Baptism by fire for Stillman
Peterborough native has his work cut out for him in turning around the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves
Cory Stillman is getting a baptism by fire in the OHL coaching ranks.
The Peterborough native and Petes alumnus accepted his first head coaching role outside of minor hockey with the Sudbury Wolves in the summer, a team which lost much of its defence from last season.
Entering their home game Friday night against the Ottawa 67’s the Wolves were 1-4-2-0. Stillman will return home for the first time with Sudbury when they face the Petes Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the PMC.
When asked about the challenge he faces with a young Wolves team this season, Stillman said: “I love it. I enjoy going to the rink and I enjoy teaching. I think as soon as we can get this to turn the right way we’ll know how to win and we’ll know how to compete. That’s our goal right now.”
He believes his team deserves better than the record indicates.
“Sometimes our record isn’t an indication of how we’ve been playing. We’ve been in some games and made a timely mistake or taken a penalty at a wrong time and it’s ended up costing us points or games. Overall, we are getting better.”
Stillman was hired by Sudbury’s new general manager Rob Papineau who he had a relationship with through the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes. Papineau was a scout and Stillman a player development Sudbury Wolves head coach Cory Stillman, a native of Peterborough, gives his team directions during team practice in Sudbury on Thursday. Stillman and the Wolves face the Peterborough Petes at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. coach. He says they did not come to Sudbury with the idea of rebuilding but they did inherit a young team.
“We both have the same goal here and the same mindset. We both see the same game on how we want our team to play and how we were our players to play. That makes for an easy adjustment,” Stillman said.
One of his initial priorities is to create a sense of accountability for all players regardless of age or experience.
“Whether you are 16 or 19 I want guys who come to play. I’m not going to hold you back because you’re 16 and we don’t want to guarantee an older guy ice. Come and earn it and deserve it and it will make our team a lot better,” he said.
Stillman says he wants to win every night and wants his team to make the playoffs and have some success there to help their development. Getting there, though, is a culmination of day-in and day-out work. To get there he knows what he wants to see from his team.
“There is a lot of upside. It’s just putting it together consistently night-in and night-out and trying to do it for 60 minutes. When we get there I’ll be excited,” he said.
The club lost a couple of veterans, Macauley Carson and Ryan Valentini, to long-term injuries which has made their lineup even younger. He’s dressed as many as 11 rookies in a game.
It’s an adjustment for the veterans as well, he said.
“We have a new system compared to what they played last year which takes a little bit of an adjustment. We’re getting much better with it. Sometimes in a game you’ll have a lapse and when we have a lapse it seems to end up in the back of our net.”
Facing the Petes will not be a new experience for Stillman who played for the Windsor Spitfires before being acquired by Peterborough. It will be a new experience as a coach.
“Anytime you play in your hometown it’s special,” he said. “No matter if you’re playing or coaching. This will be my first one coaching and hopefully there will be many and I can keep coming back yearafter-year.”
While his focus Friday was on Ottawa, Stillman knows what lies ahead Saturday.
“We’re facing a good hockey team that is playing really well right now.”