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FELIX17
02-07-2007, 03:10 PM
Moose Jaw, SK: This afternoon, the Moose Jaw Warriors relieved Steve Young of his duties as Head Coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors. Young joined the Warriors in the mid-way through the 2003-04 season as Assistant Coach and advanced to Head Coach mid-way through the 2004-05 season.

Steve helped lead the Warriors to their second Eastern Division Championship and first ever Eastern Conference Championship in the 2005-06 season. Under his leadership the club managed to set a new franchise record for games won in a regular season with 44 wins.

The Moose Jaw Warriors would like to thank Steve for his contributions to the organization and wish him and his family the best of luck in the future.

Big Ern
02-07-2007, 03:50 PM
That must be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!! He was up and coming, and seemed to be one of the best in the dub!! Look where he took M.J. last year!! It must have been something he did, or a disagreement with management. Anyway, IMO, they are crazy, firing him!

MooseJaw_Kyle
02-07-2007, 04:07 PM
Isn't that just a great move :(

Shortys
02-07-2007, 04:26 PM
Wow, I didn't see that one coming. Best of luck to you guys to start fresh at this point in the season.

patsdude114
02-07-2007, 05:29 PM
Well i must say i heard this on the radio today and i was very shocked to hear that Young was fired. He is a great coach and will find a job during the off-season no problem.

I dont think the coaching is the problem with the Warriors to begin with, the Warriors didnt have high expectations this season to begin with, they lost 2 of the best players in the WHL at the end of last year (in Brouwer and Boyd) and Perricone was actually saving the puck last year. I might be a die hard Pats fan, but by no means am i talking on behalf of 1, I knew that the Warriors would struggle this season from losing Brouwer, Boyd and Jones those are players you dont replace, the Warriors dont have nearly as close to the fire power they had last season or the leadership. Bringing in players last year like Fecho and Hansen gave them a soild Defence infront of Perricone.

Young was starting this season off with a struggle to play a soild game at both ends of the ice, since the Warriors dont have the scoring this season. It is kind of a rebuilding year for the Warriors but yet still have a couple top players around (Holzapfel, Gillen and had McArdle) MJ made a couple good trades but this by no means should of got Young fired. I think the people in MJ had extremely high hopes for this Warriors team this season based on the Warriors going to the league final last season, I think people forget that this is junior hockey and you loose your top players every year (in your 20 yr olds and the odd 19 yr old) and not always are their players ready to really fill there shoes.

I know Young will get another coaching job in the WHL he has a good resume to pass around. But who is going to be coaching the Warriors now (besides there assistant coach for temp)

Maybe this was a move to get Chad Lang some coaching experience lol (im kidding thats the biggest piece of crap ive heard this year lol)

Good Luck Warriors

RoundHouse
02-07-2007, 06:35 PM
Weak move...Young is a good coach...he will land somewhere else...

grainbear
02-07-2007, 07:16 PM
Sorry , to hear about this move, not because I knew the coach but when we are battling for that final playoff spot here in Alberta we certainly don,t need Moose Jaw coming in fired up because the players feel they let their coach down or if a new coach appointed prior to the trip to the Central Division trying to impress a new coach. However, what will be will be !

Scout
02-07-2007, 07:30 PM
There is no way you come in this late in the season and fire one of the top coaches from last year. There has to be more to it. Sure you guys started slow but it was starting to turn around and you were actually a .500 club over the last 10 games. Personally, i smell a power struggle between Lang and Young but i may be wrong. Someone from the Warrior Forum please keep us posted.

Scout

Scout
02-07-2007, 07:30 PM
There is no way you come in this late in the season and fire one of the top coaches from last year. There has to be more to it. Sure you guys started slow but it was starting to turn around and you were actually a .500 club over the last 10 games. Personally, i smell a power struggle between Lang and Young but i may be wrong. Someone from the Warrior Forum please keep us posted.

Scout

SectionNDeserter
02-07-2007, 07:49 PM
I agree, has to be more to it than their record. Lang did nothing to improve a struggling team at the trade deadline, and actually traded what was pretty much their entire blueline in Zetariuk away to build for the future. A team with lofty expectations for their team/coach doesn't usually do something like that.

Brick Top
02-07-2007, 08:30 PM
31 goals against in the last six games, with no signs of improvement or caring from the guys on the ice.

