Sept. 18--Joel Quenneville was back in his element Friday, sitting in the press box at a hockey rink surrounded by his assistant coaches while getting his first on-ice look at the players who will defend the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup.
The scene at Compton Ice Arena at the University of Notre Dame during the first scrimmage of training camp was a stark contrast to the one the previous day when Quenneville sat at the end of a table in an auditorium and watched the public relations disaster unfold next to him as team President John McDonough ducked question after question regarding the ongoing investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving winger Patrick Kane.
As the media grilled McDonough, Quenneville stared straight ahead, looking at nothing in particular and appearing as if he would have rather been anywhere in the universe than the front-row seat for a media session that did nothing but give the organization a black eye. Quenneville is a hockey guy through and through and was out of his comfort zone as a member of a team's hierarchy in full spin control of a messy situation that happened off the ice.
But when it comes down to it, Quenneville will be the one to deal with the team's collective psyche in the aftermath of Kane's situation, no matter the end result. It will be Quenneville, not McDonough or general manager Stan Bowman, who will address the team in the dressing room and attempt to rally the troops to be at their best when it matters most: during games.
"I think we'll be fine," Quenneville said when the questioning of McDonough was finally exhausted and the coach was asked how Kane's situation could adversely affect the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Along with the Kane saga, Quenneville has to deal with a rebuilt roster that has seen the departures of several key components, including Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad, Johnny Oduya and Brad Richards, among others. It promises to be Quenneville's most difficult challenge since taking reins of the team in the early stages of the 2008-09 season. Fortunately for the Hawks, Quenneville is capable of guiding the ship during troubled times and true to his nature isn't exhibiting any concern.
"Whatever the situation is, one thing about our group, they're committed," he said. "Their priorities as far as focus and playing that game and doing whatever they can to max out in that situation are as good as I've ever seen. The leadership group leads the charge in that area. In all situations, they find a way to overcome any obstacle. It's never a concern with me."
Quenneville will rely on his experience--and a core group that with or without Kane is talented enough to make a run to the top of the Central Division--to overcome this latest obstacle. While the circumstances are quite different, the Hawks have had previous tumultuous off-seasons and have been able to regroup quickly. They will have to do so again.
"I look back to 2010 and I think that we lost I would almost say half the team," Quenneville said. "And some significant pieces of that team were not a part of it to begin that year and we got off to an ordinary start. This year we definitely lost three or four key pieces to our team that were part of it and had meaningful contributions. We feel that the guys that are coming in this year bring something where they could fit in key positions and make a difference and that's who we're looking forward to in this training camp, that we could find out and be excited about going into this season. But we did say that we're never going to get tested like we're going to be when we begin this season. We welcome that challenge. And at the end of the day, I think we know how ... to win hockey games. It's ... with a lot of our key personnel. And that key group is in place. These guys have an amazing appetite for winning and that's what we look forward to."
Quenneville is also looking forward to when the focus on the team will be what happens on the ice, when the questions turn to line combinations and power-play personnel and not legal proceedings. Until then, Quenneville will attempt to stick to what he knows.
"I only answer hockey questions," he said with a smile.
ckuc@tribpub.com
