Drew O’Connor & Head Coach Adam Foote Pre-Game Media | Canucks vs Blue Jackets (Nov 8, 2025)

Drew O’Connor & Head Coach Adam Foote Pre-Game Media | Canucks vs Blue Jackets (Nov 8, 2025)

I mean, we had a couple guys return to the lineup and then today you see you see more a few more in practice. What does it mean just to slowly be getting your team back together? Yeah, it’s nice. I think it’s uh it’s a good boost when you get those guys out there. Um kind of pushes everyone too when you know guys are coming back and uh fighting for spots to get back in the lineup. So, um I think it it helps everyone. You’ve got the hockey fights cancer hoodie and hat on today. What is what is it meaning to you? Yeah, it’s a great cause. Obviously, something that affects pretty much everybody. So, um, it’s an important cause and, uh, glad we can do something to support it. What does the focus need to be on the ice for the group to get back to winning ways? Um, I think we just need to be more consistent overall. Um, I think we’ve had good stretches and within games we’ve had good stretches, but we haven’t put together enough complete games probably. And, um, I think, you know, like the Chicago game, like our first two periods are great. And then, um, our third, we have a couple of defensive lapses that that hurt us. So, um I think overall it’s just putting together a complete game and and playing the way we know we can. Individually though, how are you feeling about your game right now the way you’ve been playing and potentially an opportunity to play up the lineup tonight if the lines yesterday are any indication? Yeah, I mean for me it’s just play the same way as as I always play. Um try to be consistent when I can. But um you know I feel like um the last few games I can I can do a few things better. But I think overall I think my game’s been growing a little bit since the start of the year. I think it was a little bit of a slow start, but um I think it’s trending in the right direction. On the production front, has anything changed there or were you sort of overdue maybe just to, you know, have one or two go your way? I I think so. Um yeah, I mean I think it’s sort of the type of thing where you keep trying to generate those chances and eventually hopefully it goes in and um it’s a funny game sometimes where you know you can get nothing for a while and then you get two to go in like that. So, um I think it’s a matter of just keeping keep putting yourself in those positions to get those chances and um not worrying about too much of whether they’re going in or not, but worrying more about getting those chances and then hopefully they start to go in. You said two go in, you three go in, the one that didn’t count the other night. Did you Did you think that one might be coming back? Yeah, I mean I had a pretty good sense of right after there was a lot of contact going on. Um, but I didn’t really know for sure. And then when I came to the bench, they said it was probably not going to count. And then when I saw it, I think it made sense that it didn’t count. Probably. I think I got him pretty good. Keep doing all those same things of getting to the net, getting that position. Maybe just don’t bump the goalie. 100%. Yeah, I think you know that’s where a lot of goals are scored, the blue paint. So, um, keep getting there and, yeah, try to not run the goalie over, but aside from that, yeah. Well, we slowly see guys returning to the lineup today. you get three more in non-cont jerseys, but what does it just mean for the team to see these guys slowly coming back? Yeah, I mean, they have a red jersey on, but it’s still nice to see them on the ice. Uh, so that’s that’s a positive for sure. What can you tell us about your goalending situation tonight? Uh, Demer won’t be playing tonight. Uh, he won’t be backing up tonight, but he uh he went out this morning and he’s still uh doing his thing preparing for uh you know, the next time he plays. Ling Lang tonight. What about the Blue Jackets? What do you see from them on T? They’re they’re a rush like they strike. If you don’t manage the puck, um they like to jump up like they’re D like to jump in the play. Uh but also in the neutral zone, you have to really manage it where you go. They they’re real good on quick turnovers and transition game. Um they like to go off the rush. So, how close or far are you on the PK to kind of getting some things straightened out? That’s a tough one to answer, right? How do you answer that one? Uh do you do you feel like the where you’re ranked right now, what whatever your efficiency is, do you think that’s on merit or do you think you’ve been unlucky with some or No, I think it’s you know there’s I don’t I wouldn’t say it’s unlucky. We’ve got to be better on it. I mean, um, you know, we’re in a situation where there’s a lot of new guys on it and they’re learning on the fly and, um, it is what it is, but we’ve got to keep working on it, uh, to keep, you know, we, sometimes when it goes like that and a little bit of a spurt, you the next couple times you have one, you might be a little later, a little early. And that’s trust. That’s where you have to trust what you’re doing. This the way we do it works. And, and that happens, and that’s just more of a reset. We had a good We went over