Pro hockey coach, Stanley Cup champion and Belleville native Mark Crawford (brother Todd Team Canada Floorball Coach) talks to U-19 Women’s Floorball team ahead of game against Germany Friday May 6, 2016 (Photo: Aaron Bell/ activeimages.ca)
The Marc Crawford Perspective
Written by Martin Durkin: NHL Stanley Cup winning coach and Belleville native, Marc Crawford, was in the Yardmen on Friday night to take in the tournament; as Team Canada went against Germany.
A memorable night in the final robin game, Canada would go on to win the night and Marc Crawford could not say enough about the Under 19 Women’s World Floorball Championship, being hosted by his hometown.
As one of the most recognized names for Canadian coaches, Crawford has spent the last four years in Switzerland. Winning championships and leading the Switzerland club to the number one slot three years in a row.
The conversation first began with a discussion about a young man he has been coaching, Auston Matthews. Later this year, Matthews will likely be chosen first over all in the NHL draft by none other than, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Toronto will be very pleased with that player, he is the real deal,” said Crawford. “He has got everything you would want in a number one pick. He is a big centreman who moves the puck extremely well, he has got a great shot, and he does so many things well – that those are the types of players you build your team around. He is definitely going to be a core player for Toronto should they draft him, and I think he will give them that big centreman that will anchor them in the number one line, the number one power play, for years to come. He’s a great kid, very well balanced, and will be able to handle media in Toronto, I can’t speak highly enough about his talent.”
As the conversation steered towards floor ball, Crawford says it’s a sport that really has potential in North America. “It’s just in its infancy over here in the America’s,” said Crawford. “Most people over here will have grown up playing hockey and maybe a little bit of a version in roller hockey in the southern states.”
If you have made it out to a few floor ball games this week, you have obviously been impressed by the level of play. But you may also have noticed two very distinct styles of playing the game.
The first style is very obvious, it’s hockey. Give an athlete a hockey stick and they’re going to play well, hockey. It’s the level of hockey and the knowledge of hockey within your bones that defines your abilities.
Then, there is a completely different style being played, and it’s actually closer to that of, soccer. A sport that is understood by that other part of the brain. Depending on your level of expertise, you’re either a natural or someone happy to simply kick that ball around at a Sunday morning picnic.
“Our club played against a professional team a few years back before I was there, and the guys that played in the game said they were just amazed at how good the other players were. When you’re able to control the ball the way that professional floorball players are, everything happens so quickly, it’s really nice to see,” said Crawford.
For countries like Sweden, where floor ball is a staple, you’ll not only see a combination of soccer meets hockey, but you’ll see moves with the stick and with the feet that defy logic. They defy logic because if you did that with a pair of skates on your feet, the dance move would make sense, the difference is here, and you have to remind yourself, that some of these players are making these moves, in simple running shoes. Moves that Ovechkin would stumble over in his skates.
“At the highest levels, Finland and Sweden are the best, but the other countries like the Czech’s and the Swiss and the Germans and most of the European countries, they play it, and there’s a professional league in Switzerland, I know a lot of guys who played in the professional league, it’s a really good sport,” said Crawford.
Although Crawford has yet to use it as part of his ice hockey training, he says players who come from the European countries and grew up playing floor ball, can’t get enough of it, and it shows in their overall game.
“It’s like when I was a kid, I played a lot of soccer, I played soccer-football, I played a lot of baseball, a lot of basketball, and all those things, one sport leads to another, and one sport lends itself to the other in terms of the attributes that you have,” explained Crawford.
With there being no doubt that hosting the World Championships here in Belleville, Ontario Canada, will indeed help boost the interest in the game and perhaps lead to greater things on a professional level, Crawford says for now, it would be great if it made its way into the schools.
“It’s a relatively inexpensive sport compared to ice hockey, and hopefully it fills a void in the physical education world that is Canada right now,” said Crawford. “Floor ball is really something that is ideal for schools because you need kind of a gym environment in which to play it. I think the more you get to know it the better, the better it becomes known, and then the athletes you will attract.”
As a proud Belleville supporter, Crawford is ecstatic by how well the tournament has worked out.
“I’m really proud of my hometown for being able to pull it off, the organizing committee and the people that work tirelessly to get the sponsors to get this thing off the ground. To organize the volunteers, to organize the clubs coming in, I mean this is a huge undertaking,” said Crawford. “It’s great that they were able to pull it off.”
Crawford also stressed how important it is to properly thank the sponsors.
“I think first of all, you have to thank the sponsors because people have to foot the bill and they have to attract people who are going to help them to pull it off. The sponsors are such a big part of any worthwhile activity,” said Crawford.
Knowing that the Yardmen has been silent after their OHL team left, Crawford expressed how great it was to see the building active again.
“Belleville didn’t have its junior team this year, and people have been looking forward to this competition, and you can see it by the crowds that have been here, and the support that the tournament has had so far is just fantastic,” said Crawford.
As far as perhaps returning to the NHL as a head coach, Crawford said his hopes are always there.
“I’d love to be able to get a job in the national hockey league again. There’s only 30 of them and every one of them is great. There’s four opportunities right now and I’m trying to get into each and every one of them. Should I be successful I’d be really happy,” smiled Crawford.
