Sports fans across Humber’s North campus shared their thoughts on the coaches for the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.
The coaches for this year’s game are Jim Montgomery of the Boston Bruins, Peter Laviolette of the New York Rangers, head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Rick Tocchet and Winnipeg Jets head coach, Rick Bowness.
The NHL All-Star weekend takes place at Scotiabank Arena on February 1-3 this year and some feel that Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe should have been invited to make an appearance.
“Those four are really good coaches but I would have loved to see Sheldon Keefe, I mean the game’s being held in Toronto so it would make a lot more sense for him to be there,” said Sam Isaacs, a second year student in the computer systems technician program.
“They have lots of Leafs players on the roster. It would’ve been fun to see Keefe behind the bench too,” Isaacs said.
While others aren’t thrilled that Keefe won’t be coaching, fans of some of the other Canadian teams in the league are excited to see the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks get recognition.
“I think Rick Tocchet is most deserving of his spot because he is a former player with 18 seasons in the NHL. He understands what it means to make split second decisions on the ice and can connect with player intuition better than others,” said radio broadcasting student Alex Gastaldini.
“However, if I had the chance I would switch one of the coaches with Bruce Cassidy from the Vegas Golden Knights. He is also a former player and has had a lot of success after leading the Golden Knights to their Stanley Cup victory last year in 2023 during his first coaching season with them,” Gastaldini said.
Gastaldini isn’t the only hockey fan on campus rooting for one of the American coaches.
Adam Morgenstern, a media communications student says he grew up a Rangers fan so seeing Peter Laviolette is something he’s looking forward to.
“I’ve been a fan of the Rangers since I could remember and it’s no surprise to me that their coach is making all All-Star appearance. They’ve been playing really well, absolutely dominating the metro division, so yeah, I’m glad to see him up there with some great coaches,” Morgenstern said.