Dallas Eakins says it in a commanding but calm tone. "We dont coach teams, we coach individuals." They are words to live by for Eakins and the philosophy has earned him his first NHL head-coaching job with the Edmonton Oilers. Eakins isnt alone in the individual approach. The 46-year-old, who got to this level thanks to his success with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Marlies, is part of a new breed of coaches who believe communication with players is key to getting the most out of them. Call them players coaches -- like Dan Bylsma in Pittsburgh or Adam Oates in Washington. Along with Eakins and many others, theyre setting a new trend, taking a different approach than coaches did even 10 years ago. "I think a lot of times it has to do with almost job survival," Montreal Canadiens forward Jeff Halpern said. "Most coaches arent going to change their personalities for anything. But at the same time, you have such different types of athletes now and because the money is so great for young kids growing up, a lot of times you have to find ways to communicate with people." Thats not to say gruff coaches like Mike Keenan, John Tortorella, Lindy Ruff and Peter Laviolette cant communicate. Ruff spent 15 seasons in charge of the Buffalo Sabres and is considered a favourite to land another job soon. But coaches need to evolve along with the players, says Islanders forward Brad Boyes. "I think players are different the way you come up now," he said. "It used to be to yell and scream would get the best out of guys, thats the way it was because thats the way they had always been. Nowadays theres so much more involved. Agents are involved at young ages, parents are very involved at young ages. I think the kids are just brought up differently. You try to talk to them through adversity (rather) than trying to yell and scream to get the best out of them." Its a trend that began before most of these coaches even considered their next steps after playing. During his 19-year career that spanned from the 1980s into the 2000s, Oates didnt like being yelled at. As he and others from the same generation step into coaching, those experiences have shaped their styles. "Theres no perfect animal. I just really feel that if Im not happy with a guy, I dont have to yell at him to let him know," Oates said during the regular season. "I can talk to him. Hes still a pro. Youve got to be a pro. Thats what we are. Were pros now, and its a different game than before." Oates contemporaries include Kirk Muller of the Carolina Hurricanes, Kevin Dineen of the Florida Panthers, Peter DeBoer of the New Jersey Devils and Dave Tippett of the Phoenix Coyotes. And Eakins, who learned from the late Roger Neilson that he would have to make his mark as a coach because he "wasnt a very good player." Whether or not a coach was a good player doesnt necessarily matter, though it doesnt hurt. Islanders forward Keith Aucoin played with the Marlies during the NHL lockout and cited Eakins playing career as one reason hes able to get messages across so effectively. "He knows when to get in somebodys face and he knows when a teams going through a tough stretch or a few tough games that it happens," Aucoin said. "He was so knowledgeable of how hard the game is and he knows what to do." Aucoin said Eakins never yelled at him, but that was more because he was playing well. Players dont mind the tough love approach on occasion, he said, as long as theres some meaning behind it. "I dont think it matters what approach you take, as long as the players respect the reasoning behind it and the hockey smarts behind it," said Halpern, who most recently played for Michel Therrien in Montreal and Tortorella in New York. "If youre ranting and raving for no reason, players tend to tune you out right away. But if youre smart about what youre saying, theres a purpose and players are able to kind of look at it and see that theres a purpose behind it and that it works, players will respond to it." Toronto defenceman Jake Gardiner, who played for Eakins with the AHL Marlies, said Eakins strength is being approachable to his players. "If you want to talk to Dallas, hes not a very hard guy to approach and thats what makes him so good," Gardiner said Tuesday from Campbellville, Ont., where he was the drawmaster for the $1-million North America Cup harness race. "Guys are willing to go into him and hes accepting to that. "Hell tell you exactly what you need to work on or what youre doing well and to keep doing that. Most of the time hell be positive and when he has to be hell get on you for it." Halpern pointed out that even as Tortorella was combative with media members and stern with players, he wouldnt hesitate to be direct with his criticisms. Same goes for Therrien. "Sometimes its great when coaches are able to kind of express what theyre thinking because as players a lot of times youre left to make it a guessing game," Halpern said. For Eakins players, theres no guesswork. Aucoin recalled his first meeting with Eakins and the simple message that he wouldnt treat the 34-year-old veteran any differently than his younger teammates like Gardiner and centre Nazem Kadri. Getting