Coach's Corner

Q&A with Rochester Americans coach Randy Cunneyworth

By Kevin Winter, Special to CNNSI.com

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Randy Cunneyworth, head coach for the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, is in his second season behind the bench of the Buffalo Sabres' top farm club.

Cunneyworth spent 16 seasons in the National Hockey League and 20 overall in professional hockey. He won a Calder Cup trophy -- the AHL's version of the Stanley Cup -- in 1983 while playing for Rochester. Cunneyworth had the rare distinction of appearing in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals and Calder Cup Finals with Buffalo and Rochester, respectively.

Last season, his first as a head coach, Cunneyworth guided Rochester to its third straight division and Western Conference regular season title.

This campaign has been more of a learning experience for the former NHLer, who spent time with six different NHL teams. But, like any athlete with competitive bloodlines, the 41-year-old Cunneyworth relishes the challenge.

Q&A with Randy Cunneyworth

Q: Twenty years in pro hockey...You're a coach now, but do you miss being a player?

A: Absolutely. The one thing I learned is that the guys are very lucky to be doing what they are doing, and you realize that after you're out of it. It's hard to get it out of your system, but you know it's for the best and you move on.

Q: Is that why you went into coaching?

A: I think so, to be near the guys and be part of what they're working towards. I'm just happy to be part of a good group of guys that are trying to win hockey games, and they're getting better each and everyday. The one thing that I'm trying to get across to players is that they have to improve each and every day and that you're never too old to learn.

Q: Do you learn more about the game of hockey as you get older playing the game or once you're out of it?

A: I think I'm learning different aspects of it. The management side of things are issues that I didn't deal with much as a player. It's overwhelming at times... some of the stuff you need to know as a player. When you get into the coaching part of things and the management decisions and politics, it's very involved. Interesting on one hand, but you realize that things happen for a certain reason. I think it's been very enlightening as well.

Q: What are some of the biggest differences?

A: I think it's more complex. Maybe it's complex to me because I'm such a young coach. Maybe I'll understand it more and more as I go on. I think as a player, the issues were pretty simple. Collectively, you went out there and worked hard together and did a job together. There's a little more to it as a coach. There's more dynamic involved when you're a coach. As a coach, I'm trying to oversee everybody, see who's looking good and doing well or struggling a little bit. Those are interesting things, but they're also challenging.

Q: Your team had 104 points last season and is struggling to make the playoffs this year. What have you learned between the two years and how have you handled it?

A: The biggest thing that I've learned is that things don't stay the same. You turn over players. And, with the success we had, we were bound to lose some players. I think that's the biggest thing I've learned, the change that has to occur when you're at this level. When you're good and you have good success, people are going to want your players. And, when you underachieve, you want people moving around and getting new opportunities. We have taken a more developmental approach this year, and that takes time to develop winning ways, but certainly we've seen improvement in our young players and the team as a whole. We feel our best work is still to come. We're starting to see some higher results, but we're not out of the woods yet. We've got a lot of work to do. We're still trying to climb and keep a playoff spot in sight.

Q: For a young coach who's been to the Stanley Cup Finals and the Calder Cup Finals as a player, how much does the hunger still sit inside of you to get your players to realize what potentially lies ahead once they make the playoffs?

A: That's a challenge in itself, to make guys understand. I don't think I understood it until I actually got there. I won a Calder Cup in '83, and I didn't realize how that kind of catapulted my career for the better. They have to see some of the success in order to take that next step. Once guys experience that kind of success, they understand the whole picture on where they could possibly go and how much they could achieve.

 

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