TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Lightning Associate Coach Sullivan Returns To Boston

ADVERTISEMENT

By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 18, 2007

BOSTON - Mike Sullivan paused every so slightly before answering, but the response was honest. No, he really hasn't given much thought about returning to his native Massachusetts tonight in his first meeting as a Lightning associate coach facing the team he used to coach, the Boston Bruins.

'My focus has been on our team and trying to help our team be successful on a daily basis,' Sullivan said. 'I'm sure there will be some emotions when we get there, but once that puck drops there's only the hockey.'

Sullivan, 39, spent three years behind the bench for Boston, one as an assistant and the latter two as the head coach, guiding the Bruins to a division title in his first year at the helm in 2003-04. The 11-year NHL playing veteran rose quickly up the coaching ranks, taking over for Boston's minor-league affiliate in Providence, R.I., in 2001-02, one year after his playing days were over, before being promoted to Bruins' assistant coach for the 2002-03 season. Sullivan, who was relieved of his coaching duties with the Bruins after the 2005-06 season and spent last year mainly coaching his son's team, has also served as an assistant for the U.S. Men's Olympic Team in 2006 and as head coach for the U.S. team at the 2007 World Championships.

When former Lightning associate coach Craig Ramsay - who is now with the Bruins - was let go during the summer, Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella had no interest in talking to anybody else until he spoke with Sullivan first about filling the role.

'I think he's going to be very good for this organization and that's why I didn't bother talking to anybody else, I just felt it was a good fit,' said Tortorella, who was an assistant coach in Phoenix when Sullivan was finishing out his playing days with the Coyotes. 'I didn't think it was fair to talk to anybody else, and we received a lot of inquiries about the job, until we got an answer from Sully.'

With Tortorella entering his sixth full season as Lightning head coach, he was looking to take a slight step back when it came to running practices and team meetings, wanting to interject a new voice and new face into the everyday business of dealing. In order to do that, Tortorella has handed Sullivan plenty of responsibilities in the early part of the season.

'I have total trust in what he's doing because I think he cares about the team and he cares about winning,' Tortorella said. 'There are no agendas, there's nothing in his closet and he just wants to win. He wants to help the players develop so those players can help the team win. That's very important.'

That trust developed from early conversations after Sullivan arrived in town prior to training camp and throughout the preseason. Sullivan has designed and run full practices - a responsibility Tortorella said he had never passed to an assistant coach before - while bringing in some of his own minigames designed to put players in a competitive environment while also teaching. It also keeps things from getting stale by running the same drills time after time.

'That stuff adds a little bit of excitement, I think, to practice,' defenseman Paul Ranger said. 'Sometimes it makes you laugh a little bit ... and they are fun games. It makes us get competitive in practice with the things we are doing, the little battle drills, and it makes it fun at the same time.'

Sullivan said it took him a while to get to know the players, but it hasn't taken much time to get into the flow.

'Torts trusts me to make the best decisions for the hockey team and that's what I've done, it's really been a natural process,' Sullivan said. 'From my perspective, it's been a great experience so far. The players have been very receptive, they have a tremendous work ethic and I look forward to coming to work every day.'

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835 or eerlendsson@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT