As the new general manager of the South Island Royals, Sam McMullen looks forward to what the entire organization can achieve this sa国际传媒 Major Midget Hockey League season.
It all begins today as the Royals welcome the Greater Vancouver Canadians to Save-on-Foods Memorial Arena at 4 p.m. and follow it up with a Sunday morning affair at 8:30 at Pearkes Arena.
It is a transitional year for the S.I. Royals program, which moves into a hockey academy setting at Spectrum with McMullen 鈥� who recorded 99 points in his final year in the VIJHL with the Victoria Cougars 鈥� at GM. Adam Geric is back as head coach with Brad Cook, Scott Hawthorne, Liam Sproule and Matt Chester all taking on various assistants鈥� roles. Darren Smith runs the academy program through Spectrum with Cook his head instructor.
鈥淗e and I are like partners in this,鈥� McMullen said of Smith. 鈥淚 have the say for the team and he has the say at school, but we share ideas on how things should be handled with the team and at school.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been the biggest help for me through this whole process. He鈥檚 an experienced guy in running the program the last 13 to 15 years. He knows what to do in certain situations, when to respond and when not to respond and how to respond.鈥�
McMullen has also mentored under Cook with the Saanich Braves, acting as an assistant coach with the VIJHL team the last two years and also coaching the Braves鈥� midget team.
鈥淭he adjustment from player to coach was tough because you鈥檙e still in that hockey world, but you鈥檙e in the dressing room and still feel like you鈥檙e a player and you want to be a part of that group,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 separated myself as quickly as possible from player to coach and from there it was an easy adjustment because I had Brad as my mentor.
鈥淗e taught me a lot because he did the same thing, just being a little older coming back from his playing days in the ECHL with the Salmon Kings.鈥�
As GM his responsibilities are more as an executive.
鈥淚 do enjoy it and players do come up and ask my opinion all the time because I am watching from the stands and it鈥檚 a different perspective,鈥� said McMullen.
This year鈥檚 Royals are following up a disappointing season in which the team struggled to a basement-dwelling 4-32-1-3 record. A handful of players are back, including captain Matthew Berryman and starting netminder Connor Cheyne.
Defenceman Ethan Brandwood is a prospect with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL and Michael Hoekstra is a draft pick of the Prince George Cougars of the WHL.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to tell,鈥� McMullen said of where the team will finish. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 guarantee 40 wins and you can鈥檛 guarantee 10 wins. It鈥檚 all up in the air being so early.
鈥淔or our group and staff the slogan is to win the day. Go into each day and come out a winner no matter what it鈥檚 in 鈥� the classroom, the weight room or on the ice. If we do that day-in and day-out we should put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs.鈥�
Eighteen victories usually gets a team there and that will be a target, but the Royals also want to get back to the Mac鈥檚 tournament in Calgary at Christmas time and that would require a top six placing in the BCMMHL by December.
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