Assistant Coach Steve Moffat finished his playing career at Plattsburgh ranked 3rd overall in goal-scoring and 6th overall in career points. After his playing career here, Steve played professional hockey for a while and then ended up returning to Plattsburgh where he is now the top assistant coach.

On September 12, 2007, I sat down with assistant coach Steve Moffat for a one-on-one discussion.

Hope you all enjoy.
Bill

- What attracted you to Plattsburgh as a player?

As a player I was recruited by Bob. It was an ongoing thing and went on all summer. I didn’t decide to come to Plattsburgh until the Friday before school started. It was a long process and I talked with a lot of people. I am good friends with Brian Riley and he was the last guy I talked to before making my decision. He said,” If you have a chance to go to Plattsburgh, go and play there. You will love it.” So I came up here sight unseen and fell in love with it. I liked the area, which was a lot different from Philly. The school was a good fit for me academically, the size of the school, the size of the classes, and things like that. I just really liked the area.

- Looking back at your playing days here, do you have any favorite moments on the ice?

My favorite moment was probably winning the SUNYAC’s in Oswego. That was fun. Winning the SUNYAC title in Fredonia a lot was fun as well.

- You’ve played with some real talented players during your career including Steve Moore and Tracey Belanger. If you could lace up the skates for the Cards again and could pick one former teammate to play on your line, who would it be and why?

That’s a tough one. I think Steve Moore is probably the most talented player I played with. We had chemistry and Tracey and I had chemistry as well, but in different ways. That’s a tough question. I would like to play with both of them. I would play on the right and maybe Moore in the middle and Belanger on the left. That would be a pretty good line.

- You were one of the last players in recent years to score over 30 goals in a season. Are the days of seeing a 30 goal scorer at Plattsburgh over?

I don’t think so. It is getting tougher obviously with the talent that is going around the league. Every team is getting better. I don’t think those days are over yet. One you have to get the bounces to go your way and be a little lucky, and you have to work hard and play with the right guys.

- You’ve had the chance to work with two of Division III’s top hockey coaches in Bob Emery and Kevin Houle. Talk about the impact they had on you as a player and as a young coach.

Yeah, your right. I am so fortunate and I am sure Kevin would say the same thing about working with Bobby. With those guys I just learned a lot about life and a lot on the ice as well. I still talk to both of them a lot, obviously working with Bobby every day. With Kevin, I still bounce ideas off of him as well. Now we are kind of on a different level. We are on a more friendly basis as peers instead of a coach / player relationship. These guys do so much behind the scenes for the players here that people never see and will never see. But the players that are here go through it and really appreciate it the day they stop playing hockey here at Plattsburgh. They are more prepared for life than they were when they came in as a freshmen. Whether they were a 21 year old freshmen or an 18 year old freshmen, what ever it may be. Every guy is so much more prepared for the real world when they leave this program. Yes, wins and losses matter, but preparing the guys for after college is a huge and important part of the job.

- What was that transition like going from player to coach?

It was hard for me. I think I may have left a year or two early from playing. But I also saw the writing on the wall that I wasn’t going to progress any more. I could have stayed at the same level, but I wasn’t going to be playing in the AHL and definitely wasn’t going to be playing in the NHL. I had a bunch of injuries and talked with coach Emery after my second year playing in the pros. I had to go back to school anyways. So, I thought maybe it would be a good time to come back to Plattsburgh. The school didn’t have a grad assistant at the time. So, it worked out great. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

- Have you always been interested in pursuing a career in coaching?

Yeah, it is the next best thing to playing. I never knew how hard it was. I never knew how much work went on behind the scenes. How much preparation there is for the games. You’re preparing 25 or 27 guys, and not just worried about yourself. When you’re playing you’re just worried about getting yourself mentally ready to get going. The coaches have to worry about everybody. I think that was the hardest part for me. When I came back, I still wanted to get out on the ice and try and help out. As a coach you have to help out in different areas.

- Can you talk a little about what your responsibilities are as the top assistant coach?

Well there are a lot of day to day things. Practice plans, emails, and phone calls and that sort of thing. Both Bob and I do a ton of recruiting. We are on the road all the time. Every weekend in September and the first two weekends in October. So the biggest responsibility for me is trying to get the recruiting done. I try to be a liaison between the head coach and players as well. We have an open door policy, but sometimes it is easier to talk with the assistant coach than it is with the head coach. Whether it is about playing time, personal problems, or whatever it may be. For the players, I might be more approachable in those aspects.

- How hard was it to get a handle on the recruiting process, which has become a dog eat dog world.

Yeah, and I it is getting harder too with everybody that is out there recruiting. It was tough. I knew the type of players we wanted to bring in, but doing the background checks and making sure they are good kids off the ice. Cause if they are not good kids off the ice, they are not going to be good kids on the ice. And that’s the hardest part. Getting those character kids and really digging deep and talking to other coaches and talking to their coaches and working with their parents and things like getting a good sense of who they are before they get here.

- So far, what has been the most rewarding aspect of coaching for you?

