Perhaps if they were led by a veteran coach with years of experience and a fistful of Stanley Cup rings, then the Colorado Avalanche's success wouldn't be as surprising.
But the guy behind the bench is just as green as the kids out on the ice.
"A lot of us had never played for him before, so we didn't know too much about him," said Avalanche centre Paul Stastny. "But he's just been real with everything he's said and everything he believes in. He's a man of his word and he knows how to keep the team positive during bad times, and when we're riding high, how to keep us on an even keel."
Joe Sacco was hired by the Avalanche this summer to replace Tony Granato.
The rookie head coach was expected to struggle this season with a young team considered to be in a rebuilding mode.
However, heading into last night's game against the Oilers, the Avalanche were the story of the NHL, still sitting atop the Northwest Division standings.
"His systems are not too different than other coaches," Stastny said. "A lot of coaches are not too different system-wise, they do a lot of things very similar. It's just an attitude thing with him. He keeps the guys accountable.
"When he says something, he means it, he's not going to change his mind no matter what happens, if we're playing well or whether we're playing bad. Away from the ice, he's done a good job keeping us together as a team."
Sacco, 40, spent the previous four seasons coaching in the Avalanche's minor league system. He spent the last two years as head coach of Colorado's AHL franchise in Lake Erie. Following the season, he was named an assistant for Team USA at the World Championships.
"Things happened pretty quickly over the summer," Sacco said. "I didn't expect to be the guy that would have an opportunity for the job. I know that they were talking to different people. I got a call in the middle of the summer and they asked me to come in and that's how it happened. It actually happened very quickly."
Reportedly, the Avalanche were at first interested in bringing in former goaltender Patrick Roy to coach the team that had finished last in the Western Conference standings the previous year.
When things didn't work out with the Hall of Famer, the Avalanche decided to promote Sacco.
"It was no secret that Patrick was a guy that they spoke with," Sacco said. "But it wouldn't matter to me if I was first, second, third or fourth. It was a great opportunity, it was an honour for them to consider me. Then after being named it was even a greater honour."
A native of Medford, Mass., Sacco played at Boston University before being drafted in the fourth round by Toronto. He played 738 games in a 13-year career that included stops in Toronto, Anaheim, Long Island, Washington and Philadelphia.
"I've played for good coaches along the way," Sacco said. "You try to take the bits and pieces from the things that you like and get rid of the things that didn't work for you individually. But at the end of the day, you have to be yourself."
Sacco hasn't been afraid to use his young players in important situations. And they've rewarded his confidence in them.
"I think the players deserve the credit," Sacco said. "Coaches try to provide structure. I think my assistant coaches deserve a lot of credit, too. We try to instil a team concept with the players and the coaches. But it's certainly the players that go out night in and night out. We try to put a game plan in place and hopefully they follow it. So far it's been working."
DEREK.VANDIEST@SUNMEDIA.CA
