Blue Jackets GM, Ward, Green host coaches clinic as part of Global Series

TAMPERE, Finland -- Jarmo Kekalainen had no issue getting up a bit early on game day.

The Columbus Blue Jackets general manager visited a clinic for junior-level coaches from the area that was hosted by Ilves hockey club.
He did that before his team's morning skate for its game against the Colorado Avalanche in the
2022 NHL Global Series
at Nokia Arena (2 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ALT, BSOH, SN NOW).
The second game between the two Blue Jackets and Avalanche is Saturday.
Kekalainen played for Ilves from 1985-87, shuttling between the junior and senior teams. He also played for their city rivals, Tappara, during the 1992-93 season.
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"I'm proud of my roots, and this is one of the great organizations in Finnish hockey and I was fortunate to play for in the mid-80s," Kekalainen said. "So, whatever I can do to give back some of that gratitude that I have for the organization."
Kekalainen spoke for more than 30 minutes to open the conference, which also featured presentations by former NHL coaches Geoff Ward and Travis Green.
"Well, I guess the NHL is looked at as the pinnacle of hockey here and everybody follows the League," Kekalainen said. "I think what they wanted to hear is what are the trends. What do we do, what do we do differently and kind of gain some experience from that.
"I just shared some of the philosophies that we have as an organization as well as ongoing trends in the League. I think that's what they wanted to hear the most and that's what I talked about the most."
Since the return of the NHL Global Series Challenge games in 2017, the League has helped run twelve coaching clinics, in nine different cities, across six countries. In conjunction with the National Hockey League Coaches Association, the clinics are run alongside the local hockey federation/association and provide youth the opportunity to learn from and interact with NHL coaches.

Ward has already made his presentation during stops in Bern, Berlin and Prague during the 2022 Global Series.
Each has been targeted to the information requested by the local federation.
His presentation Friday was on developing leadership traits among junior-aged players.
"Our goal is just to try to pass along maybe one or two things that they can take away from our experiences in the game to take back to their coaching and use with their young players," Ward said.

The 60-year-old, who was the coach of the Calgary Flames from 2019-21, and was an assistant for the Flames, Boston Bruins, Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils, says that when he was an up-and-coming coach, he gained so much knowledge from clinics like these.
So he is happy to pay the process forward.
"I think one of the biggest things amongst the group is that we want to grow the game globally if we can," Ward said. "That's been a real focus. We're certainly not the first coaches from the NHLCA to come over and do these things. It's been going on for a while. We're just happy that we can sort of come over and contribute and help.
"I think the one thing about the NHL coaches is that they're all willing to share their ideas. They want to do it and they understand the importance of growing the game globally. The most important people in all this are the players. If we can do anything possible to make the experience for young players better, so that they can become better players, have more fun in the game, learn more about the game. If that helps them realize their potential as people and players, then we're all in."