A Conversation with Coach Jay McKee
From playing at the highest level to coaching the top team in the OHL right now, Jay McKee has done it all. We sat down with the former NHL defencemen and current head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs for an inside look at an organization with a such a tight bond. Watching, coaching, and playing can be tough for some to differentiate but McKee has done it spending his time focusing on the development of the team and focusing on the players and goals set this year. When asked if there are times where he catches himself thinking as a player instead of a coach, he noted when starting coaching that there were times when he probably did feel that way. “I do think coaching it takes a lot of reps, but it takes a lot of experience to really see the systems and understand, being a former defenseman, I knew all about defence I didn’t know so much about the offensive positioning”. He also found early on, he still had a bit of the player mindset of what the defence should do. “As the years went on, I learnt so much as a coach and now even when I watch games I’m watching as a coach, watching the systems and what teams are doing so I think that as time goes on and you gain more experience, and you learn more about all the positions”. Being able to adapt his new surroundings from player to coach he has a whole new outlook on the game.
Keeping a little bit of the player to coach mindset McKee still brings aspects of his game alive while standing on the bench. When the games are rough and physical, he sees a part of himself out there and wants to get on the ice to play but now plays his role in a much different way. From growing up with one goal in mind of one day winning the Stanley Cup, coach McKee keeps that dream, “even though I’m not in the league right now where I can do that, I’m no different than I was as a young player in junior hockey. I had goals to improve and educate and learn and develop and that’s what I’m doing as a coach”. The mindset of wishing he was on the ice competing as a player has turned into passion for team success while keeping that enjoyment of being at the rink. “I still have fun with the guys in practice and we do some fun games stuff, I’ll jump in and have fun being out there and doing things like that, but no my focus now is being a coach and trying to teach these players and help develop and educate them to make the next step”. With the player first mentality he has shown that you don’t always have to be on the ice to make a difference, “even though we’re busy on the bench and teaching still on the bench and changing lines running lines it’s still fun to be a part of it”.
From watching and helping develop players, we asked if he sees himself in any of the players. Coach McKee mentioned that he sees a lot of himself in Artem Grushnikov and Colton Kammerer each in a different way. In Grushnikov he sees himself in the way he plays positionally “he plays the body; plays a physical game he has a very high care factor and he’s the kind of guy who blocks a lot of shots and will do anything it takes for the team to win”. In Kammerer he sees a lot of himself when looking at the physical style and told us in his last years of junior he was voted top body checker by coaches. With that vote in mind, he told us “Kammerer is another guy who blocked shots and likes to play the physical style of game you know, and I definitely see attributes of myself in these guys”. The biggest resemblance between him and these 2 is the understanding that you may not get the flashy offensive numbers but sticking to the way you play is worth it way more in the long run.
Dealing with the twists and turns the game brings, McKee has been without his full lineup for the entire season and still finds ways working with the players to generate the success we’ve witnessed this season. He came very close to a glimpse of a full lineup on March 3rd against Mississauga and mid game the lineup was missing a key player, Mark Duarte, due to an injury. With this McKee shared that it’s a win lose situation. “It’s a good thing because it’s an opportunity for other guys and we’ve still persevered and through a lot of adversity and as a coach you know I’m very fortunate have players that are very adaptable and we’ve talked about that through the year”, from seeing players shift positions like Patrick Thomas, Jan Mysak, Lawson Sherk, George Diaco and Cole Brown all stepping up and capitalizing on opportunities. He tells us that “I think as a coach you know we just we have to shift, and we have to figure out what lines work where guys work who has the ability to adapt well to a different position”. Looking at the depth the team has created while facing all these struggles, they have managed to come out on top and with players who buy in as much as these ones have the coaching staff and everyone else can see why McKee is having such a great season. “I think if that if our players weren’t mentally strong you would see a different work ethic or different attitude and they just keep rolling so huge credit to our players as hard as it is for us to make adjustments as coaches the players do too, and they’ve been fantastic”. With all the heart and talent, the team has given no wonder he is having such phenomenal results this year.
