The annual coaching carousel has seen changes to hockey coaching staffs across North America, and the re-signing of Head Coach and General Manager Blake Spiller has seen some changes behind his bench as well.
Associate Coach Paul Harland is stepping away from the bench to take on the role of Assistant General Manager. He outlines what his key objectives will be in the position.
"One of the key ones is recruitment. Now that the league, the MJHL, doesn't have a draft, it's all about recruiting guys and getting them and selling them on your program and why they would want to come to Portage, so I'll be doing some of that."
Harland gives credit to the scouting staff for already identifying players who might both benefit the team and benefit from playing in Portage.
"Our scouts do a great job of identifying players that would be good for our organization. And then I'll just help Blake with trying to get them to come to Portage and show them why it's a good program, good for the development, and a competitive team every year. So that'll be one of the key things, and then finding players that we need throughout the year. Not coaching will free me up to maybe travel around to some of the arenas in Manitoba and in Saskatchewan, if need be, and make some trips to see some guys that we might look to add to our team. To watch them live as opposed to watching them on video is a big difference, so that'll be another big component of what I'll be doing."
Harland reflected on his career with the Terriers thus far, noting that the start definitely wasn't easy.
"It's funny, the first year that I coached with him, I was coaching in minor hockey at the Bantam level. The first year, we had some growing pains, but it evolved over the next 18 years. We have the same mindset of the type of players we want, the team we wanna build, and how to play, and what we want. So, he has thrown some trust my way over those years of watching and looking at guys on video and stuff like that. So I think it'll be a smooth transition, and you know we'll continue to work well together."
When asked about his time with the team and how to sum up his tenure with Blake thus far, he says it starts with an educational attitude.
"The biggest thing to me is he's a real good GM and a real good coach. And I've learned lots from him over the years," he continues. "His honesty with the players is something that you don't find in other organizations all that much. He tells it like it is to the players, and that's a good thing. When we're recruiting guys or telling guys, if they want to come play, there's never a guarantee, so you gotta work your way into the lineup and be a contributor."
Spiller is equally complimentary of Harland and adds that he thinks Harland will fill the role excellently.
"We're fortunate that he's going to stay with us in the Assistant General Manager role. With all the different rules and recruiting, it's definitely an important part of an organization. He's got a really keen eye for players, he knows the game as well as anybody, so we're fortunate to have him continue on in our organization."