Today I was fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with new University of Alberta Golden Bears coach Serge Lajoie in advance of tomorrow’s much anticipated tilt versus Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers rookies. You can listen to the interview through the embedded player or read the transcript of the interview below.
I’d really like to thank Coach Lajoie and the University of Alberta Golden Bears for being so accommodating. My hope is that through this series of posts that more people will head down to the Clare Drake and give the Golden Bears brand of hockey a try. This is the second post in the series that will follow the two-time defending National Champion University of Alberta Golden Bears all season.
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The Oilers Rig: So I’m talking today with Serge Lajoie the new head coach for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, and they just finished up a weekend pre-season series in Kamloops against the UBC Thunderbirds. My first question Serge is I saw online that you swept against UBC this weekend but I just wanted to get some of your thoughts on how the trip went and how did some of the new rookies work out for you?
Coach Lajoie: It was a good opportunity to get everyone in some games against a strong Canada West opponent. To be expected there is still a little bit of the summer bad habits that kind of seeped its way into our game, but slowly after a couple of periods on Saturday we were able to start to play a little more structured, cleaner lines with in our game and play with a greater sense of urgency. So (it was) an opportunity to see where everybody is at and an opportunity to see our first year players play and get comfortable with our structure.
The Oilers Rig: I saw you guys out in Camrose a couple of weeks ago and, obviously there has been a lot of change over the offseason, it still very much looked like Bears hockey. As a fan, I was very happy to see that. You lost TJ Foster, Kurtis Mucha, Johnny Lazo, Jesse Craige, and besides you taking over for Ian Herbers who obviously signed with the Oilers coaching staff, how do you see the team coming together and how have the veterans been adjusting to all the changes?
Coach Lajoie: I think they key there is there hasn’t been that many changes from a structure standpoint and how we want to play the game. Ian and I had talked a number of times over the last three years and I adopted a lot of his philosophy on how to play the game I adopted that over at NAIT. So its is just a matter of continuing on with how I believe our team should play. From that standpoint there is a strong continuity in terms of system play but the strength (advantage) of the transitions is having seven fifth year players and having the leadership, led by Kruise Reddick. That has been instrumental; the players themselves, the leaders themselves have played a big part in making sure that the transition has been fairly seamless.
The Oilers Rig: Now I wanted to ask some questions about your background. Obviously before I called you this morning I wanted to make sure I had a good sense of your background. So how was going back to Kamloops to you? I saw that you did play several games for the Blazers way back in 86-87. Obviously, the new building would have been different than the Memorial Arena that you played in way back, but how was that for your first long road trip with the Bears to go back to a place where you played some junior hockey?
Coach Lajoie: I did take the opportunity on Saturday to go for a walk and head back to Memorial Arena. Its interesting its been 30 years, or close to, and it was a lot smaller than I remembered. I was 16 or 17 when I played there and I had a chance to go into the old Blazer dressing room and again it was very much smaller than I had recalled. So (it was) a chance to go back in time a little bit and reminisce and it was kind of neat to be back there. The new arena which is now the Sandman arena is nearing 20 years old but it is a great facility and it was great to be back. I think it served its’ purpose. The trip to Kamloops allowed us to get on the road and to get to know each other better and to start to lay down some foundation and expectations of our environment and the culture we want to continue to perpetuate with the University of Alberta Men’s hockey team. All in all, with the exception of that 8 hour bus ride, there and back, it was a great trip.
The Oilers Rig: Its interesting you mentioned the old Blazer’s dressing room. When I was a kid, I’m about 9 years younger than you are, but I grew up in Kamloops, I when we were playing minor hockey in the old Memorial rink, because they actually built the new building when I was in high school, and it was a really big deal if we got a chance to sit in the old Blazer’s dressing room.
Coach Lajoie: Its tiny. I didn’t even remember it that way.
The Oilers Rig: Is it still that marine blue? Like those really marine blue stalls?
