Jason Demers tells story about Todd McLellan throwing trash can at him while with San Jose
This sounds like something you'd expect to see from "Coach" on the Letterkenny series. If you've never watched it, the character, played by Mark Forward, is a hockey coach with a temper that goes from zero to 60 in a split second, especially when his team is losing.
33-year-old defenceman Jason Demers is currently playing for the KHL's Kazan Ak-Bars after playing 699 regular season games in the NHL. He sat down for an interview with Sport Business Online in Russia, and told a story about playing under coach Todd McClellan in San Jose during his rookie season.
"We were playing against Nashville and, at the end of the game, the score was tied," said Demers. "He said, 'Jason, be careful. At least we got a point.' I'm like, 'Sure, coach!'"
Demers said he saw an opportunity in the overtime to grab a loose puck and get into the offensive end. However, the puck jumped over his stick, which led to a chance for the Predators that the team capitalized on, winning the game.
"After the game, I wanted to hurry up and change so my coach wouldn't see me," said Demers. "But we met, of course, and he said a ton of curse words and threw a trash can at me."
Demers said McLellan, who is currently the had coach of the LA Kings, admitted the next day that he had overreacted.
"The next morning, he pulled me into the middle of the locker room and said: 'I overreacted, but don't be stupid and don't make that mistake again.' I promised I'd never play so recklessly, and Todd forgave me," Demers explained.
On a different subject, Demers was also asked who the best player in the game is today. His answer was Nathan MacKinnon.
"I love Connor [McDavid]. This is the most talented, most gifted player in the NHL. But if I were to put together a team to win the Stanley Cup, I would take MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl or Sidney Crosby," said Demers. "How do I choose? If you throw the puck into the corner of the ice and send Nathan and Connor in there, MacKinnon would win more battles."
Source: Sport Business Online
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