Iron Fist, Caring Hand: Jets Bowness pushing all the right buttons

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If you have thin skin, don't enter.

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Winnipeg Jets quarterback Dylan DeMelo Jr. had a coach who used to say that when it was time to watch the video.

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As if Rick Bowness should have such a policy, it's best to have it stamped in big, bold letters and nailed to the room's door by the Jets boss himself.

Because the game we saw the Jets take on the ice, the game where they smothered Dallas and Colorado 10-0 in back-to-back games, begins in the video sessions. can be as clear as the business end of a hammer.

“Sometimes it's hard when you're on video every night,” DeMelo told me Tuesday. “But if you don't want to be on video, let's work on not being on video. No matter how much we want to be friends and be happy here, sometimes we need to be frank and have a real conversation. We try to win. And sometimes guys get hurt.

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“We can fix them.”

That's exactly how last season ended: a gut feeling. Their coach was too blunt when his team bowed too easily.

Bowness has mended those fences, but he won't let it become a club without a score.

His gaze can be unrelenting.

“We're up 7-0 in Colorado and he's giving it to guys for not putting the puck in,” DeMelo said. “Like, holy f—, Bones. Come on.' »

DeMelo laughed as he said that.

“That's the mentality we have to have,” he continued. “We didn't win the Stanley Cup. Only a few guys have won a Stanley Cup here. We will try our best to win one. Even at this time of year, every detail counts because the margin for error is so slim. As you continue, and hopefully we'll go really far, (the margin) gets even thinner.”

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It's a fine line for a coach to walk.

Bowness isn't the only one who goes at it every day in the NHL.

Few have been successful this season. His Jets were one of five teams on Tuesday night's schedule with 50 or more wins.

“I've played for some tougher coaches,” Tyler Toffoli said. “Yeah, he calls guys out or explains some things. But it's more of a story than a finger-pointing. If he's pointing the finger, it's always, “Why wasn't there someone else to fill the gap?” So we slowly changed the situation.”

Acquired at the trade deadline, Toffoli is new and pre-owned at Bowness Road.

But DeMelo has seen a before and after in his fourth full season with the Jets.

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At this point, it might be surprising.

“Even when we scored three goals or less, you'd go in and you'd never think we were in that series,” the 30-year-old said. “You'd be like, 'Man, these guys have probably allowed seven in the last few games.' He always said, “Let's push the envelope. Let's see how far we can achieve this.”

At the heart of the constant reminders and relentless desire for more: the desire to win.

It's pushing with a purpose.

“He's the type of guy who gives you a pass, but then he immediately puts his arms around you,” DeMelo said. “And he always says that whatever he tries to do, it's for the betterment of the team. And it has an open door policy.

“He's hungry. He was a great force in our movement and in our change of consciousness.”

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It took some time. Recently, there have been times when planes got lost and even went ashore.

Bowness took them back.

Today, they're on the verge of advancing and getting home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason.

Despite his demanding style, it's safe to say he hasn't lost them.

But it's no fun when you're someone whose mistakes are under the microscope.

“Not ideal,” Toffoli said. “You live and you learn. It makes you a better player.”

This is the problem.

Nothing stops with Bowness.

“He doesn't let you get away with anything,” is how Kyle Connor described it to me a while back. “He tries, every little play, every little opportunity that he thinks teaches us and helps us, he shows it on video.”

When it's tough for someone — sometimes it's tough for the whole team — DeMelo said teammates lift each other up.

Mutual trust fuels a common goal.

DeMelo compares it to playing a video game: You're always trying to reach another level.

Contentment is a death wish.

“As soon as you take your foot off the gas and settle into this league,” he said. “Game over.”

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