It's not hard to see why the Estevan Bruins tagged Keith Cassidy to lead the franchise into a new era.
Cassidy, 36, brings to the table everything the Bruins said they were looking for in their next coach and general manager.
History of winning? Check. A younger face who can relate to junior hockey players? Check. Squeezing the most out of what he has at his disposal? Check.
While we will never see the list of more than 40 coaches who applied for the position, Cassidy appears to fit the bill.
On the management side, most of the ducks are already lined up for the Winnipeg native to succeed.
Just as it attracted would-be coaches by the dozen, Spectra Place should be a massive recruiting tool for the Bruins.
Add that to the stable of top Saskatchewan and Manitoba midget talent already in place, and Cassidy's job over the off-season shouldn't be difficult.
(One of those midgets who could join the Bruins is 17-year-old defenceman Tyler Kauk, who won the Telus Cup on Sunday with the Winnipeg Thrashers.)
As for in-season trades, the Bruins' executive felt Biette was trigger-happy at times and Cassidy has surely been asked not to tinker with the team's chemistry any more than necessary.
The focus will be on allowing the young Bruins to mature as a group and eventually emerge as a club that can make some noise in the SJHL.
The big question is what Cassidy will be able to do with a team that returns some promising players, but will be among the younger squads in the SJHL next season.
The MJHL is seen by most as inferior to its western neighbour, and the former Turnbull Trophy champion will need to adjust to playing more talented teams with different styles of play.
No doubt there will be a heightened sense of excitement around this team when they break for training camp in early September.
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It's April and the Philadelphia Flyers have three mediocre goalies. Are we supposed to be surprised?
For nearly two decades the Flyers have made their bed and slept in it when it comes to questionable goaltending, and still they refuse to invest in a quality puckstopper.
The Bobrovsky-Boucher-Leighton merry-go-round isn't the only playoff drama we've seen over the past two weeks.
From the unravelling of the Vancouver Canucks to the Luongo-Schneider soap opera to the firewagon hockey 小蓝视频 played in Philadelphia and Buffalo to the ageless wonder that is Teemu Selanne, this has been the best first round we've seen in years.
But there should be plenty more on the way. Will the Washington Capitals finally prove themselves? Will Sidney Crosby ever come back? Finally, did the Coyotes play their last game in Phoenix last Wednesday?
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected] or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshlewis306
