New assistant coach Crawford adds experience to Chicago Blackhawks staff
Grandma approved of him. To think a Stanley Cup-winning head coach would actually pick up the phone to talk hockey and grandson Wade with her.
"My grandma used to call him because she just loved him," Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Sheldon Brookbank said of new Blackhawks assistant coach Marc Crawford, who coached Wade Brookbank (Sheldon's big brother) in Vancouver in the early 2000s. "He would take the call. My grandma would just want to say, 'You're doing such a great job.' (Laughing) Not like, 'Play my grandson!' "
Considering his resume, which also includes coaching Wayne Gretzky, Blackhawks fans figure to approve of Crawford, too.
The Blackhawks hired Crawford in early June. "Crow" - yes, he and Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford share the same nickname - was named interim head coach for Ottawa on March 1 after the dismissal of Guy Boucher. The Senators finished the season 7-10-1 under him.
"I loved being the head coach at the end of the year, but I'm really at ease and at peace with where I am in the hockey world right now," said Crawford, 58. "I love coaching, and I get as much of a kick out of being an assistant as I do being a head coach.
"I like the interaction that comes with being around young players and young people. It really helps me stay young. I like the way that they dress. I like the music that they listen to."
Crawford, a fourth-round draft pick by Vancouver in 1980, won the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year for the Quebec Nordiques in 1995. The next season, the franchise moved to Colorado and Crawford's Avalanche won the Stanley Cup that season. He replaced Mike Keenan as head coach of Vancouver midway through the 1998-99 campaign, but six seasons later he was let go after winning a franchise-record 246 games.
He later had head-coaching stints with Los Angeles and Dallas, and was head coach of the 1998 Team Canada (Gretzky) squad that was surprisingly denied gold in Nagano. Before ending up in Ottawa, he coached in the Swiss National League.
"We've already learned a lot from him just having him in the room," said Brookbank, who joined head coach Jeremy Colliton's staff midway through last season. "He just gives us a different perspective because he's been through so much over the years. He's very open and willing to share. He's been incredible so far."
One year when he was coaching Vancouver, Crawford wanted to provide protection for stars Henrik and Daniel Sedin, so he put defenseman Wade Brookbank on a line with the twins. Brookbank scored goals in consecutive games.
"And (the Sedins) remembered it when they retired. They mentioned Wade being one of their favorite wingers," Crawford said with a laugh. "Wade doesn't talk to me anymore because I never played him with them again."
Coming to Chicago allows Crawford to reconnect with Wade Brookbank, a pro scout for the Blackhawks, and also provides him the opportunity to see his son regularly.
Dylan Crawford, 29, is a video coach for the Blackhawks.
"I got to work with my dad when I was working my way up in the junior coaching ranks," said Marc Crawford, a native of Belleville, Ontario. "My dad was our head scout/director of player personnel. I worked with him for two years. When the opportunity came up to come here, I was really excited because I'm never going to get this opportunity again to go to work with my son."
Crawford has been around the game professionally as a player or coach for nearly 40 years. He still has his familiar stylish, spiky hair but knows he brings more than that to a team that has missed the playoffs the last two years.
"I'm the gray hair on the team," said Crawford, who's old enough to be the 34-year-old Collitons's dad. "I think one of my big roles is to offer perspective."
He's always had that as a coach.