Everything seemed to change attitude-wise after they broke curfew after the Spokane game. He may have lost the dressing room if not at that point, then well before.

mjwfan
02-08-2007, 02:22 AM
This was crazy as Steve is a great coach and great guy. It comes down to this Lang runs the show and got Steve out before he got the boot. We only have a hand full of players from last year and it was a re-building year. Sure maybe Chad did do OK on some of these trades , but did he think we should of been going to the M-CUP Maybe he should of been the one that was fired ... He is the guy that brought in this new team .
Reading on another form ..most from M.J are happy that Steve is gone ..why i don't know . two yrs ago under Perry Shocky They could not win a game .. They fire Perry and name Steve as head coach and he got us into the playoffs . Last year he takes us to the final . Sure we had a good team .. a few super stars , but he still was the head coach and did a fine job .
The players liked Steve as well as Rene and this change is not going to do anything we will not maybe the playoffs in fact we will be lucky to win 5 more games all yr. There is talk Chad might be asst. coach and maybe move behind the bench next year . We are the laughing stock of the league now .
We have a GM that kind of fell into this job .. I think he might have played some AAA hockey and he came here as the Marketing guy or something. Steve young has forgot more about coaching hockey than Chad will ever know .
I waited as long as i could before i posted as i was mad as hell on what this team did. A BIG step Backwards .. They say this was a board decision ..WELL if this is the case we are back to Sq one .. as this was the board that was going to keep there nose out of things.
It just bugs me as the wrong guy was let go . But maybe this is not all bad as Rene might tell Chad to bug out and that he will be doing the coaching .

nivek_wahs
02-08-2007, 04:42 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=df2a6c06-6254-459c-8dcc-39e8bf8fc745


Head coach Young fired . . .

Corey Atkinson, Saskatchewan News Network
Published: Thursday, February 08, 2007

MOOSE JAW -- Only 10 months ago, they were celebrating a WHL Eastern Conference championship together.

But Wednesday, Moose Jaw Warriors general manager Chad Lang told Steve Young his services were no longer needed as head coach of the WHL team. Assistant coach Rene Lemire will take on Young's duties for the time being.

"It's been a long, thought-out process,'' said Lang. "It was an extremely tough decision, not only for myself, but for the organization. It was extremely tough, given that Steve and I came in at relatively the same time."

According to Lang, there wasn't any one thing that happened to the team that expedited the decision to release Young.

"I don't know if you can put it on any exact situation," said Lang. "I think people need to realize that making a decision of this magnitude is very complex. It's more than about wins and losses.

"In saying that, I felt we as a hockey club just weren't responding in a manner I believed we should."

Young cleaned out his office Wednesday afternoon and will be tying up loose ends in the coming days. His reaction to the firing was easy to understand.

"Obviously, disappointment," said Young. "It's obvious I wanted to be part of a team I was totally committed and dedicated to and bringing them into the playoffs this year."

Young still thinks the team can do that. The problems facing the Warriors aren't insurmountable, and Young said that five-on-five, the Warriors were a club that can play with anyone.

This is the first time Young has been on the firing line in his 11-year stint as a coach. From his seven years with the SJHL's Melville Millionaires when he was coach and GM to today, he was the one who decided when it was time to move on.

Until now.

Young says, perhaps rightly, that his record of not being fired for over a decade says something.

"(Lang) did what he felt he needed to do for the organization and from that standpoint, I kind of respect the decision that was made, even if I don't necessarily agree with it," Young said.

Lang said he and Young were familiar with each other before they ever came to the organization, but the first year Lang and Young were in the organization together was the 2003-04 season. That year, Lang was the Warriors' sales and marketing manager and Young was brought in at midseason as an assistant under Curtis Hunt.

When Hunt left the Warriors to join the Regina Pats the next offseason, Young was retained as an assistant under Parry Shockey. But after Shockey got off to a 2-23-5-1 start in 2004-05, Shockey was let go and Young was promoted to head coach.

The Warriors that season used the next 41 games to rebound and they fought back to a playoff spot. Once Young was promoted, the search for an assistant landed the team Lemire, who was the head coach of the Notre Dame Hounds of the SJHL.

During the 2005-06 season, Young guided the team to first place in the division and the team went on a playoff tear that brought the Warriors to the league final for the first time in franchise history.

With the trades Lang made during this rebuilding season, the Warriors' GM said Wednesday he thought the Warriors "would still be a contending club." However, with the team's record at 19-30-3-0 -- 10 points out of a playoff spot -- that wasn't happening.

Young was released with one year left on his contract, taking with him a career WHL coaching record of 75-74-16.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007

MooseJaw_Kyle
02-08-2007, 08:14 AM
Chad Lang had done nothing to improve the team. Steve had no guys to do anything with.1st line isn't that bad but c'mon our 2nd line is filled with depth players that are 3rd-4th line players on other teams.What is Steve suppose to do with that?The biggest mistake i think Chad made to improve the team is to trade Joey Perrcione when his value was high after he stole the show in the playoffs.Steve just had no pieces left to play with .

