Welland wants Osborne back for sixth season behind bench

Golden Horseshoe Jr B Hockey

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Welland wants Osborne back for sixth season behind bench

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Junior Canadians hope Keith Osborne returns for sixth season as head coach

By Bernd Franke, The Tribune
Monday, March 14, 2016 5:39:03 EDT PM



Tonight is locker clearout for the Welland Junior Canadians, and the team’s owner will use the most-dreaded day on the hockey calendar by clearing up some uncertainty.



First thing on Lou Savona’s agenda after arriving at Welland Arena is finding out who will be behind the bench for the 2016-17 junior B season. Already looking ahead to next month’s spring tryout camp, he intends to ask Keith Osborne “point blank” to return for a sixth season as head coach.

“I’m going to ask ‘Mr. Osborne, would you like to coach the Welland Junior Canadians,’” Savona said. “I hope he says yes. He has done a good job for us.”

A seventh-place finish in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Golden Horseshoe Conference that snapped a five-season streak of finishing above .500 didn’t lower Osborne’s stock in the team’s owner’s estimation.

“The season was kind of disappointing, but we didn’t get the players we thought we could get,” Savona said. “That’s not our fault, and it’s not on Keith, things just fell through.”

Injuries hurt the Junior Canadians when they lost nine of 11 games down the stretch and entered the playoffs as the second-lowest seed after being in contention to finish as high as fifth.

Welland was eliminated from the playoffs by the St. Catharines Falcons for the fourth year in a row, this time in five games in the first round.

“This time, major injuries hurt us,” Savona said, citing the absence of Brayden Crowder and Tyler Stranges from the lineup as factors contributing to the team’s early exit from post-season play.

“The midgets did a great job for us, but they were playing against men. St. Catharines has a lot of 20-year-olds playing for them.”

While the Junior Canadian plunged to seventh from second in the conference in scoring proficiency on the power play, Savona likes the way Osborne’s teams stay out of the penalty box.

“He runs a disciplined team. Since Keith’s been here, we’ve been among the least-penalized teams in Ontario.

Last season, the Junior Canadians were assessed 708 minutes in penalties. Only the St. Thomas Stars, 618 minutes; and Listowel Cyclone, 707; spent less time in the sin bin in the 26-team league.

Savona, who also serves as the team’s general manager, enjoys good “two-way communication” with his head coach.

“When you’ve got, why change?” the team owner said. “He’s a good coach and a good man.”

“He gets a little emotional behind the bench at times, but that’s part of the package.”

With a 4-2 road loss in Friday night’s elimination game still fresh in his mind, Osborne hasn’t had much time to think about his coaching future, but he can appreciate Savona’s need for an answer.

“It’s a business and the team needs to move forward,” the retired pro and one-time NHLer said. “I understand where he is coming from.”

He stopped just short of committing himself to another season as the B’s bench boss.

“I would probably ask some questions about the direction the team is heading, but more likely I will say yes.”

Osborne’s first losing season in six years coaching at the junior B level was disappointing and “frustrating” at times, though never to the point of dreading to go to practice or a game.

“It was a tough year. Hopefully, we will be able to find some kids in the off-season to make us a better hockey team.”

With only six 20-year-olds in the lineup, Welland struggled as four first-year defenceman and six on offence adjusted to the junior B and Osborne’s defence-first system.

“They all learned, and they all got better,” he said. “I don’t like calling it a ‘rebuilding year,’ but I had some guys at the beginning of the year who never played triple A hockey.”

Unlike the league’s Midwestern and Western conferences, in which the last-place teams go home, all eight teams in the Golden Horseshoe qualified for the playoffs, regardless of won-loss record.

Osborne said having players knowing they’ve made the playoffs at the start of training camp can be difficult on coaches.

“It’s tough to be a motivator for 50 games if everybody makes the playoffs,” he said. “You have to want to win, you have to hate to lose.”

“We had too many guys who didn’t hate to lose.”

Osborne, when pressed on how many Golden Horseshoe teams should qualify for post-season play, suggested six, with the two top finishers getting first-round byes.

He didn’t concede the Junior Canadians would have failed to make the playoffs had such a formula been used in 2015-16.

“Maybe we would have won a few more games down the road,” Osborne suggested, with a chuckle.

Losing Kris Melna and Mitch Reid - “Two big guys who stood in front of the net,” the coach said – to graduation hurt the team’s power play as did the absence of Gabe Ruggi, who quarterbacked the PP in his final year in junior.

“We really didn’t have that one quarterback who controlled the power play,” Osborne said. “We struggled this year making good decisions.”

Spring tryout sessions are set for Saturday, April 23, 7 to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 2:15 to 4:15 p.m. at Mohawk 4 Ice Centre, 710 Mountain Brow Blvd. in Hamilton.

Cost is $80 for four hours of ice time and fee is payable before trying out.

Prospects are asked to apply online at http://ohawelland.pointstreaksites.com/ ... ining-camp.

BFranke@postmedia.com


http://www.wellandtribune.ca/2016/03/14 ... head-coach
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Port hockey1
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Re: Welland wants Osborne back for sixth season behind bench

Post by Port hockey1 »

I hope he returns. But he's right to be asking questions about the direction the team is going.


Go Welland! :)
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Re: Welland wants Osborne back for sixth season behind bench

Post by Caledonia Fan »

Osborne is back.
I hope Welland is too
There saying all the right things

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2016/0 ... head-coach
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