Don Chesney's back. As general manager of the Yorkton Terrier Hockey Club, 'the Chez' is once again directing the team's fortunes, albeit in a different capacity. The Terriers have a lot of new, young players this year. "This is probably the youngest team that's been around here for quite a few years," he notes.
Despite their youth, Chesney sees a lot of potential in the young players. "It's just a matter of our young coaches teaching our young players how to play," he suggests. He has a lot of confidence in both head coach Trent Cassan and assistant coach Casey O'Brian and their ability to be patient and teach the young players the ins and outs of the game.
The key to any success are the team's scouts who have identified talented young players from B.C. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Chesney says. Terriers scout Gary Carson has worked with him on about four different hockey clubs. Carson has been with the Terriers for about 10 years, Chesney points out. "If you look at the lasy eight or nine years the Terriers have had a lot of success with different coaches. A lot of that is because of the players that have been brought in here," he suggests.
Goal tending duties have been handled well by Warren Shymko, Kamil Przepiorka and Kale Thompson. Przepiorka and Thompson are battling for one of the two goal tending positions. "We're going to be patient to make sure everybody has a good chance. It's a long season and we want to make sure we give everybody here a chance to show us if we can play or not," Chesney says.
The Terrier staff has also grown this season. After Danny McKay moved on, Casey O'Brien came on board as assistant coach. Gordon Pritchard, an articling law student who aspires to work in the NHL, and a friend of his has come on board as assistant GM. "He's helping us and we're helping him, Chesney states. He believes the staff is very good. They should stay positive and get the Terriers to where they want to be.
The injury bug has bitten early in the season as Brent Struble and Kelly Lessmeister have been sidelined with injuries which will keep them off the ice for awhile. Injuries are a part of the game and the Terriers will have to look to other players to pick step up to fill the gaps.
Chesney asks fans to be patient and to continue to come out to support the Terriers. "We have a lot of potential but we are quite young and have a lot of guys who haven't played in this league before," he points out.
Despite their current inexperience, Chesney predicts that by after Christmas, the Terriers will have a team that will be contending in the south.
