Skalde: We'll be a team that's ready to compete

Photo: James Assinder

Jarrod Skalde has waited a long time to get behind the Cardiff Devils' bench. Appointed in September 2020, the former Pittsburgh Penguins Development Coach has now arrived in Wales and is busy preparing his team to hit the ice in the Champions Hockey League.

"It's been just over a week now since I arrived. I landed on Friday 13th and we practiced on the Saturday already so it was great to get on the ice straight away from the hockey side of things," began the Devils Head Coach, who's getting used to life in Wales. "On the living side, I'm getting used to all the little details and it's been a great week learning rules of the road, especially the roundabouts!"

Skalde's arrival in Wales has been over a year in the planning, and something he's enjoying finally getting to experience. "It was a great moment to step into the room with all of the guys and talk to the team," he explained. "A lot of these guys I'm meeting for the first time, obviously having spent a lot of time on the phone with them, so to do that and then run the first practice was great.

"It'd been almost 17 months for me since the AHL shut down in 2020, so it was such a great feeling to be out there with the guys."

The Devils were forced to forgo their warm-up games in Slovakia due to issues with the arrival of some players into the UK, nevertheless, Skalde knows what he wants from his team between now and facing Mannheim. "The first three or four sessions I wanted to get the guys on the ice and just go through some drills. Most are coming from North America so getting the jet lag out and some good workouts in," he explained.

"A few practices ago we started working on our systems from our defensive zone out, and that will be the focus moving towards Thursday, to make sure that we touch on as many points of the game as we can and making sure everyone understands their responsibilities."

The Ontario native, who played 115 games in the NHL, has also finally had the chance to see his summer of recruitment on the ice up close. "I'm extremely excited with the team that we've assembled. Initially, when I got the job we thought there'd be about 14 returning players and I'd need to recruit five or so more, but as the process went along guys were either retiring or moving on to other places so that five turned into 14 pretty quickly that I'd need to recruit," he revealed.

"So, obviously, it's a new team, and I'm excited about it. I've spent a lot of time getting to know the players over the phone and from their former coaches, but this past week has been a lot of fun. It's a team of players who are excited to be here, want to be here, and are overwhelmed at how they've been treated and welcomed by the club staff off the ice."

Within the roster, the Devils are still able to call on stalwart Mark Richardson, and recent GB call-up Sam Duggan. "It's great to have them around," added Skalde. "People like Mark and Sam that have been here a while have been terrific. I'm like some of the players too, I have questions about certain things as well, so it's really great to have them around."

Skalde has a baptism of fire in his tenure with the Devils, facing Adler Mannheim on opening night in the CHL, followed by Lausanne. Aside from six points, what will he want to see from his new team? "The biggest thing is our compete level. We're going to have to compete for every inch of ice out there, these are two really good, talented teams with a lot of experience and speed. We have to make sure our structure is in place through this week, know our responsibilities, and then it will come down to compete-level," affirmed the Head Coach.

"We have some proud players in our team, some that have played in the NHL, the AHL, and different parts of Europe, and they want to go out and compete at their best. I think what we'll see on Thursday night is a team that's organised and ready to compete."

With the first competitive game drawing ever closer, Skalde also revealed what it means to him to finally be back doing what he loves. "There are so many facets to this. Just doing the pre-scout on Mannheim and watching some of their games brought up a lot of emotion and excitement that 'Jeeze, this is reality' after so long," he said.

"Knowing that the fans will be back as well gives you so much energy, it will be the first time in 17 months that I've been in a game with fans there and of course will be my first experience of the Cardiff Devils fans. There are so many layers from what we've all gone through in the last year and a bit that I'm so excited, and it's a privilege to get on the ice every day and prepare."