Staios deftly orchestrates Hamilton’s success story
Ex-Oilers’ defenceman built Bulldogs into Cup contenders in three years
Having been a part of the Edmonton Oilers’ fabled Stanley Cup final run in 2006, Steve Staios knows as well as anyone how intense playoff stress and pressure can be as a player.
And he’ll be the first to tell you it is easier to deal with than the emotions he feels watching his Hamilton Bulldogs at the Memorial Cup.
As a veteran defenceman with the Oilers, Staios at least had a chance to impact the direction of a game. As president and general manager of the Bulldogs, all he can do is cross his fingers and hope for the best.
“It’s way more difficult to watch than to play,” said Staios, the architect of an impressive success story in Hamilton. “When you play, or even coach, you at least feel like you can have an effect on the game. As a manager you feel helpless.”
A GM’s work is done when the playoffs start. The rest is up to the team he assembled. And Staios put together a beauty, getting Hamilton to the CHL championship tournament just three years after taking over the reins of a team that relocated from Belleville.
Named team president in Year 1, then president and GM in Year 2, Staios ran a complete overhaul of a program that hadn’t won a playoff round since 2013.
“We made some significant changes after year one and slowly started to shape the roster,” he said. “I came up with a plan and we stayed disciplined to it. It’s a bit of a surprise that we were able to turn this thing around as quickly as we did, but it’s the old saying, you surround yourself with good people who share the same vision and good things come of it.”
The Bulldogs finished 43-187 this season, advancing to the Memorial Cup with a stunning win over powerhouse Sault Ste. Marie, a team that finished 55-7-6 and only lost one home game all season.
“We felt we were deeper and this team believed we were the better team, even though Sault only lost seven games, and only once at home all year. We beat them twice in their building in the playoffs. It’s a special group,” he said.
Staios, who was working in player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs when Hamilton came calling, admits the challenge of taking over a junior team was more than he bargained for.
“I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into, I didn’t realize the magnitude of it,” he said, laughing. “The first year I was president I felt like I was under water for the first three or four months, trying to get an understanding of things like the lease agreement, business strategies, sales and marketing. Basically all the things I don’t have any experience in. That was the biggest challenge, but once I got through that and started to focus on hockey ops it became pretty natural to me. It was fun.
“You rely on your experience and instinct. And my time in player development with the Leafs was terrific because I was involved with the management there, learning and watching.”
Staios never planned on getting into junior hockey, but when Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer came calling, offering him a chance to do something special in Hamilton, the place where he was born and raised and still has deep roots, he couldn’t say no.
“I don’t think there was any other junior franchise I would have left the Maple Leafs for,” said Staios, who spent eight seasons with the Oilers en route to 1,001 NHL games. “But junior hockey has a checkered past in Hamilton and that always bothered me a little bit.
“I know we have a good sports city. I grew up here, there are a lot of passionate people, so the challenge of it was intriguing for me — to go back into Hamilton and try to make the team relevant, make it part of the community with the goal of having OHL hockey in Hamilton forever.
The Oilers-Bulldogs connections don’t end with Staios, either. Ryan Strome’s brother Matthew was their leading scorer in the regular season (34 goals and 28 assists in 68 games) and Darnell Nurse’s cousin Isaac is becoming Mr. Everything for Hamilton.
“Matthew is the biggest of the bunch (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) and he has incredible hockey sense,” said Staios. “He’s a great kid.”