>Seth Appert was hard on his players in Rochester during his four seasons as the head coach of the Amerks. The back-and-forths he had with the likes of Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka, for instance, during Rochester’s 2021-22 playoff season are well-known within the Sabres organization, and they are considered foundational in that duo’s development.
>So now that Appert is making his debut as an NHL assistant under Lindy Ruff, he’s had some reunions going on over the summer and into training camp. How is Appert going to be with Quinn, Peterka and others now that they’re back together in Buffalo?
>“I’m going to be hard on them again,” a smiling Appert said last week during a break in camp. “They know my goal is to make them elite NHL players and help us win.”
>Quinn’s reaction when relayed that news? No problem.
>“I saw how good of a player I turned into under him,” Quinn said. “So it’s easy to say I have a lot of trust in him. And when he’s hard on me, I take it the right way, because I know it’s going to help me.”
>“When you trust someone, and you have a real strong relationship with someone, and that person knows that your intentions are to help them as a human being, I think you can have incredibly honest, hard, direct conversations with them that lead to change and growth,” Appert said.
>“And if the player doesn’t trust you yet, or doesn’t know you that well yet, or doesn’t think your intentions are in that spot, you’re not going to make much headway. That’s coaching. Really, that’s life.”
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>Seth Appert was hard on his players in Rochester during his four seasons as the head coach of the Amerks. The back-and-forths he had with the likes of Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka, for instance, during Rochester’s 2021-22 playoff season are well-known within the Sabres organization, and they are considered foundational in that duo’s development.
>So now that Appert is making his debut as an NHL assistant under Lindy Ruff, he’s had some reunions going on over the summer and into training camp. How is Appert going to be with Quinn, Peterka and others now that they’re back together in Buffalo?
>“I’m going to be hard on them again,” a smiling Appert said last week during a break in camp. “They know my goal is to make them elite NHL players and help us win.”
>Quinn’s reaction when relayed that news? No problem.
>“I saw how good of a player I turned into under him,” Quinn said. “So it’s easy to say I have a lot of trust in him. And when he’s hard on me, I take it the right way, because I know it’s going to help me.”
>Appert says players quickly learn it’s nothing personal.
>“When you trust someone, and you have a real strong relationship with someone, and that person knows that your intentions are to help them as a human being, I think you can have incredibly honest, hard, direct conversations with them that lead to change and growth,” Appert said.
>“And if the player doesn’t trust you yet, or doesn’t know you that well yet, or doesn’t think your intentions are in that spot, you’re not going to make much headway. That’s coaching. Really, that’s life.”
Lets gooooooooo