It's been a busy few months for 100 Mile House Wranglers head coach Levi Stuart.
Since being hired by the Wranglers near the end of March, Stuart has spent the off-season recruiting players, getting to know the community and making changes to help the team succeed. He noted the off-season often tends to be busier than during the regular season, especially for coaches and managers like him.
"There's a lot of different scouting trips, conversations and watching video. At the end of the day it's all about building the right culture and finding people you want to have together that can be a part of a brotherhood," Stuart remarked. "We're trying to create that family kind of environment and culture. We've really focused on the new kids and returning kids getting to know each other. There's seven of them here that have been helping out with the kids' camps at the South Cariboo Rec Centre and 100 Mile Minor Hockey (these last two weeks)."
In addition to players, Stuart has also been making sure he has plenty of help behind the bench. Assistant coach Lee Hansen and longtime Wranglers trainer Rainer Meyer are both returning alongside a new associate coach Stuart just hired last week.
Russell Sanderson is the new associate coach and assistant general manager for this season, which Stuart said is a welcome addition. Sanderson was most recently the assistant coach and GM for the Nelson Leafs last year and brings a lot of experience to the table.
"He's won championships with Campbell River over in the Vancouver Island leagues, he's done it all. He's definitely a players' coach who gets along with the boys. He's only been here for three days and he's already a part of the family like I knew he would be," Stuart remarked. "Him and I played hockey together as kids. He has a ton of hockey knowledge and is already on the same page as me as to what I want to do as far as systems go and how I want to teach these kids."
Sanderson will be helping Stuart run the Wranglers' training camp and tryouts from Sept. 6 to 10 this year. Stuart has only invited 40 players to these tryouts and noted that no one's spot is guaranteed as he cuts them down to a 25-man-strong team.
"It's going to be very competitive. There's already some nerves you can see but there's a lot of excitement as well as the players see the changes in the league and the organization," Stuart remarked. "The players really all want to be part of it. They want to be here and they're doing everything they can to help, learn and get better in a short amount of time."
While he's unwilling to confirm his team's roster just yet, Stuart said he expects to have an older team than 100 Mile has had for the last several years. Most of the players coming to camp this year are 19 in addition to a few 18 and 20-year-olds.
"It will be a veteran but a 19-year-old veteran team. There might be one, maybe two, 17-year-olds who will come and crack the team but they're going to have to have stellar camps and earn their spot," Stuart remarked.
Those who make the team this year can expect a more rigorous and demanding schedule compared to previous years. Stuart said when the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League was a Junior B League players could expect about an hour of practice a day. As a Junior A league, Stuart plans for between four to five hours at the rink a day in addition to team warm-up and workout sessions, video sessions, individual skills practice and scrimmage games.
"It's going to be a wake-up call for some guys and we're going to find out pretty quick between camp and exhibition games who can handle it and who can't," Stuart remarked.
In addition to training and playing games, Stuart plans to get the team more involved in the community with new team events. There will also be changes coming to the way games are played with the Wranglers now doing spotlight intros for every home game.
"It's a new league. It's junior A Tier One now and that's what we're trying to get to. I've been making a lot of changes and I've been learning to do it one day at a time," Stuart remarked. "I think everyone is starting to hear the reputation of how things are run around here and it's making it that much more of an attractive place (to play)."
The Wranglers kick off their season with two home exhibition games after their camp. The first will be on Sept.11 against the newly formed Quesnel River Rush while the second will be against the Williams Lake Mustangs on Sept. 17, both at the South Cariboo Rec Centre.
"I'm really excited to be here and this is the place I wanted to be as a coach. I'm really excited to start a new decade, new season, new team and new league. We're moving up to that next level and we want to get there on the ice and off the ice," Stuart said. "The only way this works is with the support of the community and we can't wait to see the fans once we get going."
