#004 Pat Mikesch - Toledo Walleye

Toledo Walleye Head Coach Pat Mikesch joins host Brad Rieger to discuss his career in hockey, the team's success, and his love of cooking.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to Holy Toledo Sports Edition. I'm Brad Rieger, and today we got a special guest. We get to connect with the head coach of the Foodal Wally, Pat Mikish. Well, Pat, thanks for joining us. And I know your schedule's crazy right now. We're right in the middle of a playoff run, but we really appreciate you giving us some time just to sit down and get to know you a little bit and uh just thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Yeah, no, it's great to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

So you grew up in Hancock, Michigan, Upper Peninsula in Michigan, Keweenaw Peninsula, correct? Correct. Right along Lake Superior. Paint a picture for us of what it was like growing up uh in uh Hancock.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Well, I mean, it's the most beautiful summers you can imagine, uh, with the canal, uh, which we spent a lot of time on as a family, and and then Lake Superior just being just outside of the town, and you know, you didn't want to do a lot of swimming in Lake Superior, but and then once the snow came. Yeah, I was cold. Lake Superior is cold year-round, so that's not you might go in for a couple seconds, but you're not spending hours in there. And and then uh you get to the winters and kind of turn to all the winter sports and and hockey being our family tradition was what I grew up doing. But there's a lot of skiing and cross-country skiing and everything that goes on up there that you know people find ways to enjoy the snow.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Uh Pat, how did you get introduced to hockey?

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Yeah, I mean, it was a family. I older brothers, my father had played at Michigan Tech, and so that's just kind of how we grew up was you know, getting to the outdoor rink first, and then uh once you were old enough to you know joining the association, we started playing, and and uh all my friends basically played as well. So it was uh kind of the pastime of the UP, I gotta say.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

And your dad uh more than played at uh Michigan Tech, he was a part of the 1962 national championship team.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah, that's uh Michigan Tech has three national championships. He was part of the first one, and you know, I think that's uh you know something that I probably didn't understand until later in the years, and you know, I'll still spend time. He never wears his championship ring, but you know, I know exactly where it's at, and and we've checked on it. And there's a lot of knee hockey games that were played as kids that the winner would get the ring. So it's uh yeah, he was he was fortunate to be part of a special team up at Michigan Tech.

SPEAKER_00 2:31

What role did he play in your development as a hockey player? And your your brothers also.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

Yeah, I mean he he coached me basically from probably eight years old until I got to high school hockey. And uh my younger brother Jeff would join us uh every other year and play with us, but and then you know, being ahead of him, my my dad kind of stayed with our group. Uh, you know, we had the the final year before we moved on to high school, we were able to win a state championship, which was big for the small area up there. And so we were uh kind of grew up with a bunch of really strong athletes, and some of them went on to play college football. I've got a Division I basketball coach out there. I mean, it was just a a bunch of kids that just love to play the gate different games.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

I have this vision of um Hancock being a bunch of outdoor ranks, maybe some pond hockey, maybe some um shovel off some Lake Superior ice and play out there. Is that anything accurate?

SPEAKER_02 3:28

Yeah, never on Lake Superior. The ice buildup would be ugly there, but uh the Portage Canal, there was a picture a couple years ago, the winds blew perfectly, and all of downtown Hancock and Houghton being split by the canal was being skated on by all the university kids and everything. I mean, there was just hundreds of people out on the lake, and that's the best I've ever seen. It was the coolest video uh that the university sent out, but we all grew up on our little different outdoor ranks. The Lauren Grove was uh because kind of our neighborhood rink, and hours and hours and hours were spent on that that sheet, and that was kind of how you grew to love the game, and you kind of you skated and hoping that the older kids would allow you to come skate with them and and get to move up a different level. And so that was kind of how we trained. And you know, we had our couple skates as youth hockey a week, but you know, daily we were on the outdoor rink.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

And all you have three brothers? Yeah, three brothers. All four of you played at Hancock High School.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, we all played uh at Hancock and uh had different runs. My uh brother Dave was part of a a state championship team for Hancock. I never got to win one of those, so a little jealous that way, but uh we all played. I I played up through my sophomore year, and that's when I moved away to play at some different higher levels of hockey.

