That's the most pressing task for Lane Lambert, who will be behind the Bradley Center bench as a head coach for the first time tonight when the Admirals play host to the Quad City Flames.
Lambert caught a break in the getting-to-know you phase. He spent last season as the assistant to Claude Noel, who left to take a job on Ken Hitchcock's staff with the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets. But with parent club Nashville cutting salaries after posting one of the best records in the NHL, the Admirals roster was decimated by promotions, leaving just nine familiar faces from a year ago.
"It's a learning process for everybody," Lambert said. "Players are learning about themselves and each other. It's a learning process for the coaches, as well. We need to learn about their strengths and their weaknesses and we have to build upon that. We're starting from bare bones here."
The returning players also must adjust to Lambert in a new way. Relationships change when an assistant takes the next step. What was once a buddy-buddy type of dynamic takes a different shape with Lambert calling the shots now.
"Even the guys who were here are seeing that I'm the same person in a different role," Lambert said. "They're learning and getting to understand what I expect of them."
One of those returning players will make Lambert's job significantly less stressful. Pekka Rinne returns for his third season in the Admirals' goal. The Finnish phenom is just 24, but finds himself suddenly the longest-tenured member of the team.
When Nashville sent all-star goaltender Thomas Vokoun to Florida during the summer, it seemed a good bet that Rinne's time with Milwaukee would be done. In something of a surprise, the Predators sent him back to Milwaukee on the eve of the team's final exhibition game.
"Obviously, you hope and dream to play in the NHL," Rinne said. "I'm trying not to think about it. Once you get the news that you're going down, it's disappointing. But if you're not playing in the NHL, this is the best place to play. I like playing with this team and I like this city a lot."
Despite missing the first half of the season with a shoulder injury, Rinne posted the sixth-best goals-against-average (2.34) and save percentage (0.932) in the American Hockey League (2.34). If he produces at a similar level this year, his time in Milwaukee may be limited.
In the meantime, though, Lambert thinks that the Rinne's presence -- along with Maxine Daigneault who spent last season with Hershey -- makes goaltending a strong point for this team.
"We're strongest in the goal this season." Lambert said. "We're trying to identify what our strengths are, but we know with Pekka that we're solid in the net."
Offensively, the Admirals have talent. Rich Peverly led the tem with 68 points (30 goals, 38 assists) in 66 games last year. His play earned him a 13-game stint with Nashville last season.
Cal O'Reilly also returns. His 47 assists led the team and were tops among AHL rookies. Forwards Kelsey Wilson, John Vigilante and Jason Guerriero combined for 84 points in their rookie seasons and will be looked upon to carry the bulk of the Admirals offensive load. They'll get help from Matt Ellison, Josh Langfeld and Shane Willis who have combined for over 120 points in 358 NHL games in their careers.
"I think we have all the right tools in place," Lambert said. "Now it's just a matter of getting everybody on the same page. I knew it was going to be tough this summer. Rome wasn't going to be built in a day. We've got a ways to go but we're getting better every day."
Lambert may have the most difficult job when it comes to settling his defense corps. Just two players return from last year's team, Alex Henry and Nolan Yonkman. Nashville sent Cody Franson to Milwaukee this year for his first professional season. A third-round pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, Franson led Vancouver to a junior's championship last season.
"We certainly do have some size back there," Lambert said. "We need to work on our mobility and skill level with out big guys. We want to move the puck up to our forwards to use their speed so we need to work on getting our big guys to be able to do that."
Henry will also be saddled with extra responsibility this season. Named a captain, Lambert has high expectations.
"He's going to have a lot of weight on his shoulders," Lambert said. "It's going to be up to him to get the guys on the same page internally."
The time for getting acquainted has passed; the Admirals opened the season last weekend with a 4-2 loss at Peoria. After the home debut, the team travels to Chicago for a game against the archrival Wolves.
