Midweek Catchup with Neil Graham: Long Road Trips, A Coachella Test and Justin Hryckowian

(Credit: Andy Nietupski/Texas Stars)

I managed to catch Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham for 20 minutes Monday afternoon to discuss the start of the road trip, some of the recent transactions and what makes long road trips like this one different from the short ones that the Stars have taken so far this season.

Stephen Meserve, 100 Degree Hockey: A shutout loss followed by a shootout win. What would you take away from the first two games of this big trip?

Neil Graham: Well, I think the league is getting tighter, and the structure is getting better. Despite the loss, even on Friday, we actually laid some defensive building blocks in a positive direction in terms of some of our D zone, some of our our tracking out of the O-zone in the neutral zone. Where we fell into some issues is where we still had a tendency to give up the big break or the fast break, which is still a level of concern. It's something we're working towards.

The negative was obviously we weren't able to generate some of our offense in that game. But what we were able to look at in Game 2 of this road trip was getting some of our foundation back on the offensive side. Some of the predictability in terms of our consistency in that regard. And I thought a lot of it took shape against another very good opponent, Coachella. What a test for us on the road. And so far, we're up for the challenge and now we got to make sure we have a good game against Ontario tomorrow.

SM: It's a different road trip, right? You guys have done a lot of quick out and backs where you play two games, you come right back. Is there something different about the tone of the road trip or something like that, when you get a couple of days on the road without a game where you're not traveling?

NG: Yeah, you know what? Our guys do a great job going for their dinners and spending time away from the rink together. You can already see some of that formation taking place. We had a team Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday when we landed. Those are always important, and those are nice moments that we can share. Obviously the game day's the next day, but that's the next day. And right now you're just trying to enjoy each other's company. It's a long year, and those things do add up and they do matter.

All these new new bodies, year after year, and that's the nature of the AHL where you know, you look at the next level, the NHL, three or four new guys come in there and they talk about a major roster overhaul. At our level, you might have half a team brand new again, and that's just the norm.

Some of that chemistry takes time over the course of the year. The more time you can go, have some dinners, hang out. and do various activities with each other. It's just about spending quality time and then forming those relationships. We got a good group, we got a lot of character guys. I enjoy seeing that part come together, and I like seeing the process. It doesn't mean it goes easy all the time. I think part of our jobs in this league is to navigate the difficult, embrace it. Don't let the frustrations boil over and then get better from it. And that's something we've been able to do.

SM: We talk about embracing the difficult and like you said, Coachella is a very good opponent. Late in the third, it looked like you had the go-ahead goal and they came back to tie it.

NG: The next step is also finding ways to closeout scenarios and but frankly, that's kind of how the night went. It was an emotional night. You come from down 2-0 to make it 3-2. They're a good team. They're not going to quit. We have a breakdown on the 5-v-6 and no one starts pointing fingers or sagging, and we have multiple chance to end it in overtime and it didn't occur. So you stay in the fight and then you go to the shootout. I think we're seeing new things. And as long as you keep improving areas and not being complacent, you're going to find ways to win, but you're also more importantly, going to find ways to improve your overall identity.

SM: Huge call today for Justin Hryckowian to get the call to Dallas. What has he been doing that earned him that call?

NG: Well, he's ahead of his years in terms of his maturity. As a first year pro, to be as disciplined as he is with his preparation on practice, game day, off days, he's done everything right from the day he arrived last year. Where last year, we instantly saw the defensive acumen and responsibility and we saw offensive potential, this year he's tied it all together. I don't think there's been a more consistent player through the first 17 games. He's been responsible. He's been offensively generating. Frankly, he's really moved the needle for our group, so this was well earned.

SM: You look at his path. He's a kid from Quebec. He could have gone to the QMJHL. He decided he wanted to get his education, went into college. So that puts him in in the pro ranks a couple of years later. Do you see that maturity difference for some of those players who have that opportunity to go to college? They have a couple more years on them and and just maybe they're more ready to step into those pro habits based on that maturity?

NG: Without a doubt, and especially in his case. It doesn't always work that way. I think, especially in his case, being an undrafted player, there's also an element of hunger, year after year, in those college years where you're trying to earn a contract. You're not hoping the team that drafted you signs you either. There's a fight in his game that is natural because he's had to earn it every step of the way.

Texas plays Ontario tonight in southern California with puck drop at 9 PM CT.