Clark takes responsibility

From The Daily News of Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. . . .

At some point over the last few days, Dean Clark, the general manager and
head coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, came to a grim realization that he
hopes will turn out to be a revelation.
Having watched his squad sputter through its last two games, a 3-0 Saturday
night loss to the visiting Vancouver Giants and a 6-1 whipping at the hands
of the host Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday, Clark, stealing a page from the
cartoonist Walt Kelly, realized: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Having reached that conclusion, Clark realized that things have to change.
Not only that; it has to start with him.
“I know what the problem is. It’s me,” Clark said prior to Thursday’s
practice at Interior Savings Centre.
When Clark broke down the last few seasons of his career, including stints
as head coach of the Calgary Hitmen and Brandon Wheat Kings, it dawned on
him that what his players and the organization have gotten lately hasn’t
been him.
The way he sees it now — and yesterday it was as clear to him as the sun in
the sky — is that he has slowly sunk into a morass of negativity.
“So many things have gone on here that . . . it’s negative. Everything’s
negative,” Clark said. “When you’re negative and you’re thinking about
negative things all the time, you portray that image. You can’t be that way
without 16- and 20-years-olds taking on that persona.
“That is something I have recognized.”
Clark, whose Blazers are at home to the Prince George Cougars today
(Interior Savings Centre, 7 p.m.), went so far as to say that, having gone
through this bout of self-analysis, he would agree with many of his critics.
“People would say, ‘You haven’t done anything for four or five years.’ I
would tend to agree with that,” Clark stated. “And I think it’s more because
I haven’t recognized . . . it’s hard sometimes when you get in situations to
really realize what is going on.
“You probably need someone to say, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ I haven’t had
that.”
Until now, that is. And now he is saying it to himself.
When Clark thought about his recent past, he came to the conclusion that he
was a pretty positive thinker for most of his coaching career, at least
before he arrived in Kamloops.
But it was shortly after he signed on here that the organization got caught
up in a massive fraud, after which things really went downhill. There were
first-round playoff eliminations and missing the playoffs for the first time
in franchise history and firings and changes and on and on.
But things were going to be better this season. After all, the club won 40
games last season. It was sold to private owners Aug. 23. And the team went
6-1 in the exhibition season.
But the regular season has been anything but promising. The Blazers are
6-8-1-0 and ninth in the 10-team Western Conference going into tonight.
Which is why Clark took such a long, hard look at himself.
“There was a stretch last season where I was actually the Dean Clark who had
been in Brandon and Calgary,” he explained. “For about two-thirds of the
season. . . . I don’t think I’ve ever been that any other time here just
because of everything that has happened in this organization. I just have to
get back to being what I’m really like.
“One of the things that was very evident in Brandon and Calgary was that the
players played hard for me. And I think they played hard for me last season,
for two-thirds of the season. That’s something we have to get back to.”
With that in mind, Clark said there is going to be a metamorphosis. He is
going to change.
“It has to be . . . this hasn’t been an easy place,” he said. “Whatever
happens outside this dressing room, however many e-mails I get, whoever’s
going to say what. . . whatever.
“I have to be confident with my guys and what we’re doing . . . and more
positive.”
As for tonight’s game, Clark said he is taking the team back to basics.
“We’re going to get pucks to the net,” Clark said. “We have tried to do some
different systematic things. We have to go back to keeping it simple and
guys reacting, instead of watching and then reacting. We’re thinking too
much. Until we can get our ‘play hard’ back . . . then we can do some
things.”
JUST NOTES: The Blazers have assigned G Jon Groenheyde, 16, to the KIJHL’s
Columbia Valley Rockies, who play out of Invermere. Groenheyde, who had a
terrific camp here, joined the Blazers two weeks ago from the BCHL’s Merritt
Centennials with starter Justin Leclerc nursing a sprained ankle.