By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
Craig Bonner continued his efforts to remake the Kamloops Blazers on Friday when he fired Gord Loiselle, the WHL team’s director of player personnel.
Bonner, who has just completed his first month as the WHL team’s general manager, flew to Calgary on Thursday and met with Loiselle.
The move, which was expected, came three weeks after Loiselle, with Bonner at his side, guided the Blazers through the WHL’s 2008 bantam draft.
“I thought it was important for me to go to the Alberta Cup and then go through the draft with Gord and his staff,” Bonner said. “I took a couple of weeks after the draft to think about it and the conclusion for me was that I want to get my people in place.
“It’s nothing against Gord as a person or a scout. He’s not my guy and I think it’s important for me to get people in there who I feel will be loyal to me . . . people I can trust.”
Loiselle, 57, is a veteran WHL scout who joined the Blazers last summer after leaving the Portland Winter Hawks, where he had been director of personnel for 10 years. Dean Clark, then the Blazers’ general manager and head coach, signed Loiselle to a two-year contract on June 28.
Loiselle said he “pretty much” knew this day was coming since Nov. 7, the day Clark was fired.
“It wasn’t a big shock,” Loiselle said. “It is (the nature of the business) and I understand. I’m disappointed but not surprised and I don’t have any hard feelings.
“You have to have your people in place. There aren’t any hard feelings. It was tough for me with a group of scouts that I hadn’t put in place, so I can certainly understand that.”
As for having a year left on his contract, Loiselle said: “It’s not settled but Craig and I talked about it and he said they would honour it. I feel comfortable with that.”
Loiselle said he will take “some time and think about” his next move.
“I wish I was a little richer so I could retire comfortably . . . I thought a few years ago I was gong to be OK but I haven’t made any money in any of my investments in the last 10,” he said, with a laugh. “It’s a great job. It’s the best job I’ve ever had . . . but maybe it’s time.”
Bonner now is looking for a director of player personnel or head scout, whatever he prefers to call the position, as well as a head coach.
“I have some ideas,” Bonner said of filling Loiselle’s spot. “I’m still waiting to see what other teams are doing with some guys. I’ve got some calls into some guys.”
The leading candidate to replace Loiselle is Matt Recchi, who is in his third season as an amateur scout with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Recchi, 36, is the younger brother of Mark Recchi, who is one of the Blazers’ five owners.
Matt’s history includes three seasons as a scout with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants and a stint as a part-time assistant coach with the Blazers.
As for the search for a head coach, Bonner said he has compiled a five-man short list.
“I’m going to interview five guys starting in the next 10 days or two weeks,” he said. “Ideally, I’d like to have someone in place three weeks from now, although I really don’t want to put an exact time on it. But I would prefer to have it done sooner rather than later.
“I’m not in a rush but I want to get going. I don’t want to spend the whole summer interviewing guys.”
Bonner said the five men who are candidates at this point all have head-coaching experience, either at the junior A, WHL or professional level.
“There are some interesting guys,” he said. “They’ve all been a head coach at some point which is important to me.”
One of those “interesting guys” is Barry Smith, 47, who was fired Wednesday after five years as an assistant coach with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks.
Smith, a native of Stambaugh, Mich., attended the U of Alaska/Anchorage before going on to a brief professional playing career that included a stint in Great Britain. He began his coaching career in 1992-93 and his head-coaching experience includes time with the ECHL’s Erie Panthers and the USHL’s Waterloo, Iowa, Blackhawks.
Bonner is expected to do speak with Smith, who doesn’t have any junior coaching experience, sometime in the near future.
Another name that might be on Bonner’s list is that of Eric Thurston, 44, who just completed his third season as head coach of the U of Alberta Golden Bears. Thurston has won two CIS championships since taking over from Rob Daum prior to 2005-06.
Still, Bonner admitted he still could end up at the NHL draft in Ottawa, June 20 and 21, and not have a coach signed.
“If the right guy comes up before then, great,” he said. “If not, then I’ll be at the draft and I’ll do some sniffing around there.”
In the meantime, Bonner plans to spend at least part of the weekend in Edmonton watching Alberta’s under-17 camp. One of the players there is centre Brendan Ranford, who led the Alberta Midget Hockey League in scoring as a 15-year-old. Ranford, who turned 16 on May 3, was the
Blazers’ first pick, 15th overall, in the 2007 bantam draft and is expected to play in the WHL next season.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca