Mike Yeo is a big-time communicator.
As an assistant coach, he would often have lengthy conversations on the ice after practice with guys like Ivan Provorov, Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux, among others.
"Mike is great guy," Giroux said Dec. 6. "He’s a guy you want to play for. Any time we have meetings with him or he talks to us, you can see the players really listen. You want to be involved with a guy like Mike Yeo."
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SIGN UP HERE Don't expect Yeo's communication to taper off just because he has a heftier plate of responsibilities as the Flyers' interim head coach. It's a key ingredient to the experience Yeo has compiled on his résumé. The 48-year-old has gone to the playoffs four times as an NHL bench boss, winning three series. One of those times was a midseason challenge in which he took over the Blues at the beginning of February in 2016-17.
Now in his attempt to resurrect the Flyers' 2021-22 season after the club fired head coach Alain Vigneault and assistant coach Michel Therrien, Yeo will use his past experiences to help in his new challenge.
"One of the lessons that I've learned is just how important it is to be yourself," Yeo said Monday in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia's Taryn Hatcher. "That's what I'm trying to do right now. I think that what the players need is for us to give them direction, what they need is for us to show faith in them and have a plan and provide that plan."
So far, the Flyers are 3-2-1 under Yeo. They've scored four or more goals in four of the six games. The Flyers are hoping some reinforcements will be important to a potential turnaround, but the team is currently 11-12-5, endured a 10-game losing streak and owns a minus-19 goal differential, so it has work to do.
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"I think the communication part is going to be really important as far as individually making sure we get everybody on top of their game, individually making sure we get each individual bought into the way we want to play the game," Yeo said.
"I just want to be myself and be open and honest with the players."
You can watch the full interview with Yeo right here:
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