Less than two weeks into their search for a new head coach and general manager, the Estevan Bruins have received nearly 40 applications for the position.
The bulk of those came quickly. In the first week after relieving Keith Cassidy of his duties on March 28, the team had collected about 30 applications.
The deadline to apply is April 26.
"Not just the number of resumes, the quality of resumes we've received has been very, very positive," Bruins president Jeff Pierson said Thursday.
The field of candidates represents a wide variety of backgrounds, with prospective coaches coming from several different levels of hockey.
"We have at least one WHL assistant coach, one CIS assistant coach, head coaches from other junior leagues, a couple of American coaches, one Austrian coach. It's been crazy that way. This is just a week in," Pierson said.
"Each one has a bit of a different take on things. I think there's enough different variations out there that it gives you a lot to look at. It'll give us a lot of variations to look at to make sure we're getting the right individual."
Pierson said the new person would need to be in place no later than June 1, or, "in a perfect world, a couple of weeks earlier than that."
That's because player cards are issued in late May or early June, allowing teams to begin signing prospects.
"Leading up to the cutoff, you're kind of short-listing (already). By the time the deadline (comes), you should be ready to interview. It'll be exciting," Pierson said.
The president noted that the executive may also contact others who haven't applied if they feel the person would be a good fit.
"I wouldn't rule that out at all. As it goes on and we haven't heard from a particular individual we thought would apply or might be interested, definitely that's a phone call worth making. It's a big deal, so I think we'll look at every different avenue to find the right person. If that means approaching someone that hasn't approached us, absolutely. We owe it to the hockey club to do that," Pierson said.
Of the current group of applicants, Pierson said "a good third of them" are coaches the executive would seriously consider hiring. He added that some of them might make good assistant coaches, a position the team also must fill after Cole Zahn's decision to step back to care for his young child and work at his other job.
Two years ago, when they eventually hired Cassidy, the team had roughly 40 applicants.
Pierson said the list this time includes lots of people who did not apply in 2011. He added that the lustre of Spectra Place has not worn off in that respect.
"I think the difference between now and then is, the first go-around, we hadn't been in the new building yet, nor had we at that point even seen the new dressing room because it wasn't built.
"Now the word is definitely out about Estevan, the rink we have, the dressing room facilities, and that we're a fairly stable club financially. I think it just makes it that much more appealing to apply here. We have one of the nicest Junior A rinks in Canada and I'll say the same about our dressing room, so that certainly helps our case."
