Assistant becomes new head coach of the Wellesley Applejacks

Having joined the staff last season, Malcolm Hutt tapped to lead a squad that expects to see many returning players

THE WELLELSEY APPLEJACKS HAVE a new head coach for the 2018-19 season. Malcolm Hutt, an assistant coach in the season that just ended, will be taking over the reins from Brad Gerber, who is moving into a managerial position with the team.

“It’s exciting,” said Hutt of the promotion. “I wasn’t expecting to be named or become the head coach in the second season, but the opportunity was there. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a challenge. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

A year of experience with the Jacks under his belt, Hutt says he will be coming in with a solid understanding of the team dynamics.

“Taking over this position as head coach, it’s definitely a lot easier being part of the team last year as an assistant coach,” said Hutt. “I know the players coming back, I know what they’re capable of and I got an idea of what they’re all about, so I’m not coming in blind.”

There’s a strong core of players expected to return next season too, which ought to give the new coach a strong advantage over the competition, notes general manager Brock Gerber.

“Right now it looks like we will have at least 16 players returning for next year, so that’s something to build off again. It’s nice if we have a bigger core returning – it makes it a little easier going forward and working with the guys,” said Gerber.

“They all kind of know each other; it’s not like we’re starting over. I think last season we only had nine returning players so we had a big changeover there. You’ve got to kind of rebuild and start over for a bit, and it’s tough to get everybody on the same page. But I think Malcolm will do a good job with that this year, getting everybody on the same page early.”

Hutt is still comparatively new to coaching at this level, but in his time as assistant coach, Gerber says that the organization liked what they saw. Hutt also brings years of on-ice experience to back him up, and

thrill for me.

As a result, I have been practicing a lot with my bow ever since my backyard target started to thaw out – it’s easier on arrows that way.

The way I practice bow hunting shots for turkey is by shooting at a bamboo pole or similarly shaped sliver of cardboard. To me, that target represents a wild turkey’s neck and if truth were to be told, tastes like one too.

This leads me to the point of this column. As far as I know, the number-one question a turkey hunter gets asked from non-hunters or new hunters is, “Do they taste good?”

This has been my experience at least.

The answer is, for the most part, they taste great. Wild turkeys eat good natural foods and are, if you think about it, the ultimate free-range bird.

I say for the most part because their legs are a bit tough. By that I mean you could probably hit a home run with one if some pitcher made the mistake of throwing a fast ball right over your dinner plate.

The neck is another bit of turkey toughness that most of us don’t bother with unless it is for soup.

Don’t get me wrong; turkey soup is one of my favourite results of a successful turkey hunt. The turkey legs, neck, and meat, aside from the two breast halves, go into this soup.

But there are other uses for these as well. For instance, if a new turkey hunter is thinking about hunting in the same areas you hunt, it’s customary to present that hunter with the legs of the last bird you shot, so they have an indication of how good turkey meat can be.

Often, this serves to remind those people how great trout fishing is in the spring – provided they don’t use those legs in soup. Then you are in trouble.

That’s the problem with turkey drumsticks as a deterrent. It can go horribly wrong if the person knows how to deal with them and turn them into a delicious meal.

That’s why I have developed another tactic to keep fellow turkey hunter away from the places I hunt. Typically, if I meet them while scouting in the area, I’ll let them know that I hunt there too.

Then, if they are really new at it, they’ll eventually ask that age-old question, “Do they taste good?”

My answer to that is now, “Sure, they do. Wanna neck?”