Coach Lajoie: No they’ve….I think what they did is they took out the stalls but the layout is still the same and there is kid of a pillar….its definitely not a room that is conducive to making sure that you get to see everybody’s eyes and keep everybody focussed on, whether it is a practise or a game, so it was interesting to see.
The Oilers Rig: Was (Ken) Hitchcock your coach back then?
Coach Lajoie: Ya, Ken was the head coach. We had Don Hay as the assistant coach, Donny Moore, Bill Moore’s brother, was the assistant coach…we had some great players. Mark Recchi, Rob Brown, Greg Hawgood, and I had the chance the last 5 years to work with Rob Brown at his Sports Academy and even though I was only there a short amount of time (in Kamloops), we always managed to fall back on some good stories that came out of Kamloops. You never know when connections made 30 years ago can come back and serve you well in the future.
The Oilers Rig: I wanted to ask you, you spent five seasons with the Bears as a player, can you just touch on your time with the Bears playing defense?
Coach Lajoie: I keep saying that I grew up at the U of A as a player. I started when I was 19 and my first 2 seasons with the U of A I was an in-and-out player. I credit coach Drake who I had in the first year and coach Moores after that to show trust in me and see something in me that they spent time developing me. My third season is when they paired me up on the blueline with (former U of A head coach and current Oiler assistant coach) Ian Herbers. (I) Played two season with Ian and my ice time increased and confidence obviously came along with that. As and player and as a person my last three seasons is where I started to get a better understanding of what is was like to be a Golden Bear and the big responsibility that comes with donning that Golden Bear jersey and that crest on your chest.
The Oilers Rig: And then you went to play pro in Germany for four years?
Coach Lajoie: I played 5 season in first division in Germany with Bad Nauheim with the Red Devils
The Oilers Rig: I’m glad you pronounced that. I saw it online and was’t sure how you would pronounce the city name. How was that experience for you?
Coach Lajoie: It was great. I was going over for 1 year and I just wanted to continue to play hockey and get an experience along with that and I happened to come across a Canadian coach Rick Alexander who was originally from Calgary and had played some CIS hockey. He was instrumental in making sure that he helped me in making the transition over there, not just from the hockey standpoint but also the cultural standpoint and paved the way for me to go back for a second year. I kept enjoying my experience and getting the opportunity to return so I ended up going back for 5 years to the same place and really developed some good friendships and relationships that have lasted the test-of-time so to speak from my time there in Bad Nauheim.
The Oilers Rig: Fast forward you then were an assistant coach at the U of A for, was it five seasons?
Coach Lajoie: Yup for 5 seasons. From 05/06 until 2009-2010.
The Oilers Rig: And then you moved on to head coach at NAIT?
Coach Lajoie: Correct.
The Oilers Rig: How was your time at NAIT?
Coach Lajoie: Really enjoyed it. It was my first opportunity to be a head coach and came into an opportunity and a program that just hadn’t experienced the success that people in the collegiate hockey environment had expected it to be, you know, back in the days with Rick Carriere and Perry Pearn. (It was) and opportunity to put my stamp on a program and re-build it. My first order of business was to enlist some good assistant coaches that shared the vision that I had. Its a blueprint that I put in place at NAIT that allowed me, you know we experienced success there, and allowed me to come back here and feel that if I follow the same kind of template, you know with the success that the U of A has always experienced, and with the strong tradition of excellence here that I feel confident that there is a lot that I can offer to this program.
The Oilers Rig: When you finally got word that you would be moving to the U of A as head coach, was it surreal? was it a really exciting time? Just kind of describe your feelings around it.
Coach Lajoie: First and foremost its an honour that Stan (Bears general manager) reached out and right away (let me know) that he would look at me as a strong candidate to take over from Ian Herbers. It was quite a honour there and it is truly a privilege to have the opportunity to be the head coach of this program when you look at all the great players who have gone through this program, the great coaches, and when you look at the players who now become coaches at the various levels and there is ties to the U of A program it is humbling when you stop and think about the position I find myself in. I have always said that right from when I made the decision it felt right. You know you sleep on a decision for 24 hours and I woke up and it just seemed like the thing to do and I strongly believe that my opportunity to move on to NAIT was, the reason for that, was it prepared me for whatever opportunity presents itself, whether its after three, five, or ten years and it had prepared me for this opportunity and I am grateful.
