Guy Carbonneau is one of the most legendary players to come out of the Montreal Canadiens’ system. After being drafted 44th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, Carbonneau led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups and won a total of three Frank J. Selke Trophies. His pedigree as a player was phenomenal, and he became a fan-favorite for the Canadiens and the Dallas Stars, who he was eventually traded to. However, Carbonneau’s playing career is only a small aspect of his legacy in the hockey world.
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Carbonneau joined the Canadiens as an assistant coach in 2000 before heading back to Dallas in 2002 to become an assistant general manager. However, he rejoined the Canadiens in 2006 as an associate coach before being named the 28th head coach in the franchise’s history. After his run as head coach, he took a backseat in coaching for a while. However, that changed in 2022 when Carbonneau joined 3ICE as a head coach.
Carbonneau Had to Adjust to 3ICE’s Style of Hockey
One thing Carbonneau made abundantly clear about 3ICE is that coaching constant three-on-three play is enormously different from trying to coach more traditional hockey. Perhaps one of the more surprising changes is the level of direct input coaches give to their players, which was one of the main draws for Carbonneau when he was approached about joining the league. While in the NHL, coaches will give explicit instruction to their players, 3ICE relies much more on giving insight and support, something that Carbonneau took a bit of time to get used to.
“The style of hockey is completely different than what you see in the NHL,” Carbonneau said. “It took about two weeks to get comfortable with the style, but you eventually get used to letting the players go. It doesn’t need nearly as much coaching.”
However, going into the second year of 3ICE, Carbonneau believes the expectations have risen across the board. The coaches who returned from last year have the experience to understand the optimal way to coach right off the bat. Everyone knows what they are getting into, which Carbonneau expects will create a much more competitive environment. He is ready to give his guys everything they need to win the Patrick Cup in 2023.
Carbonneau Altered His Defensive Side to Coach in 3ICE
Despite a three-time Selke winner coaching a largely offensive style of hockey seeming like a contradiction on the surface, Carbonneau believes there is far less about his style that needed to change than it may seem. He believes that scoring is something you either have or you don’t, and trying to teach players to score is not an easy thing to do at all. As a result, he still uses what defensive knowledge he learned in the NHL to help his players.
“The defensive part of my brain doesn’t go away quickly,” Carbonneau said. “Obviously, I had to focus on offense more because of how fast the game is, but defense is still an important part of the game. If the other team has breakaways all the time, it’s hard to get anywhere.”
While Carbonneau’s NHL coaching experience is a far different ball game than coaching in 3ICE, the experiences have overlapped in a way that he believes is beneficial to his players. While he will forever be the three-time Selke winner who led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups, he has integrated more offense to adjust correctly to 3ICE. Now, he hopes these changes will help him and his guys win it all this season.