Podcast highlights: Daniel Jacob

MONTREAL – From being a finalist on the reality TV show Making the Cut to playing professionally in Serbia, Daniel Jacob’s hockey path has certainly been atypical.

The Laval Rocket assistant coach was recently a guest of Marc Dumont on the L’histoire s’écrit podcast to discuss his career, his role with the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, along with his impressions of prospects Josh Brook, Kaiden Guhle, Gianni Fairbrother and Otto Leskinen as well.

Read on for a few highlights from Jacob’s discussion with Dumont, which is available in its entirety wherever you get your podcasts.

MARC DUMONT: What’s it like working with Joël Bouchard? Do you have any interesting stories to share about the Rocket head coach?

DANIEL JACOB: We have a partnership. We’ve been working together for seven years. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get along with Joël. I have a lot of respect for him as a hockey person and a person, in general. He’s a friend. He’s passionate, organized and honest. I share those values. I started as a coach at McGill University for four years. One day, I got a call from Joël to join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. It was one of the best decisions of my life, both personally and professionally. He’s a hard worker. What I appreciate most about him is his honesty. I have a lot of respect for that. The guys often tell me that he’s intense, but you don’t really have a choice. Hockey is an intense sport. We get along well and we do good work. I’m very lucky and spoiled to be doing this every day. We have a good relationship.

MD: Speaking of pushing players, Jake Evans was pushed pretty hard by Joël. It must be nice to see players that you developed in the NHL. Do you cheer a little bit louder when a guy like Evans scores a goal for the Canadiens?

DJ: We’ll cheer in a different way. I don’t know if we’ll cheer louder, but we have a relationship with those players. We watched them grow. At the end of the day, it’s a result their own effort. Jake was the type of player that you could push. He responded well. Every player reacts in different ways. Jake needed it, and he reacted well. We might not do things in the same way with another player. It’s up to the coaching staff to figure that out. There are players that will simply crumble when you yell at them. You have to work with every player individually. You have to push every player in the right way to get the desired response. We’re very proud when we see Jake, but he was rewarded for his effort. He listened well and applied the lessons he was taught. He’s a good example for our youngsters in Laval.

MD: With respect to good examples, there’s Alex Burrows. He played about 250 games in the ECHL and the AHL before closing his career on one of the best lines in the NHL in Vancouver. Now that he’s with Montreal, it must be difficult to replace a coach like him. What can Burrows bring to a team?

DJ: We’ve already seen it since he joined the Canadiens. He’s very enthusiastic. He played the game that way. That’s a little bit of what he brings as a coach. He can’t really change that. Three months after hanging up his skates, he became a coach. He was hungry to learn. You can’t improvise being a coach from one day to the next. There are a lot of things to learn, from technology to making presentations to players. Alex arrived with an open mind and he was hardworking. He took notes and he was organized. He’s a passionate guy who knows the game. He played in the NHL for 13 years. He didn’t just play, though, he can pass along that knowledge as well. Those are important characteristics. Just because you played, doesn’t mean you can teach. He does that well and we’re very happy for him. 

MD: A few years have passed since the Canadiens changed their development model. Are you satisfied with it, and what would you like to accomplish over the next few years with the Rocket?

DJ: It was important for us to establish a culture. We wanted to build an identity and establish a way to play. We wanted the Rocket to be known as a detailed and intense team. We didn’t necessarily have the best rosters, but we always put on a good show. This year, with the return of the veterans, it’s like we didn’t have to introduce ourselves. We have a lot of younger players who came back and we continued to implement our playing style. It was refreshing to see that this year. We could see the foundations were solid. We were repeating instead of introducing what we wanted to do. The veterans had already bought into the plan, which left less grey areas for the kids.

Watch: Youtube Video

MD: What does a day in the life of Daniel Jacob look like?

DJ: My days have changed since Alex left. They’re a little busier. That’s fine when you’re a coach. The day you start counting the hours, it’s time to do something else. On a typical day, I get to the rink around 7:00 a.m. I start to prepare for practice. I’m actually in charge of special teams. I’ll prepare my video session with the defensemen. We have meetings to introduce the practice plan. We’ll often have two practices since we have 32 players. Depending on what time we practice, I’ll get home between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. On game days, we often leave late because I prepare video sessions after the games. We don’t sleep at the rink, but we almost do. It’s tough when you have a family, but we always have their support.

Click here to find the show on your favorite podcast app.