Well I have been running around town, working the phones all day trying to get as many interviews as I can, the one that I am still missing is Larry Wintoneak. I am hoping I can get a hold of Larry asap. You can catch those interviews in the post below but here are some of my thoughts on what has transpired here today...
Firstly when Rod Perkins called me this morning I was completely shocked at the news. I had heard a few rumblings of small rumors with some people not being happy about Larry of late and what not, but nothing substantial that would elude to what had happened today.
Everyone that knows Larry from a hockey stand point, knows he is a hard nosed guy. With that being said he loves the game of hockey, he knew alot about the game, and one thing that was forsure was that he absolutely loved the town of Kindersley and more importantly the Kindersley Klippers.
Now I was not with the club last year but talking with alot of fans, parents, and players, is that Larry did a bang up and honorable like job with the way he handled this team through the adversity of the arena being burnt down last January. Larry brought his team to within one goal of the SJHL final, and was awarded a 2 year contract extension for his efforts.
But that was clearly the past and this season what has become clear to me know, is he slowly started to lose the room. From talking to a bunch of the players today I have mixed reactions on if Larry had lost the room or what not, but one thing that was forsure is he had lost a number of players. I certainly do not believe it was the majority but a handful of players were not happy with what was going on here of late and were not having fun. With that being said if not everyone is on board and people aren't having fun being on this team then simply your not going to have success. I have been looking for answers on why the team has struggled on the road all season, and this may have been why. The fact that some players weren't happy having to be away from home and on the road.
The Klippers still had good direction from Larry. He is certainly a great coach and knows his stuff, but when not all your players are happy with your style of coaching it becomes tough to run a hockey team, especially a team that has a ton of expectations this season.
On the ice the Klippers were an up and down team thus far this season. With Larry gone now who knows whats going to happen. I believe that Rockie Zinger won't change much in terms of on ice systems. Rockie learnt alot from Larry in his time being here. The one thing that will likely change is the message of how things will be delivered.
Braeden Adamyk who has a ton of respect for Larry Wintoneak made a great comment to me on this hockey team moving forward. He said Larry seemed to be a scapegoat for maybe some players and fans, but from now on their is no excuses. As a team they need to be simply better moving forward.
With a young head coach and no assistant coach that is exactly the attitude and leadership that this team needs moving forward. This is a great group of kids that I have gotten the chance to get to know and be around so far this season. Alot of them want to win more than anything especially the vets, but having fun in the process also comes with being a winner.
One thing to add on Larry from my standpoint is he was one tough guy to crack when I first started with the club. But overall I have great things to say about Larry. He was tough but I respected the guy, he knew his stuff and taught me alot along the way. I wish Larry Wintoneak all the best in his coaching career.
This was a very tough decision for Rod Perkins and the rest of the board to make, but it seems like something needed to be done. In the end Rod and the board felt that this move is the best move for the Kindersley Klippers moving forward and thats that.
Feel free to post your comments, so far most of the comments have been clean and understandable in the posts below. I hope to see more of the same. I love reading your comments and opinions but not when people are swearing and such. I will likely have more comments to add shortly. Still in shock at this point in time.
horrible writing
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