From the classroom to the Kremlin: Huskies assistant hockey coach to travel to Russia and Switzerland with Team Canada
From the classroom to the Kremlin: Huskies assistant hockey coach to travel to Russia and Switzerland with Team Canada
By Allan April / SMU Athletics
A Saint Mary's University commerce student and men's hockey assistant coach has a good reason for missing his commerce exam next week.
"Hockey Canada wrote a letter to the Commerce Advisory board to give me permission to defer my exam," laughs Matt Malloy, a part-time commerce student in his fourth season as video coach for the Huskies men's hockey team.
Malloy will be spending the rest of the December break in Europe, as a video coach for a pair of Canadian teams participating in the Channel One Cup in Moscow, Russia, and the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
"I've done some video work for Hockey Canada in the past, and someone from them reached out to me last month and asked me if I'd be interested in going over, so that's how that opportunity came about," says Malloy.
The Channel One Cup will be played Dec. 15-19 in Moscow. Malloy and the rest of the coaching staff will then head to Switzerland to meet with a different team of players, and prepare for the Spengler Cup, which will be played Dec. 26-31 in Davos.
It will be a busy month for Malloy, who will work with two different teams, in two different tournaments, in two different countries – but says he's also looking forward to seeing a bit of Europe outside of the rinks.
"I've never even been overseas, and now I get to check out two really cool spots in a row," laughs Malloy.
"It will basically be one team going to Russia, then the coaching staff will go to Switzerland for the Spengler, and a second team of players will meet us there. It's going to be a very busy month, two events in a short period of time, going to be a lot of work and travel but I'm looking forward to it."
Malloy will be in good company with a coaching staff led by head coach Claude Julien, who has coached 1,275 NHL games, winning a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 and the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in 2008-09.
The team's roster, which will primarily consist of Canadians playing pro in European leagues, was put together by General Manager Shane Doan, a two-time NHL all-star who now serves as chief hockey development officer for his former franchise, the Arizona Coyotes.
"Anytime you can represent Canada on an international stage is a huge honour, and for me, I'm really excited to experience it with the staff that we have," says Malloy. "It will be an excellent learning experience for me and I'm going to take as much from those guys as possible."
Making the opportunity even more unique, is the possibility that these tournaments could potentially be an 'Olympic audition' for both the players and coaching staff.
"We'll have a lot of KHL (Russian professional league), Swiss league players, and they're using it as an evaluation for an Olympic 'plan-B'. If the NHL doesn't go to the (2022 Beijing Winter) Olympics, then it would likely be a combination of these two teams," says Malloy.
The 24-year-old resident of Sackville, N.S. says he has his time at Saint Mary's to thank for this opportunity, if not his love of hockey.
"I learned to skate at the hockey school here when I was a little kid, so it's great for it to come full circle and for me to be here every day," says Malloy.
"This is my fourth season at Saint Mary's and I've learned so much from Trevor (Stienburg), who was the head coach when I came in, and Tyler (Naugler) now. They've really allowed me to grow into the coach that I am today. They've given me a lot of rope to try different things and get as much experience in many different aspects, so their leadership has been fantastic and I owe it all to them."
The Huskies interim head coach says that Malloy has been invaluable to the team, and that this opportunity will benefit everyone in the program.
"Matt's a very hardworking individual who is constantly learning and becoming better. I feel he has tremendous potential as a young and up-and-coming coach. His growth in the game has been phenomenal as far as X's and O's and he's got a unique knack for breaking down the game from video and identifying and implementing strategy," says Tyler Naugler.
"We're fortunate to have Matt in our program, because when you surround yourself with knowledgeable people, it makes everyone better. His growth in the hockey world is going to continue to help him learn, and implement excellence into Huskies hockey from his experiences," continued Naugler.
Malloy says the Huskies players have also been supportive of his coaching dreams.
"The guys are excited for me, I'll miss them over the next few weeks here but I'm excited to get back in January and get back to work," says Malloy.
A typical hockey coach attitude, from a young Santamarian whose hard work and love of the game has already given him some extraordinary opportunities.