Chicago Wolves head coach Spiros Anastas shares his coaching philosophy

Macaila Britton sat down with Spiros Anastas, the Chicago Wolves Head Coach to discuss what is needed for the Wolves to win Game 4 of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Anastas shared his approach to coaching and a part of the team’s post-game routine.

The Wolves play the Grand Rapids Griffins on May 21 (7 p.m.) at Allstate Arena. 

Britton: How do you connect with your team after a less than favorable game outcome?  

Anastas: That’s pretty much the core of my philosophy. It’s the foundation laid since training camp, game 1 through 72 and now at the playoffs. It’s not so much of an adjustment on the human level that we have to make as a coaching staff, but leaning into our principles. We talk a lot about fighting to play more games together — to spend more days together. This is a group that really loves each other. When that’s on the line, you gotta take that seriously. 

We’ve been through [loss] before. We came off Game 5 against Texas and right now, it’s obviously pressing up against us with obviously having lost this first game this series. You know, we’re still up 2-1. That’s the advantage. We still have the opportunity to finish it at home. But, leaning into the sentiment of using how much we care and love each other as our motivation — that’s the human side of it. 

Britton: What does leaning into your coaching philosophy look like in practice versus a concept? 

Anastas: Thinking back to a lot of our messaging throughout the entire year, our staff is really big on our relationships. We’re really big on our relationships. These guys are more than just hockey players. We’ve gotten to know their families – their children, wives, girlfriends, and parents. When you lean into [the team dynamic and the relationships], that means you’re trusting our process. [Players know feedback] comes from a good place. We can hold guys a little bit more accountable because they know we have taken the time to know who they are and see what ticks for them. 

Britton: When assessing the aftermath of a lost game, how do you encourage the players to keep morale up? 

Anastas:  In terms of morale, you gotta keep your head up. They’re professional hockey players. They need to have short memories in these cases. There’s lots of things we know we can execute better. It’s just getting back to work. 

Britton: During Game 3, what was one moment you knew you were going to bring back to the team to analyze and improve on for Game 4?

Anastas: The one thing today is we weren’t getting the puck back on retrievals. We were depositing a lot of pucks into their zone. But, our strength within the first two games in the series was when we were getting first on that puck. We were forcing turnovers from their defenseman. We were giving them too clean a break. We were just a step late everywhere on the ice.

Britton: How do you plan on correcting that? 

Anastas: [Now it’s] identifying everything we’ve done. Everything we’ve done is to bring us here. Everything we’ve fought for is to bring us here. There’s nothing we need to make up or change. We don’t need to deviate, just stick to our process. Because we come from a genuine place, this approach has worked out for us, and we should just lean back into it. 

Britton: What does that process look like?

Anastas: Showing them the footage of those sequences. Sometimes that’s all it takes for them to identify [an area of improvement] then going back out into the series to execute it. 

Read more of Macaila’s interviews with the Chicago Wolves, here.

Next Game: The Wolves vs Grand Rapids Griffins in Game 4 on Thursday, May 21 (7 p.m.) at Allstate Arena.

For information on Wolves tickets for the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, visit chicagowolves.com or call 1-800-THE-WOLVES.

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