Ken Hitchcock Special Quotations

Peter's a special player. He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

Peter's a special player, ... He's the complete package. He's a competitive player with a high level of skill.

He, (Wayne) Gretzky and Gordie (Howe), for me, personally, are the guys. Special player, special person, special talent.

He has an honest appraisal of himself. He's hard on himself and he's demanding of himself. That's what makes special players. You talk to anybody who is a special player in the league... They put more pressure on themselves than anybody else does.

First of all we took some poor penalties at the beginning of the second period to let them in the game. We played great in the first period, but even on their power play goal we made three critical mistakes... There are two things that really concern me right now. Against the good teams we lose the special teams game and when you can't kill a penalty, that's a big concern.

Against the good teams we're losing the special teams game, which is a major concern right now. And when you can't kill penalties, that's a big concern.

They have it all. They're playing well offensively and defensively, their special teams are playing well, they have four lines that can all score and all create chances and they're playing at a very high level.

I phoned and left a message for Brett but haven't heard from him. A player knows before he even comes into training camp whether he has one foot in the door or both feet out the door. He knows that. Brett knew that. But he was a special player.

He sets the highest standard for himself and everybody on the team and when he goes, we go. He is hard on himself, demanding on himself and that is what makes special players.

He sets a higher standard. That's what makes special players.

He's real impressive. His skill level and his skating level are incredible. I think that he's a special player, but I don't think there is much extra pressure on him right now. I think right now he's able to find his own level because we are competent back there. We have good players back there so he's going to be able to develop at the proper pace. But when you have a player who is that strong, everybody gets excited. And I think we are all feeling like this is a terrific opportunity for him and the franchise.

If I lived in Washington, I would pay whatever the season ticket was to watch this kid play. He's a special player, a unique player who comes around once every 10 years.

I don't think anybody was looking for the penalties. I said it before ... the first team that adjusts is going to be the winner. You end up with a ton of scoring chances, a ton of special teams and you're going to have to get better and you're going to have to adjust. Whining about it isn't going to do anything. It's not going to go away.