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The hardest job in hockey might belong to new Minnesota Wild interim head coach John Torchetti.
Torchetti was named the Wild’s interim head coach after Mike Yeo was fired on Saturday. Torchetti’s message to the team:
“Just talking about the type of coach I am and what I expect from them moving forward,” Torchetti said Sunday, via Wild.com. “Making sure that we understand that we all gotta be accountable to play hard and compete and win our battles every night.”
Torchetti added that he wants to see the Wild “attack the net” and have a “shooting presence.” Minnesota has averaged fewer than two goals per game during the past 14 games (13 losses), according to USA Today.
Zach Parise told the Star Tribune that he expects the Wild will “play a lot harder” when they play the Canucks in Vancouver on Monday night.
“At the same time, I think we all have to understand we’re not going to go out and start playing like the 1972 Soviet Union,” Parise added.
This is Torchetti’s third turn as a head coach in the NHL. He held similar interim labels with the Florida Panthers in 2003-04 and the L.A. Kings in 2005-06.
The Wild have lacked energy on the ice and according to Wild winger Charlie Coyle, who played under Torchetti with the Iowa Wild in the AHL, Torchetti is going to make players work – and work hard.
“He’s hard-nosed. He says it how it is,” Coyle said, via Yahoo Sports. “He was my first pro coach, just coming in, having a coach like him, he tells you how it is. I loved playing for him. He likes hard workers. That’s how you earn your ice time. And he likes that. He’s high on character, and I think we’ll play well for him.”
Folin: [Torchetti's] a charismatic guy… and did a tremendous job down in Iowa.
🎥 https://t.co/mK0Nl7XpqH pic.twitter.com/ntPOsS1Zih
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
Torchetti will coach the Wild on the road for three games this week before coaching in front of Minnesota fans for the first time in this coming Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium.
Torchetti: It's pretty cool. My first home game is outdoors. We want to win the game. We're the #StateOfHockey.#mnwild #StadiumSeries
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 14, 2016
Here’s Torchetti’s full press conference.
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