When you've been identified as an elite player and an NHL prospect, opportunities to learn from high-caliber head coaches are usually not too far behind.
With a pair of Jack Adams trophies, an Olympic gold medal, and multiple international accolades to his name, former NHL head coach Pat Quinn fit that bill perfectly for the CHL's rising stars last week.
"It was certainly a pleasure just to be asked (to coach)," Quinn said after leading Team Orr to a 2-1 win over Team Cherry last Wednesday in Kelowna. "I've been watching the event for years. When I was running the Canucks and Leafs, we'd have our scouts at it because it was such a great format to watch the players - their levels of development and where they'd go afterwards.
"You only have a couple of practices in two-and-a-half days with the kids, so you keep it short. You try to learn as much about them as you can in a short period of time. You can't know everyone. The opportunities to coach aren't as frequent as if you've got them for a long period of time. The chances to talk to the players are mostly on the bench."
In the short time Quinn had with the prospects, he doled out the best advice he had about advancing through the ranks in hockey.
"All these boys are here for a reason: They've been spotted," Quinn said. "It's scouts that make (the Top Prospects) teams up. They're the kids they want to see. This is their first big stage; all I try to convince them to do is not be afraid. The worst mistake you can make is not trying to do anything out there. They can scare themselves into inactivity on the ice.
"You certainly want them to try to do as much as they can, but keep control at the same time. Don't try to do stuff you don't normally do. Bring the skills you have, and play hard all the time. Those are important things for players to show.
"Skills are easy for scouts to see from upstairs; they can see the skaters and the stick-handlers, but they want to see how the players play in a 1-0 game situation. Are they going to respond? Are they going to backcheck? Are they playing their angles right? Are they going to finish their checks? They're looking for the guys that compete, the guys that can play with other people, the guys that can solve problems on the ice.
"Those things tell scouts a lot about them and it gives them great information for their selections. That's what they're really looking for. As coaches, we laid out something simple. We didn't want to confuse them and make it difficult and have them worrying about where the coaches want them to go. They understand the game. We tried to just give them some guidelines and let them play."
Some may question whether old-school coaches like the 69-year-old Quinn can still get through to this younger generation of hockey players and help them develop into better competitors. Quinn doesn't doubt his skills for a second - winning gold with Team Canada's under-18 team in 2008 and with the U20 team in 2009 is solid proof that he still has a number of relevant tricks up his sleeve for players to take advantage of.
"Those young men are terrific kids," said Quinn of the group. "They're nice, humble kids, and I can see their parents do good work, too. I don't care about the age gaps; we speak the same language. We have a love for this game, an emotion to play it. We wanted a competitive game from our players, and the kids really responded in that fashion. They played like hockey players, not just like some guys with skills trying to hot-dog out there."
Now in his second consecutive season away from coaching, Quinn was thankful for the opportunity to reprise his role behind the bench once again for Team Cherry.
"It was a real pleasure for me," said Quinn, reflecting on his time at the event. "I hope I get the chance to do something like this again. To come here and have a response like I got keeps that throbbing going in your heart about the game. I'm lucky to be around it."
Dave Cunning is a former semi-pro hockey player turned writer, coach and personal trainer. You can read his blog at http:// davecunning.wordpress.com.