OverDrive - Hiller on Maple Leafs' head coaching role, the organization connection and the number one overall selection

Episode Date: June 25, 2026

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller joined OverDrive to discuss being hired as head coach, turning the mindset for the roster, the connection with the players on the roster, Auston Matthews' mentality for the team, staying with a consistent structure, the relationship with John Chayka, coaching a number one overall pick and more.

Catch everything soccer with Bell's game time bundle. Get 5 TV with TSN plus 5150 internet, all for $99 a month. Price guaranteed for two years with a two-year internet and TV term and auto pay credit. Visit bell.ca for more details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Okay, let's see if we can go back to the phones here. Here's the head coach of the Maple Leaf's Jim Hiller. You got us, Jim.

I got you, yeah. Yes. Great to catch up with you. Thank you for doing this. Hey. You guys got me. That's more important. That's right. You got you. You got me.

Exactly. Are you keeping up the day? You must be with everything that's going on in the league right now. What's it like from your standpoint? Head coach of the Leafs, one of 32 teams, but it seems like every team in the league is trying to make moves right now. There is action out there. This is great for you guys. I know we talk about this every year and there's going to be moves leading up to the draft.

And, you know, oftentimes it never happens. And now we have a year like this. It's pretty incredible. Yeah. But I have been a little slow on the draw. I'll be honest, because I'm wrapped up to my own thing here. So usually I'm a little more dialed into that. But it's been exciting.

It sure has been. And like you said, you get your own thing going here. You're back where, you know, you're very familiar. You obviously were a part of the staff for a number of years, and you're back in Toronto. And I heard you last week. I heard you again today speaking on the spirit of the team and the importance of that. And I'm curious if you can elaborate on that for us, Jim.

like how does the head coach establish the spirit of the team? Well, I don't know that you can establish it on your own. I think you just understand it and try to help along, try to do things in certain ways with the team or individuals or celebrate different moments or emphasize different moments. I mean, it really is. It's kind of a nebulous thing, but, you know, anybody who's played sports and a team level,

sports, you know, has had the realization at some point that how did we get here? Like, we were a good team, but I didn't realize we were this good. And there's something that takes over during those years that you get on those types of runs. And I would call it the spirit. It just, it just, you become bigger than the sum of your parts. And there's a special thing that kind of carries you through. And so that's really, you know, what I want to try to try to emphasize and try to work towards building with this team out of the gate.

Jim, as far as what the team needs moving forward for next season, as far as personnel, how do you, like, what's the most important feedback for you? Is it tape of last year, or was it people in hockey what they say about the team, or feedback from players as far as what needs to be happened? Like, what's the most important factor for you? And I guess the general manager on what needs to happen moving forward? Well, I mean, I would say all of the above. Like, first of all, you know, professional athletes had a lot of pride.

And this team has done, you know, very well over the last seven years since I've, I mean, two years, we were three years in the playoffs and two years to game seven, didn't get the result. So there's been a long string of, I guess, at least regular season success. And what happened last year, I think, you know, nobody feels good about. And so there's a starting point for, you know, a start. sure. There's a lot of players in the room who are well-established, you know, NHL players, you know, very elite in some of their positions. And you can, you can, you know, spread that through the lineup. You can talk about a Chris Tanna, who, you know, would be classified as one of those elite

shutdown defensemen. So it's not just the players you think about who score all the goals. There's a lot of players in there with a lot of pride. So, you know, I think that's a starting point for them without me at all. But, you know, I watch the league. I've been gone for a long time. You know, I've seen the ups and downs of the team. And so I just think that's something that we have to start. We've got to start from, you know, scratch with the spirit

and just build it back up. And I think that's what's so exciting to be able to try and do that in this market. Jim, you're familiar with some of the star players you mentioned. But you had them when they were 20 and 21, and now you've got Austin and Willie and John is, you know, 35 years old. You know, is it a different approach? You know, certainly the relationship is there, but is it a different approach now they're kind of,

we'll call them grisled vets? Yeah, I think it will be. But I think I go back to the relationship and that being critical, even though the approach will be different. And, you know, I've watched them from afar. You know, I've stayed in touch with those guys. I've seen some of their great moments. I've, you know, shot them text.

