Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Dec. 10, 2025

Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Dec. 10, 2025

Todd, how does it feel to be in a kind of old school building like this one? Uh, I think it’s always great to come to um buildings that have been around for a long time and you look down the road and you see the uh the infrastructure of the new one going up and um you wonder is this going to be your last time or second last time in this building? But it’s it’s got a lot of memories especially for Yans who played in the Olympics here and played for team Canada, played for the Flames, Alex Tang. Um you know all of them have their own stories about this building and um yeah it’s it’s a pretty unique spot. Both teams coming in with some point streaks of their own and I what’s the mentality of the group and building off that last one in Vancouver? Well, we’ve got to get our uh for me we’ve got to get our game going quicker. Um this team starts well at home. Uh they’re very competitive. uh similar to the two teams we just played and and in Vancouver we we didn’t have any skating legs. Uh so our mindset, I’m not sure what Calgary will be, but we’ve got to be prepared to go right away and and make sure we have some legs that can get us to places we need to go. Um and that’s to a man. It just can’t be five or six guys. Flames PK has stood out this year as one of the better ones in the league so far. What when you look at that on film, what are some of the things you catch your eye on? Well, I think they work as a unit. Um starts in goal. They’ve been getting some real good goalending. uh when things break down and then after that uh in the faceoff circle they’re strong and their uh their reads and their ability to react to loose pucks are strong. If you’re not on your toes, you’re going to be breaking out a lot and uh that leads to frustration for the power play and something we want to stay away from. With Marco Casper, what have you liked of his game and what do you need to see more of the young kid? with Marco Casper’s game. Um, well, I’ve been with Marco now for uh basically a year and his game has been tremendous. It dried up a little bit this year. Uh, I think Marco got into his own head and when it comes to offense and and the ability to create um often a young player will do that evaluate his uh his impact on a game based on um individual stats and I think he’s beyond that now. He’s he’s playing really strong now. uh a good check-in game, got on the score sheet the other night. Um so I think his game is really starting to come. As a coach, how do you reinforce that it is more than just points to play? It’s not an easy thing. Um we’ve talked about that for all my years in the league and they were probably talking about it when I was coming in and playing. Um you know, it’s just the psychology. these young players get drafted high, low, and somewhere in between often on individual uh accomplishments and uh to get back or to get to the NHL, it’s not always based on that. Um you have to find ways to bring different elements to the game and a guy like Emtt Finny, I I look at him and he uh he’s had a significant impact on our team. was a seventh round draft pick. Wasn’t heralded as a 50 goalc scoring firstrounder. Um perhaps it’s easier sometimes to arrive that way. Is it Gibson or Talin tonight? Gibson tonight. What have you thought about his game, especially coming off that shot? Well, I I think for us to go back to him for the third time in a row gives you the answer. He’s been real good. Um looks very uh focused and and athletic in the net right now. Anything that has got there, he’s been able to make the save and then uh clean up some of the messes around the net. And that secondary save is is always one of the most important ones. Um, you know, and we’d like to do a better job of of clearing the net out and and and cleaning it up around there so he doesn’t have to make as many. You’ve gotten a lot of some young guys on your blue line. How have they managed to play so well in this tough week? Well, it’s baptism by fire. Um, we’ve had some nights where it hasn’t gone well, too, but for the most part, they’re they’re somewhat ready to play. Um, you know, I don’t think you can hide, especially defenseman in the NHL. You might be able to sneak a forward in or two, but when there’s only six playing on any given night, you don’t have change last change on the road. Um, you know, you have to work with them individually. They have to be accepting of uh uh of guidance, instruction, sometimes criticism as well. Uh, and if they are that, then they get a real opportunity for them to to blossom quickly. I think that’s where our guys are. Any urge to learn Swedish with how many young Blue Lions you have from there? No, not a chance. I have enough trouble with English. Any other changes to your lineup or what? No, not that we know of right now.

Todd McLellan speaks with the media following Detroit’s morning skate on Wednesday December 10, 2025 in Calgary.