It wasn鈥檛 the start to the 2015-16 Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League campaign that Mark Osmond wanted, but the owner/president of the Kerry Park Islanders is adjusting on the fly in his third year of running the club.
Osmond was thrown a nasty change-up last week with the arrest of head coach Dale Purinton, who was charged with first-degree burglary after the alleged assault of a man in Sylvan Beach in New York state.
Purinton 鈥� who played for the New York Rangers from 1999-2004 and the Victoria Salmon Kings in the 2004-05 lockout year 鈥� posted bail, was released and is due to be back in court at a later date.
Osmond made the difficult decision to replace Purinton, bumping up Aaron Spotts, who was hired to be Purinton鈥檚 assistant with the thought of eventually taking over the position, likely next year.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a young guy who I believe has what it takes,鈥� Osmond said of Spotts, 30, who coached Midget Tier I in Cowichan Valley and played in the sa国际传媒 Hockey League with the Cowichan Valley Capitals.
He also went on to the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, a Division III school in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, before having a cup of coffee with the Quad City Mallards of the now defunct International Hockey League back in 2009-10.
鈥淚t was a little devastating for us as a team,鈥� Osmond admitted of letting Purinton go. 鈥淚t was shocking. He鈥檚 been nothing but an awesome guy to me and the team. He gave the guys respect and they gave it back. Unfortunately, a personal situation has crept up that he has to deal with.
鈥淲e鈥檝e told the kids that we want them focused on nothing but playing for and representing our team,鈥� he added.
Spotts does have the help of last year鈥檚 assistant coaches Trevor Hynes, Rob Webb and Robert Davison, the latter two helping when their schedules allow.
Osmond continues to hold the title of general manager for the Junior B team, which he shared with Purinton the last two years. He now confides with Spotts in that role.
鈥淲e lost a lot of older players those first two years as we were rebuilding,鈥� said Osmond. 鈥淭his year we were hoping to challenge Victoria [Cougars]. I want to challenge for a top two spot [in the division].鈥�
The team played its first exhibition game last Sunday 鈥� a 4-2 win over Nanaimo 鈥� under the direction of Spotts and his staff. They will play a home-and-home pre-season weekend series starting tonight at 6 at the Panorama Recreation Centre against the Peninsula Panthers. The two teams are at Kerry Park on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with free admission.
鈥淚t was an encouraging result, especially with half the guys still trying out,鈥� Osmond said of the win.