The Oilers Rig: You kind of touched on it when you spoke about NAIT and since this interview is for an Oilers related website, I have to ask, you were mentioning about assistant coaches, there is an obvious Oilers question you know I am going to ask you but I am going to get to this one first, Fernando Pisani is on your bench, obviously he was a big hero in 2006 with the cup run, can you just describe what his role is going to be and how that is going to unfold?
Coach Lajoie: I’m very fortunate to have Fernando back on board. It his third year with the program here at the U of A. He is going to take a big role in terms of, he is working with the defence, he is taking a lead role into special teams PK Penalty Kill…. I got to know Fern over the past two years again working with him and Rob Brown at the Sports Academy in St. Albert and I found him to be a good communicator and I was comfortable and confident in passing on some responsibilities to him and early on you could see he has very good relationship with the players, there is a high level of respect. He comes from an environment where he played some collegiate hockey down in the States and a lot of our players are looking to prepare themselves for professional hockey and Fernando has gone through that so he is a great resource for them. He’s kind of a model to stick with it, preserve, be resilient and work at developing and you never know what could happen. He paid his dues in the American Hockey League and he was an instrumental of the success of the Oilers in 2006. Great to have him on board and thus far it has been great working with him.
The Oilers Rig: And here is the obvious one you probably knew I was going to ask you about this. We’re roughly a day away from a pretty hyped up game because your team is going to be taking on the Oilers rookies tomorrow night at Rexall and obviously Connor McDavid is going to be in the lineup. How have you been preparing your players with the prospect of facing Connor McDavid and whats the mood been in the room?
Coach Lajoie: Our guys are extremely excited. With the venue being Rexall its an exciting point for our guys and they always look forward to the Oiler rookie game. With the lineup they (the Oilers) will be putting on the ice it just increases that level of excitement. From terms of preparation, we always maintain the attitude we got to focus on what we need to do. We’ve put a lot of emphasis on playing within our structure, playing fast within our structure, our transitions have to be quick and we have to aware of when players are out there and at the end of the day, Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnel Nurse, you know there just one player, so we’ve got to be aware but we’ve got to treat this as another game. We’re going to play the game hard, we’re going to play it the right way and we’re going to make sure we just treat this as another game. I’m really exited to see how we elevate our game and our sense of urgency to match the skill level that the Oilers rookies are going to bring to the game tomorrow.
The Oilers Rig: It must be great for you as a coach you get to see your team against, not only a potential generational player in McDavid, but a player in Draisaitl who played a huge role in the Memorial Cup and Nurse who obviously was a part of the World Junior Team, so that must be great for you as a coach because you’ll be able to get a better sense at where your guys are at. Is that correct?
Coach Lajoie: Thats exactly it. We are two weeks into September, we still have three weeks of exhibition before our regular season starts and we’re already going to be engaged in a game (where) the energy is going to be high. It will simulate, you know, we’re hopeful we find ourselves in a similar type of environment in March at the National Championship out east. I think the important thing we’ve got to remember that we have a veteran team, we have a strong team, we have to get to that optimal arousal level so that we don’t get too high so we start to run around, so its going to be good in terms of our execution with a high octane type of environment.
The Oilers Rig: Obviously you’ve been around the Bears program for years, now do your think that some Oilers’ fans are going to be a little bit surprised with how good your team can play and the level of hockey that they bring? I know for myself as I’ve followed the team for the last several years, when I have conversations away from Clare Drake, people are always surprised when I tell them that it is my belief that the Bears are generally the second best hockey team in town. What are your thoughts about that?
Coach Lajoie: There is no question. There is no doubt in my mind that that is an accurate statement. These are players who have made a conscious decision to not give up on their dream of playing professional hockey but just take another route to take that opportunity to play at the next level. They’re taking care of their future getting a good education. There are some players that we will see in the pro-ranks next year. So it is underrated. Its the best kept secret, I’ve always maintained, its the best kept secret in Edmonton and, you know, across Canada. We relish in proving to people that we’re a product, that we’re worth getting out of the house and making the trek to the U of A and the Clare Drake Arena and coming to watch because it is fantastic hockey and the Golden Bears are one team in Canada West. When you look at all the talent across Canada West its unfortunate that it doesn’t have the same kind of magnitude as collegiate hockey down in the states because it is just fantastic hockey.
The Oilers Rig: Two Christmas’ ago I took a good buddy of mine, who is a Oilers season ticket holder, to that game that is always in December versus the Dinos and it was a packed house in Clare Drake . At one point, you know those fans who follow the visiting goalie around- they follow him from end to end, they were shaking the glass at one end to the point where you thought it was going to come down. (And) the Bears won in overtime, and it was really funny because I had to ask the goal judge, we were standing beside him, what happens in overtime because I had never seen the Bears go to overtime. I didn’t know what was going to happen. He (the goal judge) didn’t know either and he was the guy with the goal switch in his hand. Anyway, the Bears won in overtime and when I left my buddy turned to me and said, “man, that is really good hockey.” I said, “I know.” These guys are, for the most part, all guys who cam from major junior who are now in their early to mid 20’s, I mean, their at their athletic prime. Anyway coach, I have two more questions for you and then I’ll end your suffering. A couple of buddies of mine texted me some questions they wanted me to ask you. First up, Rich (@rducloux on Twitter) texted me, “normally they are a good match or better than the rookies….” you already answered that one, but he’s asking are you preparing differently, but you’ve already answered that one so I’ll skip to the next one. He (Rich) is also asking, “have any of these guys played in front of 16,000 people before and how do you think they are going handle it?”
Coach Lajoie: Coming back to my earlier statement, I think that is going to be the big test because I know that some of them have played in front of big crowds and with the experience of our leadership group they’ve played in big, meaningful games. (Being) at Nationals the past three years and winning two National Championships back-to-back you know that they are able to hone their focus and attention on the task at hand so I’m confident with our leadership group we’ll be able to find that optimal arousal level and also use that (the crowd) as energy. To play in front of 14,000-16,000 fans that should get you, there is no need for me to stand in a dressing room and get these guys motivated. I know its going to be a matter of drawing their attention on how we need to play, our structure, get into our structure fast, lets pressure the puck, and lets get shots on net and play Golden Bear hockey and we’re not focused on the scoreboard, we just want to continue to take steps forward on our process to be better.
The Oilers Rig: My next question and my last question comes from Dan (@danoilersaddict on Twitter) and Dan asked to ask you, “is there anyway you can get your guys to lay off McDavid?”
Coach Lajoie: Absolutely not (laughs) and I understand. I’ve been asked that question quite a bit, but at the end of the day in the game of hockey you have to aware of the other team’s top players and then within the structure that we’ll always be established with a unit of 5. Our focus is to always take away time and space. You know what, you’re mindful of the physical aspect of the game, we’re a team that plays the game the right way. We’re a stick on puck, body on body type team and there won’t be any dirty stuff and I’m confident in that. At the end of the day sometimes its not even the biggest hit where it does the most damage to a player and we can’t focus on that we just play the game the way we know we can play and there are some plays hockey that are going to occur out there and that is just the nature of the game and the environment we find ourselves in.
The Oilers Rig: Well coach that is all the questions I got for you. I want to thank you again for taking the time to talk to me. My hope is that with posting this regularly on TheOilersRig.com that it will motivate more people to go and try out the Golden Bears. Thanks again for taking the time to talk with me and good luck tomorrow night and I’m sure I’ll run into you a few times this season.
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