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“I think personality is the biggest thing you want to get used to right away. You want to learn the interaction, what kind of coach he is.

“Structure-wise, most coaches today are similar. So, even if the system is a little different, you can pick it up pretty easily. Once we get that down, it comes down to what kind of coach he is, what kind of communicator.”

Nugent-Hopkins has a better perspective than most, given that he played for Tippett at the World Cup when he was an assistant (to Todd McLellan) with Team North America.

“I dealt with him quite a bit and I really liked him,” he said. “It’s obviously different in a short tournament and as an assistant, but he was good. He’s a positive guy and a good communicator. It seemed like every player liked him. My experience was all positive.”

Nugent-Hopkins isn’t at all concerned about Tippett’s reputation as a staunch defensive coach who wants to win every game 2-1, and not just because he’s the most committed two-way player on the team. He’s certain they will have the green light to create.

“We have a skilled, talented team, so it’s important to let the players play to a certain extent, but structure is an important thing when it comes to him and I think it should come first.

“But he likes to play a fast style of game, so I don’t think he’ll handcuff us at all.”

All in all, even though this is his seventh — sorry, eighth — coach and fifth GM, Nugent-Hopkins is keeping a positive outlook in anticipation of his ninth season with the Oilers.

“They’re experienced guys,” he said of Holland and Tippett. “It’s exciting when you get new guys like that coming in.

“But, at the end of the day, it comes down to the players going out there and playing. If we don’t do our job, that’s when thing start to change. We want to get to a point where we are consistent and everything else falls into place from there.”

Twitter.com/rob_tychkowski

rtychkowski@postmedia.com