As was reported earlier by the Prince Albert Herald, the Raiders have announced the firing of general manager Donn Clark. The move comes with the Raiders in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, 14 points out of a playoff spot.
Bruno Campese, who signed on as head coach prior to this season, takes over as GM for the rest of this season. Campese was hired after Clark chose not to renew the contract of veteran head coach Peter Anholt.
Campese, who joined the Raiders after three seasons with the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, will undertake a complete review of the organization.
Clark has had two stints with the Raiders. Combined, he was in his 15th season with them. This was his sixth season as the GM.
This is a move that actually was made about a month ago. The Raiders, a community-owned team under the operation of a volunteer board of directors, made the decision then and Clark was left in place to help Campese make the transition and to see the team through the Jan. 10 deadline.
Prior to the deadline, Clark traded D Jeff May, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for two prospects – LW Brent Martin, 15, and C Robbie Ciolfi, 16 – and a 2008 second-round draft pick. Clark also traded D Zach Sim, 19, to the Kootenay Ice for a 2008 fifth-round pick.
In his final move, Clark dealt RW Ryan DePape, 19, to the Reigna Pats for RW Jared Jagow, 19, and a 2008 third-round pick.
Clark’s dismissal comes four days after The Daily Herald ran an editorial on the Raiders’ situation. That editorial ended with this paragraph:
“In the past, General Manager Donn Clark has laid blame for successive failure at the feet of the team’s coaches, but the time has long passed for that tactic now. His contract ends this season – and those that oversee the club would be wise to start gathering new resumes immediately.”
If you are wondering, no one from the Raiders has been in touch with Dean Clark, the former general manager and head coach of the Kamloops Blazers who was fired on Nov. 7 shortly after new owners took over the franchise.
Donn Clark told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he has know about the change for a month and that he stayed on to help Campese.
“From a hockey operations (perspective) I don’t think we’ve had the success
we’d have liked over the last few years,” he told SP sports editor Doug McConachie. “The team underachieved from what I thought the talent would be. I’m not saying we had a championship team, but it could have been better.”
Clark added that the Raiders weren’t ready when new standards of officiating were introduced to the game.
“As general manager, I take responsibility for that,” Clark said. “The players we had (on the 50-player protected list) weren’t conducive to the new style of game.
We were built to be a big strong team and grind it out and the game changed
and we were one of the last teams to adapt.”
Clark added that he is leaving the Raiders in far better financial shape than they were in when he arrived.
“The big thing for me is that the club over the last few years consistently made money,” he said. “We went from being on the verge of bankrupt . . . our team over last four years made almost $750,000 which is good for a small market club.
“The Raiders today are in a lot better shape than when I got there, and I
feel very good about that.”
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