Coach under surprise Attack
Saying that he is “not a big change guy”, Owen Sound Attack general manager Dale DeGray nonetheless fired head coach Todd Gill earlier today and replaced him with erstwhile assistant Alan Letang.
The surprising coaching change came with Owen Sound in a solid fifth-place slot in the 10-team Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League with 50 points from a record of 23-20-4.
And just last spring, with Gill at the helm in his first season as the bench boss in Owen Sound, the fourth-seeded Attack gave the first place Soo Greyhounds a mighty scare in the second round of the playoffs before losing in the seventh-and-deciding game. Before that, the Gill-coached Attack swept the London Knights in four straight games in the first round of the playoffs.
Now, in announcing the sudden firing of Gill, who he personally hired less than two years ago, DeGray told the Owen Sound Sun-Times that “it’s not a fun time but it is what it is.”
DeGray added that he was unhappy with player development under Gill.
“Deep down I think maybe some details were missed and maybe they needed to be emphasized a little bit better,” said DeGray.