righting the ship
Absolutely Not! Very sad indeed when SK left the PLK at the new ownership press conference SK said that he has left this team set-up for the next 3 years... D McT & PM traded every asset that PLK had. Now we are seeing the results of those trades. So unfortunately with only 2 players officially leaving the team at seasons end, PLK are stuck with the same team. Much easier to attract players to a National Championship team than a last place team. I stand corrected but I believe this is only the 3rd time in history the PLK have ended up in last place. With a huge number of long time (25 years plus) season ticket holders taking the wait & see approach for next year, it will be interesting to see what happens next season.
Not quite how I see things unfolding but it will be interesting...
Previous ownership did set them up. SK was amazing.
First it should be noted that there is a huge difference between 'assets' being traded as has been suggested; and fine young men deciding to play for other teams in other leagues, picks not reporting, vets deciding to move on to college or university with eligibility remaining, asking for a trade and the other half of the trade saying 'no thanks' and not reporting... Throw in a few ice time and press favors for some old cronies and you have a big talent problem - last place clarifies that this did happen. Probably not trades or bad kids... an exodus. Good kids saying 'no thanks!'
Hockey people know why what happened happens. It's sort of like calling a 15 year old kid an asset vs. calling him a fine young man with a bright future. Yes you own a card... its how you treat the person who's name is on that card. If done properly he can become a tremendous, lasting, asset to the organization; forever preaching and praising the gospel of his tremendous hockey and life experience. My guess is the Kings have at least partially recognized and worked on this problem this season - their transaction list implies that they are trying. The coaching staff are former players - history and pride should eventually be restored. Whether they have reached out to no show picks and kids who left for other leagues and teams is a good question. It is probably a good next step to repair damage done. Word travels fast.
On the other hand a Kings CCHL 11 team is supposedly in the works in Cobden or Beachburg so I doubt new ownership gets it quite yet. Is it going to be a punishment tool? Is it to disrupt minor hockey programs and ice time? Who is actually going to pay to play CCHL 11? That well will dry up fast. I can imagine a Jr. A player being sent down from Pembroke driving through Cobden - going at least 50km/h on their way home to start contacting teams in other leagues. This is an organization that needs to focus on one thing, fielding a top tier Jr. A hockey team.
If a rookie player goes stomping all over a small carpet with your team logo boldly embossed on it, that is placed in the middle of your dressing room, while wearing muddy shoes. Rookie punishment would include fessing up, apologizing, cleaning the carpet, taking the time to understand what the carpets crest is about - people, values, a town, and hockey. Then the kid would do a whole lot of skating and contribute to a special event fund that builds over the course of the season as other young men make mistakes. That's Jr. Hockey. What has happened to the Pembroke Lumber Kings is with SK they were a premier Canadian Junior hockey factory and then he handed over a torch so to speak. Unfortunately there has been a bit of a shaky start since the torch has been handed over. My guess is SK is saddened by this. Hockily speaking is owning a Jr. Hockey team like Pembroke supposed to be primarily about money? At least for the first two years, post SK, the Lumber Kings seemed like a lot like a cross between an expensive minor hockey team (pay to play), and high pressure used car sales when you include U18, and the CDHL package. There is some talent and was talent during the past two years but the perception to locals is its been primarily about generating revenue from young men's parents. Pay to play sounds a lot like a minor hockey system. I'm not convinced that you can have it both ways. It's more likely some kids will pay and some won't. What you are left with is a mediocre hockey league. Who cares anyway right... they are making money as long as they fill all of those 'cards'. Just kidding. If I had the bucks I wouldn't own a Jr hockey team for that reason.
Righting the ship will require an impressive effort by PLK staff - coaches, management, scouts - to reach out to potential players and describe what their role would be with next years team and moving forward. Build trust, then follow through. I suspect that most of the talent that shows up next fall for the Kings won't be paying customers.