PODCAST: Chris Taylor and Dave Rogalski Join the Podcast

New Jersey Devils Official Podcast
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Assistant Coaches Dave Rogalski & Chris Taylor | Speak of the Devils
Both Chris Taylor and Dave Rogalski are beyond excited. Excited to be a part of the New Jersey Devils family and Lindy Ruff's coaching staff. The two coaches took different paths to make it into the NHL coaching ranks, and the Speak of the Devils podcast takes you through those journeys in conversations with Taylor and Rogalski this week.
Taylor played in the NHL and was coached by Ruff in Buffalo, and when Ruff officially became head coach of the Devils, Taylor reached out to congratulate him. Then the ball started rolling.

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"To be honest, I reached out to him," Taylor shared, "I first just congratulated him on his job obviously. And then it went steps further than that and we start communicating and we had some good talks and then I talked to Tom Fitzgerald] as well. And I also talked to Mark Recchi as well, so it was a lot of good talks and you know they did a thorough process and I'm so excited, you have no idea how excited I am, to be part of this organization and just good people around it."
Immediately for Taylor, it seemed like the right fit. Not only would he be reuniting with Ruff and accepting his first full-time offer as an NHL assistant coach, but he feels he's entering the type of team culture, from top to bottom, that will take the Devils a long way.
"He spoke highly of how they wanted to try and create that culture. Implement it, not just create it, but implement it. There's a big difference," Taylor said from his home in Rochester, wearing a newly minted Devils shirt. "You know, everybody says they want it, but how do you implement it and you can just tell right off the bat, as soon as I got hired, just the pouring of people reaching out to welcome [me] to the family. Everybody in the organization, it wasn't just Tom, It wasn't just Lindy. It was everybody in the organization and that's what they're all about."
It was a sentiment echoed by Dave Rogalski, who joins the Devils as the newest goaltending coach. He too was accepting his first full-time coaching job in the NHL, marking a dream come true, along a different path than Taylor. Rogalski was working in a goaltending development position with the St. Louis Blues, only one stop on his long journey to this moment.
"It sunk in a little bit when everyone in the organization reached out," he shared. "That was the one thing that was really special is, the amount of phone calls, from the assistant coaches from Lindy […] but even people that work in operation side, very welcoming, and then [it] just kind of, it just all settled in and got going. But that's, that's when you realize like this, this is happening, all the hard works paid off."
Rogalski wasted little time getting to work once he joined the Devils. He contacted both Mackenzie Blackwood and Corey Crawford, to begin cultivating that all-important relationship between goaltender and goaltending coach.
"Two great guys," Rogalski said, "I enjoyed my conversations with them. We've spoken every week so far, and then just kind of just trying to build that relationship. And so, when we get going, and hopefully the season starts here soon, we can kind of hit the ground running."
It's what everyone is truly waiting for. The moment the team can hit the ice again, having last played in mid-March. It will be a new-look Devils team, with new players and coaches alike meeting in the
[Prudential Center
locker room, but one thing is clear from the conversations with Taylor and Rogalski. The two are a perfect culture fit, pulling in the same direction towards a bright future in New Jersey.
For more from the two new additions to the Devils coaching staff, make sure to listen to the full episode of the latest Speak of the Devils podcast!