Newly promoted Penguins assistant coach Ty Hennes’ role will continue to evolve
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Through the first month of the 2022-23 campaign, Teddy Blueger saw one face more than any other associated with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ty Hennes.
After suffering an undisclosed injury during training camp, Blueger, the team’s fourth-line center, missed the first 15 games of the season. Much of his on-ice activity during that span took place before his teammates practiced as he tried to rehabilitate his battered body.
Those solo skating sessions were staged under the watch of Hennes, previously the team’s skating and skills development coach.
“When you first start skating, it’s only him out there,” Blueger said. “It’s tough to make a good practice out of a one-on-one skate but he’s able to do it with great variety and cover a lot of different things but keeping in mind the limitations that you might have when you first get on the ice. It’s a lot harder than people might think. He does a great job of keeping you engaged and interested and mixing up the drills but at the same time getting better and working on skill and trying to re-strengthen whatever your injury was.”
Hennes still has most of those duties but he inherited a new title Tuesday when the team promoted him to an assistant coach role.
“Any day that you have to be in the NHL is a great day,” Hennes said. “But (Tuesday) was great for my family. And I couldn’t be happier to be a piece to this puzzle for the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m grateful to (head coach Mike Sullivan) and the coaching staff for the opportunities they’ve allowed me to evolve into.”
Sullivan indicated Hennes will still inhabit most of his previous duties but that Hennes’ role has constantly evolved ever since he joined the team in 2018 and will likely continue to grow in different ways.
“He’s a really unique coach for us,” Sullivan said. “He’s tremendous at what he does with respect to skill development and things of that nature. That’s always been his job title with our group. He’s been invaluable in the return-to-play process when players are coming back off of injuries. He’s the guy that’s responsible for the on-ice component of that before (the player) joins the team. And I’ve never been around anyone that’s better at it than he is. And he’s got a unique skill set. He’s got a Ph.D. (as a chiropractor). He’s a doctor so he understands the physiology and things of that nature better than anyone I’ve ever been around.”
In addition to working with players rebounding from injuries, Hennes often worked with players in drills designed to improve even the most basic of skills such as shooting, skating and passing.
Hennes previously worked out of the press box and messaged coaches on the bench with any observations. That came to a halt when Hennes moved down to the bench himself in 2019.
“Just a tremendous skills coach but his role has evolved and he’s taken on more and more responsibility,” Sullivan said. “He’s part of the five-on-five pre-scout work that our staff does. You can see his participation in practice in the things that he does in getting involved and running drills and things of that nature. He’s behind the bench working the (computer tablet) during the course of a game.
“His role has evolved so much to the point that, quite honestly, he’s even more than an assistant coach. He does a lot for us, he wears a lot of hats and he’s invaluable for our staff. Our players have so much respect for him for what he brings to our coaching staff and our team. Above all of that, he’s just a great human being and he’s incredibly invested in helping the Penguins win.”
The Penguins, to a man, seem to be pretty invested in Hennes the person.
“He loves going out there early with us and he’s always staying late with us. I would say he’s the last off on the ice and first one on the ice every day,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “You can grab him whenever you want and (go over) things on the ice and he can show you video. Even though he got the (new) title, I feel like he’s been handling that responsibility for a while.”
“I’ve probably spent more time with him than a lot of the coaches probably by a lot,” Blueger said. “Just stuff after practice, he’s helped worked on little skills that maybe aren’t (obvious) things. All the time. I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with him after practice whether it’s wall plays or skating stuff. … He’s been great. I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s easy to work with.”
Hennes, 43, spent four seasons at Boston College at the NCAA ranks as a forward in the early 2000s then enjoyed a brief four-year professional career at the ECHL and Central Hockey League (CHL) levels before returning to school to pursue his doctorate with the intention of becoming a chiropractor.
Somewhere, his plans changed considerably. And for the better in his estimation.
“I had no idea that it would ever evolve into this,” Hennes said. “When I stopped playing, I went back to school to become a doctor. Six years is a long time and things kind of change along the way. I had started to get introduced into youth coaching in Dallas when I was there. Things just kind of evolved over the last 12 years in that coaching role. I stopped the doctor profession.
“I think that’s maybe where the enthusiasm and excitement is because I love what I’m doing. I made that decision a while ago. So, it never feels like work stepping out on the ice with these guys.”