WATCH ABOVE: Matt Battochio explains how the Hurricanes are making some changes to the team
With the prospect of another dead-last finish in the Western Hockey League, the Lethbridge Hurricanes made big changes today as the organization cleaned house.
Tuesday, General Manager Brad Robson fired head coach Drake Berehowsky. Then today at an afternoon press conference, Board President Doug Paisley announced Robson would follow.
“Effective immediately Brad Robson is no longer a part of the hurricanes franchise.”
With that, Paisley swiftly changed the course of the Hurricanes franchise. With two huge voids to fill, the ‘Canes looked internally to find their man.
“We’re very pleased and very proud to announce that our new general manager and head coach moving forward will be Peter Anholt,” announced Paisley.
It’s a substantial promotion for Anholt, who has served as the club’s Assistant General Manager since June. He brings a wealth of coaching experience, having been the bench boss in Prince Albert, Red Deer, Kelowna and Seattle. Paisley feels Anholt has what it takes to turn around the embattled franchise.
“Pete’s our solution right now, he’s the right guy, right now. Peter brings a level of experience, I mean he coached in the league for 13 years as a head coach, he’s got the better part of 1500 games.”
After firmly planting themselves at the bottom of the league the last two seasons, it’s hard to say the shakeup in ‘Canes land comes as a surprise.
Under Berehowsky and Robson’s leadership the Hurricanes won just 18 of 101 games and had a mass exodus of players who requested trades. For Paisley, the change was necessary.
“As an organization we felt it was time to make some changes in the best interest of our players, our fans, and our shareholders.”
For fans coming to the arena, they just want a winning product. One Lethbridge resident saying, he needs to see improvement on the ice before he reaches into his pockets.
“I hope it gets better because I’ve stopped going to the games, I used to go once in a while, but not anymore.”
Another resident is taking a more optimistic view of the team’s front office turnover.
“Maybe it’s a sign they can improve, because they haven’t won a championship in a long time.”
While a championship might seem far-fetched at the moment, the scrutiny won’t relent until the team starts to win.
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