Inside André Tourigny’s coaching philosophy for Utah Hockey Club

When André Tourigny calls members of Utah Hockey Club into his office, there are two different ways the conversation can go.

The bench boss is either talking to the person or the player.

It is at the core of Tourigny’s coaching philosophy and looks like it will lead Utah to its best regular-season record since he was hired in July 2021.

“You can be mad at the player. It doesn’t make him a bad guy. Maybe he didn’t block a shot, maybe he extended a shift — he’s still a great guy. It’s two different things,” Tourigny said.

“When I’m talking to the person, it’s important for me to show him respect and never attack his integrity and that kind of stuff. The player — there’s a business to be conducted. There’s expectations. There’s a job to be done for myself and for him as well. There’s no feeling there, that’s business.”

The balance of tough love (and the origin of Tourigny’s nickname “Bear”) has helped develop some of the Club’s biggest stars — namely, Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther and Logan Cooley — as well as the depth players who are still shaping their NHL roles — like Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan.

Tourigny spent 15 years coaching junior hockey before serving as an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-15 and Ottawa Senators in 2015-16. The 50-year-old was the head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Ottawa 67’s in the OHL before getting hired by the Arizona Coyotes. Tourigny has also been on Team Canada’s coaching staff for the World Junior Championships and World Championships — both silver and gold medals were collected.

All of these things — the blend between growing young players and having winning experience at high levels — made Tourigny the perfect fit for Bill Armstrong’s first head-coach hire as general manager.

Tourigny was handed a team that had missed the playoffs for eight of the last nine seasons and was undergoing a down-to-the-nails rebuild. Not the easiest of tasks. Now, as Utah has kept itself in the playoff race, the early lessons Tourigny preached are paying off.

“Player or coach – you’re always looking to get better every single day and he always harps in on that,” Clayton Keller said. “I owe a lot to him, definitely. He helped me reach another level in my game and believed in me and believed in our team even when we didn’t have the greatest roster and we were kind of in a bit of rebuild. He did a great job of maintaining our culture and changing the way we thought about things.”

Keller was entering his fifth full season in the NHL when Tourigny took over for Rick Tocchet (who is now the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks). Tourigny put his trust in his captain from the start and refused to place a ceiling on Keller’s potential — as is his rule for all his players.

“I remember my first conversation with Kells when he was talking about what he wanted to achieve. I was kind of like, ‘OK, he is much better than I thought or he wants it,’” Tourigny said. “That was before training camp started my first year. Since then, he hasn’t stopped exceeding his own expectations.”

That space Tourigny gave Keller to blossom into the All-Star he is today is something Guenther has also appreciated in his young career. The 21-year-old, who leads Utah with 26 goals, started last season in the AHL. Guenther played 29 games with the Tucson Roadrunners before getting recalled to Arizona. Once at the NHL level, Guenther logged 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) in 45 games to close out the season.

Tourigny always knew Guenther would eventually be an impact player and once he returned to the NHL roster, he didn’t hold the forward back.

“Coming into the league, I think he helped me a lot. He gave me a lot of rope from the start and kind of allowed me to be the player that I was,” Guenther said. “When I got called up, I played right away, I played good minutes and played on the power play. He gave me the opportunity to be successful and have the chance to stay up.”

While a different style player, Doan’s timeline has somewhat mirrored that of Guenther’s. The forward spent the first half of the season (28 games) in Tucson before getting called up in January. Since then, he’s held onto a consistent spot.

Tourigny wanted to see Doan’s assertiveness, battle level, speed and physicality expand in the AHL. He knew the 23-year-old would be back but he valued the extra time Doan was getting with the Roadrunners. It, evidently, has paid off.

“When I got sent down and had a couple good games down there he texted me and let me know that he was watching and to keep playing my game,” Doan said. “I think the support that he’s given me and the other guys in this room has been huge in terms of development and allowed us to grow into who we are and give us the confidence to play the way we want to play and not the way we think we have to play.”

Once an NHL role is earned, it is all about communication for Tourigny. It does not stop because Guenther has had an explosive offensive season or because Doan has found chemistry with his linemates. Things change and Tourigny has learned to keep an open ear.

“You always tell the player you have to leave your ego at the door. The first guy that has to do that is the coach. I’m not the kind of coach where it’s my way or no way,” Tourigny said. “Listen what the players think, what can be the compromise. Sometimes those guys are pretty smart as well. They have really good ideas. They’ve played the game for a long time.”

Kesselring has had a lot of talks with Tourigny this season. The defenseman had to step up to fill top-four responsibilities when the team was dealing with injury and now that everyone’s healthy, Kesselring has been asked to adjust. That is, be impactful with fewer minutes.

It is not exactly what a player wants to hear but — with the help of Tourigny — Kesselring started to change his mindset on the matter and embrace what his coach needed from him.

“You know he wants the best for you. He’s been very clear with me on that throughout this whole year and the ups and downs,” Kesselring said.

“Honestly when guys ask me about Bear, that’s one of the first things I say — he can be mad at you on the ice but in the morning at breakfast, he’s always going to say hi, he’s always going to be personable. It’s a really nice trait for a coach to have. Maybe you don’t get that all the time. It’s nice to know there’s two different sides of it.”

The season hasn’t only been a learning curve for the athletes. It is a new experience for Tourigny, too. Previously, success came in the form of developing the team’s young talent and building an organizational culture. Now, expectations are raised in a new market with fans who want to see a playoff berth in the near future.

What has Tourigny learned about himself this year?

“I learn every day,” Tourigny said. “I learn a ton of stuff. It’s a good question but I will need to put more thoughts to give you an answer.”

He remains — with 11 games left in the regular season — in the trenches of pushing his team to turn a corner; it, arguably, already has. Perhaps more detailed reflection will be easier to come by once the inaugural season is said and done.

Tourigny’s players, though, can appreciate the new heights they’ve all lifted each other to, whether that includes a postseason appearance or not.

“I guess it’s tough when the team was not as good and you’re out there coaching them — not going to win a ton of games. [Winning] is a new spot for a lot of us,” Guenther said. “Familiar territory for some guys too. It’s a good balance and we’re all working through it together.”

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