SPEAKER_00 4:45

Right. So your sophomore year, uh your coach at Hancock was Rick Miller. Yeah, great man. And um the internet's great for research. And I found a quote that he had about your sophomore year when your team went 12-0, won the league, won a bunch of tournaments, and they asked him what was the highlight of the year. And he said the highlight of the year was when Pat Mikish had a breakaway and uh defender dragged him down, but he was sliding on his stomach and he still scored. He said that was the highlight of the year.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Yeah, it was it was a unique play. I I remember we were playing the Sioux in their their tournament, and and they were the top-ranked team in the state, so it was a big challenge for us. And we ended up beating them that day in their own building, which was uh exciting, and it was a unique play. I just ended up getting tripped up a little bit, and I don't know somehow I got my stick still in the puck at the end, but the Sioux went on to win that one, though, because in playoffs they knocked us off and won the state title. So that's my my last high school game was losing to the Sioux.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

So it must have been quite a play for the coach to say for the undefeated season. That was the play of the play of the year.

SPEAKER_02 5:51

Yeah, it was uh it was a it was a unique play. I think you you see those type of things happen different times where guys get fortunate that the puck stays on their stick when they're still sliding. Right.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

So that you're obviously uh an exceptional hockey player and you you go to uh Michigan Tech. Did you think of any other place? Because where you live, Michigan Tech is what, about 10 minutes away, right across the bridge?

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Four-minute drive basically to get to the campus from the other side of the bridge where I where I grew up. And and so it was uh with my father playing there and everything, it was always in the back of my mind that I'd love to play here. And but they were one of the last teams to recruit me. And and I think logically they just wanted to make sure I was ready for that before they would bring somebody in in that situation. And Northern Michigan had just won the national championship and they had recruited me heavily. And I also went to visit North Dakota, which is you know, got a great hockey history, and so I I kind of broke it down that I just wanted to go to a smaller school. Right. Um and it I my last visit I took was to northern Michigan, and I think my parents all thought I was gonna go to northern, and it was uh kind of a Sunday night phone call home, no cell phones back then, and I would always talk to my parents every Sunday after the weekend of the games and whatnot, and I just said I decided I'm gonna go to tech, and my dad's like, you know, that school's really tough. And I was like, Yeah, I know, I think I'll be all right though. And so kind of got to go home and play, and it was uh an amazing four years. I got to share three of them with my younger brother while he played there, and so we uh we had a we had a good little run there.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

And you obviously had a great um great career. You're you're on the all the records for scoring and assists, and you were uh um all academic three years in a row, so you took your studies seriously.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

Yeah, I yeah, I made sure I surrounded myself by some really smart people. Like I I always said that every person in Michigan Taco was a little smarter than I was, so I always wanted to make sure I was sitting close to them.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

And you got your degree in business when you were there. Um what were you thinking career-wise? I mean, there was a hockey possibility, but what were you thinking? If you didn't have the hockey back when you were 20 years old, what were you thinking?

SPEAKER_02 8:04

I say this and I mean it. I always want was interested in being a prison warden, and I don't know why, but it was something that I I had done a high school report on it, and I was kind of like that'd be kind of cool, you know, just uh oversee it and be in charge and you know, kind of run a cool prison rather than a hard ass prison. But I was it was something I thought about, and but I always had coaching in the back of my mind. Like uh that had kind of started when I was playing juniors in Des Moines and Bob Ferguson was my head coach there, and I just had so much respect for him and uh just always had it in the back of my head that if I got the opportunity, I'd love to coach.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

And you had such an exceptional career. Uh Pat, you got uh inducted into the Michigan Tech Hall of Fame in 2022. Uh what type of emotions did you have surrounding that?

