BLADES’ BENCH
Will coach Struch be back?
Saskatoon Blades head coach Dave Struch insists he isn’t letting his uncertain future affect what’s most important.
“It’s about the players and their growth and their development,” Struch said. “In our room it’s ‘Everything Matters’ (the club’s slogan), team first.”
Struch wraps up his first season as a WHL bench boss with a home-and-home series against the Prince Albert Raiders. The Blades (16-49-2-3) are in Prince Albert Friday evening.
His contract then expires in July. He has yet to be offered an extension.
Blades owner Mike Priestner, who purchased the team from Jack Brodsky and his family in September, said he will talk to Struch after the regular season concludes.
Priestner expects to make an announcement sometime next week.
As he waits , Struch said he feels the rebuilding season has mostly been a positive experience.
“It was more gratifying than I expected it to be,” the 43-year-old said. “We knew what we signed up for with the youth, the growth and the difficulties and struggles we were going to have to go through.
“To create an identity and culture in that dressing room that we did and to live off that to the last game, as a head coach you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The Blades have lost 10 games in a row and are wrapping up one of the worst seasons in their 50-year history.
But not much was expected from the team, which saw major roster turnover from last season when they hosted the MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Just six players from last season’s roster currently remain with the team. Two of which — defenceman Nelson Nogier and goaltender Alex Moodie — have been sidelined for all or most of the second half due to injuries.
The coach hasn’t noticed much quit in his troops though.
“As a coaching staff we’re ecstatic with the development of the players and the leaders that they’ve grown into, the maturity, the attitude,” Struch said. “We’ve known for a long time that we’d be out of the playoffs and we have not given up once. It’s been rewarding.”
Struch gave credit to the other members of his coaching staff — Curtis Leschyshyn, Tim Cheveldae and Jerome Engele — for their efforts this season.
The four are all former Blades players.
However, Leschyshyn, the only other person who mans the bench with Struch, has already confirmed he is leaving the team.
In a move that’s been rumoured for weeks, Leschyshyn will join the coaching staff of the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blazers.
Leschyshyn’s son, Jake, has committed to play for the Blazers.
Jake had 31 goals in as many games with the Saskatchewan Bantam AA Hockey League’s Saskatoon Stallions this season.
He’s considered to be one of the top local prospects for the 2014 WHL bantam draft in May and could be a firstround pick.
“To be part of his hockey career going forward is going to be good, but I’m not going to meddle in it to a big degree,” said Leschyshyn, a former Blazer himself.
“He’s a forward and I coach defencemen.”
General manager Lorne Molleken has two more seasons remaining on his contract. He relinquished the coaching reins to Struch, his longtime assistant, last June.
While Struch has admitted the losses have been frustrating this season, he’s continued to preach the importance of work ethic to all of his players.
Largely, in his mind, they’ve responded well.
“It’s been a massive reward as a first-year head coach,” Struch said.
“Working with this coaching staff, with these young kids, has been great.
“They’ve showed up every single night. That’s been a real big plus for us.”