That is one of the worst moves in a while.
Plus were still paying out his contract to have him sit at home and laugh at us.

witness
02-08-2007, 09:41 AM
After watching Lang's interview, I got the feeling that this wasn't Lang's idea. There are two things that the citizens of MJ can't stand:
1. Losing to the Pats
2. Losing BIG to the Pats

Knowing a bit of the background of how the Warriors are run, I think it is safe to assume that this decision was made by the Board of Governors. There will be some openings for coaches at the end of the year. Young is well respected in the hockey circles and will be fine.

The Jury is out on Lang for me. I question the way he handled a couple of player situations last year (maybe just a mistake of being young). But, I am willing to admit that he made a couple of great moves to strengthen the team. There have been a couple of moves this year that I questioned (Wray & Smith), but it was nice to see them acquire Calla. And the way that the Warrior organization handled the Robinson situation was first class.

It is interesting to hear that people think that Young lost the dressing room. But, when your GM trades you entire leadership group that you have been grooming for a year and a half, it is difficult.

Scout
02-08-2007, 11:28 AM
Keen's Korner

Thursday, February 08, 2007
Young Speaks



The Moose Jaw Warriors surprised a lot of people yesterday announcing the firing of Head Coach Steve Young. General Manager Chad Lang felt the team was underachieving, "the last couple weeks we've discussed this - myself and the board (of directors) and it's the toughest decision I've had to make in my GM duties and responsibilities. At the end of the day I think everyone not only in our organization but in the league knows how much respect I have for Steve Young."


Lang continued, "I felt we made moves prior to the deadline that strengthened our hockey club down the stretch and probably didn't get the results that all of us were hoping for. At the end of the day we felt it was a decision with 20 games left it will allow us to spark our guys and battle and allow us to get back into the playoff hunt."


Steve Young was tracked down late yesterday, "today is kind of a pick yourself off the ground type day. But obviously for myself I'm a guy with morals and standards and I will continue to work hard in whatever I have to do. Coaching is my passion and I worked hard and respected being in this league everyday.



He continued, "I was told just before practice, the players went on the ice. I cleaned my stuff up and left the building. I have deep feelings for these players, they are part of my family, I believe in every one of them, they are a team that can get into the playoffs and make that playoff run and no question I will be cheering for those guys."


It still seems there was more to it, Lang had mentioned there were things going on behind the scenes and challenges the a lot of people don't know about.


For the mean time, Rene Lemire takes over as interim Head Coach. "It's very tough, he's the reason I'm here. we battled each other in the SJHL and gave me an opportunity to join the Warriors and I can't thank him enough. He's a nice guy, a great guy and I feel for him."


Lemire says he'll do the best job he can, "It's a tough part of the season where we're battling for a playoff spot and things haven't been working as well as we wanted them to be. I've got a lot of things going through my mind right now because it was so sudden at quarter to two today (Wednesday) and a half hour before practice. I'll start to work on some of the problems we have, powerplay and penalty kill are two things we need to address."


Some of the Warrior players are weighing in on the firing. Captain Steven Gillen, "It's not him out there playing the games it's us and we're the one's not getting it done. It's a tough position but that's the way hockey is, I don't know I guess life's not fair sometimes."


Leading scorer Riley Holzapfel says it's tough to watch Young go. "It's obviously a shock it's sad to see Steve go, he's coached me for a couple years. I just wish him all the best and hope he has a good career ahead of him."


Steve was always a pleasure to talk to. I'm sure underneath he's a bit bitter but he's not showing it. Good luck to Steve Young.

skinnyhead
02-08-2007, 02:42 PM
That must be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!! He was up and coming, and seemed to be one of the best in the dub!! Look where he took M.J. last year!! It must have been something he did, or a disagreement with management. Anyway, IMO, they are crazy, firing him!


i could have coached last years team to the finals.... look at the team...

Warrior Fan
02-09-2007, 09:35 AM
Fact is Lang made the move. I fully believe after watching this team falter and actaully get worse down the stretch that it was the correct decision.

The players we got in.........
Calla for Smith
Thoring/Pick for Zetariuk
Knackstedt for Wray
Voytechek for Chapman

Lang has improved this team on every single trade that he has made. Yet the team actually got worse. We had no systems. Our PP is horrible our PK is horrible. These are the coaches responsibility.

I look at it this way. We had an allstar team last year. Unreal skill all over the place and a tender who was on fire the last half of the season then the playoffs. We still couldn't get the job done. We still were near the bottom in PP's and that is unacceptable. YOu have that much skill and no PP. Get real. This year we lose some talent and we have worse PP and now our PK is brutal as well.

IT was time for a change and now was the time. Let Rene show what he can do. If it works out great if not then we go for a new headcoach in the off season once we see who is available.