A few minutes with...Paul GillisPaul Gillis is in his second year as head coach of the Jackalopes. Last season, the Jacks finished 32-25-7 in the Southwest Division and won the opening-round playoff series against the Austin Ice Bats two games to one, only to be swept in four games by the Laredo Bucks.
This season, the Jacks have come out swinging, winning four of five games, losing only to the Texas Brahmas who also took the win in their pre-season match. The Jacks will host the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees at home on Ocober 31st.
Gillis, 44, has an overall coaching record of 495-349-70. During his 14 years as a head coach, Gillis has been behind the bench for eight different teams in the AHL, OHL, UHL and now the CHL. He spent nine of those years in the United Hockey League where he took Quad City Mallards to the playoffs five times, winning the championship in his first appearance after the 1997-98 season. He took three other UHL teams to the playoffs as well. Gillis holds the UHL coaching record for post-season games and wins and ranks 2nd all-time in the UHL in regular season wins and games coached.
Q: How do you feel about the start of the season?
A: Well, we got off to a good start but there's a long way to go. Right now I think every team in the league is just finding out about their players and what they have and how they're going to play under pressure. I think it's good for us because we have started on the road and you really get a good indication of what your guys are all about and if they're going to compete in some tough buildings. So far so good but we know we have a lot of work ahead of us.
Q: So far, the team seems pretty well-rounded. You've made a few changes here this past week; what do you see as the best opportunity for improvement at this point?
A: Well I think we've just got to improve in all areas. It's early; we only have close to 10 days I think in training camp which isn't enough to really get your team organized. I don't think we've even identified our issues yet. We're quite pleased with our team but there's always going to be hiccups along the way or poor play or injuries or something you have to deal with. Right now, we're just trying to get everything in place and figure out our team and our boys and see what they're all about and we'll make any adjustment we have to after that.
Q: What do you think are the keys to beating the Brahmas?
A: The thing about Texas, from my standpoint, and Dan did a fantastic job with the team last year, is that they work extremely hard. They're very physical in this building. You've got be able to deal with their puck pressure and their physical play and in turn, you've got to return it to them. You've got to play physical against them. The other issue early in the season is staying out of the penalty box, Everybody's getting used to these new rules a little bit and there's been a lot of penalties called in all these games and special teams are a huge issue.
Q: Coming from the Ector County Coliseum and playing in some of the other venues, compared to NYTEX, do you think that playing in a smaller facility like this offers any advantages or disadvantages for the players?
A: I don't think there's any difference. If it's different for your players, you don't have the right players. You've got to go places and play on different ice surfaces, different surroundings and that can't affect what you do.
No comments:
Post a Comment