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Yeah, it was it was cool. I mean, like I, you know, you you have a good career, you're excited about it, but you never went to Michigan Tech worried about making a Hall of Fame or anything like that. And so it was a huge honor to go back. Uh there's a my dad's at in it because of their national championship team. Uh I had a great teammate, Brent Peterson, who I played three years with at Michigan Tech, who had gone in a year or two earlier. So uh when I got to go in, I uh Tom Curley, who was a good friend that was uh head football coach at Michigan Tech for a long time, went in at the same time, and he's also from Hancock. So it was uh it was a special night that our families are actually very tight, our sisters are our best friends, and so we kind of got to go in together, which was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 9:38

Very cool. And obviously, you had an opportunity to play professionally, and you played in three different leagues, you spent three or four or five years in Germany. Yeah. And if you look back on your professional career, Pat, what are you most thankful for?

SPEAKER_02 9:52

Uh, the opportunity, you know, like he again you go in and my first contract was just basically a tryout in the American League, and and to stumble into a good situation where where I was able to stick in the American League for that whole first year and and uh learn a lot about pro hockey and and you know, and then after that I we got married that summer, and so then it was kind of sharing the travel and the decision making with Amy as we figured out what we were gonna do next.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

She was all in for the adventure?

SPEAKER_02 10:23

She was, yeah. I mean, she was working in a different hospital basically every year. So uh she was all about it, and we'd make our trip to wherever we were going to play that year and come back at the end of the year, and then she'd work at the local hospital back in Hancock for the summer, and and then on we were on to wherever it was gonna be that following year.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

At some point you go, okay, I this hockey gig's ending, and then when what was the the pivot point for you to say, okay, I gotta do something else besides my playing days are done?

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Yeah, I I like happily I could say I didn't have somebody tell me that I was done. I got to make the decision myself. Uh we still had time left on our contract in Germany, but the assistant coaching job came open at Michigan Tech, and we decided to pursue it. And that was that was deep, long conversations about are we ready to give up the playing days? And we just said for the opportunity to be at home in our own family. The kids were young, I think Austin was five, Callie was three, and Eli was on the way. And so it was kind of a a great time for a family choice to to make that change.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

And then your uh coaching career takes off. You do seven years of Michigan Tech as assistant, you do 11-ish years at Green Bay, uh, you have uh some USA hockey in there, some US 17 uh coaching, and now you've uh third year here at the which is Cludo Walleye. What what about coaching just really energizes you a passion?

SPEAKER_02 11:52

It's just being part of the game. I I that's you know, I've never had to leave hockey, which is you know special. Like I I don't feel like coaching is a job, like it's a blast being at the rink every day. And you know, during the summers I'm able to get away from it, but at the same time, whether it was in Green Bay, Michigan Tech, or here, you're building that next team. And so it just keeps your mind fresh. And you know, you learn from a lot of amazing people around you, you learn from coaches you coach against that wow, that I like how they did that. And so you it's just constantly evolving and and never feels like you're you're grinding at work, it's just preparing for the next opportunity.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Instead of me asking you what your coaching fossier approach is, let me approach it this way what are your non-negotiables as a coach?

SPEAKER_02 12:39

You know, I I think you have to have negotiables on just about everything. Uh it's just uh I I think I want people that are upfront and honest, and I always talk about having an open door policy. I want them to be open with me, but I have to be open with them, and they need to hear me. And I'm not a rah-rah guy, I'm not a screamer. Like I I I'll say to the guys, I I don't want to be an asshole, I don't want to be a cheerleader, I want to be your coach. And so for me, I I I need people that will communicate back to me, and I need to know where their heads are at. Um you're gonna have some guys that they're great because of how hard they work. And there's gonna be some guys who don't have to work that hard and still be special for you. And so I want guys who just love being at the rank, love being around their teammates, and you know, we we'll get rid of somebody that doesn't have the same joy of you know, the grind that we that we have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Um in an interview with uh Brandon Hawkins uh recently, he talked about when you approached him about being captain and what that meant to him and how you said it to him.

