by KELLY FRIESEN
Journal editor
Even though Dean Brockman moved on from the Humboldt Broncos to become the new assistant coach of the Saskatoon Blades about a week ago, he's still involved with the SJHL organization. He's acting as a consultant to help the Broncos find his successor.
"I'm more or less lending a helping hand to the team," said Brockman. "I'll share with them my opinions and try to help them get the best guy in there. You could call it a consultant role. I'm doing what I can to help them out in their time of transition."
The Broncos are in the "preliminary stages" of finding their new GM-head coach. Therefore, it's tough to say when the official hiring will take place.
"Right now they are accepting applications and going through them," said Brockman. "It's fairly vague for whom they are looking right now. They haven't narrowed down a short list or anything. It's in the preliminary stages of finding the next guy."
Brockman won't be spending too much time with his replacement to bring him up to speed on the team. He feels assistant coach Brayden Klmosko has the insight to cover that.
"Brayden will be able to give the new coach everything he needs to know on player evaluations and things like that," he said. "He knows the team really well and will cover things like that."
Despite it being tough to say goodbye to Humboldt, Brockman is excited to start the next chapter in his coaching career.
"There are a lot of emotions attached to Humboldt, so it wasn't easy to move on," said Brockman. "Humboldt has felt like home for a while, so it will be a change. But I think the timing is right and I'm excited to get the opportunity to move up to the WHL. I'm really looking forward to training camp and starting the season with the Blades."
Brockman will work with Blades head coach-GM Bob Woods, who left his assistant coach position with the Anaheim Ducks to return to major junior. The two coaches are going into the season not too familiar with each other even though they may have played minor hockey against each other in the '80s.
"I didn't know Woods at all besides that we may have played against each other when we were younger," said Brockman. "But I'm looking forward to working with him. It's great to get the opportunity to work with someone who has NHL experience."
Schedule released
The Broncos kick off the 2014-15 regular season at Elgar Peterson Arena on Sept. 20 against the Notre Dame Hounds.
They close out the season on March 1 against the Weyburn Red Wings at home.
Season tickets range from $330 for adults to $99 for children and $15 to $5 per game. Call the Broncos office at 682-5575 for details.
