Dave Hakstol was on TCN’s Breakfast on Broad this morning, and he spoke about the recent Flyers moves from the weekend, his thoughts on first-round pick Ivan Provorov, his role in the drafting process, and what he’s been up to since taking the job as head coach.
“It was a great weekend for everybody,” said Hakstol. “The real work is still ahead for everybody, obviously, but to see the pieces that are in place … I think they’re all positive moves, all positive things for us.”
On his daily process:
“It’s kind of shifting right now from the first month of working to complete our staff, working to communicate with our players. Now it’s shifting into that mode of really getting prepared for the season, so a lot of preparation work. Looking at things from last season and tying those together with where we go this year.”
On the decision to keep the same assistant coaches:
“Great people. Real quality people. Good skill sets. And when you look through the group, a lot of experiences that certainly I value and need to have in and around me. So when you look at the group of three [Ian Laperriere, Joe Mullen, Gord Murphy], we got the chance to spend some time together, we feel it’s a group that is very much a quality group and now we have to get to work together.”
On his input on the draft:
“I was asked on some of the players that I knew for a little bit of input, but very honestly it’s Chris [Pryor] and his staff. They’ve done the work over the long haul here. They’ve seen a lot of games, they’ve done a lot of work evaluating on and off the ice, and I think what we’ve seen over the last week here is the benefit of all their hard work.”
On if Ivan Provorov can make the jump right to the NHL:
“It’s a big step. I saw him play two years ago when he was a rookie in the USHL as a young guy. The thing I know there, he didn’t play like a rookie. He’s got great presence, a little bit ahead of his time in terms of maturity. Whether or not he’s ready to make the step and whether it’s the right step for him and our team, those things have to be answered as we get into training camp and the exhibition season. But he’s a special young man on and off the ice.”
There’s much more in the talk, and you can see the interview below.
