1-on-1 with Wolves AC
EDITOR’S NOTE: By virtue of a 5-2 series-opening road win, Sudbury Wolves have a 1-0 lead in their first-round Ontario Hockey League playoff with Oshawa Generals. Before Sudbury boarded the bus for Oshawa prior to Game 1, Amanda Zurkowski caught up with Wolves assistant coach Darryl Moxam.
AZ: So, this is your first season behind the bench with the Wolves, how would you describe what it has been like for you?
DM: There is no question it has been very exciting. Getting the opportunity to work with with Dave (Matsos) and Drake (Berehowsky) and the players was exciting for myself to get that opportunity and now with Barry (Smith) and getting the chance to make the playoffs for the first time in a couple years and ending the season on a great note, it has been nothing shy of ecstatic for myself right now.
AZ: There was that coaching change this year (Berehowsky leaving as an assistant and being replaced by Smith.) What do you think — if there is one thing you can pull away from working with David, Barry, and goalie coach Miguel Beaudry — what would be that one thing that you’ve really taken away from this season from them?
DM: I just think the professionalism with Dave, Barry and Miguel. The professionalism that is needed day in day out, led by Dave, he has such a calm demeanor with the players, with officials, management. I mean whether the wins or the losses pile up he is able to bring that calming demeanor around him every single day. And hence the reason I believe that Dave and a number of the people in our organization are going to stay in the game for a long time.
AZ: As a player,you played as part of the Wolves organization. There were big changes that happened over the summer with the ownership with Dario Zulich coming in — what do you think the positive impact has been from Dario coming in and purchasing the team and seeing those positive changes that have happened this year?
DM: Well first off, with respect to the changes in ownership I have a lot of thanks to give personally to the Burgess family, Mr. Burgess, Mark and his family, having been with them for such a long time — but sometimes change is needed. I would say the one thing that our entire city can take away from one year having Dario lead the ship is how infectious his energy is. Whether it is down around the rink with the fans, or down around the rink with us as staff, Dario’s energy and passion to not only win but provide something to the city and all the members of our community is second to none, I’ve never really seen anything like that and I think we can see that day in and day out during our games when he sits with everyone in the stands, he is probably the biggest fan in the building every single game.
AZ: Turning to this season, it has definitely been a bit of a roller-coaster but I’ve seen a lot of growth in the team both on and off the ice. Would you agree with that or do you have a bit of a different take on that?
DM: No, I think I would have to agree with that. I think the one thing that sometimes is a bit of an oversight on the average person is that we have had so much change this year. If you look at our roster from not only the beginning of this year, but last year to this year, we have a ton of new faces, and there has been a ton of change in the last twelve months. I remember one day going into Sault Ste. Marie and I don’t think we had one forward dressed in our lineup that had over a year experience in the league, so I mean the growth with that has been amazing. Again, going back to what I said about Dave and the rest of the staff, being patient and the professionalism every day was key this year. I think we showed what we can do near the end of the year as far as players playing within the structure we needed them to play in. I think the one take-away I’ve taken is I would have to agree with you the growth I’ve seen with our first year to some of our overagers that were brand new with this organization, has been nothing short of extraordinary.
AZ: Just to add that to what you said, I think one of the biggest things I have seen is that growth from the statement that Dario put out when he sat down with the coaching staff and management and you guys created that mission statement, about turning 16-year old boys, into 20-year old men of character. I think that, that has gone such a long way in that growth that I’ve seen off the ice more so than perhaps on the ice. What are your thoughts on that one?
DM: I think it is something that resonates with everyone in the organization. Me, personally, it’s something I’ve always believed in whether it be in coaching or in the classroom, I think we have an obligation to teach the technical aspect and the curriculum. If you’re great at your job, whether it be as a coach in the Ontario Hockey League, we need to bring these young men, and really young men at 16-years old, our primary mission is that at the end when all is said and done is to do exactly what Dario said as far as our mission is concerned, to create young men of character who can contribute to society. I think that some of the things that have been put in place, were already put in place from Mr. Burgess, Mark and his family, I think we have just taken it a step further this year.
AZ: Now going into the last little stretch you guys went from being on the bubble to a determined team that finished sixth overall in the Eastern Conference. What changed in the room and what changed on the ice?
DM: Quite honestly, I think the biggest thing that changed off the ice was the players getting together as a group at some of the older guys, and having meeting with each other, kind of clearing the air, kind of putting a goal in place. Having the opportunity to hold each other accountable I think that’s been the biggest thing, and just coming to the realization of whether your expected to produce offensively or to do a great job at our own end of the ice, everybody has a job to do. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve seen in the last two weeks, is the fact that the players themselves are holding each other accountable, and that’s just part of the growth and growing pains that we’ve talked about, that these guys have gone through since the start of the year until now. Aside from that I think it is believing in themselves. We did get into a bit of a rut, and they lost confidence in themselves and each other, but I think that’s the biggest change in the last two weeks is realizing that, hey, when things are great, they probably aren’t as good as they seem, and when things are bad, they are never as bad as they seem. I think these guys have found a way to turn that corner and realize that hey, we are a pretty good hockey club in this league when we play the right way, and right now we are playing the right way.
AZ: What kind of game can fans expect from the Wolves in the first round of these playoffs?
DM: I think it’s nothing different than we’ve seen all year. These guys, (Matsos) has them and we have them playing a certain way, and there is only one way these guys know how to play, and that’s as hard as they possibly can each and every night. We expect, I know it’s cliché, but we expect 110 per cent. Jake (McGrath) has been great in net, the last two to three weeks, we are going to need that and we are going to have to be a hard team to play against. That’s been our identity all year, I think you ask any team in the league and they will say, we aren’t a real fun team to play against night in and night out, especially over a seven-game series. We want Oshawa to feel like win or lose this series we were the hardest team to play against over a 10-14 day span.
AZ: You talked quickly about McGrath. Jake is a rookie goaltender, coming into the playoffs you are putting a lot of faith into him, but there seems to be this level of confidence that is unmatched in his play, especially in the last couple weeks.
DM: There is no question, Jake has found an extra gear, similar to the rest of the guys on our team. Our backs were against the wall, and I think it’s a testament to Miguel, as our goalie coach. We went through a rough span with Bowsy (Zach Bowman) going down to injury, and Savy (Mackenzie Savard) coming in and doing a great job. Miguel has had to do a great job. Miguel has found a way to help Jake refocus, no different than how we had to for the team as well, and I don’t think that there is anyone in the league, let alone the Sudbury area, that can say this kid is playing beyond his years in the last two to three weeks, and we owe a lot to him to get to the point that we are, and getting the opportunity to play Oshawa. Are we surprised? Is it too much expectation to place on him? No, we know he is very mentally tough. He has shown us that in the last month or so, and we expect Jake to be great, no different than we expect the rest of our guys to be great.