After speaking with assistant coach Louie Caporusso in part one of this Q&A series, it is now time for part two here at Goal Cincinnati. This time, I caught up with Cincinnati Cyclones first-year head coach Riley Weselowski. Entering his first season as a head coach after four seasons as an assistant with the Kansas City Mavericks, Weselowski is tasked with leading the Cyclones back on track after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Related: Q&A with Cincinnati Cyclones Assistant Coach Louie Caporusso
Here is what he had to say:
Goal Cincinnati: To start off, what really stood out to you about the Cincinnati job?
Weselowski: In terms of different opportunities to lead, I think that Cincinnati just has a lot of resources in place to be successful. We’ve got a major league city there, you’ve got a great affiliation already in place, you’ve got an incredible ownership group, you’ve got a team that also owns the arena, which opens up a lot of opportunities for different promotions or just opportunities for different fans that you don’t always have the chance for. There’s also a great staff in place that had a lot of success with promotional nights as well as the base of fans that they seek to take care of.
I guess the main thing is just knowing that you’ve got the resources in place to be able to build not just a one-off championship contender but to build a program that can continually compete for championships.
Goal Cincinnati: You spent four years as an assistant in Kansas City. What did you take away from that time, and how did it help prepare you to become a head coach?
Weselowski: In that role, you’re not just coaching hockey. You’re also in charge of all your travel, your immigration, your budget, your payroll, your recruiting, your player housing; every single thing that goes into building an organization and a successful franchise. I was very lucky because I had my hands in just about everything there, and so I learned a lot. I was also able to build a lot of confidence for when I wanted to take over and be a head coach.
Goal Cincinnati: After your playing career ended, what made you want to get into coaching?
Weselowski: To be honest, probably about six or seven years before I was actually done playing is when I started to think about coaching, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. But part of that was I knew I still wanted to play, so I was a little bit more selective and picky on which organizations to get into.
Kansas City was one I had my eye on for a long time. A couple years before I even got the job, I was down to the final two candidates for a role there. Again, I saw a lot of similarities: an organization with resources in place but not yet having the success that, in my mind, they should have had. That’s what drew me there, and it’s what I see in Cincinnati as well.
Cincinnati has had successful times in the past, but coming off a couple down years, I think there’s a great opportunity to build something solid and stable. Something that can be successful not just for one year but for years to come. It’s about building a foundation.
Goal Cincinnati: Looking at Cincinnati, what’s your overall approach to building this program the right way?
Weselowski: A lot of people say, “We want to be good this year. We’d like to win this year.” Of course that’s the goal, no question. But I always go back to “Field of Dreams”: if you build it, they will come.
The ECHL is different than a lot of leagues. It’s recruiting-based. We don’t get to draft the best players. You’ve got to build a program that people want to be a part of, and that’s done through how well you market yourself, your program, and the word of mouth from your players.
It matters how you develop players in Cincinnati, how well they’re taken care of, and what opportunities they have to further their careers. I’m excited about the short-term; we have pieces in place with our affiliation, but also the long-term. Two or three years from now, the players we’re recruiting will be making different choices because of what they’ve heard about Cincinnati and what this program is about.
He also noted the recent NCAA rule change allowing Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to play college hockey will help the ECHL. CHL players who aren’t ready to go pro can now develop further in the NCAA, so when they sign in the ECHL or AHL, they’ll be older, more developed, and more prepared.
Goal Cincinnati: Shifting to the ice, what kind of style of play should Cyclones fans expect from your team this season?
Weselowski: For me, it goes back to the big three: pace, predictability, and physicality. I think the two that probably excite fans the most are pace and physicality.
Playing fast can sound cliché, but we define it very specifically. It’s about recognition, how we attack defensively, and how we play with the puck. That’s how we create pace.
Physicality is different for every player, but it’s about fearlessness. Each guy has to find that level, and together we want to make Cincinnati a hard team to play against.
Predictability is key. It’s about being in places on the ice that are predictable for your teammates. When you’re predictable to each other, that’s when creativity and success happen.
Goal Cincinnati: Speaking of physicality, what’s your opinion on having an enforcer in the ECHL and on fighting in today’s game?
Weselowski: I think there’s a place for it in the game. The enforcer role is one you don’t really need until you really need it. It’s about having someone there to stand up for the players when that’s what needs to be done. If you don’t have it, you’re missing something.
But I also want a team with toughness across the board. A team where everybody stands up for each other and doesn’t back down. That creates a brotherhood in the locker room and a culture of accountability.
For fans, that’s an exciting brand of hockey. They get to see goals, saves, and a couple of fights on a Saturday night. If they walk out high-fiving each other, telling friends how fun it was, that’s what keeps people coming back.
Goal Cincinnati: Last season the Cyclones struggled on both the power play and penalty kill. How do you plan to turn those areas around?
Weselowski: I was lucky in Kansas City to have my hands in both power play and penalty kill. For me, the power play is about consistency and predictability. We want players to use their instincts but also be put in positions where they can succeed. We don’t want to change things up constantly. It’s about building through the year so by the end of the season, our power play is peaking.
For the penalty kill, it’s about pressure. It’s the same as in our own-zone coverage. We want to take away time and space. It might look messy at the start, but once everyone understands how and when to pressure together, it becomes really effective. That’s when it gets exciting. The top NHL penalty kills usually have that type of structure.
Goal Cincinnati: You’ve already added Louie Caporusso and Rob Couturier to your staff. What stood out about those two guys, and what do they bring to the table?
Weselowski: Louie was the first hire. As a new coach here, I received a lot of incredible resumes, many from guys with longer track records and more experience. To be honest, at first I leaned that way. But I kept coming back to the type of person Louie is. Take hockey out of it; the way he interacts with people stood out.
Through the interview process, I also saw his knowledge of the game. He was a high-end offensive player, very different from me as a defender. That’s a healthy dynamic to have. I know he’s a little green, like I was when I started, but I’m excited to work with him.
As for Rob, I think he’s the best goalie coach in the league. Very few ECHL teams have a full-time goalie coach, probably less than six. For me, that was a priority. Goaltending is the most important position in hockey. Great goaltending can win you a championship; poor goaltending can sink you, no matter how good your team is.
Rob also doubles as our video coach, tagging clips in real time so we can make adjustments between periods. On top of that, he’s just an incredible person. He connects instantly with anyone he meets. I feel lucky to have both him and Louie on staff.
And it goes beyond that. Chris Burke and Timmy, our athletic trainer, are two of the best in the business. I feel very good about our hockey operations staff in Cincinnati.
Goal Cincinnati: On a lighter note, what’s been your favorite part of living in Cincinnati so far?
Weselowski: I love the trees. It’s beautiful here. Everyone is so friendly. My son has been ripping around the neighborhood with the other kids, and he absolutely loves it. We’ve only been here two weeks, but it already feels like home.
I’m very grateful for my family. Moving isn’t easy, but my wife has been supportive through it all. We’re excited to be here and I’m looking forward to making the city proud by putting a good hockey team on the ice.
Weselowski added that the Cyclones will not be playing any preseason games this preseason. Training camp is set to begin the week of Oct. 6, so stay tuned for coverage on that coming soon!
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