Time to impress the new coach

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
The Barry Smith era officially begins Friday morning when the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers open training camp at Interior Savings Centre.
No one knows how long the Smith era will last but one thing is for certain — a player, freshman or veteran, never will have a better opportunity than now to impress the Blazers’ new head coach and his two assistants, Scott Ferguson and Geoff Smith, both of whom also are newcomers.
“It’s all about that first impression, too,” Barry Smith said Wednesday. “For me, everybody does come in with a clean slate. I’ve watched games and I have an idea of how players play.
“But every year, especially at this age, you can come in and really improve or you can come in and decide you’re really going to do the right things or you can come in and say, ‘This is who I am and I can do it.’ ”
Smith signed a three-year con tract with the Blazers and was introduced as head coach on July 3.
He has watched some video since then, but admits that what he knows about players who will be in camp he has learned primarily from seeing them in person.
Any preconceived notions he may have, he said, have come from watching the players during the Blazers’ recent hockey school and around the dressing room and in the weight room over the last few days.
“I’ve seen the players around here and what they’ve done,” he said. “And I would have to say that 99 per cent of the guys have come with a new attitude. It’s going to change and I think it’s going to change for the better. They look like they’re all willing to do the things we want to do and they’re willing to buy in.”
After the attitude change, Smith said, “Then it’s the ability to play or not. A guy can work his butt off and do all the right things but he may not fit into the mix because of his ability to play or not play.”
This is an organization that has had more than its share of turmoil over the last few seasons, but last winter was especially hectic, what with an ownership change and a coaching change that followed.
This also is a team that lost 18 of its last 19 games, including four straight first-round playoff games, so there is a lot of room for improvement.
Having said that, however, Smith said that last season is but a distant memory.
“For sure it is . . . for me it is,” he stated. “I’ve stressed what I want to do and the habits we want to create and the culture we want to create. I may come in and say ‘Geez, the guys aren’t in as good of shape as I wanted them to be,’ but that’s probably going to be the case a little bit because they don’t know what my expectations are.
“A year from now, there’s no excuses. A year from now, you know what I want, you know what our expectations are.”
One thing Smith said he has noticed is an air of enthusiasm as players have reported back.
“I’ve seen a lot of excitement out there,” Smith said. “I think the guys are excited to be here. For the most part, I’m real happy with the work ethic and how hard guys are willing to work. Maybe the conditioning could come a little farther for me, but we’ll take care of that . . . that can be rectified quick enough.
“But I think most guys really worked hard this summer after I talked to them.”
One thing that will be hard for players to do is match the excitement level of the new head coach. An assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks organization for the last nine years, he is anxious to get started.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “The last few days have been watching guys come in and meeting the players and designing practices.
“The real McCoy starts on Friday and I’m pumped.”
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca