The Yorkton Terriers are celebrating their 40th anniversary in Junior Hockey. Over the course of the season Yorkton This Week will be providing vignettes looking at the proud heritage of the team through the eyes of those who have stood behind the bench in the past four decades as head coaches of the Terriers. This is the sixth in the series.
What years did you coach in Yorkton?
I started my first 'real job' from playing in Jan. or Feb. of 1987 after having called it quits of 14 years playing pro hockey. As I said, it was the first time I had applied for a job outside of playing. Needless to say I was a bit nervous. Not scared because I knew I could do the job, confidence has never been an issue of mine but nervous because I was entering something different....a new challenge!
Three people stood out and helped me a lot. Wally Sotski and John Dunlop two local business men and both were involved with me in a successful Parkland Summer Hockey School we ran in Yorkton for 10-years.
They helped prep me for the interviews and lobbied hard. The other gentleman was Linus Westberg. We are all still friends to this day, a testament to the quality of the Sask. People.
My tenure in Yorkton was from 1987 to 1992.
What do you remember most about the community?
Besides winning a lot never a losing record the fact that we were able to erase a $67,000 deficit and leave the team with a surplus is the thing that appeals most to me and gave me confidence that I could over see and run a viable business.
Also the fact that I could learn the trade of coaching and managing so close to home (Foam Lake) summer residence at Fishing Lake, was immense!
My girls Jade (30-years old) and Lauren (26-years old) who were young then got to grow up and spend time with their grandparents in Foam Lake. It was very important for both Angie and I. Let alone the joy it brought to Grandma and Grandpa.
For those reasons to this day they are close to them and still stay in contact. Just like it's supposed to be. See, it's not all about winning and losing. In life you must make sacrifices. These were tremendous years for us.
Who was the best Terrier you coached? Why?
This is a tough question because when you have good teams you always have good players and we were fortunate that through my contacts and recruitment it was made a lot easier sell ... to come play for a winning program and a community like Yorkton.
We had Glenn Gultzan who coaches Dallas Stars now.
We had Hardy Sauter who played and coached in the WHL.
The players I liked the most were the ones who played with passion and raw emotion. Gino Santere, Barry Cummings, Dean Seymour. Heart and soul guys like Scott Wotton, Mike Merk, Leigh Brookbank, Blair Wagar, Lee Albert guys you needed to win.
As I alluded to, it is really unfair to leave players out, because when you win everyone plays their part! When they are felt and made to appreciate each other contributions is when you truly have a team.
Is there a particular game which stands out in your memory? Explain why that game is memorable.
When I inherited the organization there wasn't a whole lot of pride and accountability. I had to change the culture so to speak. At the time Humboldt was a power house and I literally had players who were defeated before we got on the bus maybe even a bit intimidated.
One particular game was in Humboldt and I had the bus stop in Foam Lake and pick up my Father in Law (Jack). He thought this was a real treat riding with the team. We were getting it handed to us like 5 to 1 in the 3rd period and Coach Donn Clark kept putting his thugs out to soften us for the next time we played. I had had enough after a skirmish on the ice and challenged him under the stands. Both teams were down there as well!
My glasses were off and broke and I had Clark by the tie, when I heard President Wayne Kartusch's voice bellow from the top of the stairs, "Polo, that's enough! Stop!"
It cost me dearly, six-game suspension and $1400 fine but to this day, it was worth it!
When the players arrived back in Yorkton well after midnight I was waiting for them in a darkened dressing room! We were going to have a heart-to-heart about courage and sticking up for one another. Jack and I had caught a ride back to Yorkton and I had plenty of time to think about what I was going to say.
I won't go into details but the team took it to heart, grew a few inches over night and went on a torrid run after that.
In life and especially sports and hockey you have defining moments. This was a defining moment because we changed how we approached things. We changed the culture of the Yorkton Terries. Now we were going to push back!
Another quick memory was when Sandy Gasseau scored under the cross bar to tie the game 5-to-5 in our comeback against Vernon in Sudbury at Royal Bank Cup and they disallowed it. Deflated our team and consequently lost. That one stung because you don't get very many chances to be National Champions. At any level! The kids were so determined.
Did you coach after Yorkton? Where?
When I left Yorkton, it was to move up and to find bigger challenges. It also gnawed at me, when a few local blow hards who managed their way on to the Board of Directors thought they knew more than me when it came to coaching and running a hockey club. It was time to move on because you can't have success when there is interference.
I loved what I was doing and it certainly quenched my thirst for competition, not being able to play anymore. Having lived most of my life in that environment, that is something that is engrained in you for life.
I found that in the Western Hockey League - Medicine Hat Tigers and Prince George Cougars where I coached and managed for another six-years. Again never a losing season.
Where do you live today? What do you do?
The NHL, Detroit Red Wings, and the game of hockey has been very good to me and my family. Most of everything we have, is because of that and is why I have so much respect and admiration for opportunities like Yorkton, Medicine Hat, Prince George, Detroit.
It has taken us all over the world and now we reside in Calgary, Alberta since 1998, splitting our time between Arizona and Fishing Lake.
As I said, I am most comfortable in the hockey industry so in 1998, I got my certification with the NHLPA and became a player agent and recruit, mentor and help players try to reach their goals and make sure they are set up for real life after hockey.
I helped start a Company called CMG Sports. I don't run or administer the Company anymore, (since 2004), but we have grown to 14 employees and look after some 200-plus players.
I still enjoy the game immensely and play and participate in many, many charitable events.
