Ken Hitchcock Player Quotations

When I look at Simon, I see the same player I've seen for two years. But now he plays with a center man who is a playmaker. I see a guy who gets to the puck who never got to it when he was here previously. He gets a lot of goals off the rush, which he never used to get before.

Peter's a special player. He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

Peter's a special player, ... He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

Goats is a very emotional player who plays on the edge, and sometimes that edge tilts.

Goats is a very emotional player and he plays on that edge. Sometimes the edge tilts. But when you get those players they really become factors as the series wears on. There are things that go into people's minds when you play against that type of player.

He's a young player in his first series. He got welcomed in a big way. He'll be back.

He has an honest appraisal of himself. He's hard on himself and he's demanding of himself. That's what makes special players. You talk to anybody who is a special player in the league... They put more pressure on themselves than anybody else does.

He has to play a certain way to be effective. He's a very emotional player and plays on that edge. Sometimes that edge tilts, but that's no different than a lot of other players. They play on that ledge all the time. But Gauthier has been really dependable. He's able to play against the other team's best players and it has an impact in the game.

He's a significant player of our team. We need him in the lineup.

He's a really smart player who kind of grows on you. He's always in the right place at the right time and he's solid everywhere.

He's earned a right to be a prime time player for us. (Sim) has just come out and earned his spot.

Our team feels really good about itself right now. For any other team to lose their best player in pre-game warm-up, that's emotionally draining and these guys really responded.

I think he was beat up. He goes from being a 15 or 16-minute player playing as a forward to a 25-minute player playing as a defenseman with all the hooking and holding and the physical play of the playoffs, he was simply beat up.

We just love his competitiveness. He's a reckless player, and that type of player seems to have a lot of success in the NHL right now.

Brian is a player who has made the best of a situation where he had to wait to get picked up by a team. He?s come in and made a contribution on and off the ice. I?m really happy for him, because he?s found a home here and has a good niche on our team.

Any player who thinks he is owed anything is wrong. You talk about the best players in the world, and they understand that. They always think they are a week away from going into the stands.

That's who he is. That's the way he plays. He's got a really big heart, good skill level, but it's his heart and his competitiveness that he carries with him. What's interesting for me is, the game was on the line and he was the best player on the ice. That speaks volumes for a 20-year-old player.

They?re similar players. Simon probably shoots the puck off the rush a little bit better, but they?re both determined players. It?s a great feeling when you go out for a game and you never have to worry about whether a player is going to be a committed player. I never worried about that once.

(It means) exactly nothing. You can?t read anything (into it). He?s trying to play hockey. But, he?s certainly not a player in this series.

That's a dangerous play in hockey when you're checking the player with the puck and he checks you. The checking player doesn't suspect that and he's not ready for it. I think you see a lot of injuries when that type of play happens.

I phoned and left a message for Brett but haven't heard from him. A player knows before he even comes into training camp whether he has one foot in the door or both feet out the door. He knows that. Brett knew that. But he was a special player.

His leadership for me has come because he's confident. He's a good player in the league now and he thinks he has a good feel for the game, which he does. He's been in the big games against elite opponents, which means he is a guy who has matured.

He's tying to play hockey, but he's certainly not a player in this series. He's just moving ahead. He's our captain and he's trying to lend support.

If I lived in Washington, I would pay whatever the season ticket was to watch this kid play. He's a special player, a unique player who comes around once every 10 years.