By Joshua Kloke (The Athletic)
VANCOUVER — As Sheldon Keefe stepped off the ice and crossed paths with Jordan Bean after a wild 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames, the force of the head coach’s high five nearly bowled over his video coordinator.
Keefe’s beaming grin, at least at first, expressed his satisfaction. But his high five and smile weren’t enough.
Before Keefe addressed the Toronto Maple Leafs postgame, he sent assistant coach Mike Van Ryn back across the hall.
“Beaner!” Van Ryn shouted enthusiastically. “Get back in here.”
The minutes after wins are usually reserved for Keefe to praise his team’s effort, single out players and ensure the team’s player of the game wrestling belt is awarded. But Keefe couldn’t proceed without ensuring people just as important to those whose offence catapulted the team get their moment in the sun.
Bean and video and coaching coordinator Sam Kim didn’t deserve to stay behind the scenes any longer.
“They got a couple shoutouts,” Leafs forward Bobby McMann said of Bean and Kim. “They almost got (the belt). There was a lot of debate. They’ve been dialled in for a while now.”
Any NHL team is made up of dozens of people — be it medical staff, trainers or team operations staff — who place dozens of moving parts where they need to go. They generally operate far out of the public eye. Bean usually only faces the public when he lugs a 3-foot speaker around the Leafs practice facility to play music during practices.
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