EP.52 - Nolan Pratt - Colorado Avalanche Asst. Coach

Nolan Pratt had a 9 season, 592 game NHL career as a "stay at home" defenseman. If we count play-off games, Nolan totaled 630 career games. And Nolan scored a grand total of 9 goals.

Nolan shares how at the start of his career, while in the AHL, he battled with his identity. He wanted to be offensive. He thought scoring points was the only way to get noticed and receive the opportunity in the NHL that he wanted.

However, not everyone is meant to score points at the NHL level and Pratt decided to embrace what he was - a solid, dependable defender.

That choice not only solidified himself as a NHL regular, it also earned him two time Stanley Cup Championships. The first in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche and the second in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nolan got in to coaching after his retirement as a player and found joy in supporting players in the AHL make their way to the Show or establish successful pro careers. Pratter earned his promotion to the NHL for the 2016-2017 season with the Colorado Avalanche and he hasn't looked back since.

Nolan is responsible for the defensive pairings and the penalty kill units, where Colorado has been among the league leaders the past couple seasons.

In this conversation we cover a lot of great topics, like how to parent an aspiring athlete with big dreams, coachability, passion, the skill of self-assessment and much, much more.

Enjoy the conversation with my former Bantam teammate, Nolan Pratt.