Saginaw Spirit Head Coach Chris Lazary: Teaching offensive tactics, using Rondo games and balancing winning and development

In episode #180 of the Glass and Out podcast, Chris Lazary Head Coach of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, stops by.

Lazary was named Saginaw Head Coach on November 18, 2018, after serving as an Associate Coach for over two seasons. He led the Spirit to back-to-back West Division Championships (2018-19, 2019-20) for the first time in team history, and in the process, his team put up a ton of goals.   As you’ll hear, Lazary is clearly passionate about providing his players a framework to play with the puck on their sticks, and creating space to get creative and make plays. Get your notepads out! He got his start in junior as an Assistant Coach with the St. Michaels Buzzers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League during the 2010-11 season, following several years of coaching minor hockey in the Toronto area. After two seasons with the Buzzers, Lazary moved on to be an Assistant Coach at his hometown York University. He made the jump to the OHL in 2014 with the Sarnia Sting as an Assistant Coach, where he spent two seasons prior to joining the Spirit.   While last season was a rebuilding year for the Spirit, the future is bright as they’ll return a roster of young talent, including incoming rookie Michael Misha, who was selected 1st overall in the OHL draft after having been granted exceptional player status, meaning he will play his rookie season in Saginaw as an underage player.   Find out Lazary's philosophy on teaching offensive tactics, how he handles the junior hockey balance of development and winning, and what he’s picked up from a systems and tactics perspective from this year's NHL playoffs.