Barnes earns coaching award
Scott Barnes is appreciative of being named Golden Horseshoe coach of the year, but the head coach of the Thorold Blackhawks feels he shouldn’t get all the credit.
“It’s nice to be recognized by your peers but it’s also our staff,” said Barnes, a 41-year-old Dunnville native. “It’s not a one-man job. We have a lot of guys helping. We have good assistant coaches in Tomas Longland (defence) and Lucas Smilsky (forwards).
The Hawks finished fifth this season with a solid 26-20-2-2 record, but Barnes gets his greatest satisfaction from moving players to higher levels.
“I think that’s the main factor in our success so far has been our ability to move guys on,” he said. “Kids recognize that which is a reason they want to come here and play. In the three years we’ve been here, we’ve moved around 20.”
This season, the Blackhawks had three 20-year-olds commit to NCAA Division III schools.
“It’s nice. The development side is why we’re in this job and why we do this,” Barnes said. “For us, it’s all about the players and moving them on and a lot of that has to do with the extra ice we get. We practice four times a week a lot of the times depending on our games. It’s a lot of time for development.”
Like everyone else, Barnes is playing the waiting game to see when, or if, we will be able to hold a rookie camp or any summer skates.
“I’ve been going after guys I know or my scouts have watched throughout the year,” he said. “With the uncertainty around everything, it’s a lot of phone calls but we’re not really seeing the players.”
The Hawks had five players who were on AP (associated player) cards selected last week in the Ontario Hockey League draft.
“You’re talking to those guys and to the OHL teams and see who they may want to send to junior B to develop for a year,” he said. “Everyone is in the same boat so in my mind it’s almost going to come down to an August training camp and then jumping into the season. We’re probably not going to have a rookie camp.
“Our reputation of moving players on will help us fill out the roster.”
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