There is no denying the 2010-2011 BCHL season did not go as expected for the Quesnel Millionaires, but coach Doug Hedley and players are already chomping at the bit to start next season.
“To a man they [players] all said they wanted to come back,” Hedley said of comments made during exit interviews at the end of the season.
That is a testament to the coaches, but also highlights the potential the young Mills players see among themselves in the dressing room.
To have players wanting to return, despite what can be called a disappointing season on the scoresheet, is quite an accomplishment and should bode well for next season.
The disappointment surrounding the current BCHL season is coloured by the fact the Millionaires won more games the previous season and made it into the second round of the playoffs where they gave the national champion Vernon Vipers a run for their money.
That kind of performance raised expectations in the community as well as among the coaching staff.
“Talking to the players and the guys around the team, we felt we would be in a better position, at least have a more successful year,” Hedley admitted.
“But right off the hop it was pretty clear we didn’t have the guys that we lost from last year [Trever Hertz, Taylor Holst, Joshua Desmarais and Derrick St. Marie].”
The absence of last year’s 20-year-olds would have been less noticeable had returning players, notably Justin Hogan, Clayton Chessa and Tyler French, played to their capabilities.
They didn’t and that was another surprise for Hedley.
The lacklustre play of Sterling Bear and Kirby Halcrow’s disinterest in playing for the Millionaires were also hiccups that caught the coaches off guard.
Before long Hedley and assistant coach Brian Kozak were faced with a tough decision, whether to focus on the short-term or to focus on the long-term.
The decision was made to focus on the long-term and most 20-year-olds were eventually traded.
With more ice time, the younger players began to improve and that was most evident in the final games before the December break particularly a come-from-behind 5-4 overtime road win against Langley.
The win, a personal highlight for Hedley, also marked the point where the Mills players became a team, Hedley said.
But as good as the team played in December, Hedley pointed to the month of January as the low point of the season when the Mills had two points in 12 games.
Despite the difficult season, Hedley pointed to the resilience of his young team as another highlight from the season.
“For a team that young to keep rebounding, to be so resilient despite the losses was definitely a highlight for me,” he said.
“It made our job a lot easier.
“Now I know the dues we paid last year are definitely going to pay dividends over the next couple of years.”
Those dividends will come in the improved play of the younger players, most notably Daryl DeVries and Derek Huisman as well as Spencer Graboski and Chris Blessing.
“We now have three or four guys that can be top six guys in the league,” Hedley said.
“If we can bring in three players to fill the top three spots, we are going to compete with the top teams.”
Indeed that is what the Mills missed most this year, scoring.
The Mills tied three games, lost six games in overtime and another nine games by one goal.
Winning just half of those games would have given the Mills 22 wins on the season.
“With the right pieces, we believe we can win 25 – 36 games next year,” Hedley said confidently.
A 30-win season in the BCHL would be considered a pretty good season, considering this year the Vipers and Penticton Vees finished atop the interior conference with 36 and 38 wins respectively.
When asked if he would change anything about the last season, Hedley had a ready reply.
“A new building and more fans in the seats,” he replied without hesitation.
“We need that to happen.”
Until then, Hedley has turned his attention to the upcoming joint spring training camp in Kamloops with the Kamloops Storm.
The camp runs May 20 – 22 at the Icebox Arena adjacent to the Kamloops exhibition grounds.