a lot out of those young players played a role in Eakins getting his first NHL head-coaching gig, Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish said. In hours-long interviews with Eakins, it was clear he was suited to run a team, MacTavish added. Eakins makes no secret of how he views his job. "People always ask about coaching the team and I correct them very quickly: We coach 23 to 25 individuals and its an interesting job," Eakins said last week at the OHL awards ceremony in Toronto. "These individuals are delicate pieces of a machine, of a big engine, and they all need to be treated differently and handled with different care. A coachs job is to get to these individuals, find out whats happened in their past, whats going on in the present and where are we going to take these young men in the future." In the NHL, some are not young men. Some are grizzled veterans with more than Eakins 120 games of experience. But thats where Eakins approach proves valuable. Citing Eakins words, Dale Hunter of the London Knights emphasized that coaching is coaching no matter how old players are. "They all want to be on the first line, they all want to be on the first power play," Hunter said. "Its like, How are you going to get there? How are you going to stay there? Its trying to get them better to certain levels. Thats why you win." Theres nothing set in stone that only player-friendly coaches can win. Far from it. But as the league gets younger, progressive, less-aggressive coaches are enjoying more success. "I think societys changed where you talk it out," said Hunter, who coached the Capitals for the bulk of the 2011-12 season. "Youve got to talk to the players a lot more and communicate with them. a Now its more teaching, communication, fundamentals." In junior and then in the AHL, where Eakins built his reputation behind the bench, much of the job is teaching. In the NHL, thats only part of the complex list of responsibilities, which includes managing superstar egos. Of course that only accentuates the importance of individual coaching, which could be vital to Eakins success in Edmonton. "I think Dallas said it best, youre coaching individuals, its about finding how to get best out of every individual," Boyes said. "Thats what good coaches now are trying to do." -- Canadian Press sports reporter Dan Ralph in Toronto contributed to this report. Design T Shirt Cheap . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. David Beckham England Jersey Youth . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. http://www.worldcup2018jerseysengland.com/jersey-trent-alexander-arnold.html . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Kyle Walker England Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Harry Kane Jersey England . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. The Bottom 10 inspirational thought of the week:Maybe its been crazy and maybe Im to blame But I put my heart above my head Weve been through it all and you loved me just the same And when youre not there I just need to hear...Hello, my friend, hello Its good to need you so Its good to love you like I do And to feel this way When I hear you say, hello...-- Hello Again by Neil DiamondIt was July 4 and I was sitting on the beach with my stack of college football preseason magazines. You know the ones. As I devoured them page by page a steady stream of foot traffic trucked by back and forth, ignoring me as I ignored them.Then a guy in a Roll Tide tank top stopped and shouted. Hey, man. Ive been walking by here all week and Ive seen you reading those magazines every day! But youre always reading the back pages. I aint seen you looking at the front of one of them yet. What the hail are you doing?!Research, I told him, flipping my Lindys around to reveal the page I was reading, the one with the corners folded over, highlighter marks all over it, and a big photo of Kansas safety Fish Smithson. Rock Chalk, son.Listen, any schmoe can start up in the high rent end of a magazine that proudly proclaims WE RANK ALL 128 FBS TEAMS! But here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located in the storage room where Paul Finebaum stocks the Turtle Wax for his head, we believe in starting with team No. 128 and climbing our way up.Its like Bruce Wayne when he had to get out of that cave prison with a broken back. Its excruciating. But did you see that look on the Dark Knights face when he finally emerged? Sure, he had no idea where he was and still had to travel thousands of miles to get back to Gotham City only to have a weird fight with an unintelligible bad guy, get stabbed in the ribs and die in a nuclear blast ... but hey, he still looked relieved, right?Over the weekend you may have recognized that same look on the faces of UCF, Texas State, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana-Monroe and, yes, Kansas. All were contenders for the 2015 Bottom 10 crown and all emerged in 2016 as winners. We certainly saw that look on the faces of the Jayhawks fans, who stormed the field after the teams first win in 15 games. Sure, it was against Rhode Island, a bad FCS school. And sure, they still have to go to Memphis, Texas