Just under three months after being named as head coach of the Saskatoon blades, Mitch Love is getting used to life in the Bridge City.

“I’m still trying to figure out Circle Drive a little bit,” he chuckled.

One thing he won’t have to adjust to is life behind the bench, after spending the last seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Everett Silveritps. CTV’s Pat McKay sat down for coffee with one of the city’s newest residents.

Everyone in WHL circles knows the recent struggles that the Saskatoon Blades have been through. As the new head coach, do you know what to expect from the city and fan base?

ML: This is a great city, a great franchise, it’s been around for a long, long time. There’s a great history here, there’s been some unbelievable coaches, unbelievable players come out of this franchise. But like any market in sports, or any market especially market in Canada, the result of winning hockey games brings people in, and brings people back. I think as a staff and an organization, we understand that. With that being said there’s always a process to how you get there, and for us moving forward, we want to try to set forth a culture that’s maybe a little bit different than what’s been here the last handful of years. Every day I just want the guys to come to the rink and just feel like when they leave, that they've accomplished something in their day. Because I believe that if we can do that over time, it will translate into hopefully more wins than losses.

There’s pressure that goes along with all positions in sports, but what’s the most difficult part of being a coach?

ML: I think you’re responsible for 24 different personalities. I think the biggest challenge as a coach is trying to get those 24 personalities to buy in to the same team goal. Every day is not going to be perfect, but that's life. We don’t all live the glorious and glamourous life that we want, but you still have to live it. I think your job as a coach is you’re the main leader for your group, and you’ve got to make sure that guys are humble about their approach, and make sure they understand that if we’re better as individuals, we’ll be better as a team.

You often hear the phrase “buying in” to what a coach wants to do. You’d think every player on a WHL roster would have the same goal of success, so shouldn’t it be easy to get them all on the same page?

ML: It should be, but they’re all young men that aren’t fully matured yet. It’s a little different than pro hockey, there’s a lot of outside distractions in their lives. They’re going through that growth part - 15, 16-year-old kids that come here, they’re still trying to find their way in life. But the beauty of the sport, is it teaches you a lot of life lessons. I want our guys to understand that. We all can't be NHL players, we can't all be pros. But you can be a husband, you can be a dad, you can be an employee of a company in town or your hometown. There's a lot of life lessons that are taught in the game of hockey.

You were recently an assistant coach for Canada’s gold medal winning team at the U-18 Gretzky-Hlinka Cup. What was that experience like?

ML: That was a great experience, obviously the result was nice for our group there. On a personal note, to work with Nolan [Maier] and Kirby [Dach] for a few weeks leading into the season I think will be something that’s beneficial. They got to know me a little bit, how I tick, how I operate. It was great to get to know those kids on a personal level, they’re great kids and I look forward to working with them.

What can players, fans, and the media in Saskatoon expect from a Mitch Love-led team?

ML: Organization, structure, and passion. I’m a passionate guy, I’m an energetic guy, I’m an emotional guy for good or bad. I kind of want our guys to have a little bit of that, but also make sure that we’re organized in what we need to do on a day-to-day basis. Practice, games, everything we do has a purpose.