Where so many others saw egotist erosion in the Philadelphia locker room, Ken Hitchcock saw hungry talent. Where so many others still see hands-on hierarchy with a dysfunctional Flyers team, Ken Hitchcock swears he has nothing but managerial support.

	You get the impression that the Ken Hitchcock-coached Flyers won't fold.

In the oft-employed vernacular of the homespun guy who won a Stanley Cup in his only other head coaching stint, the cerebral Hitchcock looks upon his current position and deems it, "good stuff."

Indeed, the Flyers have been mostly good since the start, and the new director has had almost everything to do with that. Of the Magnificent Seven head coaches with new jobs this season, Hitchcock is ranked first -- if not in standings points earned then certainly brain cells burned.

After handing the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning their first regulation home defeat of the season Tuesday night, Hitchcock and the Flyers were 10-3-5 and comfortably atop the Atlantic Division. Not bad and not really atypical of a team that has made a habit of starting fast, skidding faster in the second half, and then crashing into finger-pointing chaos in the postseason.

Somehow, you get the idea this ride could end differently.

With Hitchcock on board, the Philadelphia perspective has been altered, if not the whole negatively charged environment. When asked what would happen if his club again went into another wintry fizzle, Flyers president Bob Clarke said: "Then we'll have to change the players."

With this backing and a preseason decree by club chairman Ed Snider that Hitchcock would be in place for at least the length of his four-year contract, he enjoys a distinct comfort edge over several colleagues also starting out or starting over.

Hitchcock can exercise more power than any Flyers head coach since Fred Shero. To his credit, Hitchcock has not reacted by arming himself with a broom.

True, Bill Barber and his local legend were unceremoniously swept away via mutinous comments from several players during and after the lost playoff series to Ottawa. But Hitchcock immediately embraced veterans like Keith Primeau and Mark Recchi as not only quality players but also leaders of solid character.

He proclaimed John LeClair and Eric Desjardins were far from the washed up former stars the critics claimed them to be. And as for Jeremy Roenick, the most glamorous ego of them all ... everyone couldn't wait for that fight to begin.

"They see me as a disciplinarian that comes from a structured atmosphere and they think Jeremy is a free spirit," Hitchcock said. "But he's a lot like me in his thought process. You reach a certain stage in your career where you have to do whatever it takes to win and I think he's at that stage."

Meanwhile, players young and old will assure you that Hitchcock retains the innate intensity and verbal sting that made him such good coaching copy in Dallas. He's also brought back to Philadelphia a style that might be better suited to a younger team with stronger legs, yet so far has worked wonders.

Hitchcock's system of skate-and-irritate hockey has made the Flyers one of the league's stingiest teams. They have allowed but 34 goals through their first 18 games, which is second in the league to the Devils (32 through 16).

Considering Roman Cechmanek has exposed his happy feet far too often, those numbers are kind of remarkable. Other Flyer faults of recent years have revealed themselves -- particularly a power play that is far too inconsistent -- but Hitchcock's insistence on defensive play has enabled the Flyers to cruise freely through their first bad stretch of the season.

Scoring but nine goals over seven games, they still went 0-2-3 prior to the Tampa win. Said Recchi: "Last year, we would have gone through a stretch like that without getting any points."

If anything, Hitchcock's presence has brought stability to Philly. Of course it's early. But that's already an accomplishment worth -plus.

As for his other first-year peers, here's how they grade out on a scale of one to four pucks:

Dave Tippett, Dallas Stars
At 41, this former ice grinder and minor-league coach isn't Hitchcock's immediate successor, but certainly has picked up where he left off.

Tippett has the Stars rolling along with the league's best record (12-4-4-1) through Wednesday. Not only that, he's had to deal with a gimpy-ankled Jason Arnott and a first-year starting goalie in Marty Turco. Still, the going has been smooth that somehow he has one of the world's most unmotivated players, Pierre Turgeon, piling up the points.

That alone is worth .

Pat Burns, New Jersey Devils
Any coach working for Lou Lamoriello can't feel entirely secure. But at 50 years old and with his fourth NHL team, coaching cop Pat Burns has come to embrace insecurity.

