Expected by Whom? - An Analytics & Eye Test Hockey Podcast · Winged Wheel Podcast Network

OHL Head Coach - Chris Lazary Interview (Saginaw Spirit) - Ep. 29

·42 min·2 clips

Chris Lazary says Saginaw gets criticized for its style, then asks, “why can’t we do things different?”

The episode opens with the show running without Prashanth, so Chris Lazzari takes the chair as the coach of the Memorial Cup-winning Saginaw Spirit. The first stretch is about the path that led him into coaching, starting with hockey, lacrosse, and an early love for the game. Dave Branch comes up as a key influence. Lazzari explains that being around someone who could make a living in hockey while playing changed how he saw the sport and his own future. The conversation then shifts from biography into philosophy. Lazzari talks about what Saginaw asks its players to think about before the puck leaves the stick. A shot is never just a shot for him. He keeps coming back to net-front traffic, seconds and thirds, and whether the puck is being sent into a situation that can actually create danger. If a puck goes to the point, the next layer matters too. He breaks down what the winger can do on the way out, whether that means beating a defender, moving the puck, or creating a moment of panic that opens a second chance. The team uses video to make those ideas concrete. Individual clips and team clips are both used to show players where a play was left on the table and what a little more patience might have produced. Lazzari does not dismiss shooting. He is clear that teams have to shoot to score. He just draws a line between useful offense and low-value attempts from distance with no traffic. Junior hockey, he suggests, makes that distinction even more important because chaos can be created quickly. The discussion also widens into possession and metrics. He notes that raw shot counts do not always tell you what happened in the game, and that some teams are willing to concede those numbers if the chances themselves are harmless. That tension between the sheet and the reality on the ice sits near the center of the interview. It closes on a familiar coaching idea: the job is to make players better, because winning should follow from development rather than replace it.

As heard by us

A patient coaching conversation that links shot quality, traffic, and player development to winning.

It follows Chris Lazary through the work behind Saginaw's Memorial Cup run, with the clearest value coming from how a junior coach ties habits, shot selection, and player development to winning.

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Why you'd press play

A Memorial Cup coach explains when shots help and when they just clutter the sheet.

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