Coyotes' Tocchet: Crosby 'made me a better coach'

If anyone ever doubted Sidney Crosby's work ethic or passion for the game of hockey, have a conversation with Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In a Q&A with Sports Illustrated, Tocchet revealed that he and Crosby would have late night phone conversations to simply talk hockey.

"He would text and say, 'You up?' And it'd be 10 o'clock. I'd do the same to him. Whatever the topic, 10 o’clock, 10:30, things like that," Tocchet told SI. "He's always thinking hockey, that kid. And that's why I love him. But it wasn't always hockey too. He made me a better coach, and a lot of those phone calls or texts really helped me, for sure."

When asked exactly what they would talk about specifically, or why Crosby made him a better coach, Tocchet didn't shy away.

"Because he keeps you on your toes. 'Hey, did you see that in this game tonight, the way this team ran a faceoff on the power play? What do you think?' I'd go, 'Shoot, I didn’t even see the game,' so I'd take a look at the game, come in around nine in the morning and we'd take a look at it together. So I better have some good answers for him or analyze some good stuff with him. It made me a harder-working coach," he said.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

It's clear that Crosby's devotion to the game is what makes him so special. Even with all the hardware he already has in his trophy case, he is continually looking for ways he can improve.

The praise from Tocchet shouldn't be understated either, considering he played with both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky during his career. Tocchet has been fortunate enough to soak up knowledge from all three of these greats, and use it in his coaching.

"Mario and Wayne's calmness in high-pressure situations, and the way they react to them is something I've learned over the 20-something years I’ve been involved in hockey," Tocchet said. "Or the hockey IQ of Sidney Crosby, watching him ask a question to one of the coaches, or say something in a meeting, or analyze something with the team, his hockey IQ is outstanding.

"There's a lot of players I've learned over the years with work ethic, leaders in the room, but those three guys have special gifts. To be around those three guys, you can pick out some stuff and learn and implement it, for sure. I’m very lucky."

The evidence would suggest that the Coyotes made an astute hiring in Tocchet.

As for Crosby, being a great player doesn't always translate to being a successful coach, but it appears as though he has what it takes if he ever decided to take up coaching once his playing career is all said and done. He's seemingly already an assistant coach of sorts with the Penguins right now.