Failing in his lobbying efforts to get hired in New York and Philadelphia, Burns has landed in the Meadowlands, a place as unstable as the ground the franchise's half-empty arena was built on.

Sure, the Devils have enjoyed almost unparalleled success in recent years. But Lamoriello systematically broke up hockey's best line (Arnott and Petr Sykora no longer live here), while keeping the faith in a partially ancient defensive corps.

Just to make life more interesting, Burns took a team raised on trapping and forechecking and spent training camp turning it on to freewheeling dance steps. That didn't last, but the Devils have still allowed less goals than any other club while keeping a close touch with the Eastern Conference leaders.

Burns will keep them hopping, which should keep all those loyal Devils fans out there hoping. Let's call it with a bullet.

Dave Lewis, Detroit Red Wings
He almost doesn't count, since he was Scotty Bowman's associate coach the last nine years. Scotty's retired to his Florida digs while Lewis keeps the home fires burning.

His entire NHL coaching career has been with the Red Wings, originally hired as an assistant to Jacques Demers in 1987. So while Burns thrives on the shakes, Lewis was the perfect guy to keep Hockeytown rolling along, business as usual.

Even without the injured Steve Yzerman and with yet another free agent star in net in Curtis Joseph, the Red Wings haven't missed a beat. They may not have the best record, but until somebody proves otherwise, they'll still be called the best team.

That's for Lewis, who loses points for degree of difficulty.

Mike Keenan, Florida Panthers
OK, he really shouldn't be here. He's no member of the Magnificent Seven, because it's his second season in Florida. And anytime Keenan actually puts in a full season as strictly a head coach, it's something to write home about.

But he's always been one of a kind.

Thought of a kook in some circles, Keenan is considered a master coach in every arena. Now 53, he's with his seventh team and is a legend in more than just his own mind. In case you're wondering why, try a team with an average age of barely out of diapers whose best scorer is Olli Jokinen, given up on by everyone else who coached him.

A couple of other castaways (Dmitry Yushkevich, Sandis Ozolinsh) could thrive in this defense, even though goalie Roberto Luongo has been hurt. Yet Keenan has had them around .500 all season, moving some South Florida sports fans to actually want to make the long trek out to the swamp parking lots again. Worthy of at least .

Mike Babcock, Anaheim Mighty Ducks
He's 39 and of course you don't know him. But try and name three players for the Mighty Ducks. Thus far, Babcock -- whose resume lists two years in the AHL and Canadian collegiate experience -- has been holding his own on a mission of making a name for his team.

With Sykora and oldie Adam Oates joining Paul Kariya, the Ducks are finally winning more than they are losing and starting to score a little. But with a no-name defense and all-AHL goaltending tandem, you're bound to hear Babcock's name tossed around in talk about the benefits of obstruction and trapping techniques. For trying hard under trying circumstances, .

Bryan Trottier, New York Rangers
So some tabloid artists are already calling for his head. So what? You can't dismiss the difficult -- no, the impossible -- task that Trottier chose to take on for his long-awaited first NHL head coaching job.

Emphasis on the head, since Trottier has to oversee a roomful of head cases. Ego Central includes such past and future problem children as Eric Lindros, Pavel Bure and Darius Kasparaitis.

Mark Messier's somehow still alive, Mike Richter is once more playing dead and Brian Leetch can't have any legs left, can he? Trottier has been torched for some admittedly strange decisions, especially with the way he took ice time away from Lindros.

But when some of the best goal scorers money can buy can't buy a goal, what's a rookie Hall of Famer to do? For starters, we'd advise Trottier to take and worry about it in the Madison Square mourning.

Bruce Cassidy, Washington Capitals
He's a laid-back, nice guy who must know how to coach -- he was the AHL coach of the year a year ago.

But in the District of Czechmania, the education of Cassidy has yet to cover how to make Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang not only productive but winningly effective.

There have been serious questions for Cassidy about the handling of checking line players, and maybe a relaxed style isn't the best way to handle Jagr's teammates. Top example: What's up with Sergei Gonchar? It's time to scare him. Until then, Cassidy's debut has been worthy of only .

Rob Parent of the Delaware County (Pa.) Times is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.