Letowski replaces Thompson as head coach
New head coach ‘right guy for the job,’ general manager Rychel says
In the end, Trevor Letowski never wanted to leave the Windsor Spitfires.
After taking a few days to listen to pro offers, the 40-year-old Letowski opted to remain with the Spitfires and will assume the head coaching duties left vacant when Rocky Thompson moved on to the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves.
“It’s human nature,” Letowski said. “You want to hear what’s available and to hear what’s out there, but for me, it was an easy decision in the end.
“For me, there’s a lot of value in staying in this league and in this community. We love Windsor and Essex County.”
Letowski, who served as associate coach the past two seasons under Thompson, got a four-year deal to take over as head coach of the Spitfires.
“He’s the right guy for the job,” Spitfires general manager Warren Rychel said. “I was a little worried when some NHL teams called on him, and deservedly so, because everyone wants a champion.
“In saying that, there were a lot of candidates and a lot of people all over North American that contacted me about the job, but it kept coming back to Trevor.”
Letowski played more than 600 NHL games over nine seasons with four teams and had established himself as a respected coach with the Sarnia Sting when he became a victim of circumstances. The Sting made a 24-point improvement from 2013-14 to 2014-15 when the club was sold and co-owner Derian Hatcher elected to take over behind the bench.
Letowski had a year left on his Sarnia contract and could have elected to stay on the sidelines for a season, but opted to join the Spitfires.
“I think back, it was such a smart decision when I came to Windsor,” the Thunder Bay native said. “I still had a year on my (Sarnia) deal and wasn’t so sure, but I sat down with the ownership group and I felt strongly about it.
“It’s a great place to work and a great place to come to the rink and players will say that. That’s the environment you want to be part of and I’m fortunate they trusted me with the position.”
Rychel credits Letowski, who handled Windsor’s defence, with the improvement of players like Sean Day, Jalen Chatfield, Mikhail Sergachev and Logan Stanley. As well, the Spitfires had the best penalty-killing unit in the OHL last season at 88.5 per cent, which is the best ever recorded by a team since the league started keeping records.
“It’s a logical choice,” Rychel said. “He was a head coach before and made significant improvement in players in Sarnia, and came here and he was great. Look at every one of our defencemen and they improved. It’s good to have him.”
Letowski said part of his reason for joining the Spitfires in 2015 was because he still felt he had a lot to learn about coaching.
“You’re always learning,” Letowski said. “I think I’ve learned with Rocky and Jerrod (Smith, the club’s assistant coach) and Boughie (president Bob Boughner) around helping and Warren. You continue to grow.
“I’ve been in some big tournaments with the Memorial Cup and have world junior experience. I think sitting here today, compared to two years ago, I’m better and more experienced.”
Boughner and Thompson were both, in part, driven by a dream to be a head coach in the NHL, but that’s not the motivation for Letowski taking the head coaching job in Windsor.
“For me, I just want to be in a good situation,” Letowski said. “Family is important to me. I’m competitive and want to keep learning and developing, but I want to be in a healthy situation.
“It’s a great chance to run this program and continue to learn. I don’t look too, too far ahead. I look a year ahead and this deal puts me in a good spot and I’m excited to get to work.”
With as much as half the roster potentially lost to graduation, Letowski knows next year’s task could be a lot tougher.
“Who knows what it’s going to look like at the end of the day?” Letowski said. “Warren’s good at what he does and will find some players. For me, my job is to develop the players I have and get the most out of every single player. I take pride in that.
“This is a unique situation where I already have relationships built in with players. They know what to expect of me. There are a lot of good kids in that room and I can’t wait to work with them again.”
How the rest of Letowski’s coaching staff fills out remains to be seen, but he’s hoping Smith returns. “Jerrod Smith is very important,” Letowski said. “He was a big part of things. He’s a valuable piece and hopefully, he’ll be back.”
The club also has a vacancy with goaltending coach Jim Bedard having moved on to coach with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. “The main thing was getting Trevor signed and we’ll focus on the rest of the staff shortly, but right now the (CHL) Import Draft is the No. 1 priority now,” Rychel said of the June 30 event.