Rich Sutter, who worked as a consultant with the team from February through the end of the season, and Ben Wright, the team captain for the last two seasons, voiced their opinions:
Sutter said part of his job with the Hurricanes was to help liaise between Stasiuk and the coaching staff as well as mentor the coaches. But while he said Dyck, Kabayama and assistant coach Cregg Nicol welcomed his advice and input, he didn’t receive the same courtesy from “upstairs.”
“I was brought in, I was brought in to help, to work with the coaches and to smooth over some of the bumps between the upstairs and the downstairs,” said Sutter. “But only one side of that equation had any intention of dealing with me honestly and, you know actually, of dealing with me at all.”
Sutter said he was disappointed by the board’s decision regarding Dyck, not just because of his coaching ability, but because the organization has lost a lot of credibility in the community.
“People know what’s going on and frankly, I’m disappointed that some of them aren’t doing anything about it. It’s not a question of whether the team is winning, it’s a question of honesty and integrity and that’s missing right now.”
Sutter also said the coaching staff did not select their own gameday lineups and that the choice was taken out of their hands. “You’ve got a coach, a proven winner, a guy who’s been to a league final and he can’t even pick his own team. Let me put it this way, GMs in the real world don’t run screaming and yelling into the dressing room area. Those kids saw it, they know what happens. People in this organization that sit back and let that happen, it’s frustrating and very disappointing.”
Wright, who spent four years with the team, the last two as captain, said the players knew about the rift and he also made it clear he thought Dyck should stay. After hearing the news the coach would not be back, Wright said he wasn’t shocked but disappointed. “I’m definitely very disappointed that he didn’t come back and I’m kind of embarrassed to call myself a Lethbridge Hurricane alumni,” said Wright, one of three graduating 20-year-olds from the ’Canes this past season. ”He’s won so many games and has done so much for that organization. To just throw him away like that, I don’t think it was the right move.”
The Hurricanes struggled to a 35-32-3-2 record this season, traded away two firstround picks for Kyle Beach near the trade deadline and upset the second-ranked Saskatoon Blades in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. They lost in four to the Hitmen next and now, according to Sutter, they’ve lost more than that. “You’re talking about two communityminded guys. You hear a lot of that around that organization: family values, community, integrity and it’s obviously not that important because they’ve just let two guys who embody that go. I’m telling you, they held a night in January where my family was honoured to have the team and the community induct us into their hall of fame. Now, though, they’ve put a black mark on that. They’ve told me that my experience, that my expertise in 25 years of this game, that it doesn’t mean a thing. And they’ve told the community that the values I think it stands for aren’t worth a lot, either.”
Sutter said he thinks the shareholders need to remind the people who run the Hurricanes who owns the team.“I’m not going to run anybody down personally but this community needs to remember that it’s their team. No one else owns this team. They should be proud of that but I know there are some people in that organization who think it’s their team. And that’s wrong. It’s not theirs, it’s not mine, it’s not yours. It’s the community’s team. This is a dark day for hockey in Lethbridge.”
“I was brought in, I was brought in to help, to work with the coaches and to smooth over some of the bumps between the upstairs and the downstairs,” said Sutter. “But only one side of that equation had any intention of dealing with me honestly and, you know actually, of dealing with me at all.”
Sutter said he was disappointed by the board’s decision regarding Dyck, not just because of his coaching ability, but because the organization has lost a lot of credibility in the community.
“People know what’s going on and frankly, I’m disappointed that some of them aren’t doing anything about it. It’s not a question of whether the team is winning, it’s a question of honesty and integrity and that’s missing right now.”
Sutter also said the coaching staff did not select their own gameday lineups and that the choice was taken out of their hands. “You’ve got a coach, a proven winner, a guy who’s been to a league final and he can’t even pick his own team. Let me put it this way, GMs in the real world don’t run screaming and yelling into the dressing room area. Those kids saw it, they know what happens. People in this organization that sit back and let that happen, it’s frustrating and very disappointing.”
Wright, who spent four years with the team, the last two as captain, said the players knew about the rift and he also made it clear he thought Dyck should stay. After hearing the news the coach would not be back, Wright said he wasn’t shocked but disappointed. “I’m definitely very disappointed that he didn’t come back and I’m kind of embarrassed to call myself a Lethbridge Hurricane alumni,” said Wright, one of three graduating 20-year-olds from the ’Canes this past season. ”He’s won so many games and has done so much for that organization. To just throw him away like that, I don’t think it was the right move.”
The Hurricanes struggled to a 35-32-3-2 record this season, traded away two firstround picks for Kyle Beach near the trade deadline and upset the second-ranked Saskatoon Blades in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. They lost in four to the Hitmen next and now, according to Sutter, they’ve lost more than that. “You’re talking about two communityminded guys. You hear a lot of that around that organization: family values, community, integrity and it’s obviously not that important because they’ve just let two guys who embody that go. I’m telling you, they held a night in January where my family was honoured to have the team and the community induct us into their hall of fame. Now, though, they’ve put a black mark on that. They’ve told me that my experience, that my expertise in 25 years of this game, that it doesn’t mean a thing. And they’ve told the community that the values I think it stands for aren’t worth a lot, either.”
Sutter said he thinks the shareholders need to remind the people who run the Hurricanes who owns the team.“I’m not going to run anybody down personally but this community needs to remember that it’s their team. No one else owns this team. They should be proud of that but I know there are some people in that organization who think it’s their team. And that’s wrong. It’s not theirs, it’s not mine, it’s not yours. It’s the community’s team. This is a dark day for hockey in Lethbridge.”
Sounds like a real fun situation there......
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