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John Hynes Named to Team USA Coaching Staff for World Cup of Hockey

Devils coach John Hynes has been named as an assistant on John Tortorella’s staff at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey coming this September.

The Warwick, Rhode Island native joins Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, Predators assistant (recent Hall of Famer and former Devils defenseman) Phil Housley, Islanders coach Jack Capuano and Scott Gordon on Team USA’s coaching staff.

The first year Devils bench boss has had them contending for a playoff spot despite predictions that this was a rebuilding year for the franchise and still has them in the mix despite a depleted roster due to injuries and suspensions.

His previous international coaching experience includes six seasons as head coach of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He also coached the US to three medals at the IIHF Men’s World Under-18 Championship according to the press release on the Devils official website. He won gold in 2006, silver in 2004 and bronze in 2008. He also served as an assistant on the staff for the first US team to win gold at the World Junior Championship (2004).

Coach Hynes certainly has the international coaching experience and his time in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and at the NHL level with the Devils gives him even more knowledge on how to deal with players of all levels.

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will be played in Toronto from September 17 to October 1 at the Air Canada Centre and will feature teams from USA, Canada, the Czech Republic, Europe, Finland, North America, Russia and Sweden according to the press release. Team USA’s general manager is LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi. The head coach is Columbus coach John Tortorella.

Some might see this as a weird choice, being that Hynes is a rookie NHL coach. However, when you take into consideration his service to American hockey at the international level previous, it makes sense. As Devils fans, we see Hynes coaching each night and the man knows what he is doing, so while not an obvious choice, he is a good one.

Congratulations to coach Hynes on this honor.

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Devils Host Open Practice for Fans

Today, December 27, the Devils opened the doors of the Prudential Center to let fans watch an open practice. The event took place on the main ice surface of the Prudential Center, as opposed to the AmeriHealth Pavilion, their normal practice rink. Tickets were free to season ticket holders and cost $5 for all other fans, with the proceeds going to the Devils’ charitable foundation.

With a sizable crowd in attendance – half of the lower bowl was filled; the Devils were welcomed to the ice by public address announcer Kevin Clark. Captain Andy Greene welcomed fans to the practice (after a quick warmup) with a few words prior to the session, thanking us for coming out. With that, the group gathered around Coach John Hynes and he instructed them. They then went through some drills. After each drill, Coach Hynes would instruct some more and the team would break to participate in the next drill.

The practice ended with a shootout where everyone participated and only those who scored could advance. Once you missed, you were knocked out. In something that surprised very few in the crowd, Jacob Josefson won. Just prior to the shootout, Coach Hynes addressed the crowd, explained a little about what fans just saw and his hopes for the team’s play going forward. He also thanked us for coming out and then introduced the shootout.

Players had a little bit of fun during the shootout, doing things you would never see in games, particularly Stephen Gionta, who really played to the fans.

Following the end of practice, the players flipped autographed pucks into the crowd, making some kids very happy. WFAN radio play-by-play man Matt Laughlin then did a few interviews with Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique and Cory Schneider.

Season ticket holders were then treated to a meet-and-greet with the players on the concourse of the Prudential Center where they could get autographs and talk to the players a little. Cory Schneider’s life sized bobblehead was also unveiled, as he got the same treatment that Adam Henrique got back in November.

In addition, food was served and there were trivia contests for fans both via cell phone and in person in a live game show format.

Overall, the day was a great success for the team and its fans. This is something that has not really been done before, as Lou Lamoriello never liked to have practices open to fans (which is understandable). They did have open practices when they trained at South Mountain Arena in West Orange, but that was more because it was a public building and harder to keep fans out. Even then, if they could help it, they would keep things private.

Once the team moved to Prudential Center and AmeriHealth Pavilion, they could control who got to see the practices. This was a great marketing move and something that will create fans for life, as the kids really got to connect and bond with their favorite players.

I really hope the Devils do more of these, as they make for a unique and fun atmosphere and will help to build the fanbase of the future.