Yawney has interest in Blazers' job

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Trent Yawney, a former NHL head coach, is interested in being the next head
coach of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers.
In fact, Yawney told The Daily News on Tuesday that he has talked with Tom
Gaglardi, the Blazers‚ Vancouver-based majority owner.
“I briefly talked to Tom, just in passing,” said Yawney, who is working as a
pro scout for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks. “He’s a great man and obviously very
successful and has a lot of passion for the game of hockey.”
The Blazers, who were swept from the first round of the playoffs by the
Tri-City Americans last week, fired general manager and head coach Dean
Clark on Nov. 6. Greg Hawgood was named interim head coach the following day
and has been told he is free to apply for the position. It is more likely,
however, that Hawgood will be an assistant coach here next season.
"He's a nice guy," Gaglardi said, adding that he and Yawney had dinner in
Vancouver. "He was in town and we sat down and hung out. It was great.
"It was an opportunity to meet a guy who is accomplished as a coach. I was
very impressed."
Gaglardi added that is not "actively pursuing coaches," because the Blazers
will first hire a general manager.
"It's not the five owners' decision to hire a coach," Gaglardi said. "It
will be the GM's decision because that's the way things need to happen."
While Yawney, 42, badly wants to get back into the coaching racket, he isn’t
about to make a move just yet, not with the NHL playoffs about to start.
“At this point in time I’m still employed by Anaheim,” he said. “But in
saying that, my passion is to coach. Where that is going to be I’m not sure
yet.”
A native of Hudson Bay, Sask., Yawney, a defenceman, spent three seasons
with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades (1982-85) and was a third-round selection by
the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL’s 1984 draft. He then spent three seasons
with Canada’s national team before ending up in the NHL with Chicago.
His NHL career, which totaled 593 games, also included stints with the
Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues.
Yawney, whose playing career ended after the 1998-99 season, was an
assistant coach with the Blackhawks in 1999-2000 and then spent five seasons
as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Norfolk, Va., Admirals.
He was named the Blackhawks’ head coach on July 7, 2005, a job he was fired
from on Nov. 27, 2006. He was 33-55-15 as Chicago’s head coach.
Yawney’s junior hockey coaching experience has been limited to the Canadian
under-18 team and working a bit with the Prince George Cougars. A year ago,
he was head coach of the Canadian team that finished fourth at the world
under-18 championship in Finland, falling 8-3 to Sweden in the third-place
game.
And he worked with the Cougars on a consulting basis in 2006-07.
“That was more out of a token of appreciation,” Yawney said of his stint
with the Cougars, pointing out that owner Rick Brodsky “was the owner when I
was in Saskatoon. He asked if I would come in there. It was neat.
“That was the first time since I played junior that I spent time around
junior players and watched junior hockey.”
And, yes, he quite enjoyed a three-round Cougars’ playoff run that included
a first-round sweep of the Blazers.
“With the run they had,” he said, “it was fun to watch them go from where
they were and progress through the playoffs. “
Yawney doesn’t have any playing history with the four ex-Blazers — Shane
Doan, Jarome Iginla, Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor — who now are involved in
the ownership group. However, Yawney did coach former Blazers captain Ajay
Baines and defenceman Nolan Baumgartner in Norfolk.
As well, Marc Habscheid, whose contract wasn’t renewed after he led the
Blazers to the 1999 WHL championship final, is one of Yawney’s best friends.
“Kamloops . . . the history of the organization is intriguing,” said Yawney,
who is well aware of the recent trials and tribulations of the franchise.
“They do (have a lot of work ahead of them), but so does everybody. Teams,
no matter what level, don’t get into those situations overnight and they
don’t rebuild overnight.”
For now, then, Yawney will continue to work for the Ducks and see what comes
up in the coaching game. And he said he won’t be rushing into anything.
“I’m going to take my time,” he said. “Right now, with the playoffs about to
start, I have a role with Anaheim so I’m going to kind of take it one step
at a time here.
“I definitely want to coach and where that is . . . we’ll see when that time
comes. . . . I’m kind of just keeping my options open.”
Yawney and his wife, Charlane, live in the Chicago area with their two
children — Ashley, 15, and Conor, 10.

gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca