Flyers fans often joked of Dave Hakstol’s unsmiling nature in the three years he spent as Philadelphia’s head coach, convinced anything more than a curl of the lip was physically impossible. Those jokes followed him to the Pacific Northwest, and when Hakstol cracked a toothy grin following Seattle’s first victory this season– 7-4 over the Carolina Hurricanes following a trying, winless four-game stretch– the sight came as a shock, pleasant as it was.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a bigger smile on your face than at the end of this game,” the Hockey News’ Glenn Dryfuss pointed out during the post-game scrum.
“You got it all wrong. I smile all the time,” Hakstol returned dryly. “I don’t know what you guys are looking at.”
All business, all the time is the Kraken bench boss’ modus operandi. Austerely dispositioned and notoriously tight-lipped, the 55-year-old has swiftly earned himself an enigmatic reputation over his nearly three decades coaching, the last eight spent exclusively in the NHL.
“Mirthless.” “Close-to-the-vest.” “Emotionless.” “Terse.”
No matter his station, his demeanor has remained consistently restrained. As the son of a cattle farmer raised in the tiny Albertan village of Warburg, perhaps these are the values instilled by the unforgiving Calgarian wilderness and its scathing winters, or dutiful crack-of-dawn risings to aid in ranching duties.
Maybe stoicism is a survival instinct. As one of only five coaches since to jump straight from the NCAA to the NHL and touting zero NHL playing experience himself, Hakstol’s credibility is vulnerable.
Or, this is a matter of nature, not nurture. Hakstol’s admitted he’s “guarded” and a compartmentalizer, and makes a point to embrace organic personality a column of his coaching. As he told the media in late January: “we all gotta play our part. And if you’re trying to be somebody you’re not, it’s not ever going to work.”
Philosophy plays into it, too. Hakstol refutes the concept of trap games, holds the utmost respect for every team, no matter how bad, and understands success– not fisticuffs, not rage– is the best revenge.
Regardless, Hakstol is as restrained as they come.
At his angriest commanding the bench he’ll point a finger, sternly beckon a referee over for explanation of a call (or lack thereof). Tough losses make for longer waits for his presence to grace media availability, the details of closed-door conversations kept tightly under wraps. Reactions to most controversial plays, defensive mishaps, and reckless penalties are painfully neutral. To hold one’s breath waiting for an impassioned word to slip is to wish for unconsciousness.
None of this is to say he’s disrespectful, conniving, or unfeeling. Distantly courteous, one can’t expect a satisfying answer but they’re free to ask anything. Genuine affection for his players and staff is evident in his fierce defense of them. Contrary to popular belief, he’s not without personality– he won’t resist flaunting his affinity for sarcasm sporting an unbreakable deadpan.
Hakstol is within his right to run his team as he wishes, and zealous honesty just isn’t his thing. That doesn’t make discerning his scheming any easier.
It may come as a surprise to learn– or remember– that effective communication was one of the major selling points in Hakstol’s hiring by the Kraken.
“We wanted somebody that had good hockey acumen, that understood systems and how to play in all three different zones,” general manager Ron Francis told reporters back in June 2021. “We wanted somebody who could communicate that message very clearly and very concisely to our players.
“When we went through the interview process, the guy that we’re hiring checked all of those boxes continually.”
Francis’ choice held up. A dismal inaugural season brought obligatory growing pains, then the Kraken became the third team in 56 years to make the playoffs in their first two seasons following the largest improvement in wins and points compared to their inaugural performance in league history. All credit was directed towards Hakstol’s ability to handle the emotional and communicative side of the business.
“Dave’s the one that’s [on] a daily basis in the [locker] room steering that ship,” Francis said. “We have conversations but he has to go in there everyday and work that room. And you saw it from our guys– from start to finish they were a gutsy group, a gritty group, and that’s a reflection on him and how he prepares and wants his teams to play.”
Arguably, had Hakstol been as restrained to his players as he presents himself, the inaugural season would have had long-lasting effects, Hakstol would not have been extended this past July, and the Kraken would not have recovered from their recent eight-game losing skid, during which many theorized he’d lost the room. Productive, respectful communication is vital.
Unconventional as it may seem, something about Hakstol’s approach is working. How, then, can his harsh public demeanor and his coaching success be reconciled?
It’s simple: the stoicism he employs is strategic. It’s a front.
Consider when Hakstol revoked starting goaltender confirmations earlier this season: “everybody watches morning skate. I don’t think much is hidden, but I don’t see the point in me standing in front of everybody and confirming something that doesn’t help us in any way.”
Right off the bat, the idea feels antagonistic. But dig deeper.
Disguising the starter until the last minute is a strategic luxury afforded only by tandems of equal strength, reliability. That is, very few tandems. Refraining from naming a starter is a good indicator that Hakstol trusted both goaltenders enough to make the possibility of either starting a realistic one, that he saw goaltending as an asset for his team, and that if there’s an opportunity for an informational advantage he’s going to take it, no matter how small.
Those are valuable insights, and the kind that are consistently communicated by the head coach. Receiving them simply demands a little more work, reading between the lines, understanding ‘Hakstol-speak.’
Another example: matters of health.
Reasons for practice absences are routinely tiptoed around. Breaking news habitually slips to the public through alternative channels should it come to light at all– Jordan Eberle’s blade cut and Pierre-Édouard Bellemare’s leg injury were exclusively broken by the Seattle Times. Vince Dunn’s preseason and January injuries, Matty Beniers’ injury last season, Jared McCann’s playoff injury, and Philipp Grubauer’s most recent injury were never given general ‘upper’ or ‘lower’ bodily designations.
Many of the aforementioned players are big pieces of the Kraken’s core. Knowing McCann and Beniers are already subject to targeting, why add fuel to that fire? And why perpetuate unfavorable impressions of the tandem knowing it already has a reputation for being a weak point in the roster?
Before the All-Star break, Hakstol plainly refused to disclose the nature of Grubauer’s injury and lied about the reason behind Chris Driedger’s absence from a recent practice, later revealed to be due to his reassignment to the AHL.
“I’m certainly not going to get into the details of the injuries,” Hakstol said. “He’s had three over the last two years but he’s worked to rehab each of them individually and correct them before he’s come back.”
Even saying nothing says something. Firmly asserting that the details of Grubauer’s injury won’t be discussed indicates their severity. Reiterating that each of his three injuries over the past two seasons were fully rehabbed before his return to game action does more to confirm suspicions that whatever he was dealing with was connected to his previous groin injuries than denying them. For a 32-year-old goaltender averaging .889 SV% in the first half of a six-year, $5.9 million AAV contract, nagging injuries don’t look great.
Top defensive prospect Ryker Evans was recalled during the eight-game losing skid, suspected to shake up a struggling veteran defensive corps. Hakstol was questioned about the move’s intentions by local and national media and held his ground: recalled Evans had nothing to do with sending a message.
Of course he’s not going to publicly admit that was his intent– he’s going to shine a light on the depth instead. Anybody who follows the team close enough can see the difference in the defense’s play with and without Evans and can come to their own conclusion. For Hakstol to unnecessarily declare the inability of his defense, chew them out on stage, would be to throw his room under the bus during an already taxing stretch, to trample on his personnel’s trust. He’s not cruel, and he’s not out to embarrass his team.
“If I’m going to send a message, I’m gonna sit across from them and talk to them,” Hakstol said at the time. “I don’t need to call somebody out to send a message. We don’t do that. We communicate like men here.”
Reticence should not be mistaken for poor communication. In fact, scarcity makes every word more important when it comes to dealing with a bottled up head coach.
Those rare occasions when Hakstol is straightforward become that much more weighty when contextualized with his usual restraint. Calling Tyler Myers’ hit on Beniers “garbage,” saying a reckless penalty by Dunn will be discussed “internally,” admitting he “bust[s]” Daniel Sprong’s “hump about defensive play,” and yelling at his players to “shoot the f**king puck” are all fitting examples, as tepid as they are compared to the rest of the league.
Communication looks different from person to person, even with head coaches of NHL teams. So before dismissing another vague media availability from Hakstol because the message isn’t as easy to receive as something spouted from John Tortorella, hear him out.
Consider the exigency behind secrecy, what Hakstol may be trying to achieve, what even the smallest inflections of tone say about what he’s thinking. Consider that in this league, emotion is information and information is power.
Consider there’s more to Hakstol’s messaging than meets the eye– or, ear.
Information via NHL PR. Descriptive quotes from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
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