"I go back to our playing days against each other, and I really didn't like him," Dineen joked. "He was a hard guy to play against."
"At training camp," Dineen continued, "you're there for a good three weeks, and you know what it was, I can't say enough about the way Lindy treated me as a young coach, and (he) gave us access to meetings in the coaches' room, the ability to go out and practice with the players."
Ruff wasn't just welcoming on the ice; he made a point of making sure the American Hockey League staff felt part of the team.
"He had us over to his home, we went out and played around the golf," Dineen shared of his first year in the Sabres organization coaching the Pirates. "And you know what, he's got a great disposition about him and our relationship, I felt was really strong."
And so began their relationship, where Dineen said he'd reach out to Ruff a couple times a month to make sure they were on the same page, managing the schedule properly and making sure moments like defensive zone coverage were executed the same way at the AHL level, replicating what Ruff expected in the NHL.
"It was always enjoyable," Dineen said of the cooperation. "We swapped drills, I still do a drill called the Sabre Six that we used to do at training camp in Buffalo and it's got a lot of bodies moving … he could not be more accommodating."
Tweet from @NJDevils: ���We���re speaking the same language.��� Check out the latest #SpeakoftheDevils episode with Head Coach of the Utica Comets, Kevin Dineen. 🎧: https://t.co/LYDBFsrzNi📰: https://t.co/YcTqSQuRgS#NJDevils | @RWJBarnabas pic.twitter.com/SA2KJZ2rZX
The alliance between Ruff and Dineen is not just of the X's and O's variety. The two can touch base on systems, what the power play will look like and neutral zone play, but also what stood out in conversation with Dineen was his emphasis on the priority to "speak the same language" as Ruff. When a player moves from Dineen's team to Ruff's team, the hope is the adaption will be easier with the same terminology. For Dineen, it's these little things that contribute to long-lasting successes.
"You really want to be on point with the way Lindy does his business," Dineen emphasized, "and it's not only systems but you know, terminology, what you're saying to the players so that when they get called up, whatever the term is, a soft lock is something that we use on the rush coverage. Historically that's the terminology I've used, but I want to make sure that whatever Lindy is using (I'm using) as far as his terminology, that we are speaking that same language."
Tweet from @NJDevils: Kevin Dineen, new Head Coach of the @UticaComets, is ready for the unique coaching position. Time to get to work😤https://t.co/kun8GvSWPl
The day the hiring was announced, Dineen shared he had already had a few conversations with Lindy, getting ahead knowing that the AHL season and NHL training camps open just a few weeks from now. He's met with his assistant and associate coaches, part of yet another getting-to-know-you process, as the pieces start coming together. For Utica general manager Dan MacKinnon, it offers great comfort, knowing that Ruff and Dineen already have a connection and work well with one another in their respective roles.
"He can come in, he has a relationship with Lindy already," MacKinnon said. "Kevin can assimilate, and we can just start as soon as the gun goes off here in September. So, I think it works really well. And I think Kevin sort of was the perfect guy to embrace that opportunity."
