How Hawks coach Luke Richardson is leading by example originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Luke Richardson is going to quickly endear himself to Blackhawks fans. He certainly already has the respect of his players, too.
After Day 2 of training camp, Richardson put the Blackhawks through post-practice conditioning drills and the 53-year-old first-year NHL head coach participated himself, even leading the charge on some of them.
“I’m fine,” Richardson said with a smile when asked how he felt afterwards. “Good. I got to do them twice, too. These guys don’t realize it.”
Richardson has been known to do this kind of stuff in the past, so it wasn’t a total surprise to the players. But they definitely are gaining a newfound appreciation for their new head coach, who played more than 1,400 games in the NHL.
“I actually heard that, I talked to Josh Anderson and a couple guys that have been coached by him in recent years, and I know he does a lot of conditioning,” Seth Jones said. “He’s up on the bike at like 6:30, 7 a.m. every day, just sweating when you’re coming in and warming up. He’s definitely going to lead by example.”
[MORE: Seth Jones: ‘I don’t have any regrets’ about signing extension with Blackhawks]
And that’s exactly what Richardson’s plan is, and aligns with his overall coaching philosophy.
“It’s just part of a lead by example,” Richardson said. “I’m not doing all the drills, so I’m not worn out like they are, and physical contact. But I think it just shows that the coaches are with them and we’re in this journey all together, doing the same thing.”
As for potential bag skates, Richardson might think twice about whether or not he wants to participate. But honestly, I wouldn’t run it past him if he joined them for those occasionally, too.
“No, I think I’ll just do my little laps there and that’s it,” Richardson said. “I’ll keep that for maybe a special day.”
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