Upstream With Walleye Head Coach Nick Vitucci #2

If you'd like to submit a question for Coach Vitucci please fill out our form. Check back to www.toledowalleye.com often to see if Nick answers your question!

What AHL/NHL teams will the Walleye be affiliated with? Will we still be affiliated with the Red Wings? - Stephen Perry (Toledo)

Stephen, at this time we do not have a working relationship with any NHL/AHL teams. This is something that will be discussed in the near future with a few organizations. Teams typically don't finalize affiliation agreements with their parent teams until the off-season prior to playing.

As a player did you have any game superstitions? As a coach do you have any? Thanks! - Lorraine Fouke (Curtice, OH)

Thanks for the great question, Lorraine. As a player I had a set routine and a bunch of superstitions. As I got older I tried to eliminate some of the superstitions - it was driving me nuts! I liked to be at the arena around 4:30 pm for an evening game. I'd get changed out of my suit and into my hockey undergarments. I would then have a nice long stretch and prepare my sticks. Once on the ice, I always stretched in the same spot on the ice. As a goalie I always scraped my crease a certain way as well. One major superstition I had was that I always had to have a neatly taped stick. If during the course of a game my tape on the blade got torn I would always re-tape it between periods.

As a coach, we have to fill out a game sheet with our players' names, positions and numbers. If I fill it out and we win I will continue to fill it out until we lose a game. If we lose, I would then get my assistant coach to fill it out until we lose again. During a win streak I always drove to the rink the same way. If were on a losing streak I find a new way to drive to the arena.

Coach Vitucci, first of all welcome back to Toledo, its great to see you back! What do you say to those who are worried that it won't have the same atmosphere as a Storm game at the Sports Arena? - Jake (Perrysburg)

Jake, thanks for the kind words. I'm not worried at all about the atmosphere change. I believe this change is the best thing for Pro Hockey in Toledo. To steal a line from a great movie called Field Of Dreams: "If you build it they will come." We're fortunate in Toledo to have such a great hockey following.

Can we expect a physical team or more of a puck control team? Which do you prefer to have? - Ken Baum (Toledo)

Ken, I would prefer a combination of both. After watching a lot of hockey games this past year from the bleachers, and especially this year during the Stanley Cup playoffs, I'm convinced that you need a combination of puck control and good old "Toledo blue collar work ethic." In the Sports Arena, with the smaller ice surface, we were able to get away with having a bigger, slower team. The new arena will have a larger ice surface and it will put as much an emphasis on speed and puck control as physical play.

Nick, you mentioned that you have spent a lot of time in the recruiting process. Could you explain how that process works? I always thought you got players through contracts with the affiliating team. - Jared Okoneski (Perrysburg)

Jared, unfortunately we only get a couple of players each year from our affiliations. The rest of the team is made up of players that we recruit. I've spent the past year watching hockey games at all levels and building a database of players that have impressed me. Next spring I will contact these players through their current teams, find out who the agents are and begin the recruiting process with them. In the past, convincing players that Toledo is the best place for them has been a tough sell at times - especially when competing against teams in warm-weather locations. We expect that players will look differently at Toledo now - with the opportunity to play in a new arena. Plus, players know that Toledo is a great location for them to be in because of our close proximity to so many AHL teams.

What are your thoughts on the new name of the team, and what is your thought about Toledo having a new arena? Thank You. - Alex (Toledo)

Alex, I love the new name of the team. I understand that for some people it will take some getting used to. I'm sure that back in the early 90's when the new name of the Toledo hockey team was announced as the Storm that there were a lot of people upset that it wasn't the Goaldiggers. Everyone seemed to get adjusted in a hurry to the Storm name. I think the same will happen with the Walleye name.

I was wondering if there will be a Nick Vitucci Bobblehead Night? - Chris Gelso (Monroe, MI)

I sure hope they have a Nick Vitucci Bobblehead Night! I collect hockey memorabilia - and the bobblehead craze came along after I stopped playing - so it would neat to have one to add to my collection.

Ask The Coach

If you'd like to submit a question for Coach Vitucci please fill out our form. Check back to www.toledowalleye.com often to see if Nick answers your question!