Tech, Baylor and Oklahoma all before Halloween. But hey, they still looked relieved, right?Anyway, like Neil Diamond dialing the phone creepily at 2 a.m., were glad to have them back on the line as we emerge from the darkness of summer.With apologies to Yussel Rabinovitch and Steve Harvey, heres the first Bottom 10 of the 2016 season.1. Huh-why-yuh (0-2)Hawaii made a 10,000-mile round trip to lose to Cal 51-31. Then Hawaii made a 9,000-mile round trip to lose to Michigan 63-3. If my math is right -- and it rarely is -- the Rainbow Warriors have traveled 19,000 miles to become the nations first 0-2 team. In related news, on Sunday I ran around my house 40 times in 100 degree heat and then had my wife hit me in the face with a shovel.2. North Texas Forty (0-1)For all of the talk of the Greatest Opening Weekend Ever and the pats on the backs of the folks in Atlanta, Green Bay and Arlington for putting together great early season matchups, we here at Bottom 10 HQ are feeling a little slighted. We worked hard to get this earliest-ever Pillow Fight of the Week on the calendar between North Texas and SMU, both of whom finished last year in the top bottom six of the Bottom 10. And while Jerry Jones and Chick-Fil-A may have offered up millions of dollars to book their teams, we simply offered a promise to the winner of our game that they would receive: (A) A free pass from our Week 1 rankings and (B) a sandwich bag full of tokenss from Chuck-E-Cheese.dddddddddddd So, if you need Chad Morris, hell be at the Skee-Ball pit.3. Charlotte 0and1ers (0-1)Speaking of great matchups, we here at Bottom HQ are already lobbying the producers of College Gameday to do their Week 3 show from Eastern Michigan at Charlotte. And by lobbying I mean being hung up on, having my Twitter blocked and having all emails from my address flagged as spam.4. Warshington State (0-1)What was it Crash Davis said to Nuke Laloosh? Your shower shoes have fungus on them. Youll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, youll be classy. If you win 20 in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the pressll think youre colorful. Until you win 20 in the show, however, it means you are a slob. Somewhere someone is saying to Mike Leach, Your opening weekends have FCS losses on them. Youll never make it to the bigs with FCS losses on your opening weekends. Think classy, youll be classy. If you beat an FCS team on opening weekend, you can talk like a pirate and quote Geronimo and the press will think youre colorful. Until you beat an FCS team on opening weekend, however, it means you are weird.5. S-E-C! S-E-C!Maybe you heard, but the conference had an interesting weekend. In all fairness, five of the seven teams that lost were arguably the five teams expected to be at the bottom of the league standings and the ones really locked down the years first Covered Fifth Spot. But it wasnt so much that they lost. It was how they lost. Just like it wasnt so much that the other teams won. It was how they won. With the exception of Alabama, the victorious teams and their fans all looked like they were playing and watching their games after a colony of fire ants had been dumped into their pants.6. Buffalo Bills, er Bulls (0-1)Not only was this the first time that Albany defeated Buffalo in a non-Division II game, it had to be the only time that a Great Dane ever beat up a Bull.7. New Mexico State (0-1)The Other Aggies lost to former Bottom 10 stalwart UTEP. Now its on to the game so awesome it has two nicknames, the Rio Grande Rivalry and the Battle of I-25. New Mexico State and New Mexico have been meeting on the football field since 1894. New Mexico was merely a U.S. territory until 1912. Little known fact: Back then they were known as New Mexico Not Yet A State Aggies.8. UMess (0-1)Heads up ... only 81 days until UMass visits Hawaii.9. Northwestern (0-1)I was honestly torn here. Which was the worst B1G outcome, Northwestern losing to Western Michigan or Rutgers being housed by Washington? In the search for an answer I took it the streets via the inaugural Bottom 10 Poll of the People on Twitter. The Wildcats were the overwhelming choice, 70 percent to 30 percent. So, hey at least they won something, right?10. Kansas (1-0)Yes, I am fully aware that in the intro I applauded the passion of Kansas fans and even compared them to Batman. Yes, I am aware that the Jayhawks are currently undefeated. But yes, I am also aware that when the small group of students who actually bothered to show up for the game decided to storm the field, the public address announcer publicly shamed them by declaring over the loudspeakers: This is a new era of Kansas football, an era in which you should expect to win. He could have saved oxygen by just saying Get off my lawn!Waiting list: Temple of Doom (0-1), Tulane to Turn Back Now (0-1), UVA (0-1), I-OW-uh State (0-1), Stuck in a Rutgers (0-1), FI(not A)U 0-1, Colora-DOH! State (0-1), replay delays so long you could go mow the lawn, cheap shot late hits when games are over. Wholesale NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China Cheap NFL T-shirts Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Discount NFL Jerseys ' ' '