screenshots of some of the plays they've made where I've been impressed. So I think they just know who I am personally. So that gives us a running start. But there's no question. Their games have evolved and gotten to where they are now, and they have to continue. But I think knowing that we're starting from a place

of trust, I think that gives me an advantage in helping them to push and try to achieve something even more. We're chatting with Jim Hiller, the new head coach of the Maple Leafs. And you know, when you were here a number of years ago, Austin Matthews was not the captain of the team. He is now the captain of the team.

And I'm curious, you know, what you need from him in particular to get your message across and to establish, you know, the spirit that we continue to talk about here. How much of the onus, you know, begins with Austin and his approach? Well, I mean, I mentioned this before. Like, you know, first of all, everybody has to, in the NHL today, if you want to have success, as a team. Everybody has to check and work without the puck. It's just a prerequisite. It's too competitive otherwise. So if you don't do that, you don't have a chance. So that doesn't get a lot of people excited, but it is the baseline of any good team. Now, what I would say

to Austin and the other players on the team is when we do have the puck, we have to get really excited and brace and celebrate playing offense. We got to let the skill and these amazing players, the talent that they've shown us, creating some, you know, a lot of goals, not just highlight real goals. We've got to really embrace and celebrate that again. So we'll demand the part one, the baseline, but I think we really will try to emphasize and work on and maybe a better word is celebrate, you know, in different ways as a team,

getting back to scoring goals and being dangerous. and I think Austin is the epitome of that. So in terms of celebrating that offense, what do you mean by that? The way you utilize them, the way you emphasize the power play, who they play with, can you expand on that?

Like celebrating the offense? Well, it's all those things. It's all those things, but it's also in practice, it's also through our video sessions, it's in any ways that we can highlight and emphasize and show just the passion and the skill and the creativity required to score

those types of goals or create those types of chances. So I want to make sure that, yes, we're banging on our structure and our defensive game and our play without the puck, but I want to give equal time and equal respect to the great talents that we have and try to make it, you know, fun and exciting and a priority, not just to be good defensively. you have to be, but to score goals and to see, you know, guys kind of get that touch again. But I do agree. That starts with the power play.

I really believe that. I believe the power play can really help those players get their touches, drive the 515 offense, get them feeling good about that. Jim, I find myself asking this question a lot to coaches like yourself. Like, does it surprise you how often to hear yourself you just said the word structure and other coaches saying we need to get back to our structure in the details. Like, it just seems like, well, back in the days when I played, it was like you play this way and it's non-negotiable and now these guys seem to want to go off the tracks quite easily.

Do you not find that where it's like this stuff needs to be drilled into them almost on the daily? Yeah, I mean, I think it's certainly it's drilled in. And I think people understand it, but it's just committing to a day after day, night after night. And it's a drag. And I don't know at time, I don't know that, I don't know

that, you know, 10 years ago, 15 or 20 years ago, that it was as critical as it is today. Because today, because the other teams, you know, have pretty elaborate defensive structures that make it so hard

to create offense, you have to make sure you're matching that. So when you do create offers, or you have that opportunity, you don't need six because it's pretty hard to score six in the league these days. It might only get to three. So it's hard to get to three. So you can't try to get to six by giving up four or five.

It just doesn't work. So I think that's why you'll hear a lot of coaches saying that a lot. It's because just where the league is at, if you don't have that, you'll never outscore it. You just won't. And so ultimately you're going to be disappointed. Jim, do you think it's important for a coach to be working closely with the manager for not only roster construction, but the type of players that you would like to coach within your system and structure that you've been talking about?