SPEAKER_02 13:50

Yeah, he I I I watched Hawk grow as a dad, like over these three years. And I I coming here I knew I had a special player, and we talked a lot that first summer and everything like that. And I and I think there was a time that you know he thought, you know, hey, maybe this will happen right away. And I I just felt it was important that we were together first and you know, that we learned a lot about each other, and you know, we I think we all knew at some point it was gonna happen, but he was surrounded by some really good leaders as well. And and I think I think once he understood that and we kind of went through that process together, I wanted him to know that you know we we got to the right time where it was, you know, it was definitely his time to have his plaque on the wall is one thing, but to be recognized as you know, not only an amazing player, but an amazing leader.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Right. Uh player development is huge, right? And you're balancing winning championships, player development. Um what what's the hardest skill to teach a young hockey player that survives on the team?

SPEAKER_02 14:52

I I I I find it to be the hardest thing to teach is the adversity. Like uh, you know, hockey, these guys have all been coached so well coming up. Um, whether they came from major, junior, college, they've been coached at high level. And so how I term my terminology, how I explain things might be different than they learned it, but it's a lot of the same core principles uh of what it is. But like the adversity of getting to another level or the adversity of wanting to be in the American League and they're not quite there yet, the all of those things are the hardest things these players go through. And you know, so you really want to you know have a path on you know how we get through this and and and why you're gonna be better on the on the back end of this uh rather than you know stressing on the front end of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:40

So the mental part is just as important as the skill part if you want to get to the next level or be successful at this level.

SPEAKER_02 15:45

Yeah, 100%. And the and it's no different than a guy in the American League thinking he's ready for the NHL and and having to be prepared, you know, properly for what that's gonna be like. And and so there's not a lot of hockey things that I sit there and say, oh, these guys aren't prepared for this, or I can't do this with this team, or anything that way. I mean, we're able to bring in guys who fit what we want to do hockey-wise. Now it's when you go through hard times, when you go through a player that's been on the power play his whole career and isn't able to be on the power play at this level, like how how we get that player through that and have them understand the the value that they bring to everything we want to accomplish.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

When do you know? Um, and obviously this is probably a joint decision with uh with the Griffins, but when do you know when someone's ready for that next level?

SPEAKER_02 16:35

You you you just see the repeated habits of what it's gonna take for them to have success at that next level. Uh you know, Dan and I talk on a regular basis, and he knows your world, obviously. Yeah, and he's very familiar with my world, and and I mean, our first playoff game, he's texting before wishing us luck, and he's tuning in, but I mean he's wants to know how those guys are doing. And you know, we had two players for us this year with Nolan Moyle and Chad Hillebrand, and he's sitting there watching them play with us, and he's like, These guys deserve an opportunity up here. And you know, when they had some injuries and the Red Wings had some injuries, they both went up there and and were successful for them. And so, you know, I Dan's watching it as much as I'm talking about it, just so that you know he's comfortable with any decisions that have to be made within the Red Wing organization to decide who's with him.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Game night, uh Pat, when you're behind the bench, what do you pay attention to the most during the game?

SPEAKER_02 17:30

Yeah, changes uh a home game. You know, there's certain times I'm worried about matchups. I'm worried about you know who I want certain people playing against. Uh, but then it could be the emotions of the game. And are we getting quiet on the bench and do we need a little bit of a spark and and everything that way? But they it it could be as simple as we're just not skating tonight, and we got to find a way to get to that. And you know, we're talking about how we're gonna get a little bit more aggressive and everything. And even though we're saying we're gonna get more aggressive, we want to be what we weren't we're not being aggressive enough right now, is basically why I'm saying we need to get more aggressive. And and so you're you're constantly monitoring the emotions, the the pace of the game, the puck management of the game, how we are playing to our expectation. And you know, so you're you're feeling out process all the time. Brent Bain and I are kind of in each other's ears the entire game. Like if he's sensing something or if I'm feeling it. Um, you know, I had Alden here for the two years uh handling the defense, and now Chaz is down there. So, you know, if I'm seeing something that I we want to be aware of for our defenseman, you know, I want Chaz to deliver that message, but I need to get down there and make sure he hears it, you know, from me. And you know, but there's there's a million things going through my head during a game, and most of the time I'm telling myself just stay calm and let them handle it.

