Former Penguins forward Matt Cooke finds his way in Newfoundland

Matt Cooke wears a lot of hats these days.

He’s something of a navigator, a nutritionist and even dabbles in human resources.

Such is life as a coach in the ECHL.

“As the head coach, I’m doing travel, I’m doing meals, I’m doing trades and lineup and roster and all that kind of stuff,” Cooke said by phone Jan. 23. “The amount of learning that I’ve been able to get over the past four months is astronomical.”

Cooke is getting a crash course on all those aspects of life in what was formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League in a place that is about as far east as one can get on this continent.

Newfoundland.

In October, the Newfoundland Growlers, the ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, hired Cooke, a former forward with the Pittsburgh Penguins, as the fourth coach in that team’s history.

That’s pretty late in the offseason — it was the preseason, really — to take over as a coach. But Cooke couldn’t pass up the opportunity after coaching at the high school level in Minnesota the past two seasons.

“This past summer, I put my name in for a few junior teams,” Cooke said. “Had some interviews. Came very close in Vancouver with the Vancouver Giants (of the Western Hockey League). A few days later, I just kind of realized I maybe wouldn’t get an opportunity this (season). I had put my name in with (Toronto Maple Leafs general manager) Ryan Hardy with the (American Hockey League’s Toronto) Marlies’ openings. Those were filled, and I didn’t get an opportunity.

“Then he reached out in late September and said, ‘I know you applied for Marlies jobs. Would you have any interest in having a discussion with our ECHL affiliate?’ My initial answer was, ‘Yes, I have interest.’ I think if you talk to him, he didn’t really think I would, but I did.”

Cooke spent 14 seasons in the NHL primarily as a bottom-six forward. A member of the Penguins’ 2009 Stanley Cup championship squad, Cooke lasted 1,046 games in the NHL.

While he typically is viewed through a negative lens because of the violence in his game (which led to numerous suspensions), Cooke was no dullard on the ice.

“He could play a lot of different roles,” Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. “Offensively, he had good offensive awareness and hockey IQ. He played (penalty kill). He played a defensive role, he played against other team’s top players. Was physical, in their face. He was a pretty complete player.

“I’m sure he could relate to a lot of guys as far as whatever role they might have on his team.”

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So far, whatever relations Cooke has established with the Growlers — based in the city of St. John’s — have manifested themselves into an 18-18-7-0 record, good enough for third place in the ECHL’s North Division.

Cooke never played in the ECHL but did spend parts of two seasons in the American Hockey League with the Syracuse Crunch.

“The biggest comparison from then to now is I struggle with (three games in three days), and pretty much every weekend, that’s what we do,” Cooke said. “Understanding the toll that it takes on players’ bodies and what Sunday looks like as opposed to what Friday night looks like is usually a difference. And not just from our teams but from both teams.

“So the product is different. Expectations are different. It’s a grind, and it was a grind when I did it and was one the main reasons of what was a driving factor of me not wanting to be there very long. Friday night in Hershey, Saturday night in Syracuse and Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia is a crazy trip. That’s an experience that I have that I rely on and lean on when we’re going through playing three games in two and a half days.”

Traversing between upstate New York and Eastern Pennsylvania is one thing. Getting anywhere from Newfoundland — an island in the Atlantic Ocean — to any other locale in the ECHL is another.

“To get off the island on a bus, we would be eight hours to ferry and another eight-hour ferry ride. Usually, our travel is (flying) through Montreal or through Toronto.”

The Growlers’ itinerary for a series of four games against the Norfolk (Va.) Admirals in mid-January sounded like something Del Griffith might have conjured up.

“We flew from St. Johns to Toronto on a Wednesday night. We packed the bus with our gear, the bus took off for Norfolk. We stayed overnight in Toronto, got up the next morning, flew Toronto to Charlotte, Charlotte to Norfolk. The bus was here to pick us up.”

Forget about coaching in Newfoundland for a moment. Living on the island nicknamed “the Rock” is a considerable commitment.

“It’s the most easterly point in North America,” Cooke said. “The time change is actually an hour and a half. They do their own there, they’re an hour and a half ahead of the Eastern time zone. It’s beautiful. It’s right on the ocean there. There’s a lot of history there. There’s a lot of (United Kingdom), British, Irish history there from early days. One of the kind of sneaky factors is the food is really good there. There’s obviously tons of obviously fresh seafood. Outside of that, there’s a lot of world-renowned chefs that have moved back to Newfoundland. There’s a lot of great places to get food.”

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Shouts to Head Coach Matt Cooke for his first win in charge of the ????#ChapterV pic.twitter.com/Hz9wGyqoht

— Newfoundland Growlers (@NLGrowlers) October 21, 2023

One adjustment Cooke has had to make is the considerable jump of dealing with grown men after guiding high schoolers in Minnesota.

“At the high school level, you’re still having some kids not sure whether they want to play hockey after high school. They’re a really good athlete, maybe they’re a baseball player, football player, whatever. The (ECHL) … the skill level and the ability to execute is way higher, the commitment is way higher because most of them are right out of college and looking to get to the next level, get to the (AHL) or play in the NHL.

“The other aspect is you have older guys that are grinding it out every day and want to continue in their career. They’re putting meals on the table for their family playing this game. There’s a lot more riding on each and every day with the players that I’m dealing with now.”

Cooke’s ultimate goal is to coach in the NHL in some capacity. Working behind the bench for an ECHL team in the middle of the ocean might seem like an odd route to take in that pursuit. But Cooke sees his current station as being vital to his ultimate goal.

“Just like the players that I’m coaching, you don’t want to be satisfied,” Cooke said. “You don’t want to just accept where you’re at. It’s innately in me to want to be at the highest levels. That said, I’m where I need to be. I’ve learned a lot.

“Even if I was hired as an assistant coach in the (AHL) instead of this, I wouldn’t have learned as much as I’ve learned. It’s been a blessing. It’s obviously been a whirlwind. It’s been a lot at once. Really had to spend hours and hours to really get my feet underneath me early on this season because of the timing of how it all came together. It’s been a blessing in disguise in the amount of stuff that I’ve learned.”