Media Avail (7/11): Clowe

Media Avail (7/11): Clowe

Max hey Ryan Max Miller here with the hockey news just just wanted to to you know get your first reaction feelings returning to the Shar organization obviously it’s where you play the majority of your career but what does it mean just to be back in a different role well you know it’s exciting um it’s probably been a little over a decade now that I was been there as a player um been back a couple of times uh most recently for Patty’s retirement but to actually be back in your organization and have an opportunity again to make an impact in um on the organization and a place that you know I love playing and loved living and you know had a strong strong passion for you know the organization in itself so I’m excited to be back and um you know a lot of work ahead but I look forward to it well what’s your relationship like with Mike obviously to work together in the Rangers organization you guys play together what is your relationship like and how does that you know I guess cross over into your your work your colleagues and working side by side yeah I mean you know we played together for three years uh it was kind of my formative years in the league uh Mike was at that time you know a veteran had been around a while and I thought he was just I know not only for the team but for myself a really good Mentor uh me and him both at that time could tell I could tell he had a strong passion for the game uh and he was he was an emotional player and I was an emotional player and time at times Mike really helped me kind of control my emotions at times and really you know helped steer me in the right direction and there was always a lot of respect there and then Mike’s a really just a great guy easy to get along with and a real fun guy to be around so he fit in great with our group um and then afterwards you know we both kind of obviously I continued to play Mike spent some time away from the game I think with his with his family and kids and then when I got back into coaching in New Jersey couple years with John Hines who was a teammate of Mike’s uh in college I I left pursued another position and Mike took basically took my position there and uh you know after another couple years he he we both got hired in New York with the Rangers and a hockey operations adviser so we worked there for a year before Mike got the job in San Jose so you know we you know we’ve just had an interesting path coming together uh and now getting the back getting back San Jose we I think it’s something we’re really looking forward to and you know have that relationship that trust built and the understanding of each other I think it’s going to be vital we asked Mike uh what exactly Your Role will be kind of said you know overseeing a lot of The Scouting and some coaching sort of things um OB you have that coaching background and now moving into the front office what exactly is like your I guess what is your role as the assistant GM obviously Joe will runs the baruda what is your job GNA be or is it kind of a generalized type overseeing multiple things yeah well I think it a lot of it will be day-to-day stuff on the hockey side uh you know there’s a lot of things that go on dayto data you don’t always necessarily see from the outside obviously you see the games you see the results you probably see player performance but I think just the nuances dealing with you know some of the coaching stuff by no means am I looking to you know interfere with what the coaches are doing but you know I think there’s has to be some there has to be a good connection there and a good feel for what’s going on between the front office the coach and you know I think all good organizations are collaborative throughout that’s what we’re looking to do lead you know leading with Mike uh me me coming in helping out and obviously Joe does a great job with the Barracuda I’ll help out there any way I can as well and also with Tom and his role so I think it’s just the day-to-day uh obviously helping helping on the both both scouting and development uh I think that’s the one thing that was really intriguing about this opportunity was having the Barracuda basically attached to the Sharks and and you don’t get that you know you don’t get that opportunity especially for how for the young players to be able to you know have the management and the coaches and the staff around every day for practices and games and and have when you get the development staff in in town and and your development coaches there you can get to oversee and help them and go through their process every day so I think you know just having everything under wooden roof and having us all there and for me just the dayto day and really having a really good feel and understanding of the league you know not the NHL the AHL uh guy you know any prospects turn and pro any anything for potential trades or free agency uh so and we have a strong you know data analytic team there that also have an opportunity to work with so it’s uh you know it’s it’s a lot that goes into it and it’ll be uh it’ll be it’ll be a lot of work but it’ll be really enjoy enjoyment work all right thanks Ryan Shang hey Ryan congratulations thank you how did this come together did Mike reach out to you or can you just kind of explain that process of uh getting back over here to San Jose yeah I think it was you know Mike obviously had to reach out to Chris so I spoke with Chris Drury uh he said Mike had reached out about a you know a position and I was was not looking to leave New York I I love my time there ton of respect for Chris try and and admiration for him and his staff with Ryan Martin and Jim Sullivan who I work closely with so I was I was you know content we had a great organization great team was making a run in the playoffs and I just got a call from Chris and then you know he once I spoke with Mike and me and