Q And A With The Coach - In The Heart Of The Offseason
May 27, 2010
Neepawanatives.com is pleased to bring another feature of Q And A With The Coach, entitled In The Heart Of The Offseason. In this edition, Coach Bryant Perrier talks about the upcoming MJHL draft, recruiting as well as trade developments in the past few weeks.
Q - How has the offseason been treating you?
BP - "It has been great and productive. It has been very good for me personally to reconnect with family and friends over the past month. As an organization, we are solidifying the continued success of our organization on and off the ice. We had a very good season last year. Crowds were up, kids achieved great success on and off the ice. So, we are keeping that ball rolling."
Q - How is recruiting?
BP - "Recruiting is great. As good as it could be. The biggest dilemma we have right now in recruiting is in making sure we are helping prospects make sure they understand our depth in every position. We do not want to have a player lose another good opportunity if we are loaded in a position. When your biggest concern is not over-recruiting, things are going well."
Q - Any announcements on players?
BP - "We could be making some announcments in the future at some point."
Q - A couple of fairly big trades in the past few days (acquiring Jordon Hebert and Justin Slobozian from OCN and Jordan Washburn from Portage). How did that all happen?
BP - "OCN needed a starting goaltender with the loss of David Aime. We have a very strong working relationship with Scott McMillan (OCN coach) and we have worked together in the past with some deals for this draft. He was looking for a goalie, and we needed scoring and you rarely will turn down a solid defenceman. So, it was a fit."
Q - What about the deal with Portage which sees Jordan Washburn come your way?
BP - "We gave up Brent Wold and a 6th round pick. As well, we will be sending another prospect at a later date. It is a player who is a top WHL prospect, so we will see."
Q - What do you expect from Washburn?
BP - "Obviously, we expect Jordan to come in and be at his best. He is a very good goaltender. He is an exciting athlete and a hard worker. He is definitely a huge addition."
Q - How is the draft shaping up for The Natives?
BP - "The draft is looking very good. We will have the ability to secure the MJHL rights of some very good players. We are looking at coming out with a very good boost to our future."
Q - You gave up a 6th rounder in this year's draft. That is the first round when your club can select Winnipeg players. Is that a statement that you are moving away from Winnipeg players?
BP - "Not at all. We have made some deals that have allowed us to do well on draft day. We are confident that we are coming out with players that should be top end MJHL calibre players. Our speculation is that all of our picks will be able to play by 17. We are really going to improve our organization on Sunday (at the draft). We can live with not having a 6th rounder."
Q - Back to the deal with OCN. How will this deal impact the team?
BP - "It is a big deal. We lost Krahn and that is never easy. But, we are very strong in that position in our organization. Hebert is a horse who is as good as it gets defensively and who was a top goal scorer last year. You don't find that combination very often. He is also a big, physical player with a great attuitude. Slobozian is an ultra talented guy. He played WHL at 16. That is very rare. He made the jump early and hasn't gotten traction. From a pure talent standpoint, he is a guy we should be doing backflips about. He is 18, which is young and is not too late for a legitimate pro career. We are here to help him become great if that is what he wants."
Q - What do you see for next year's team?
BP - "Size, speed, skill, toughness. Built from the crease out with an even better defence than last year. More scoring than last year for sure. I see a team that will challenge to move up in the standings and a team that will give our fans a lot to be proud of with our work ethic and pride. I see a team that will embody our values of hard work and commitment to the community."
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