CHARACTER COACH

The Capitals’ Spencer Carbery hasn't shied away from the difficult decisions in his rookie season as an NHL bench boss. And he credits his ECHL beginnings for developing that resolve

BY MIKE TRAIKOS

SPENCER CARBERY, who is the youngest head coach in the NHL, is technically a rookie. But any illusions that the 42-year-old wasn’t cut out for the job went out the window early in the season when he made Evgeny Kuznetsov a healthy scratch. It was a move that wasn’t made lightly. At the time, Kuznetsov was heading into his 700th career game. But with only nine points in his first 19 games and with the Washington Capitals struggling to keep their heads above water in the crowded and competitive Eastern Conference, Carbery needed to send a message – even if it meant embarrassing a veteran who five-and-a-half years earlier had helped the franchise win its first and only Stanley Cup. “It’s s---, but you gotta accept sometimes and trust the process,” Kuznetsov said…

You're reading a preview of

The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Rookie Issue 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.