Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning and president Trevor Linden listen as head coach Willie Desjardins answers a question from the media after taking part in a panel discussion on the team at the Vancouver Board of Trade on Tuesday. Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann , PNG

They had them at hello. As tough crowds go, guests at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon weren’t exactly the Los Angeles Kings for the Vancouver Canucks when team president Trevor Linden, general manager Jim Benning and coach Willie Desjardins came to speak on Tuesday.

As panel host Squire Barnes noted in his opening remarks, some of the female diners in the Fairmont Waterfront’s largest room had pulled “Trevor Linden dresses” out of their closets. Nobody, as far as we could tell, dressed to impress Desjardins.

That will change when the National Hockey League season starts.

Of the three men hired last spring to save the Canucks — or at least ensure last season’s disaster doesn’t recur — Desjardins is the one from whom we have heard the least but is, arguably, the most important in the short-term.

If you believe that the catalyst for last season’s base jump from near the top of the NHL was the hiring of former coach John Tortorella by former general manager Mike Gillis, then it’s reasonable to think the most important short-term requirement for the repair work is a coach and system that suits the players.

Desjardins, hired from Climax, Sask., by way of Medicine Hat, Alta., and Texas, really likes his players. He must, because he turned down the chance to coach Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins before accepting the Canucks’ job from Benning.

But those players haven’t had to play a game yet for Desjardins. They won’t even officially practise for him until training camp opens next Friday in Whistler. For now, everyone loves everyone from afar.

“I have no buyers’ remorse; I’m excited about being here,” Desjardins told The Vancouver Sun after the sold-out luncheon. “I’m probably more convinced. It’s tough to talk about it because I have so much respect for the Pittsburgh organization and their players. It had nothing to do with them; it had to do with my family and the organization here and being comfortable with it. I like it more every day I’m here, with the people I’m around, with the players I see.

“I know there are things coming up that will change things and it’s not going to be like this every day. But I might as well enjoy these days, and when those (tougher) days come we’ll battle through them.”

He knows the pressure is coming, and the difficult decisions that come with it.

After realizing his dream, at age 57, of becoming a head coach in the NHL, Desjardins didn’t get home much this summer. He said he played the nine-hole golf course he owns, Cypress Hills, between Climax and Medicine Hat, only a couple of times.

But he used a golf analogy when asked about the pressure he and the Canucks face.

“It’s kind of like golf,” Desjardins said. “You can look (from the tee) and see all the bunkers and you can see the big green. The bunkers are there, but so is the big green. You’ve got to focus on the green. That’s where we want to go. We can’t worry about the pressure. Yeah, it’s there. If we focus on that, that’s a waste of time because it’s going to be there no matter what we do.”

Desjardins didn’t mention as other worrisome distractions the water hazard, deep rough, thick trees, mosquitoes, crows, a mower two fairways over and that nattering idiot in loudmouth pants who insists on telling you how to hit every shot when he can’t hit any.

Well, just wait until the first three-game losing streak.

Although he inherits a team that was 28th in scoring last season and set a franchise-record low of 191 goals, Desjardins wants the Canucks to play an attacking, up-tempo game. The only Canuck who scored more than 17 goals last season was traded, although Ryan Kesler (25 goals) fetched a package of Anaheim assets that included Nick Bonino (22 goals). Vancouver also signed Phoenix free agent Radim Vrbata (20 goals).

“I’ve had teams that have always scored,” Desjardins said. “I think part of that comes from the style and allowing your players opportunities. I think we have talented players. I do. I look at the lineup and I think we have guys who can score. That’s what I believe — that we’re not going to be a team that can’t score. We have lots of talent, lots of skill.”

But do they have the speed for an up-tempo game?

“Mentally, if you’re sharp on your game — you’re thinking and you’re engaged and you’re excited — I think you can play quick,” Desjardins said. “I have a lot of guys who are real smart players, and I think we can have a real fast team.”

Earlier, he told diners: “This team’s makeup is exactly what I want to coach.”

That includes soon-to-be-34-year-old leaders Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

“Those guys, they’re not just great hockey players, they’re great people,” Desjardins said. “They will come through.”

But the Sedins will play a little less as Desjardins plans to use four lines regularly. The twins may still kill penalties, albeit at the end of disadvantages so they can attack the opposition’s skill players when the Canucks return to full strength.

Desjardins also plans to use two full power-play units, coached by he and new assistant Perry Pearn. Holdover assistant coach Glen Gulutzan, who coached the 26th-ranked power play last season, will guide the penalty kill. New assistant Doug Lidster will run the defence, Desjardins the forwards.

Desjardins said it is essential for coaches to believe in their players. He does.

“Coaching is more than Xs and Os,” Linden explained. “It’s the ability to connect with players and get players to play for you. That’s the real challenge in coaching — being able to connect with players and get them to buy in to what you’re selling.”

imacintyre@vancouversun.com

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