As is usually the case in late winter and early spring, Mike Sullivan has been competing.

But neither the venue nor the stakes are quite as scrutinized as he typically is accustomed to.

If anything, they might be more profound.

Board games of Family Feud or Play Nine at the kitchen table with his family are one of the luxuries the Penguins coach has been able to enjoy since his team last played a hockey game three months ago March 10.

“That’s been a lot of fun,” Sullivan said. “If I could pull any positive out of this unusual circumstance, that would be it.”

Coaching hockey tends to be an all-encompassing endeavor. Game days can begin at 7 a.m. and last until midnight or beyond. In many ways, existing as a human comes in a distant second to getting the power play squared away.

But during the NHL’s hiatus from games because of the coronavirus pandemic, Mike Sullivan the coach has been able to be Mike Sullivan the father, husband, New England Patriots fan, etc., far more than usual.

“My kids are all post-college and have full-time jobs and are building careers for themselves,” Sullivan said during a phone interview with the Tribune-Review on Tuesday. “So trying to get them together can be a challenge. For my wife and I, it’s been a lot of fun as much time as we have with our kids.”

That’s not to say Sullivan has completely absconded his post. He and his staff have been regularly focusing on their next game — without having a clue when or where that game might be — during the pause. In many ways, Sullivan and company have almost given each other homework assignments to stay as sharp as possible during a highly unique scenario.

“One of the things that I’ve said to our coaching staff is we have to find a way through this unusual circumstance to continue to develop and grow as a coaching staff, as individuals and as a staff,” Sullivan said. “We have an opportunity that’s afforded to us here through the time that we have that we would normally never have.

“My challenge to them and to myself was how can we continue to grow as a staff. We’ve got to try to learn and get better so that when we resume our normal course of routine and we resume playing, that we can better serve our players.”

Sullivan indicated his staff has several video meetings throughout the week and even engaged in a video chat with an unidentified MLB team’s coaching staff to share ideas on how to ply their craft away from the stages they play on.

Additionally, they’ve participated in talk series with leaders of various walks of life ranging from sports psychologists to the military, including William H. McRaven, a retired United States Navy four-star admiral who oversaw operations that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

“We’ve tried to think outside the box and do as much as we can to figure out ways that we can continue to stay engaged, stay together, stay connected as a staff, stay connected to our players,” Sullivan said.

Finding out when they can actually coach remains a work in progress. The Penguins began to have players participate in optional skating sessions Tuesday in Cranberry, but per the NHL’s rules on potentially resuming the season, coaches may not participate.

The league is aiming to stage training camps beginning in July and open a 24-team postseason tournament in August.

Sullivan — nor the NHL — isn’t quite sure over the exact parameters of those steps, but he is certain of one thing: Most of it will be uncharted territory.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan offers instructions during the first day of the team’s 2019 training camp on Sept. 13.  

“(Training camp) will be a lot of different in the sense that our team is already formed,” Sullivan said. “We’ve played close to 90% of our (regular season) schedule already. We’re preparing for a high-stakes environment right from the get go. The players will not have skated to the extent that they would have with a training camp in September.

“You’re trying to evaluate your young talent, some of your prospects relative to where they are and to the NHL players that you have. You’ve got a number of exhibition games that you can utilize to evaluate. At the same time, you’re trying to prepare your team for the course of an 82-game schedule. The objectives are a lot different in that regard and so we have to be aware of that to make sure we make the right decisions. We’ve had lengthy discussions around that.”

Another adjustment is the considerable matter of having coaches, many of whom are in their 50s or beyond, being directly behind a hockey bench, a vile Petri dish of an enclosed area full of sweaty 20-somethings breathing heavily.

Sullivan, 52, indicated his on-bench coaching staff, which includes Jacques Martin, 67, Mark Recchi, 52, and, occasionally, Sergei Gonchar, 46, has no reservations about inhabiting that area.

“Amongst my staff, we really haven’t had concern,” Sullivan said. “We believe that the league is doing everything within its power to try to create the safest environment possible for all of us to participate. And we’re going to do our best to try to make that happen.”

Barring no additional natural disasters such as a murder hornet infestation or Mount Washington turning into a 21st-century Paricutin, the Penguins likely will be playing playoff games during the final days of summer. It will be weird. It will be strange. It will be unprecedented.

But they won’t be unprepared.

“We’re so used to a certain routine and how we go about our business,” Sullivan said. “Hockey is stopped at the most exciting time of year for all of us that are a part as players and coaches. We were excited about the opportunity in front of us. We continue to be excited about the opportunity in front of us. It just seems like a long time. But we can’t control it. We can just react the right way and try to do our very best and stay connected and give ourselves the best opportunity when play does resume to have success.”

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