Following the teams great work ethic and bond he describes his experience with the team as grateful, “I think Steve has done a fantastic job at bringing in really good kids and great coaching staff”. From hearing the owner Michael Andlauer to GM Steve Staios and everyone else involved with the team promote being good teammates and working hard on countless occasions, McKee notes that “it really comes down to the players buying in and being those types of people” and it has been shown on and off the ice countless times. The best way to describe the team this year is “the work ethic and when you have guys like Avery Hayes, Logan Morrison and Jan Mysak, as players to look up too who work as hard as they do without the puck it’s contagious and it filters through the team”. Seeing the older players step up to create this atmosphere is wonderful and seeing the younger players learn from them only makes the team deeper and strengthens the culture. After hearing all the great attributes of the team and how they have all bought in this season, McKee shared his secret to success “if you can combine the skill we have in the talent, size and strength and being the physical team we need to be combining that with not 14 guys or 13 guys working hard but all the guys on the ice it’s become a very hard team to play against”.
With bonds forming and blurring the lines between family and teammates we wanted to know more about his relationship with the coaching staff. He had already worked with Andreas Karlsson while they were with the Kitchener Rangers. Their relationship started when he was recommended by the GM and creating a bond with him during the hiring process. McKee had nothing but nice things to say about Karlsson, “he’s a fantastic person, who has a big heart and really cares about the kids and their development. That’s number one for what our job is”. We also got an inside look on his work ethic and how he makes the job easier for the other staff “he has an unbelievable work ethic and hardest work ethic from any coach I’ve ever coached with”, McKee told us him and his fellow coaches sit down after each game and go over the tapes and clip their respective plays, and he said that this is the first thing on Andreas’ mind and that he is very passionate about it. He comes to work “the next day sitting down with guys and going over their video and helping teach, grow and develop their game and you know when you combine the person he is with the work ethic, I will work with a guy like that for the rest of my life and we are very fortunate to have him here in Hamilton”. Moving from Andreas to Andrew Campbell, McKee also had nothing but nice things to say. Knowing that him and Karlsson were stepping into the team that Campbell had been a part of before them he knew they would be a great fit from hearing all the raving recommendations from Steve Staios. Campbell was seen as one of best leaders in the game with a great work ethic and that’s how the relationship formed. “Andrew’s been a lot like Andreas, just a really positive person to be around who really puts the work in and prepares these guys”, seeing his career play out in regard to leadership role he plays and seeing him wear the “C” for an organization like the Toronto Marlies and Maple Leafs organization says a lot and shows you he is the person you can trust and create that relationship with.
With the coaching staff consisting of a tremendous group of leaders we see where the team gets their skills from in that department. McKee notes that he has never been a part of a team with this much culture and leadership, “the way the kids with their relationships and the way they care about each other and the leadership group everything combined fits under the umbrella of culture”. He gives most of the credit to owner Michael Andlauer and GM Steve Staios for putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. He describes the organization as a fantastic place to work for and that he is very fortunate to work with everyone involved.
To finish we asked him what he enjoys most about being the head coach “it’s hard to say one thing obviously teaching and developing, this is why we coached and if you don’t enjoy teaching and developing and seeing these kids grow you’re in the wrong business but I would to say that the relationships built and when you’re part of a hockey team especially one with a good culture you become like a family”. From spending endless hours with the staff and players they developed a relationship that gives off the family sense. “They feel like our kids and you do care about them so you want to see them succeed with their goals and dreams so it really feels like a family”, touching on emotions the team is very tight and knows if something is up and want to be there with you to help you get back up “if someone is struggling on the ice as a coach you want to help them improve and if someone’s having great success like Logan Morrison who is playing out of his mind right now it makes you feel really good inside”. He tells us that the best part about “is probably the relationships that you build, the bonds that you make and the friendships at that really last lifetime”. We look forward to seeing how Jay McKee continuously improves the team for the end of the season and a successful playoff run.