it hard yesterday again. Um so, uh yeah, we want to be better at it. Did they get a couple we want back? Probably. But overall, it’s early in the season and that’s something we have to be better at. I know that when you played, you took a lot of pride in the PK just like the guys, you know, people like Tyler and Marcus Person, Drew Oconor. I’m sure they take a ton of pride in it. Is it kind of eating away at guys a little bit? Just this this struggle right now because I’m sure they’re determined to. Well, we you you put the work in so that doesn’t come in play. Um that’s why you put the work in. I mean, there’s times where, you know, you said I killed. Yeah. And there’s days where something went in or your clears weren’t hard. So, you go back out the next day and work on hard clears if that’s what happened and that particular goal that went against you. I’m not saying that happened, but you work on what you you need to fix or what you need to be better at. So, you have better numbers at it. And so, when you know you put the work in, it’s part of the process. You don’t let it become a mental emotional thing that you might be referring to, which we put the work in and work on it. So, we don’t want to allow it to be that. So, then maybe you stay in a fizz or a little bit longer. This is simply a lot of new guys in a position they’re not used to heavy minutes of doing and you’re learning on the fly due to our injuries. It’s that simple. So yeah, when that happens, you can get where, like I said, the guessing game where, you know, speaking of Columbus, when I went to Columbus, I didn’t know if I could play D anymore. I was in such great structure in Colorado, great goalending and all the above. When I go there, all of a sudden, I’m guessing, am I too fast? Am I do I trust? Am I Am I slow? Am I fast? That’s what happens when things don’t go your way at times. That’s what I call a reset. You discuss it, guys. This is what works. this is let’s get back to it. Let’s not guess. Let’s trust our teammate. Could that be going on? Maybe a little bit, but we do the work so that you don’t let it become the emotional thing you’re talking about. I think we’ve all been conditioned and you certainly have had a firsthand look the last bunch of years to Quinn being the best player on the ice on a lot of nights and I just don’t know that you could say that that’s been the case yet this season and I know he was dealing with something there, but where do you think he is with his game? I’m sure he’s his own harshest critic, but in terms of, you know, tilting the ice in your favor and doing the things he does to help you win, where do you think Quinn’s, you know, he’ll be hard on himself more than anyone will be and he he works hard at it. And, you know, if there’s anything that Quinn will do, he’ll over over try and and I don’t even know if that that’s a term in pro sports, but he he’s he’s a competitor. He’s Quinn’s fine. He’s great. I mean, you guys have that’s your opinion and you you’re you can have anything opinion you want. He it’s something Quinn Quinn’s aware of. You know, teams are marking him right now. They’re coming up in his face and he wants to win so bad. He’s got to find a different way, get it back down low. When they’re in his face high, they’re they’re almost cheating high. So, you know, he’s got so much confidence that he can beat that play, that player in his face. But when it’s a constant, they’re just overaggressive on it. So, now let’s get it back low and let our teammates beat them pressing the high blue line. I mean, we should like that and get it back down to your guys. You have a twoon one at the net or a threeon two. That’s what we have to get more mindset. We’ve had discussion. Quinn’s discussed it and um you know, I’m not worried about Quinn. He’s a he’s a huge competitor. Uh and you know, he’s always going to bring it every night. Olivia asked how nice it would be to get some bodies back. Uh how nice would it be to have some bodies that you could ship back to Abbottzford right now? Just that doesn’t sound very nice. Um no, it’s nice to get bodies back. I mean, yeah, we’ve, you know, unfortunately it happens. Guy teams go through it. Usually teams go through something like this somewhere. Um, you know, in in their season. Uh, it happened with us. It happened early. It happened with me a lot. And it it’s part of it. And you just you’re going to be better for it later when you know, there’s guys getting minutes or giving confidence. They’re playing in situations that they may not have. And we really see if they’re ready for it. You see, and then some guys are getting a lot of confidence from it and and it’s moving them along nicely. And then maybe some guys might not be right for but that’s that’s just the way it is and um you know so the bodies back always help. We like that and all the bodies we can back and we’ll even like even more bodies back. That’s the way coaches are. But uh you just deal with what you’re dealt with dayto day just to keep a level head. Are they running out there lineup changes tonight? No no DP. Thank you. Oh DPD. Okay. Thanks. I’m sure I got them.

Drew O’Connor & Head Coach Adam Foote speak to the media ahead of tonight’s matchup at Rogers Arena.

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