Daniel Sprong confirms he's already spoken with Rick Tocchet: Both thrilled
The Vancouver Canucks are a popular market in the NHL, but their biggest selling point might no longer be the city and its surroundings, but rather their Jack Adams winning head coach.
Rick Tocchet was recently awarded his first Jack Adams trophy after helping to lead the Canucks to a massive improvement last season, and now the coach is even lending a hand in the team's hunt for free agents.
Newest addition Daniel Sprong attested to just how inspiring his new head coach is, and said after a a phone call with Tocchet during the negotiation process - he was pretty well convinced.
I pretty much made up my mind as soon as that phone call was done.
The 27 year old is clearly fired up to play for Rick Tocchet, and while some have wondered how a player like him will fit under a coach who had a difficult time trying to get two-way play out of Andrei Kuzmenko, Sprong says he's trying to address that himself, saying that he is working on his defensive game and that he and the Canucks' coaching staff are feeling good about where he fits.
If he can improve his defensive play, he could be a massive boost for the Canucks with his 5 on 5 scoring.
Sprong was overlooked by most of the teams in the league this summer, and he, Rick Tocchet, and the Canucks are hoping to make them pay for it.
POLL |
Is Tocchet already the best coach in Canucks history? |
Yes | 185 | 26.9 % |
No, but he could get there soon | 374 | 54.3 % |
No, he has a ways to go | 130 | 18.9 % |
List of polls |
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Previously on CanucksDaily