unknown 18:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:56

Analytics is a big part of game. For you, what what do analytics and stats play into your pregame and in-game decisions? Or is there do you rely more on your experience and your instinct and gut?

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Yeah, we we talk a lot about our segments, and so we were constantly checking our seven-game segments on you know how we did analytically. Uh, I think one game offs are not going to give us the answer, uh, but we can get a pretty clear message through a seven-game segment. We talked to the players about, you know, where our power play percentage, penalty kill percentage, how many shots we are producing, how many shots we are attempting, how our ozone uh possession time is, which is a huge thing in my head. If I can get our ozone possession over 11 minutes in a game, we've had a really good game. And so that means we're making them defend. And that ozone possession, it's only on our stick, and that's a long defending for our opponent. And so, you know, when we get down into that seven, eight minutes of ozone possession, we were chasing a game and we weren't having the puck as much as we want. So there's different numbers that mean a lot to me, but I really try never to measure it in the one game segment, but rather in our seven-game segments.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Referees. Part of the game, right? How do you develop a productive relationship with the ref?

SPEAKER_02 20:16

Well, I think I I have to have constructive conversations whenever I am going to have a conversation. I I I I'm a fairly mild-mannered coach. Uh very few times do I get animated or you know, I would say aggressive with the conversation. I just and I feel anytime I start to get loud, my players start to get loud. And so I just want to try to keep it calm, keep it constructive. I don't want to have them over multiple times during the game, but if there's a time that you want to get a message through that, okay, I've seen this a couple times now. I think if it's the first time I'm having a referee over and maybe he's had me for three games, he might be a little bit more willing to. You know what? Pat might have a point here. And so I uh I respect what they do. I I would never want to be in that profession myself, and uh our sport doesn't exist without him. So we better show some appreciation sometimes too.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

What would your expectations be? What what's a good ref, I guess, profile for you from a coach's standpoint?

SPEAKER_02 21:16

You know, I I think anytime I can have a referee that I feel is communicating with the players and keeping the game moving, uh just has that ability to just keep aflow. And you you sometimes you feel referees are stuck and they're having conversations with people nonstop. It just slows down the pace of the game. And most of the time I think that's a little sign of immaturity on that referee that he's not confident enough to start end a conversation. Not like you can have a three word conversation and be like, No, I saw it differently. That's all they have to say sometimes, and they move forward. And so there's some really good ones in our league that you know I just think that by the time we get deep into the playoffs and see it to last. Couple years and the top guys are working, uh, you really see that professional level that gets raised, right?

SPEAKER_00 22:07

Um the bank tank. Yeah. Coaching. Give a coach's perspective. What it's like to coach at the Huntington Center, especially during the playoff time.

SPEAKER_02 22:18

Yeah, it's a it's a huge advantage. Uh the emotions that come from the stands to the bench, to the players, it's it's different than anywhere else in this league. And Derek said it to me, Lalan, before I got here. He said it's gonna be louder than just about every NHL rink. And you kind of think back and you're like, really? And the first game I was standing on that bench, I was like, this place is special. And that was an opening night, which is like that playoff mentality kind of. Uh, but it just our we have very knowledgeable hockey fans, and they feel the momentum of the game, and they when they see us getting our offensive chances and we're generating, they're on their toes, and you can just feel it build uh to the point where a big goal is scored, uh, Milney's goal in the first game of the playoffs. I mean, the the roof just about came off. Right. And and then Hausinger sticking up for himself and teammates later in that game, it g the emotions are real, and you know the players sense it, and and I they never get down on the guys, they kind of just build more energy until it's uh we do something that they like.

unknown 23:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

All right. The last two questions here, Pat, are is uh coach outside of the rink, okay? Yeah. So in a previous conversation we had, I learned that you are um really into cooking. And eating. And eating. So the cooking part, where when did you develop a like for that?

