{"id":522889,"date":"2026-03-25T23:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/522889\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T23:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T23:51:22","slug":"nhl-players-coaches-split-on-use-of-ipads-on-benches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/522889\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL players, coaches split on use of iPads on benches"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrates his empty net goal with teammate Collin Graf (51) against the Canadiens in Montreal earlier this month.Christinne Muschi\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Macklin Celebrini is often looking down on the bench.<\/p>\n

The San Jose Sharks star centre isn\u2019t in pain or checking his laces. He\u2019s usually going over what just transpired \u2013 on an iPad.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a play didn\u2019t work out how I wanted,\u201d Celebrini explained. \u201cOr if one of my teammates was talking to me about something and I didn\u2019t see it, I think it\u2019s good just to be able to go back and look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology and sports have countless intersections. One trend in the NHL over the better part of the last decade has been the use of digital tablets in-game that can provide coaches and players with near-instant replays.<\/p>\n

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is a big fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cLove the iPad,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have a rule on our team where you only get to watch it during TV timeouts \u2026 you don\u2019t want to be on the iPad when you\u2019re trying to make a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where the bench balancing act comes into play.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we feel as coaches we\u2019re working at the Apple Store when the guys are asking for iPads, but I get it, in a sense,\u201d Sharks bench boss Ryan Warsofsky said. \u201cI don\u2019t really appreciate it when they look to see how much they missed the net by.\u201d <\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken captain Jordan Eberle said there\u2019s no such thing as too much information, but tablets can become a distraction.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Seattle Kraken right wing Jordan Eberle (7) skates the puck past Nashville Predators centre Steven Stamkos (91) during the third period of a game last week in Nashville, Tenn.George Walker IV\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game is so fast, mistakes are going to be made,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking on the iPad to see the mistake, it should already be forgotten and move on to the next shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said while there are plenty of benefits when it comes to parsing technique or structure, the tech can be overused.<\/p>\n

\u201cA goalie that made a big save or you flubbed on a pass \u2013 don\u2019t waste your time on that,\u201d he said. \u201cLet\u2019s stay in the moment and then move quickly on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keefe, however, added the league\u2019s younger generation grew up with screens and expects immediate intel from the video coaches splicing tape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve come up in an era where they\u2019re used to having things at their fingertips,\u201d he said. \u201cThey want the information.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy will only really look at the iPad, which officials also use at the timekeeper\u2019s bench on coach\u2019s challenge and other replays, after specific sequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a huge believer in nitpicking every shift and saying, \u2019Why didn\u2019t you pass it to me right here?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sure they have plenty of clips of me not passing to them, too.\u201d <\/p>\n

Celebrini\u2019s screen time last season as a rookie got some attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty public that I used the iPads quite a bit,\u201d he said. \u201cI think I got caught [on camera] every time I used it, so it looked like I was on it more than I was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils centre Jack Hughes (86) scores a goal against Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) during their game on Tuesday at the American Airlines Center.Jerome Miron\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville, who played more than 800 NHL games and owns over 1,000 victories behind the bench, has had a front-row seat to plenty of change in hockey.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a fan [of iPads],\u201d said the three-time Stanley Cup winner, who mostly searches out replays for calls by on-ice officials. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna discourage it, but I don\u2019t promote it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Devils centre Jack Hughes said screen use can negatively impact players in the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou miss a big chance, and you\u2019re upset about it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go back and look at look at it, but then you just get more frustrated. Every guy\u2019s different, but think it\u2019s very useful for some parts of the game.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnything\u2019s good in moderation, right?\u201d New York Rangers winger Will Cuylle added. \u201cBut you don\u2019t want to be like a little kid out there on his iPad.\u201d <\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, another former NHLer from a different era, noted players are sometimes only interested in tablet-based replays when it makes them look good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the iPads,\u201d he said in a muted, sarcastic tone. \u201cThey want the iPads after a shift when they have a scoring opportunity, but they don\u2019t want the iPad when they screwed up defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when the assistant coach goes down and shows them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Time crunch<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s return to the Olympics offered fans a riveting mid-season tournament. That 2 1\/2-week break has also left coaches with even less time for on-ice preparations throughout 2025-26 due to a compressed schedule that offers little wiggle room.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur morning skate is, a lot of times, our practice,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cWe just go 15, 20 minutes.\u201d <\/p>\n

He added that making sure players are ready for important games down the stretch is paramount.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other team\u2019s in the same boat,\u201d Quenneville said. \u201cRest, I think, is probably not a bad idea \u2026 we\u2019ve been trying to be aware of that.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrates his empty net goal with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5103],"tags":[1018,1001,1019,967,991,1020,19,990,1008,1009,1004,992,989,265,1014,1016,1013,1007,1000,1030,993,994,1006,5,1002,1003,997,1021,264,21,5147,998,1025,1026,4,1028,1023,1027,786,1024,995,1011,1012,333,1010,1022,86,1015,1017,1005,999,996,1029],"class_list":["post-522889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal-canadiens","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-canadiens","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-hockey","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-montreal","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-montrealcanadiens","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-nhl","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}