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Stanley Cup Winning Coach Mike Keenan Releases The Book Iron Mike

The must-read memoir of one of the NHL's most controversial and successful coaches-winner of the 1994 Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers. In the fraternity of NHL coaches, some stand out for their winning records, some for their big personalities and some for their unprecedented methods. Mike Keenan stands out on all these counts, and more. Breaking into the NHL as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1984, Keenan got instant results, leading them to the Stanley Cup final in his first year. In 1987, he coached Team Canada to victory in the Canada Cup using his intuitive bench management, putting superstars Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux together on a line at key times to great, winning results. Keenan's teams succeeded at every level. With championships in university athletics, the OHL and AHL, it seemed only a matter of time before his resumé would include the ultimate prize. One of the NHL's most valuable franchises, the New York Rangers, hadn't won a Cup in fifty-four years-the league's longest championship drought at the time. But with five-time Stanley Cup champion Mark Messier as captain of the star-studded Rangers lineup, there was only one thing missing for a championship run on Broadway: a coach who could focus all the talent and desire on victory. After a season of much controversy, in 1994 the Stanley Cup finally returned to Madison Square Garden, considered by many to be one of the greatest Cup wins by a US-based NHL team. In the hands of veteran sports journalist and bestselling author Scott Morrison, Iron Mike takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most explosive runs to the Cup in NHL history, one that Keenan shares at long last. There is only one Iron Mike in hockey, and love him or hate him, his memoir is an essential read for any fan of the game.

Broadcast on:: 26 Oct 2024
Audio Format:: other

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That it is such a victory to see you continue to grow forward. Thank you. I appreciate it very much. Part of my, I guess I can't wait till I grow up. Part of my youth. I totally believe in that because I still tell people I'm 17 years old, and there's no way I am, but inside, I still have those visions that I want to accomplish things. Absolutely. So it's a good thing to stay young, so mentally that's important. Did writing the book help you stay young? Because I always believe that when we write, we clear out the heart and soul, and that allows new things to grow. Well, I hope that's the truth. I think I've used the comment now this morning and other times that it made me dizzy to write this book because there were so many different chapters and different stops, but it certainly brought out a lot of memories as we continue to speak about it. I say, "Oh, I forgot to put that in the book." Other stories that come out and flush out, so it's been a real, with Scott Morrison, God bless Jay Greenberg earlier, who passed the start of the book Hall of Fame Writers. They made it easy. Mark Messy did an incredibly kind forward to the book, so I'm appreciative of their work. Isn't it an amazing feeling when other people become part of your new team as you grow forward? As you just mentioned, all the people that helped you do this, I mean, the teamwork is still there. Well, it really is, and behind the scenes, Penguin publishers got a team of experts, very successful publishing company in the world, and certainly North America, Canada, and the United States, and particularly the teamwork that was necessary to put a book together is enlightening to me because I had no concept whatsoever about how a book is put all together, all the work, the fact-checking, the writing, the paper, the photos, whatever else has involved, the sales, and the marketing, so it takes on a whole new team, and I'm appreciative of their work as well. When you talk about the fact-checking, did you keep journals along the way so that you could go back to them at any given time? No, I mean, Scott Morrison do that. That's one thing when your coach will delegate, you delegate the work, so you give them assignments and tell them to report, oh, yeah, no, he did a super job. Coming from the state of Montana, we didn't have professional basketball or even football, but we had Canadian hockey, and that's how I found out about this game and played the game, and then to see where it is today is just mind-blowing. It really is. Now that I've coached, not only North America, but also in Russia, China, and Italy recently, but that exposure is something that you don't realize when you're just involved in the national hockey league, but there's about 50 countries that play hockey and have organized hockey that play in the international ice hockey federation umbrella in the likes of South Africa, Mexico, like in Australia, go on and on, of course, all the European countries and all the East Bloc countries in China now, so it just goes on and on, and you'd be surprised how many people in the world are exposed to hockey, which is great for us who love the game and have been involved in it, but it's also enlightening for us to see that there are so many different areas of the world, and it's not always related to cold climate. As is the national hockey league, it's not related to cold climate either. I'm just amazed at how the game has now moved outdoors. Even with our own level of hockey here in Charlotte, I mean, it sells out instantly. People are there to see that outdoor hockey game. Yeah, that's a fun part of it. It's nostalgic and it takes the players back to their youth, most of them learn to play and outdoor ranks, not all of them, but many of them, and I think that's why it's exciting for them and it's an exciting venue for the fans to go and be outside because that's where the game originated. There's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with a bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure, and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one. #FDIC The first ever Buick Encore GX Avenir is now in stock at Shortline Buick. It's been said luxury is in the details and Avenir's exclusive embroidered leather seating with a quilted stitching pattern welcomes you to this luxury SUV. Avenir comes loaded with advanced technology, including a rear camera mirror, HD surround vision and wireless charging, staying connected and safe on the road as possible. Now in Shortline Buick, experience Buick Encore GX Avenir at 1301 South Havana Street. You do the drive-in. We'll do the rest. Does the coach play a major role in the imaging and branding of a team? Because when I go to a game, my eyes are always on the coach. Great question. I think that in some instances, the team takes on a certain personality. And part of that personality, I would think is impacted by the coach. And I think that's probably true for all sports, but particularly for hockey. Speaking of hockey, one of the things that I love is the passion of the fan. And I will actually cry a tear when I'm over there at that gate when the team goes out to finish the night because fans are there. They support them in such a huge way with their jerseys and with just everything about them. They are real fans. Well, it's a real dynamic game. It's the fastest game in the world. You've got people on an ice surface. Now, it's different than football, baseball, basketball, identify those sports. You can run out of bounds. You can't run out of bounds in hockey. You're going to get smoked into the boards or you've got to get to the bench to get off the ice. So that's part of the in the speed of 25, 30 miles an hour skating and the puck's being shot at 100 miles an hour, the reflex, the athletic capabilities, the athleticism of these players. You're going at that speed, but you're on a blade that's probably a quarter inch wide and maybe one inch or two inches on the ice itself. And you've got a club in your hand that you could kill anybody, harden that expression. Sorry for saying that, but it could be dangerous. And that's why fans love it because it's so dynamic, particularly when you see it live. I still have my stick from the 11th grade. I will not ever give up that stick to anybody. Well, you're lucky that you didn't break it because my father, when I was 11th grade, you get one stick of your if you break it, you don't have to make a new one. Oh, I had my sticks that were broken. The thing is, and I would try to tape it. That's a stupid decision. You can't tape it and go play a real game of hockey. Well, back in the day, sometimes that was the only solution you had. So you had to figure that out. When a player is sent to the penalty box, how do you get into their head to keep their mind still on the game and not in the reasons why they were putting that box? You know, that's a question. And kudos to you as never being asked to me ever. So I think that they have time to cool off and get refocused. They're sent to the send bin, the penalty box, and once they've gotten over the frustration or the call that the official made against them, they have time to reflect and get themselves reloaded. But I think you were the first and only fan ever to ever have asked me that question. And that's a great question. Wow. How do you think AI technology is going to change the game of hockey? We're going to see that evolve as well. Just as we've seen real changes, equipment changes, you know, the analytics have come into the game. But regardless of all of that, that's the instinct of values, I believe, that make the difference in terms of greatness and success in the game. That's the spontaneity, look at Wayne Gretzky doesn't need artificial intelligence to tell him how to play the game. He instinctively knew it. And I just identify him because he's had so many more points, but I had so many superstars in my career play for me. And the one great thing that I was in tune to was that I played the best players the most. Not all coaches do. And that's all I want. Get me out on the ice and I'll do my thing and I'll follow what you would like in terms of kind of guiding them as far as the structure the team plays concerned. But their skill set, their ability is intuitive and as I just identified it so dynamic that they have to have mental skills as well as their athletic ability to deal with the speed and the deal with this game. Wow. You got to come back to the show anytime in the future, Coach. The door is always going to be open for you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Well, you'll be brilliant today, okay? Thank you. Likewise. But there's only one feeling like knowing your banker personally, like growing up with the bank you can count on, like being sure what you've earned is safe, secure and local. There's only one feeling like knowing you're supporting your community. You deserve more from a bank. You deserve an institution that stood strong for generations. Bank of Colorado, there's only one member FDIC. The first ever Buick Encore GX Avineer is now in stock at Shortline Buick. It's been said luxury is in the details and Avineer's exclusive embroidered leather seating with a quilted stitching pattern welcomes you to this luxury SUV. Avineer comes loaded with advanced technology, including a rear camera mirror, HD surround vision and wireless charging, staying connected and safe on the road as possible. Now in Shortline Buick, experience Buick Encore GX Avineer at 1301 South Havana Street. You do the drive-in, we'll do the rest.