Maxwell’s Smart Plan: Proceed With Caution New Lethbridge Boss To Use Next 7 Months To Evaluate Team
When the Lethbridge hockey club made Bryan Maxwell the offer he couldn’t refuse - his long-awaited chance to run the show - it was with the understanding that changes would be made.
But to his credit, Maxwell, who has been out of the game since his Jan. 22, 1994 resignation in Spokane, is proceeding with caution.
The Hurricanes’ coach and director of hockey operations, Maxwell said Monday he has retained “pretty much everybody” in the organization to minimize the effect of the change on the families involved.
The plan, he said, is to take the next seven months to evaluate strengths and weaknesses.
With a three-year contract, he has the security to build a base.
Maxwell’s willingness in the past to deal players is on hold, too, at least temporarily.
“We’re not looking to move anybody right now,” he said. “We’re giving them the ice time they deserve to show us what they’ve got. It’s a good group of kids here.”
That’s not to say all’s well at the bottom of the heap.
“It’s been a busy two weeks,” said Maxwell, who coached two clubs - Medicine Hat and Spokane - to the top of North American junior hockey. “I’ve been out of it just long enough not to know the players in the league, but coming back was like riding a bike. You just hop back on and get going.
“The kids have the biggest adjustment, not me. Any time you’re at the bottom of the league, you’re not doing something hard enough. We’re starting to change the work ethic.”
Lethbridge is tied with expansion Calgary for last in the WHL Central.
In a sense, it’s a homecoming in Lethbridge. Maxwell’s brother, Randy, has been scouting director there for four seasons.
Bryan Maxwell, who resigned here over differences of opinion with Chiefs management, said he doesn’t second-guess his abrupt departure.
“I never took a break after I played,” he said. “I needed and enjoyed my time away from the game.”
Maxwell went into real estate in Spokane while fronting for a British Columbia business group that tried and failed to land a WHL expansion franchise.
His ex-boss, Chiefs owner Bobby Brett, said, “When Maxy was here, he wanted to coach and have control over player moves. It sounds like he has that. It sounds like an excellent situation for him.
“It’s better than owning a team,” Brett added. “If it loses money, it doesn’t cost him anything.”
Spokane plays in Lethbridge on Jan. 21. Maxwell and the Hurricanes visit here Feb. 14 - Valentine’s Day.
“I’m looking forward to the evening,” Maxwell said. “I’ve got lots of friends in Spokane. It’s probably the nicest place I’ve ever lived. My family isn’t overly happy with the move.”
There was no choice, and no looking back. “All along I was looking for an opportunity like I have in Lethbridge,” Maxwell said. “Know anybody who wants to buy a house?”
There’s a pulse in Prince George
The Prince George Cougars are used to looking up - it’s the only view the franchise has had after six straight years of languishing at the bottom of the WHL West Division.
The Cougars haven’t made the playoffs since 1988-89, when the franchise operated in Victoria. The situation was so bad at the first of last week that a source close to the club moaned, “Even our goon loses!”
But after Friday’s 4-4 tie in Spokane, a win in Tri-City and a close call in Portland - a 3-2 loss Sunday - things do seem to be looking up under interim coach Dale Marquette.
Marquette took over on Nov. 3 for Doug Hobson, who was re-assigned.
“If we don’t get behind and we get a little goaltending, we’re not that bad a hockey club,” Cougars owner Rick Brodsky said. “The players are responding. Hobson did a good job. We just weren’t winning and it was something we had to change.
“We haven’t had time to change any systems. It’s basically the same thing, only now some things are going right - some of our chances are going in. The last couple of nights, the odd ones were going in, which really makes a difference.”
Goaltenders Chris Mason and backup Tyler Love are good enough to give the Cougars a chance to win.
“We’re not afraid to throw either one of them in there,” Brodsky said. “Both can play. It’s a pretty good spot to be in. Not saying we’ve turned the whole thing, but at least we’ve made a couple of steps in the right direction.”
Around the league
The suspension of Tri-City’s Daymond Langkowlasted one game, the team’s 6-4 win here on Saturday night. The defending league scoring champ was suspended for missing a team meeting. He was scheduled to return Tuesday when the Americans played the Moose Jaw Warriors … Ex-Chief Pat Falloon, acquired Thursday from San Jose for two draft picks and a minor leaguer, had a goal in his first game with the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3-2 win over Vancouver. … The Tri-City Americans are a robust 9-3 on the road, but only 5-5-1 in Kennewick.
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