Mike went through it it was an opportunity that you know I just I couldn’t turn down it was too good of an opportunity too the people that I was going to get an opportunity to work with was uh too hard to pass that up and then just not only that the opportunity that Mike was going to give me to come in and and and make try to make an impact on the organization and you know work with him daily and be be out there daily and you know be boots on the ground and like I said earlier you know having the connection with the Barracuda right there was uh it was it played a big factor so you know when I was in working for the Rangers I would travel back and forth you know I was living in Florida uh and now you know being able to get out to San Jose on a day-to-day basis is something I’m really looking forward to and yeah you know it came together rather fast and within a you know a couple of months uh here I am did the PO position sort of solidify um like well like well before the draft were you involved in sort of free agency planning and all that kind of stuff with the sharks no I wasn’t involved in any um you know after July 1st obviously I was was able to you know then transition but up until the amateur side and up until the draft I had no input uh you know I was still was with the Rangers until the playoff playoff run was over and then you know afterwards uh I knew I was transitioning but it was no no involvement on either side the Rangers or or the uh sharks in on the draft or you know player acquisition at that time and then after July 1 I was able to to help out with the sharks so I was kind of just uh basically playing a waiting game up until then you know we knew that it was it was going to happen but I had spoken to Chris and Mike and we had a detail planned out for an Exit Plan uh and you know it went smoothly great great uh understanding on both sides and uh so once July 1st and they made an announcement right after that so that’s when you guys had your uh you guys had your bers out and spotted me up in the in the watching watching development Camp so yeah that’s kind of how it transitioned um what were your impressions of some of the players at developing cap from Ma celebrini to the maybe less uh not as a big name sharks Prospect just you know who caught your eye out there yeah well obviously you know the last couple years Mike and the staff have done a a tremendous job collecting asset assets and you know both draft picks the young players and then and then using those picks on some great talent obviously you know with Quint Dey and Will Smith and Cel and now Dickinson uh then other guys that are also in the organization that have play Pro last year so it was it was an impressive uh it was an impressive development Camp you know I think it’s it’s exciting for the organization exciting for the shark fans and you know as I kind of get to know these prospects and kind of done some homework on them myself after they drafted you know I think one of the things that’s impressive is the competitive level of the players and you know that competitive skill is something that’s probably going to be at the Forefront uh to become a shark so you know it was and the development staff to get to to kind of meet them during that week and get to know them and they ran a great development camp and uh you know their process was great so it’s just it was overall really good to see and uh you know that that’s important obviously development uh with where this organization’s going and with the young players coming in that’s going to be at you know the Forefront and it was great to see and you talked about the uh attractiveness of the of the offer of the position I I I suppose there just the offer of being assistant general manager that that was just that that title those responsibilities are that’s what was attractive right what that’s what stood out there yeah I mean you know a lot of I guess a lot of uh a lot of things that I was able to do in New York I’ll be able to do here and and you know but I’ll be able to be dayto day you know the dayto day like I said boots on the ground and and sometimes when you’re not there every day there’s things you miss and you’re just it’s just natural you’re just naturally not there you’re missing certain things that happen and you know um that’s probably one of the things and and this was a little bit of a family opportunity as well obviously living in San Jose knowing the area knowing a lot of people uh being comfortable you know living out there and my family living out there was a big part of it uh so yeah that that was and then you know it’s an opportunity it’s a step in the right direction like I said you know you know I kind of went from hockey operations advisor a senior advisor now to an assistant general manager position so it’s you know you’re you’re kind of kind of working your way up but I I’m in no rush to get anywhere really to me it’s just about you know the opportunity and and and the other part of it was it was exciting was you know you’re building You’re Building from the ground up in the last couple years the job the sharks have done and Mike’s done you get to come in you know with Foundation starting to be laid and you can you can kind of put try to put your fingerprints on a little bit and help you know help everyone help the staff and kind of do it together to build it up the right way and that’s you know that’s exciting you have an opportunity to do that and you know it’s been a lot of pain and fortunately for me I haven’t been there the last two years but I know the Sharks fans and Mike and his staff and the coaching staff and it it’s been you know it’s been tough that’s that’s a tough thing to go through it becomes a long season and they’ve done a great job weathering the storm and uh you know still a lot of work to head but I think there’s seeing some light here now at the end of the