New GM restocks struggling Lumberjacks
South Shore trades MHL veterans as rebuilding process begins
Inheriting a team mired in a 17-game winless skid, new general manager Andre Lefebvre knows it’s a tall order to reverse the fortunes of the junior A South Shore Lumberjacks.
But when team owner
Dave Hinkley approached the Halifax-based coach with his long-term plan for the Maritime Hockey League franchise, Lefebvre listened, accepted the job and began the rebuilding process amid a COVID-19 wave that has suspended MHL play until February.
“I knew he wanted to go in the right direction,” said Lefebvre, who was named GM just before Christmas. “I knew he wanted to do things properly. He didn’t want to come in and just have a quick little fix (and say), ‘I’m taking the team over, let’s try to go for it in one year.’ He’s looking to build a program where people are successful year after year after year, and model it after the most successful junior A clubs.
“So, once we started having those conversations, he made it real hard to say no.”
The Moncton-based Hinkley became the Lumberjacks owner within the past year. About two months into this season, coach and general manager Brogan Bailey of
Lunenburg was replaced with assistant coach Brad Tesink in early December and Lefebvre was later added as GM.
Lefebvre, who remains the coach of the U15 major Halifax Wolverines, has known Hinkley for decades through their mutual hockey circles.
“Dave and I have been very good friends for 20 to 25 years,” Lefebvre said. “He’s a hockey guy. We played some junior together eons ago. When the major bantam league was first formed in Nova Scotia, I believe in 2010, Dave was the head coach of the Nova team. We had seen each other around the rink and you stay in touch.
“When Dave decided to buy the (South Shore) hockey club and saw what direction (it was headed), he reached out. We had some good conversations. Every time I talked to him — I laugh about the way I’m putting it — I got the warm and fuzzies.”
Lefebvre has extensive coaching experience, including head-coaching gigs in the Nova Scotia U18 major league with the Cole Harbour Wolfpack and Valley Wildcats. He has also worked at the university and minor hockey levels, including Hockey Nova Scotia development programs.
He believes it’s still too early to determine whether he might coach the Lumberjacks after this season.
“We’re going to see how the rest of the season goes,” Lefebvre said. “Brad (Tesink) is in there right now. Brad is a good, young up-and-coming coach.
“Any time your team is 4-21, you’re going to have to look at all angles of everything, so we’re going to assess the second half and see how everything goes and what makes sense. We’ll go from there.
“You always look at opportunities and see if they make sense for you, the hockey club, the family and things like that.”
Lefebvre plans to continue coaching the U15 Wolverines for at least the rest of this season.
“Then, we’ll make the determination if I have enough time to do that again, or if I’m going to dive into this (junior A assignment) full blast.”
Taking over just weeks before the MHL’S Jan. 10 trade deadline, Lefebvre kick-started South Shore’s reconstruction in earnest. He traded 20-year-old forwards Cole Julian and Riley Spears to the Amherst Ramblers and Valley Wildcats, respectively. The 19-year-old Reimer twins, Eli at forward and Jadon on defence, were dealt to the Fredericton Red Wings. At the same time, the Lumberjacks lost 17-year-old defenceman Alex Carr to the QMJHL’S Rouyn-noranda Huskies, as expected.
With each of South Shore’s trades, Lefebvre focused on bringing in younger players and stockpiling the team with prospects and draft picks.
“We need to get the cupboards filled a little bit,” he said. “That was one of the big things I saw when I took over. The cupboards were a little bare and we need to start getting some picks and some assets and some youth and some depth into the whole organization again.”
While several of the newest Lumberjacks are still playing U18 major, some of them have MHL experience and are ready to step into the lineup.
South Shore received current junior A forwards in Kobe Burt, 18, and Sam Campbell, 19, from Fredericton and Cole Fraser, 18, from Amherst.
Burt and Campbell are in their second MHL seasons. They’re both expected to embrace bigger roles with the youthful Lumberjacks.
“I was thrilled to be able to get both of those players,” said Lefebvre, noting Burt’s offensive upside and Campbell’s captaincy potential.
The Lumberjacks also acquired the rights to U18 talents such as Preston Lounsbury of the Moncton Flyers, Matheas Elles of the Halifax Mcdonald’s, Luke Foster of Dartmouth Steele Subaru and Cole Harbour teammates Luke Mcphee and Ethan Vallis.
Lefebvre is most familiar with prospects throughout Atlantic Canada. He’s a Nova Scotia scout with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. And before becoming South Shore’s GM, he was the head scout of the MHL’S South Division-leading Yarmouth Mariners.
The last-place Lumberjacks have lost 17 straight games, 16 of them in regulation and the other in overtime. Their last win was a 2-0 victory over the Grand Falls Rapids at home Oct. 21.
As they try to right the ship, the Lumberjacks are banking on leadership from the likes of forwards Lawson Cook and Adam Macdonald, defencemen Matthew Helpard and Matt Rodriguez and goaltenders Robbie Forbes and Jeremy Robar.
“Those guys, they’re going to be a big part of whatever we’re going to do moving forward,” Lefebvre said. “There’s a real solid group down there.
“I don’t think the situation is all that far off. I think it’s more along the lines that we need to press the reset button and get them pointed in the right direction altogether as one.”
Depending on the COVID recovery, the MHL has targeted early February to resume its revised schedule. South Shore planned to regroup in Bridgewater after Jan. 20 to begin team workouts.