I am going into my fifth year, and my first full recruiting class is the current group of seniors. Now that I have a class that I’ve known since the recruiting process, I think when I see those kids graduate and get on with their lives with what ever they may do. I think that will be really rewarding. Obviously winning the SUNYAC my first year as a coach and getting to the final four was great. I would love to get back there and hopefully we will get back there this year. The senior guys say every year that it goes by so fast, those four years. You never know if your going to get back to that SUNYAC championship or the final four.

- The most challenging aspect of coaching for you?

Just learning the ins and outs of coaching and being a young coach. When I first came back I almost felt like I could still be playing and felt like I was close to the players. Trying to learn when to separate and when to not be a buddy and when to be a coach. I think that has been the hardest part for me. I think I am getting better at it as I get older and the gap (between ages) is getting wider. So figuring out when to be a buddy and when to be a coach was tough.

- One of the events you work with that have been a huge success is the Make-A-Wish dinner. Where did the idea come from for this event, and have plans been finalized for the 4^th annual dinner?

It came from when I played in Columbus my first year in the pro’s. We had what we called a ‘Last Call’. It was the last year of the Columbus Chill organization. The NHL’s Blue Jackets were coming in and the Chill were folding. We had a big dinner for all the fans. A lot like Plattsburgh, the Chill had a huge following and we sold out 85 games in a row. So we had a big dinner and I went through it as a player. It was fun, it was nerve racking, it was embarrassing but we had a great time when it was over. So I wanted to bring that back here. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is just a foundation that I love and I love working with the kids and seeing the look on their faces when the guys are out there basically making fools out of themselves. The 4^th annual dinner is not completely finalized yet. Hopefully, we will get the information out as the season goes on.

- Are you interested in becoming a head-coach in near future?

Sure. I think it has got to be the right fit. I am so fortunate to be here at Plattsburgh and to be the first assistant here. Not a lot of Division III programs have what we have here at Plattsburgh. I’ve seen the program as a player, as a grad assistant, and now as a coach. I know all of the angles here at Plattsburgh and I know how the school is run and I know what they expect. So I love it here. I’ve been here 11 out of the last 13 years and it would be hard to leave. With that being said, if something came up that seemed to be a good fit for me, would I look at it? Sure. Would I leave? I don’t know.

- I know some people thought you would be interested in the Neumann job since it was close to where you were from or even the Potsdam job that was available this past summer.

Yeah, a lot of it is timing. It seems like a lot of these coaching jobs come up late in the summer. That’s when I start getting excited for our upcoming team and who is coming in. I wanna see how those guys are and what type of job we did recruiting. And you get so excited because you know we have another chance at winning another national championship and winning a SUNYAC championship. We were not that far away last year. We beat the two teams that played in the national finals. We could have definitely been there. So it really is about timing. I definitely thought about both jobs, but it just wasn’t for me at the time.

- You are currently tied for the longest drought (3 years) with out a SUNYAC title. The team has made the finals all three of those years, but have not been able to make it over that hurdle. How frustrating is it for you as a coach knowing you have the talent to win, but keep falling a bit short.

I guess the frustration is in a good spot because you’re getting to the championship game, you’re there. It is sort of like Tiger Woods always says. If he is not in the final group and doesn’t have a chance on Sunday....that is where he wants to be. And that is where we are. We are in the final group on Sunday, but we are just not getting it done. Whether it is not getting the big goal or the timely save. I would much rather be playing on that final game in the SUNYAC than being knocked out. The positives are there. For what ever reasons, sometimes you have to learn how to win. Maybe we have done that, time will tell. I can go back to when we played and I won in 97 & 98 after going two years without winning it as well. It is nice to get off the snide so to speak and win that first one. It then becomes a little bit easier. We went on to win seven years in a row at Plattsburgh. Maybe we can start that streak again this year.

- Looking ahead to this season, the questions I most often get from fans during this off season are: A) Who did we lose? and B) How does the recruiting class look? C) Did we get a new goalie? First, lets talk about what you lose on the offensive side of things. This off-season you lose your top 3 forwards in Ryan Busby (graduation), Kevin Galan (transferred to Geneseo), and Pier-Luc Belanger (police academy). They combined for 100 points last season. You also lose fan favorite Shane Remenda up front. Did we lose any other forward players from last season?

No, we haven’t lost anybody else.

- These are some pretty big losses. Here are some interesting offensive numbers. You’ve lost players who scored 33 of your 53 power-play goals last season. You’ve also lost players who scored 9 of your 14 game winning goals last season. Your returning scoring leader is Nick Rolls a defense men. So my question is this, where will the offense becoming from this season?