tunnel and I think you just uh alluded to it you are moving back to to San Jose then uh for this position uh yes yes I’ll be back yeah and uh one thing that Mike said when we talk to him about bringing you on is uh one interesting thing that stood out is at the end of your playing career that you got to be around L Laro a bit and he let you kind of just kind of be around and soaking that experience of of of being around him and being around that front office experience and Lou obviously is a you know has a very uh uh unique style of his own so anyway what did you take from from Lou in terms of of that in that time that you spent with him well you know I obviously get into Play Once L signed me I probably almost took more from Lou from when I played as a player and you know I think culture is a word that gets tossed around pretty Loosely nowadays but I really understood when I went to New Jersey what that what that meant with Lou and it’s you know being very clear very transparent uh everything’s in the Forefront nothing’s swept under a rug and every little detail matters and I really embraced that uh I could tell why L had success when I went there right away and then when I was done playing he was tremendous to me just let me you know pick his brain be around him uh you know see kind of his mindset on the day-to-day stuff but you know not only Lou you know Ray Cheryl came in and and I didn’t know Ray and he he gave me an opportunity when he didn’t know what he was getting really and he he let me come in that first year and just be around again be around him do some scouting I was around the coaching staff and John Hines basically at the end of the year asked me to coach so you know was Lou larell was Ray Sher was John Hines I got to work with Kyle doas and shell and Keef were really sharp guys in Toronto then then you know have an opportunity to work with Chris jury and his staff and Chris is you know outstanding general manager uh he kind of’s he’s cut a little bit from the same cloth as Lou is really you know wants to build up the culture and demands Excellence every day and now get an opportunity with Mike so I feel like I’ve kind of you know touched a little bit of everything far as different organizations and seeing how different people work and there’s no one you know one shoe fits all it’s you know you got to whatever the personality is and the mindset and whatever you you know whatever your expectations are and your standards are but it’s good to you know I found it very beneficial to work with a lot of different different people and different mindsets thanks a lot Ryan congratulations again thank you Curtis Ryan hey this is Curtis pasalo from the St mercury news thanks again for uh taking the time to to do this today um you know as your playing career was going on you ever think about you know being in a front office position or in a head co or a coach position as as you were playing was that something in the back of your mind at all uh maybe towards I shouldn’t say towards the end because I did uh continued to skate you you know I think it was the 2011 or 2012 whenever that lockout was I went to the San Francisco Bulls and to try to stay in shape and ended up ended up being behind the bench and helping with as an assistant coach so that was intriguing so I knew when I was done playing I guess I didn’t know what what area of the game I wanted to stay in but I knew that at some when I was done at some capacity I wanted to stay in the game and you know I really love coaching uh then when I kind of you know got got the job with the Rangers uh I really dug into that aspect and and that side of it and and no different than Mike did you know obviously Mike was involved in coaching as well and I think he really enjoyed it and you know that’s where I think we have I guess a unique kind of skill set of we we both played we’ both coached at the NHL and now we’ve both been able to be in a m ation and a management role at the NHL so I think we were able to check some boxes there and I always knew I wanted to stay in the game and you know I walk capacity at when you’re younger you’re not sure you don’t you know you’re just trying to get your foot in the door so uh I’m real happy where I’m at right now and this is uh this is an exciting time I’ve seen a couple fans uh post uh photos of photos with you as you were you know around Dev Camp last week what’s been what’s been the fact reaction from the Sharks fan based here since you’ve been back with the team yeah I mean I think it’s I think it’s exciting uh you know I like I said I I didn’t get to see because I was in the office most of the time besides you know being at the uh the prospect game there where a lot of fans came up and congratulated me and always been always been a huge supporter of the the Sharks fans you know they’re respectful uh they’re great fans in general just you know just from just from a support standpoint but they’re very respectful and very engaging and you know you enjoy talking to them uh so and then I you know my sister my mom my wife kind of tell me just some of their online stuff that they’re you know social media that the Sharks fans seem to be excited so uh you know I don’t I don’t know if they expect me to fight anymore but it seems like there that was one of their favorite uh parts of it so I’ll be a little more tame in this position I guess it’s fair to say you and Mike are on the same page of what you want the identity of of this team to be and you know we talked to Ty Dandrea this morning and Luke Conan yesterday and I mean I figure those are the type of guys that you kind of need to have on on any team how how valuable uh do you think of the the Sharks the type of players the sharks have brought in here uh these these last couple of weeks well I think it’s critical I mean especially when you’re going into a transition phase where you’re you know