he may have he’ll pass on to the assistants unless there’s something that I’ll ask or demand, but typically it’s ‘ok guys, here’s what we see’ and they’ll huddle up and get it to the players and hopefully have some meaningful impact later on. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t because the same situation may not present itself but usually it will. -Cassidy
Cassidy believes that allowing one coach to have a bird’s-eye view of the rink helps them make adjustments quicker than if all three assistants were on the bench from puck drop.
So, next time you look down on the bench and wonder, “Where’s Joel,” you’ll know.
