Stayner Siskins general manager Richard Gauthier is going through with his promises, hiring an experienced hockey man as head coach of the Junior C hockey club.
Tim Hesch, 52, of Elmvale recently accepted the position. You can't really find more experienced than Hesch. At one point in time, he was the Midland Flyers owner, president, general manager and head coach.
Later he was an associate coach with the Penetang Kings, before their championship run. As a player, he played Junior B, before it became provincial Junior A, with Owen Sound. He also got to drink some coffee with Oshawa and London when he played at the OHL level.
Gauthier knows Hesch quite well as they coached against each other in the 1990s and early years of the new millennium. In the local hockey world, he is known for developing hockey players.
Gauthier said five or six Hesch-coached players have gone on to the NCAA to play hockey on scholarships.
Hesch developed former Siskins coach and current coach of the Collingwood Blues Chad Moreau.
Gauthier is still looking for assistant coaches and will be interviewing several this week.
The general manager stated that the goal is to re-establish Stayner as a contender, and put a decent product on the ice with a well-disciplined program. .500 hockey is the target this coming season.
He made a point of mentioning that he will move players for both the betterment of the club and the player if there are any problems.
He said, "my motto is to deal with it (any problem) right away and don't let it get out of hand. At the end of the day and by the end of the year you have a better product."
He is also in discussion with the Collingwood Blues about becoming an affiliate, which would mean Siskins' players would have an excellent opportunity of getting Junior A experience, enabling them to progress in their hockey careers. Stayner could also pick up some excellent players who do not quite fit the Junior A grade at that point in time.
Hesch and Gauthier will meet with players from last year's Siskins' team individually behind closed doors next week. They hope to get a base where the team stands in order to make plans for this coming season. They want to get the players thoughts on this season and whether they want to return or not.
Gauthier also said the sponsors are happy with the changes made to the club. Some new sponsors have come aboard, too.
In a summer sport, teams in the North Dufferin Baseball League (NDBL) break from the regular season schedule this coming weekend to participate in elimination tournaments with the NDBL winners competing at the provincial championships over the Labour Day weekend.
New Lowell hosts the 'B' tournament with four teams involved. Clearview battles Orillia, Saturday at 9 a.m.; New Lowell and Ivy take to the field at 11 a.m. Games continue throughout the weekend with the final game Sunday afternoon.
Creemore, Barrie 'A', and Aurora play at Gowan Memorial Park in Creemore for the 'C' tournament. Creemore and Barrie go head-to-head in the first game with the winner playing Aurora in the second game. Game times are 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. respectively. The championship game takes place Sunday.
The 'D' tournament has five teams participating, including Bolton, Angus, Barrie 'B', Lisle, and host Midland. The first game is at Tiffin Park in Midland at 7 p.m. Friday with Midland and Angus.
Barrie 'B' and Lisle play at 10 a.m. Saturday; Bolton has received a bye into the second round against the winner of the Barrie 'B' versus Lisle game. Tournament play continues until late in the evening with another three to four games on Sunday depending on teams remaining.
All tournaments are double-knockout elimination.
Thus far into the season, three teams remain undefeated: Creemore 9-0, New Lowell 8-0 and Bolton 5-0.
Alex Hargrave is a sports writer for The Stayner Sun. His column appears each week.