you’re going to have some some younger players and high-end players come in but this is a challenging League you know you know it’s it’s it even for the even for young kids kids that are are coming out of college or Junior that are you know high-end Talent it’s still it’s still an adjustment it still takes some time it’s a very tough League it can grind on you so to have those guys to insulate some of those young players is really important you know they’re they’re competitive guys uh if you you know but not only that if you look at a lot of the guys that are brought in this offseason one of the things that they all have in common is they’re known to be really strong teammates uh really good guys you know guys that I think you can trust to kind of on a day-to-day basis to be doing the right thing and and leading the way in the right way so you know I think that is uh something certainly at the at the Forefront Mike’s done a great job there uh as he’s kind of slowly trying to you know retool uh and get things going in the right direction so I think that’s going to continue to be a a uh strong emphasis is on you know I think sometimes you just say character but what does that really mean but you got to dig into the guys and and know what they’re all about and I think Mikey staff had done a great job of that bringing in these guys this offseason obviously I was with Barkley goodro in New York and he’s a he’s a high-end High character guy doesn’t get any better than Barkley and he’ll be great I think great fit into the room and exactly what the team will need so they’ve done a great job bringing those guys in and you know continue to do so so you maybe touched on this a bit earlier but what is it what was a typal typical day look like for you you know once training camp gets underway and you know the season gets going here what would a typical day kind of look like for you I think a lot of that’ll be it’ll just kind of end up being you know I haven’t been in this position before so I’m not sure exactly the dayto day how it’s going to go uh you know a lot of it I think will be based on you know where the team’s at where players are at and a lot of will be setting out kind of the plans for where you know our development team and where that’s at for the Barracuda and those players uh like I said understanding uh any decisions or any organiz organizational decisions on players within our organiz ation uh helping coaches having some input there just on you know my eyes and what I would see on day-to-day basis for how our players are playing or you know where they’re at mentally uh so you know as I get through it I’ll have a better idea uh you know sometimes it’s hard to lay out your exact schedule on a day-to-day basis but when you get into it you know you’re always kind of got something to do there’s always work to be done you know there’s things that happen every day in the NHL and day-to-day basis that you know come up that you’re not sure what what it’s going to be but there’s two three things come up every day that I’ve learned that you know you just got to be prepared to handle and I think with with our staff there and we we got a great I think mix of You Know Myself Tom Joe and gersy a great uh you know mix of knowledge there so I think it’ll be it’ll be you know I’ll be working with them every day as well we’ll all be in there we’ll be all be in the office so that’ll be exciting you I’m sure you’ve talked with uh Joe Thor and Patrick Marlo any other teammates you guys you know I guess it’s only or Mark Edward vasic and Lan ker kind of still with the team from you were playing you heard you talked with those guys and heard from them and what have they had to say about you coming back to the team uh well obviously I’ve seen you know I was with Patty and Joe development camp and reach Navi I’ve seen Scotty Hannon I talked to Smitty Mark Smith so you know anyone who was around obviously I seen and I haven’t talked to cooch or or uh pickles yet uh which will obviously I will you know want to get the camper for that so I look forward to seeing them and then obviously not a lot of a lot of new faces a lot of new people to meet once I get there uh I got to meet you know I think most of the staff or I guess half the staff is probably the same the off I staff and there’s some new fa faces still to be brought in there so I think uh once I get to training camp I’ll be able to see some of those you know some of those guys some of those players that I’ve played with and then you know meet all the other guys because really besides pickles Barkley and um coo I don’t think there’s a lot of guys here that I do know so it’ll be good to good to meet everyone what are what are your expectations for the Sharks this season well I think you know as you’re going through this you want to continue to get younger and you want to continue to get better that’s what it is I mean I to me that’s the process and I think we’ll be able to make some strides in both departments uh I don’t think you want to put a a win count or a placing the standings on it but you just want to be a team that you know you see a team that’s a little bit more competitive on a night toight basis um you know I look at Arizona when they were kind of the last couple years when they’re kind of go through it you know was always they were always a competitive team you know they’ve had they had off nights and sometimes you play teams that are you know on a different level because they’re on a different part of their their trajectory but you’re always in a competitive team and you know you’re in a game and you know I think that’s kind of that’s kind of the process you want to get to you know I think the coaches will have a really tight structure really detailed structure in place so everyone’s kind of pulling in the same direction and then you’re able to you know you’re able to be a tough out