Cronin Introduced as New Ducks Head Coach: 'It's All Part of the Journey'

The Ducks have officially appointed the 11th coach in franchise history, today introducing Greg Cronin as the club's new bench boss.

Alongside his new boss, GM Pat Verbeek, Cronin met with local media Monday, expressing his gratitude for an opportunity decades in the making and outlining how he plans to guide the Ducks forward in the next steps of their rebuild.

"I'm telling guys out of the gate, there is going to be a standard here and an identity to the way we play," Cronin said. "Change starts where your feet are, and we'll work on that right out of training camp.

"I'm ecstatic to be here. I think this is right up my wheelhouse as a coach...I'm just really blessed to be here."

A hockey lifer, Cronin brings 36 years of coaching and player development experience to Anaheim, including 12 seasons as an NHL assistant, seven as a head coach in the American Hockey League and another six guiding Northeastern University (NCAA). He also co-founded the United States National Team Development Program that has helped nearly 400 players earn a selection in the NHL Draft.

Known for his rugged style and obvious intensity, Cronin describes his teams as tough to play against, centered on a strong belief to make opponents earn every inch of ice.

"The technical part of it, the pace of it and the aggression behind it has to be in sync," Cronin said. "When we are playing the right way, it's going to be hard to get scoring chances (against). It's hard to get to the inside ice."

Verbeek agreed with the assessment, describing the philosophy as a blend of classic principles interwoven with the realities of the way the game is shifting since the duo's playing days.

"What I really like about Greg is he has old school principles and new school methods of teaching," Verbeek said. "I think it's a great combination."

But Verbeek also stopped short of calling the system defensive in nature, saying both he and Cronin wanted to prioritize puck management first and foremost.

"I wouldn't say his structure is going to be defensive," Verbeek said. "I'm going to say it's going to be the complete opposite, actually. We're going to play hard. We're going to play fast. Part of playing fast is getting down the ice and into the offensive zone. The other part of it is puck possession. So it may be defensive only in the sense that we're going to control the puck more."

Cronin also impressed Ducks management with his off-ice philosophy, chief among those his demonstrated history of developing young players with a blend of consistent communication and some good-natured tough love.

"It's all about relationships, the depth that you create in that and the trust factor when the players knows you care about him and are invested in his growth," Cronin said. "I think that goes a long way.
"Like any relationship, there are going to be bumps in the road and there are times where they want to run me over in the parking lot. I'm willing to do that, as long as we know that we're working together to create a vision and then execute it."

That philosophy, as former Ducks and Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle told the O.C. Register's Lisa Dillman, has helped Cronin connect with all corners of the locker room and with players of different upbringings, goals and mentalities.

"To me, that's really the fun of coaching," Cronin said. "It's hard to change people. It's hard to change habits...When you ask a player to change something that's way more dynamic and fast-moving, you can imagine the resistance to change. It's all a part of the journey."

He'll put that belief to the test starting this fall as the new leader of a young team stocked full of talented, albeit still-developing prospects. Cronin pointed to the trio of Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and Mason McTavish as building blocks for the forward group and also highlighted the skillset of Jamie Drysdale, "a smaller guy who does all the little things you need to do to defend."

"I believe in innovation and I believe in change, trying to provide players with a healthy balance," he said. "But it starts with your habits. If your practice habits are not good, they will follow you right into the game."

"What impressed me the most, and what separated Greg from the rest (of the candidates) were the intricate details he could show in a step-by-step process of the fundamentals," Verbeek said. "As a former player, I would crave that...The teaching part put him over the top."

For Cronin, the next part of the journey is settling in with his new surroundings. Later this week, he'll embark on a cross-country drive, stopping to meet several Ducks players along the way, and begin making plans for Ducks Development Camp in early July.

And maybe the best part of the whole day for the coach is that he can finally tell his friends and non-immediate family of the good news, since the agreement did not become public until early Monday morning.

"Pat locked it down," Cronin said with a big laugh. "I wanted to [reach out to current and former players], but Pat locked it down. Guys were texting me saying they heard a rumor and I had to ghost them!"

Now the secret is out. And Cronin is ready to hit the ground running.