If you go back to the guys that are here. You look at a kid like Joey Wilson. He probably led the team in goals after the PrimeLink. He is a kid we are going to look at for sure. Andrew Willock played unbelievably last year. He doesn’t have the goals there, but he was awesome. I think he is going to be there for us. You look at Mike Thomson and Shawn Dennis. Those guys are going to have to step up and be good not only all year, but early on as well. We are going to need our younger guys to get in there and get their feet wet. There is no reason to say that we are not going to have another Pier-Luc in that bunch who will get 15 goals. There is no question we have a couple of freshmen like that. We have always been a goal by committee type of team anyways, and that is how it is going to be. We ran four lines last season. We played four lines all the time and we are again going to have to have four good lines that are balanced to get our goals. Maybe we need to be a little bit better as a team defensively and not let in some of those goals that hurt us last season. That will free us up offensively as well. So, it is kind of a double edged sword. Play better defense and you only need to score three goals instead of five goals. We are going to have to work on both ends of that.

- Do you feel any of the freshmen forwards can step in right away an contribute? I know there has been some hype with Dylan Clarke, and Eric Satim is a name I’ve heard a lot of recently. And VanderMale is another player I hear could contribute right away.

We have a few in mind. It is a good group (freshmen forwards). Each guy brings something different to the table. We have some good size, some small quick guys, and some guys that can really shoot the puck. On the back end we have some guys that can make the first pass and maybe get in offensively. I like the class. I think the last two or three years we’ve had some good classes and I think this one will be right up there. Whether those guys step right in, it is definitely an adjustment from juniors. How fast they can make that adjustment will determine how fast they can produce at the college level. Can they all do it? Absolutely.

- It also appears you have some true freshmen on the team this season.

Yeah, Schiavi, Satim, & Pilon. Those three are all prep school kids. All have a ton of talent and skill. They will probably even have a harder time making that adjustment to the college level. It is probably two steps up from the junior level. If we didn’t think they could do it, we would not have brought them in. They can all play that’s for sure.

- Defensively you lose Rick Janco & Casey Smith who did not have a good season in his own end. But you do return two of the top defense men in SUNY with Tom Breslin and Nick Rolls. With the additions of Devin Bancroft and Ryan Corry, do you think perhaps that your defensive squad could be your teams greatest strength entering the season?

Yeah, I agree with you. Losing Rick, he was a heart and soul guy back there blocking shots and playing tough. It is going to be a big loss for us. Devin is a good stay at home defensive defensemen and Ryan is an offensive defensemen. I think they will gel well with Rolls, Breslin, Ward Smith, Greene, & Burke. I think you’re right, we are going to have a strong defensive group and they are going to have to be the back bone of the team until our younger guys fill in and get their feet wet. Rolls who had an awesome year last season and Breslin are both on the leadership group and are captains this year. We are gonna look to them for leadership both offensively and defensively.

- Speaking of the leadership group, who else is on it this year?

Tom Breslin, Nick Rolls, TJ Cooper, CJ Tozzo, & Joey Wilson.

- I’ve saved the best for last. Goalies. A lot of us armchair coaches out there felt there was a lack of consistency with the goaltending last season. Helgesson and Molinaro had good numbers, but we could not get those timely saves. Karl goes back to Plymouth and you’ve brought in two new goalies in Brian Hince and Simon LeBlanc to challenge Chris Molinaro. On paper you have potentially three starting goalies in the line-up. Your thought on your goaltending coming into the 07-08 season?

Well, there is going to be a lot of competition and that is what we wanted. Chris played well most of the year, but we have to have that guy back there to push him. We just didn’t think Karl was that guy. These other two guys are definitely going to be battling for playing time and for the number one job. Both come with good resumes. Both are good goalies. We just wanted the competition. If one can’t do it, then we can put one of the other two in. The best guy is going to end up playing. Maybe we will rotate. We don’t know. It is not something we’ve had before, having potentially three number one guys. We have 15 forwards and the best 12 will play. On defense, you play your top six. Same will go for the goalies, you play the best guy. It is going to be fun to watch and fun to see how they react to the competition and we will see who wants it the most.

- Anything you would like to tell the fans about this coming season?

It is good to be back in the rink and I hope everyone gets out here to see us. Between us and the women, we have two pretty good and exciting teams to watch. Hopefully the fans will get out there and get behind us. I know we play better when the fans are in the building and I think with the freshness of the building and the excitement of next year, getting the new seats, and everything like that. I think this year is going to be special, and I think next year is gonna to be even that much better. We need to do our part and win the games. We wanna get the crowds in there from day one and start building that train and getting it going and getting that good karma going.

Fan Questions:

Fan asks:

Can you ask coach Moffat about the new recruits from Quebec, Canada. Are they going to come for a year and leave us like Belanger. I had the pleasure of watching Eric Satim play against one of the top high schools last year South Kent. This kid is going to woo fans with his hands and creativeness.

The Quebec kids all played in the states. We are just looking in different areas trying to find players. Montreal is so close to here and that is a definite drawing point for those guys. Their parents can come see them play. We hope they don't leave. Belanger was in a unique situation. He wanted to be a cop from day one and he got into the police academy. Unfortunately for us, he left. But for him he got into the academy and that was his goal all of last year. You can't fault him for that. The new Quebec guys, they are all young and true freshmen as we talked about and hopefully they are here for four years. I think all three of them can have great careers here. They are all very talented, quick, & shifty play-making forwards.