Grimes will be on visitors’ bench tonight
Jake Grimes is in his 14th season coaching in the OHL with his third team but he’ll do something Thursday he’s never done before.
This will be the first time the Guelph Storm associate coach is on the visiting bench in a building he once coached in when they face the Peterborough Petes. Grimes left the Petes after two seasons as an assistant coach to join Guelph in the summer.
In Guelph he’s reunited with head coach/GM George Burnett who was his boss with the Belleville Bulls.
“When Belleville moved to Hamilton you weren’t really playing the Bulls it was Hamilton but it was the old team. But to actually be the visiting coach in what was once your home rink it will be real different to be on the other side,” he said.
“I always said when I was a visitor going to Peterborough how much you didn’t want to be a visitor going into Peterborough; based on the teams and based on their style of play. Being the home guy for a couple of years I thought ‘I can’t believe I was over on the other side for so many years because it’s great on this side.’”
He was disappointed to see the man who brought him to Peterborough, Jody Hull, lose his head coaching job last week.
“There is a real good coach out there for somebody if they’re interested,” Grimes said.
“Not just at our level, either, for pro. If I have a son coming up through the ranks I’d send him to Jody in a heartbeat. He’s a professional guy. He cares about the players. He’s in touch with the players and understands them. Your guy is in good hands if Jody is the head coach of your young man. I loved the passion he put into it and the work ethic and how he put just as much passion into smaller details nobody really sees from planning practice to video work to planning a schedule. He’s an excellent practice coach and bench coach.”
Burnett and Grimes took over a Storm team that has missed the playoffs the past two years. They have a 19-16-1-3 record and sit in seventh place but just five out of fourth and home-ice in the opening playoff round.
“We’d like to think we’ve made strides and we’re still trying to move up the ranks and find the best playoff spot possible,” he said.
Grimes said he’s enjoyed his new surroundings and building new relationships with players. He’s also enjoyed reuniting with Burnett. He says Burnett brings organization and structure to a team which makes it hard for players to have excuses.
“Nothing is usually a surprise. Things are dealt with quickly and you know your role. There are no punches pulled,” Grimes said.
“That’s one of the stronger parts of what he does. You hate to use this word but it’s an environment where there aren’t any excuses. Everything is taken care of at school, with billets, as far as what’s on player’s mind. There are lots of meetings. He’s done a great job here in a tough conference.”
NOTE: See more Petes coverage on Page C5.