and I think that’s what the progress and the process is this year is just to be able to be a little bit more a little bit more of a disciplined team a little bit more of a harder team to play against and a little bit more of a uh a team that plays a little tighter a little more structure so I think that’s and then you want to be a little faster too so I think that’s kind of what we’re looking for um like I said not not so much where you’re going to place in the standings or how many wins you going want to have but you just want to keep chipping away and moving forward and getting a little younger and a little better the way the Rangers brought along some of the young young players like Le frenier and and hedo and these type of players is that kind of way maybe the Sharks could could bring along some of their young guys like a Smith celebrini and couple other guys is that kind of the a pattern that could be followed here do you think well after the year laughing your had you hope it you know you’d hope it but but that’s you know the year before that you know he was still finding his way and you know two years ago was was kind of the same thing so it was no you know it wasn’t easy you know he was a first overall pick and it took some time and it takes a lot of patience with these young players and you know I think hopefully that’s like I said earlier it’s a tough League I think there’ll be some challenges you know there’s no question it’ll be challenges because if it doesn’t matter who you are it’s it’s a challenging League you know and I think as you see those young guys in New York come along I think you know at times especially in that media Market there was there was you know there was getting some pressure on those guys to kind of start to you know to pop or perform a little bit you got to within your organization you got to have patience and trust and understanding from a development standpoint and there’s one thing I learned is development is an individual thing you know whether it’s Will Smith or celebrini or you know any of the young guys around the league they’re all different it’s really is an individ individual thing and uh you got to identify the strengths weakness this is what we need to kind of dig in on and and go from there and that’s what kind of happened with New York and you know laugh had a great year this year and uh but it takes time all right thank you Ryan got time for a few more minutes we’ll go to Shang hey Ryan just wanted to ask you uh the shark picture in your background why that picture what’s the significance of that picture behind you I don’t know what why that that’s my my I got this room that was you know sort of supposed to be a man cave or something she just got a bunch pictures and most of them are sharks so I think she plop that up there somewhere and uh nothing nothing real important behind it sh just okay yeah I wish I wish I had more for you bud uh well one more maybe you have more for me on this one uh how how was it like being just back with the with the boy so many familiar faces I mean just is it similar to being back in the locker room with jumbo with with reach all those guys or is it different now that uh you guys look different but yeah just you’re the front office now too like what’s uh what’s similar what’s different about that experience well I think it’s still the same in Far you’re trying to collaborate and trying to you know push the team forward and have have success together I mean that part is the same it’s a little different because you know you can’t physically impact you know impact the results as much anymore you’re not playing you’re not on the ice so you know that part early of my career when I first got out of the game I struggled with a little bit just the fact that knowing that you know you’re not a player anymore and you can’t you can’t do you can’t do it anymore you got to do it in a different way and try to help in a different way and so uh but having all those guys around you know the one thing I I know and the one thing I’ve seen when I was out in development Camp is we all have a passion for the Sharks you know all those guys live there obviously I I’m moving back there but those guys stayed reach stay Patty jumbo Navi like you know Hanner those guys all stayed in San Jose and they love the sharks they stay involved whether it’s development or you a guy like Scotty Hannah does some TV work uh those guys love the sharks they love the city they love the passion and also you when you have those guys around that are connected to the past and I know you know during my time there or you know even after when they made to the finals the team never won but it was sustained success you know you’re were able to knock on a door every year every year you had a chance you knew you were going to be probably one of the teams in a mix to to make a run out the cup and that’s where you got to get to I mean there’s 32 teams you know the league keeps expanding it gets harder and harder uh you know to sustain sucess success and actually win so I think it’s that’s the actual goal going out here is to try to get a team that you can sustain and having those guys around that are connected to the past I think I think is vital and just the passion they have and and you know most of them still work for the organization which which is great and and they don’t just come in and go home they come in and they put the work in and and they’re like I said they’re passionate about it so that was that was great to see when I was out there and you know reach has been there since training camp I told him I said reach you’ve been standing here talking to these young guys just like you know 20 something years ago when I came in and he was doing it so it’s you know it’s awesome and guys were you know guys just love to be around

New Sharks Assistant General Manager Ryane Clowe speaks to the media.