Claude Noel has done this before, taken the reigns of a team slumping toward the league basement after the previous coach has been moved on.
He was the assistant coach for the Columbus Bluejackets when Ken Hitchcock was fired, leaving Noel as the interim leader for 24 games in 2010. That time, he鈥檇 been a part of the club for three seasons. His 10-8-6 record as head coach did not mean his contract was renewed.
Before that, he coached the Milwaukee Admirals, first as an assistant and during a later tenure, as head coach. He was named the AHL coach of the year when the Admirals won the Calder Cup in 2004, two years after the club had twice failed to make the post-season. And before that, he made short stops in Roanoke and Daytona with the ECHL and Kalamazoo with the International Hockey League. The journeyman coach spent no more than four consecutive years in any one place.
After Columbus, Noel signed on with the Manitoba Moose and coached the Canucks affiliate for one season, but when the Jets returned to the NHL in 2011, Noel was offered the head coaching position at the cherished Winnipeg franchise. With one year remaining on his contract, Noel was let go from the Jets after the end of last season.
鈥淚 enjoyed the time off,鈥� he said this week. 鈥淪ometimes you鈥檙e a little bit restless, you鈥檙e antsy. I have another year on my contract so that was a luxury I鈥檇 never known before.鈥�
At 59, the father of two and a self-described self-analyzer wasn鈥檛 anxious to work right away but said leaving Winnipeg drew out a lot of emotion. Plus he had to pack up a house and fit all its contents into a two-bedroom condo in Phoenix. In November, the Giants called.
鈥淚 [was] a little more choosey on what I鈥檇 like to take on for my next job. So when this opportunity came,鈥� he trailed off 鈥溾�here are opportunities you should pass by and some you should jump on. That鈥檚 how I felt about this.鈥�
Now he鈥檚 in Vancouver. The head coach of the Giants since Sunday, Noel is back in new but not unknown territory.
He鈥檚 already simplified practices while intensifying the pace, favouring fast-wheeling cardio and repetition over endless breaks at the whiteboard. The former player is active, carries a stick and skates with the team each time the players split for a couple laps of the ice.
鈥淎nytime you get a coaching change, there is a stall there for some reason,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t could be any reason, sometimes it has to do with the coach or sometimes the players. In my opinion, you have to establish a work ethic first because you can cover up a lot of mistakes just by working. We want to work first and at some point here on Thursday, we want to be able to let our minds go free and just play. It will come back to them.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e working hard. They鈥檙e wanting to learn and there鈥檚 a fair amount of stuff that鈥檚 been thrown at them. I鈥檓 a little leery to throw too much at them. There鈥檚 not too many changes, but I want us to get a foundation of work, first, then we'll just go from there.鈥�
Noel, who grew up in Francophone Ontario, idolized the Montreal Canadiens and Jean Beliveau. 鈥淗e was just the best. Now there was a class act,鈥� he said.鈥�
Troy Ward, formerly on coaching staff in the AHL and NHL, was fired as the Giants coach Nov. 26. He took a sophisticated approach to hockey and applied his own advanced analytics to unveil a team鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses. He was innovative but also used terminology and acronyms that could be out of reach for the average teenage hockey player. But the Giants are 10-18, sitting at the bottom of the B.C. Division and 20th out of 22 teams in the WHL.听
Before Ward, Don Hay coached the Giants for 10 years.
Noel, who has worked with developing players before, described himself as a patient coach and an intense teacher. He is observant, studies a lot and can assess what a player is capable of right now and down the road, he said. 鈥淚 think players enjoy playing for me. I鈥檓 not a real barker during games. I let the players play. I respect what they do.鈥�
He also brought video to review 鈥� the material he had was of the Jets 鈥� to illustrate his points. But his expectations aren鈥檛 so high-soaring.听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 treat them as professionals because there not there yet,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e young men and they want to get somewhere.
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鈥淥ne of the things I asked them when we first met, was to help each other. If you do understand, then help the guy beside you because you鈥檙e going to have to help them during games, too. That鈥檚 part of being a team.鈥�
And then there鈥檚 the question of how quick a study Noel is. When it comes to players鈥� names, he tried but couldn鈥檛 review them electronically and so had to wait until he met the Giants in person.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough because you鈥檝e got to remember all the first names. Last names are tough enough. I just managed,鈥� he said Wednesday over the phone. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 a lot better. I鈥檝e got a way better handle on who鈥檚 who. That鈥檚 at least a good thing. When you鈥檙e calling players by 鈥楬ey,鈥� that doesn鈥檛 go very far. It鈥檚 not very personable.鈥�
Noel has no problem being personable. It comes naturally and, besides, he's done it before.
The Giants host the Portland Winterhawks 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Pacific Coliseum.
