Mixed emotions as Humboldt team seeks new head coach/GM
The Humboldt Broncos SASKATOON took another big step toward normalcy on Friday when they formally posted their vacant head coach and general manager position.
It was exciting, said team president Kevin Garinger, and also sad, given that the man they’re replacing — head coach and GM Darcy Haugan — was one of 16 people killed in the April 6 bus collision that attracted worldwide attention.
“It’s exciting, it’s kind of a relief, but it’s also something that also comes with very mixed emotions,” Garinger said Friday from Chilliwack, where the Broncos will be honoured at the RBC Cup national junior A hockey championship.
“It says we’re moving forward, and we know we’re not going to be moving forward with someone who was the face, the heart, and soul of this organization, and that was Darcy Haugan. That’s the major mixed-emotion part, because he meant so much to our organization, as everyone knows.”
The Broncos announced Friday that they ’ll return to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for the 2018-19 season, which wasn’t a surprise. And the head-coaching search marks a public declaration that the hockey side of things is humming along.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances,” begins the job posting, “the Humboldt Broncos Junior ‘A’ Hockey Team, a proud member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), is currently seeking a General Manager/Head Coach for the upcoming 2018-2019 season and beyond.”
Garinger said he anticipates having somebody in place by midJune.
“There’s certainly people out there who are interested, and have expressed that interest,” Garinger said. “They ’ve sent emails directly to myself, and to other members of our board. And that’s even before the announcement was made. There’s going to be interest, and we’re grateful for that.
“We’ve known we’re going to move forward, but now we’re heading down a path and hiring the general manager and head coach. That really is a statement that says we’re back — we’re going to start getting ready for the 2018-19 season, and getting the head coach and GM in place is very important.”
The Broncos’ assistant general manager, Jason Neville, is handling hockey operations and working with scouts while the team works to rebuild. Among other things, he’s working on the league’s upcoming bantam draft, and on stocking an invite-only player camp in Saskatoon from May 25 to 27.
The team will have a cross-section of ages at the camp, says Garinger, from experienced veterans to young players who are being looked at for future seasons. They expect 80 to hit the ice.
He said there’s “an ongoing discussion” with the SJHL about drafting players from other teams to shore up the team’s depleted roster.
Season tickets, meanwhile, go on sale soon.
“It’s absolutely a huge relief,” Garinger said of Friday ’s announcements. “The process to get to there is sometimes a longer process than you want, but at the same time, you want to be extremely respectful of people. And the process we’ve undertaken has respected everyone involved in the organization.”