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Uh COVID was probably made it extreme. And my wife works in infection prevention, and she was working 18 hours a day. It was insane what she was going through. And we had the college kids home, the high school are still there, and they needed to be eating, and so every night they would pick what they wanted the next day, and whatever it was, I would find a recipe and find a way to get it done. And we were probably spending too much money on food during that time, but it got me out of the house every day. I'd get to go to the grocery store with my mask on and come back and and cook for the kids that night. And that was when I started trying a bunch of different things, and and now I still love doing it and trying to find ways to cook different seafoods and and different things that you know we all enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

All right, so let's put together the perfect meal. If you have people that are coming over that you care about, what would be the appetizer, what would be the main dish, what would be the side dish, and what would be the desserts?

SPEAKER_02 24:52

Yeah, it'd probably be the I'll do it my daughter's visiting. Uh Callie Ann's in town. We're probably gonna have some crab cakes or scallops for the appetizer, uh, rack of lamb for dinner, uh, and I don't do any form of dessert, so I'm going to the store to get that done. And then some kind of uh asparagus or some kind of carrots that are gonna get cooked up, and normally just a simple potato or something along those lines would make Callie happy.

SPEAKER_00 25:23

But that's a legit meal right there.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah, we try to spoil her. She's uh the princess of the family, so we've got to take care of her.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

Last one, coach, really is about family. I know you're very family-oriented, it's an important aspect of who you are. Tell us about your family. You've mentioned a couple here.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

Yeah, I mean, Amy and I have been married 20, oh, I'm gonna get this wrong. 27 years now, I think. And Austin uh is working. Uh he's living in Green Bay. Uh, he actually works for his old high school hockey coach, who's a great person. And uh he's been back in Green Bay now after graduating from Wisconsin, I think, for three or four years now. And uh we see him a tender in the summer. He still plays a lot of hockey. Uh, great golfer. Once had two hole in ones in the same round. Uh and then our daughter Callie Ann just got engaged, is uh also living in Green Bay. She's a physician's assistant, and so she'll be getting married next summer. And then Elliot Eli, our youngest, is a freshman at Wisconsin Superior, where he's playing hockey now.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Very cool. How does being a husband and a dad, how does that influence who you are as a coach here of the Twitter Wallace?

SPEAKER_02 26:44

You know, our time in both Michigan Tech, Green Bay, when the kids were younger, I always loved having the kids around the rink. And I think they got to see me as a person, all my players. Uh, you know, they I probably a little bit more relatable uh than just being that coach that only talks hockey. And so I think that's why I've always tried to bring that, you know, around. Amy's around the the office a ton on game nights. The players all know who she is, and you know, it uh you know, she's a fan at times, but at the same time, she just you know loves being around, meeting the girlfriends, meeting the wives, and and so we we always want to be relatable that way, that uh you know, we're we're no different than who they were. Yeah, very cool.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

And this has been a great conversation, Pat. And I really thank you for just being so open and just being so genuine and being a great representative for the walleye organization, the city of Toledo in hockey.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Yeah, I I say it all the time. I just you know, I love being here. We I I think uh we have we try to build a team kind of that reflects this community and is fun to be around and has a great energy to it. And I've uh I've loved living downtown here and just being able to wander around and walk around the ballpark and and do all the things that make this place special. That's great.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Good luck in uh in the playoff run and come back and see us again, okay?

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Yeah, hopefully when we're showing this, we're on a good little run. There you go. Thank you.