Today, Zach Hyman is an NHL veteran and a key player for the Edmonton Oilers. However, when he made his NHL debut, he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Who were coached by Mike Babcock at the time. Now, Hyman is excited to reunite with his controversial former coach.
Zach Hyman was drafted 123rd overall by the Florida Panthers in 2010. However, he made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2015–16 season.
READ MORE: NHL insider’s take on Mike Babcock’s first Oilers press conference
Mike Babcock to coach the Oilers
At the time, Mike Babcock was the Maple Leafs’ head coach. Now, more than a decade later, Hyman will reunite with his first NHL coach in Edmonton. The Oilers are looking to become Stanley Cup contenders once again. They are hoping for immediate results—their first championship since 1990. To help achieve that goal, they hired the controversial Babcock as their new head coach. The NHL even investigated the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Columbus Blue Jackets before ultimately giving Edmonton the green light.
Zach Hyman’s honest reaction
Now, Zach Hyman has opened up about his feelings toward Mike Babcock and what it was like to play for him as a young rookie.
“I had a phenomenal experience with him, and a lot of our young players did. If you look at our first year, we had eight or nine rookies, and we were able to all find a role and all become NHL players. A lot of us are still playing, we’ve played a lot of NHL games, and it’s all because of the foundation he instilled in our group. He believed in me when not many people did,” Hyman said to TSN before continuing.
“I am empathetic to players who’ve had a poor experience with him. As a leadership group, it’s our responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen in Edmonton. At the same time, I think Babcock has grown as well. We had a great conversation with Connor and Leon and myself. Our group is ready to be held accountable and ready for him as a coach. We’ve tried it for five years doing it one way, and we almost got there. But we took a step back last year. Now, we’re ready to take a big step forward and make this a team from top to bottom,” Hyman said in the interview.
You can watch the video below.
READ MORE: Connor McDavid opens up about Mike Babcock
