Victoria Grizzlies president Lance Black says he fully expects general manager and head coach Craig Didmon back for the 2017-18 sa国际传媒 Hockey League season, which is exactly what Didmon wants.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going anywhere and I鈥檓 certainly happy with what鈥檚 going on with the organization,鈥� said Didmon. 鈥淲e鈥檙e building a good foundation here and we have a good group coming back. The big thing is the ownership group realizes the importance of stability and consistency within the coaching position.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to be around for a number of more years and I know I have that support from the president and ownership group.鈥�
Black added his desire for Didmon to be back.
鈥淎s far as Craig goes, I think he鈥檚 done a good job. I鈥檓 the president and as far as I鈥檓 concerned, he鈥檚 coming back,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is how you become successful, you have the same group of guys together and you get pipelines established.
鈥淭he boys love playing for him and as far as I鈥檓 concerned he鈥檚 back, and hopefully he鈥檚 here for a long time. I鈥檓 100 per cent behind Craig. He does great things and motivates the kids.
鈥淭his used to be a place where kids weren鈥檛 sure if they wanted to come and I think they want to now. They like the players, they like the coaches and the program.鈥�
There could, however, be a change in the ownership group as a few, including John Wilson and Jim Swanson (who are both involved in the Victoria HarbourCats), are hoping to sell their shares.
鈥淚 think overall we鈥檙e heading in the right direction,鈥� said Black. 鈥淥ne of the biggest things is making a difference in the community, and I think we have. The corporate world loves us, we just have to put more butts in the seats, that鈥檚 what it comes down to.
鈥淵ou see the exciting hockey that happened the last couple of months and you get perplexed as to why there aren鈥檛 more people there. We鈥檙e working on that, trying to do different things and we would like to get up to that 1,700 [average] for next year.鈥�
According to online numbers, the Grizzlies averaged 997 fans this season, down from 1,161 last year, but up from 875 two seasons ago. The team peaked in 2008-09 when it averaged 1,837 fans.
In comparison, the Grizzles were 10th of the 17 teams in attendance in the BCHL this season.
