I admit, if you asked me before this post-season to name a Detroit assistant coach, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you about Todd McLellan. I do remember Drew Remenda dropping TM’s name a few times during a broadcast or on Shark Byte. Actually, if you asked me to name any NHL assitant head coaches, I think my over/under would be around 5. Hunter, Zetz, Tocchet, Lewis, Sullivan, Granato (until recently) …. uhhh… Joe Kocur? No wait, he’s in the league office.

You see what I’m getting at- assistant coaches operate in relative obscurity. They have their sphere of influence, the power play, the defensive lines, whatever it may be, but the head coach is out front, and takes the hit for any mistakes or breakdowns. I’ve never once heard a coach throw an assistant under the bus. I’m not implying that TM is not capable of handling the pressure and media scrutiny an NHL head coaching job brings, but I don’t doubt it will be a new and sometimes surprising experience.

On the contrary, when I review TM’s resume, the one word that pops to mind is ‘ambitious’. Minor league head coach in his early 30s. NHL assistant in his late 30s. And now, at 40, his first ‘administration’. His been angling for a job like this for years, and no doubt he’s thought about it often. I don’t think there is a more qualified candidate that didn’t have head coaching experience. For a team that is close to the brink of a Stanley Cup championship, I think I would have liked to have had a coach that had been there before, or at least had NHL bench boss time under his belt. But DW likes to go a bit off the path, and I admire him for it. He’s forgotten more about hockey than I’ll ever know. I appreciate his desire to avoid a “retread” and get a guy that’s young and enthusiastic. But it’s a bit of a risky move. If TM fails quickly, then both of their jobs are on the line, and DW knows it.

I hope he’s ready. I hope that pressure of coaching a contender is offset by the relatively mild SJ press corps. I hope that the success he enjoyed in Detroit is contagious. As Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” I hope he can maintain the Sharks winning habit in the regular season and break the bad habit of losing in the playoffs.

I’m excited.