I finally had my first chance to chat with Battlefords North Stars head coach and general manager Kevin Hasselberg on Monday around lunch time.
It was a strange first conversation though, as it had only been announced minutes before hand that he was leaving the team to become the new head coach and general manager of the Southern Professional Hockey League's Pensacola Ice Flyers.
As I've written before in this space, it's hard for me to make major statements on how things are going to look or have been in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League since I only started here a couple of weeks ago.
However, I don't think you need to be living in The Battlefords to understand the impact Hasselberg has had with the North Stars since he came over from the British Columbia Hockey League's Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the summer of 2011.
At the time of his hiring, Hasselberg said that he had to come in and prove himself to be capable of developing young players and working in a team environment.
He certainly did that and more. He made it to the SJHL semifinals three times, compiled a regular season record of 174-84-10-15 and was named the league's Coach of the Year this spring after a dazzling 2015-16 campaign.
Without a doubt this has been the best run that the team has been on since they made back-to-back trips to the league final in the mid 2000's.
The impact Hasselberg has had on his players was easy to see on Twitter shortly after Monday's announcement.
“Congratulations to the most dedicated coach I've ever had,” forward Logan Nachtegaele said. “Hard work pays off.”
“I doubt I'll meet anyone as hard working as Kevin,” defenceman Connor Sych added. “This opportunity couldn't have come to anyone more deserving.”
The situation that Hasselberg is headed off to is a pretty good one as well.
The Ice Flyers have been the top team in the SPHL over the last few years as they've won three out of the last four league titles.
They've also done a great job in bringing coaches up to the next level. Rod Aldoff, who won three straight titles as a coach in the Superior International Junior Hockey League before joining the Ice Flyers in 2013, has moved on to the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals for next year.
As Hasselberg heads off to continue his journey to become a coach in the National Hockey League, the question now is who will be his replacement.
What helps is the fact that by all accounts, the North Stars will be in the mix once again to contend for a SJHL championship as a number of players from last year's squad will be returning.
It's the perfect situation for a new face to come in and I expect that there's going to be a number of excellent candidates throwing their hat into the ring.
With the Weyburn Red Wings also looking for a new man to take charge of their squad, it's going to be pretty interesting to see how this will play out.
Replacing Hasselberg will be a tough task, especially with training camp being less than a month away.
However, I think the North Stars will find their man.