I think it's more important than ever, and not just for that reason. I just think it's more important than ever because for me the manager and the management has to understand exactly the style of play exactly what you're and I don't think this happened necessarily before exactly what the systems are there has to be a review of course with the players but I think also management coaches regular review about how why and what certain players are performing and good discussion on that I don't think that was that was really that critical in the past I don't know when it's changed but I do believe now today more than ever that that group of people people, the coaches, the management, particularly the head coach and the GM, have to understand because I'm sure there'll be times when John's, you know, not questioning, but wondering why we're doing this.

I'll be very clear on this is the logic behind it. This is why. And so at least there's an understanding between both parties what's trying to be accomplished. And again, I don't think that was as necessary before. Today I think it's critical. When you say not necessary before, do you mean like the Leafs last season or the way the league is operated in the past? Yeah, I think the way the league's operating. Like, I mean, there's always been a level of that for sure.

But I just mean like it's that you're so in lockstep that that is just very clear. And then I think that gives the management a better idea of maybe the type of player to the earlier question, the type of player to acquire, why some players maybe are having less success in a certain style or situation, because these are the details that are demanded. So I just think it's really important that everybody is aligned with the style of play, the player evaluation. There's different ways to evaluate players nowadays. We're really clear on that.

There's analytics, which is one way to evaluate players. There's maybe coaches use a different, and I won't. say that they don't use analytics, but maybe it's done in a different way or the emphasis is on different types of numbers. And so I just think that everybody has to understand each other's point of view so that not necessarily that you're agreeing all the time, but you understand where both sides are coming from. And I just think there's a lot of information and the communication between the coach and the general manager is critical. With Jim Hiller. So you guys have the first overall pick tomorrow and John said today, you know, keeping the pick, there's consensus

on the pick. I think we all know who you're going to take. We know you're not going to tell us. But how does that affect your plan for next year? Where, you know, first overall pick, the hype, the market, you know, there's a lot that comes with that. How do you intend on coaching a first overall pick next year? And you can tell us if you want. Yeah, you can't tell us you're picking if you'd like, sure. sure well let's put it this way i mean i was here when we had the good fortune the last time we took a first overall pick and that was austin now he came in and he scored four four goals that i don't have to tell you the history um so i've had experience with that now you know every player every first

overall pick that rolls into town is not the same and we know that's either position or or size and strength you know physical maturity at that time you know they all get there but they get there at different rates sometimes. So we're just going to have to see. Like we're extremely excited. We know we're going to get a very talented player. And let's just see exactly where that player fits in. We want them to succeed.

But we want to make sure it's at the right pace and at the right time. We know it's going to be a terrific player. But let's just do our best to balance it. And again, I would go back to lots of conversation between the coach and the manager and players and linemates and teammates and just making sure that we're doing this together and i would say that was the case with austin back in the day uh we'll get you out of here with a question on uh you know filling out the staff what what type of requirements do you have for filling out your your staff um well you know i i'll take you back to lular amorello who's obviously a mentor of mine and lu

said it best, you know, it's just like a band. And, you know, you got to try to make sure everything's in tune. You can't have two electric guitar players. You can't have one, two guys on the base, you've got to try to make it balance itself out. So I'm going through that process right now. I've talked to quite a few people. I think much like John and Matt's, they were very thorough in their process. I think that's kind of an organizational model right now. And so they've encourage me to be that way, and I have, and we're starting to get there, but there's still some different ways to think about it. It's not really just black and white. This guy will do this, and this guy does this. It's how do people complement each other, my skill set, and how can I get

people to balance that out? So a long-winded answer to say, we're working on it. Okay, sounds good. Well, you got a lot of time. First game's not for quite some time. So welcome back to town, Jim, and best of luck throughout the summer and we'll catch up again in the fall. Thank you for doing us. You got it at any time, guys, and I look forward to speaking more with you. Absolutely. Jim Hillard,

the new head coach of the Maple Leafs. Close your eyes, and you can hear the entire world come alive. 2026 FIFA World Cup is on, and you can stream it all live on TSN radio. From the opening kickoff to the final. celebration every match every moment listen to FIFA World Cup on TSN radio is canada to the lift off available on I heart radio