Per Dave Caldwell, New York Times Sports:
Hakstol, 47, represents a radical culture change. A native of Warburg, Alberta, a prairie town of 789 that also produced Dallas Stars Coach Lindy Ruff, Hakstol was a defenseman who never made it past the International Hockey League in five professional seasons.
The Flyers are essentially the same team that last year finished 33-31-18, the 24th-best record in the 30-team league and 14 points out of a playoff berth.
What Hakstol says he will do is get the Flyers playing at a faster pace — partly because everyone is, especially elite Eastern Conference teams like the Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite a power-play unit that ranked third in the N.H.L., the Flyers were 21st in scoring last year.
“This is a hard-working team,” Hakstol said in a low, flat voice. “I believe it always has been. This game starts and ends with energy and work ethic and guys that are good teammates. That’s the baseline. The game is played at a high pace now, and we want to think in this room that we have the ability to get up the ice a little bit quicker, the ability to create a little bit more in the offensive zone and getting everybody involved.”
