Travis Green opens up about vision for Senators, building relationships with players (2024)

LAS VEGAS — Travis Green stood on the draft floor on Friday night with nothing on his agenda.

Head coaches rarely have any responsibilities on draft weekend, often showing up to the event to simply network with others in the industry. They rarely chime into the heated discussions with amateur scouts at the draft table, unless they have a personal connection to a prospect.

“Obviously coaches don’t have a lot going on,” said Green. “But just being down on the draft floor, you grow up watching this. So there’s nothing like being down here and feeling the excitement.”

But Green’s workload is going to pick up significantly this week. He flew to Ottawa following his brief appearance at the draft in Las Vegas, in preparation for the start of free agency and the club’s development camp. It will mark the first time that Green and his newly assembled staff will have a chance to be in the same room and discuss their philosophy and approach to the coming season.

As part of an extended interview with The Athletic, Green said his new staff has three full days of meetings on the schedule.

“I’m looking forward to this week,” said Green. “It’s our first chance to talk about our team identity and structure. What do we want to be about with the fabric of this group?”

When asked about expanding on his idea for a team identity and structure, Green said he knows exactly the style and elements he wants to see deployed by the Senators in the 2024-25 season.

“I have a very clear vision of how I like my teams to play and how I want our team to play,” explained Green. ‘When you watch playoff hockey, it’s easy to see. There are certain things that are non-negotiable.”

So what are those non-negotiable items for Green?

That’s when the new head coach promptly — but politely — ended that line of questioning.

“I want to talk to our team before I talk about it in the media,” said Green. “But there is a certain look I want our team to have.”

Green has already started the process of communicating with his players, although he characterizes those conversations more in line with casual, introductory chats. Shortly after he was hired in early May, Green said he made it a priority to reach out to every single player on the Senators roster.

“The first thing I did was call every player individually and I had some good conversations,” said Green. “It was relationship building. And also giving them some info on me and what I’m like as a coach. I value the one-on-one connection.”

Green has worked even harder on starting to build relationships with some of the core members of the Senators roster. He said he’s already had five or six phone conversations with Brady Tkachuk.

“When you talk about impressive people, it’s hard not to be impressed with him,” said Green of his captain.

And then he went a step further with Tim Stützle. While overseas to connect with some of the Ottawa players competing in the IIHF world hockey championships with general manager Steve Staios in May, Green took the time to fly to Mannheim, Germany, to personally meet with Stützle.

The young Senators star picked up his new head coach from the airport and the two had dinner.

“It was great. I was impressed, he’s a very mature young man,” said Green of Stützle. “He’s got a very good perspective of what he is as a player. He knows what his strengths and weaknesses are, which I think is important.”

Green is taking the time to build up trust and a relationship with his players before embarking on one of his notorious training camps. While in Vancouver, Green carved out a reputation for running punishing and gruelling September training camps, which sometimes left players exhausted. In the fall of 2021, Green’s training camp session with Canucks players in Abbotsford, B.C., featured Conor Garland vomiting and Olli Juolevi laying motionless on the ice.

“I think some people think it’s hard. But it’s only hard if you’re not in shape,” Green said when asked about his reputation of running a punishing camp.

And so one of the early messages Green is trying to convey to his players is that when they show up for the start of training camp in September, it will be very evident whether or not they put in the requisite work during the summer. Ottawa has been submarined by several consecutive slow starts out of the gate. Green plans to hit the ground running, which includes an up-tempo training camp.

“Conditioning is a big part of hockey and I don’t like to waste time doing it. I want a team that can skate. I want a team that can skate through their shift. And I want teams that are in good shape. That’s one of the things I believe in,” said Green. “There are certain things that you should be doing in the offseason, so you should show up to training camp in shape. The one thing you can control is your work ethic.”

This week in Ottawa, Green will have his first opportunity to speak in person to his coaching staff, featuring Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgartner as assistant coaches. Green is planning on using Alfredsson in a variety of manners this season and wants to tap into the tactical side of Alfredsson’s brain that allowed him to score 1,157 points during his NHL career.

“Never mind how good he was a player, but after talking to him he’s going to give us a different perspective on the game,” Green said of Alfredsson. “I’ve spoken to him already about offence and creating offence. He’s going to help in a lot of areas.”

Yeo meanwhile, will be tasked with leading the power play while Baumgartner will handle penalty-killing duties. Baumgartner spent eight seasons working as Green’s assistant in Utica and Vancouver, but the duo has been separated as Baumgartner has served as an assistant coach for the past two years with Manitoba in the AHL.

“He knows my tendencies a little bit and it’s always nice to have that,” said Green. “And I like that he’s been away and coaching without me for a little while.”

As for Yeo, Green was far less familiar with the longtime NHL coach.

“I heard Mike was a really good coach from people I trusted. Now that I’ve gotten to know him a little more, I see how smart he is,” said Green. “He’s a really good person and that’s important to me because with a staff you spend so much time together.”

Green is also taking an opportunity to connect with a different coaching staff in Ottawa as well. Green revealed to The Athletic that he recently had a one-hour conversation with PWHL Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod. And Green envisions a scenario where MacLeod will be invited to come and observe and participate with his staff — with him returning the favour and doing the same with the PWHL squad.

“We’re just to start building a relationship there. And we’ve had conversations of her coming by or maybe I’ll go and sit in their coaches’ meeting,” said Green. “It’s a good opportunity for her, but also for me. I’m a big believer in having a growth mindset. And you can learn so much by just sitting around and talking hockey. They’re in the same city as us and I think it would be great for them and great for me.”

Green is planning on spending some time in the weeks ahead, scouting out a new home in Ottawa. As he’s speaking on the draft floor, he is wearing a Senators lapel pin on his sports coat and speaking enthusiastically about starting a new chapter in his life.

“It’s settled in for me. I’m excited about being a Senator and living in Ottawa,” said Green. “When you talk about September it sounds like it’s a long ways away. But there is a big part of me that wishes we could just get going here.”

(Photo: Jeff Vinnick / NHLI via Getty Images)

Ian Mendes is a senior writer covering the NHL. Prior to joining The Athletic in 2021, he spent seven years as an afternoon talk show host for TSN 1200 in Ottawa and as a contributing writer for TSN.ca. He also worked as a television reporter and host with Rogers Sportsnet for 12 years and has served as a feature columnist for both The Ottawa Citizen and Today’s Parent magazine. Follow Ian on Twitter @ian_mendes