Atlanta's John Anderson gets ready for the long haul

A master motivator, coach John Anderson vows to make the Thrashers a more unpredictable foe next season. AP Darren Eliot's Mailbag Darren Eliot will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND

With free agency looming, the waiting is almost over. Will Mats Sundin actually meet with anyone to discuss his future? Will Marian Hossa wind up in Montreal if the Habs can't get Sundin to sign via proxy? And will the Tampa Bay Lightning's aggressive pursuit of exclusive negotiating rights with Brian Rolston, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts yield anything at all?

While the hockey world at large realigns for next season, new head coach of John Anderson of the Atlanta Thrashers busily readies for his first crack at coaching in the NHL. Now, there's a guy who knows something about waiting.

With each passing season, answers via five championships at the minor league level only led to more questions. Finally, though, after toiling for 13 seasons in the SHL, CoHL, IHL and AHL -- and garnering those five titles along the way, including this season's Calder Cup -- John Anderson is finally readying himself for the rigors of an NHL training camp.

His preparation has little to do with the free agent frenzy swirling around us. No, Anderson's reality is more mundane: familiarizing himself with players he knows only through hours of DVD review. What type of player is Erik Christensen? Should Tobi Enstrom and Nik Havelid remain paired together? How on earth does one maximize Ilya Kovalchuk's innate individual offensive skills in the context of the team game?

There is also the not-inconsiderable question of how to restore a team that plummted to the NHL's thrid-worst record only one season after making its first playoff appearance.

Daunting? Maybe to some, but hardly to a guy who has journeyed so far for this opportunity. Anderson is clear minded regarding the team's style of play. He favores a more aggressive blueline posture and "two or three different looks depending on who we're playing, so we're not too predictable."

Anderson's challenge becomes getting the guys with whom he isn't familiar to mesh with all the players he does know -- many of whom he coached for the Chicago Wolves as they made their own way to the Thrashers. He is well aware that there may be an early adjustment period as players become familiar with the team's new approach.

What won't change is Anderson's approach. Ask him about his insights and influences and he humbly refers to his first year of coaching in the Southern Hockey League.

"Those guys in Winston-Salem played hard for one another," he says. "I always remember that group's effort. They gave everything they had, despite not even having enough per diem to cover many meals. We ran out of players in the finals, but we never lost our will."

Before you dismiss the man's sentiment as a mere case of always fondly remembering your first, consider that Anderson cites George Armstrong and Roger Neilson as his two biggest coaching influences.

"Armstrong was a motivator -- not the greatest X's & O's guy," he says. "But, he got guys to play together and always had a quote or thought to rally around. I liked that and still have a quote of the day for my teams. Roger struck me with how hard he worked. He'd stay up all night between games to break down video just so we'd be as prepared as possible -- and that was long before the technology we have today."

No, Anderson's saga isn't one of sentimentality. It's one of perseverance and patience rooted in remembering where he came from. It has allowed him to keep the faith as he moves to the NHL stage. After all the hours riding buses and all the time spent wondering, he allows that there is a "sense of accomplishment" in getting back to the NHL after twelve seasons as a left wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers.

"Honestly, though, I can't wait until I walk behind the bench of the Atlanta Thrashers for the first game officially as the head coachm" he says. "I want to look around, take it all in and enjoy the moment."

So, while the instant gratification and excitement of impending free agency league-wide will justifiably dominate the headlines this week, John Anderson's personal perspective is one for the long haul -- a haul the Thrashers expect will include their first playoff game victory and perhaps a lot more.