GMs good friends off the ice

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This article was published 09/05/2015 (3774 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ed Chynoweth’s presence will be marked in the Western Hockey League final by the name on the championship trophy.

But it’s also reflected in three of the league’s most successful longtime executives, two of whom are competing for the Ed Chynoweth Cup this year.

Brandon Wheat Kings general manager, head coach and owner Kelly McCrimmon, and Kelowna Rockets GM and owner Bruce Hamilton, along with Spokane Chiefs GM Tim Speltz, took up their duties at about the same time, 25 years ago. They are close friends who, not coincidentally, run three of the most successful franchises in the league.

“For Bruce and I, we grew up with Ed’s mentorship and leadership in our league,” McCrimmon said, noting Speltz is also part of the group.

“We’ve been great friends through all those years and had successful teams. We share a lot of the same ideas and philosophies on how teams should be built.”

Chynoweth was the league’s longtime president, who left the job in 1995 to form the expansion Edmonton (now Kootenay) Ice. He died in 2008.

McCrimmon and Hamilton were finalists this season for the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy for executive of the year, with McCrimmon becoming the first three-time winner. Hamilton and Speltz have both won it twice.

Hamilton, who chuckles that he voted for McCrimmon for the award, said he has a lot of respect for his friend.

“He’s a methodical thinker and very valuable at the league level, especially at the board of governors because he brings a different perspective,” said Hamilton, who also serves as chairman of the WHL board. “He’s innovative and I think he’s an intelligent guy.”

The admiration extends both ways.

“I think he hires good people and lets them do their job,” McCrimmon said of Hamilton.

“He has a great scouting staff, he’s very respected by his players and very respected by his peers in the league.”

Their approach to the job is remarkably similar, as is the result.

In the last 21 seasons, six WHL teams have had nine or more 40-win seasons. Brandon (11), Kelowna (nine) and Spokane (nine) are joined by Calgary (11), Medicine Hat (10) and Tri-City (nine) in this elite club.

Hamilton said long-term success in the league is dependent on scouting. But once an organization has the players, it has to manage its assets. As a result, Hamilton said he doesn’t make many trades.

“It’s not falling into the rut where you have two or three bad years, so we don’t load up for one year,” Hamilton said. “We fully expect our team to be just as good next year.”

McCrimmon agrees.

“You’re always wanting to win in the short term but you have to be mindful of the long term,” McCrimmon said. “Your scouting at this level is critical because that’s your lifeline in terms of where your players are coming from.”

He said the Wheat Kings try to return two-thirds of their team every year while bringing in seven or eight rookies, creating a good mix of enthusiasm and experience.

“We’ve been able to avoid the real lows that junior hockey sometimes can hand you,” McCrimmon said, noting the team has made the playoffs 21 times in the last 23 years.

All three GMs sit on the board of governors. McCrimmon, who also chairs the competition committee, said they learned from Chynoweth in the early years that the organizations compete hard on the ice but have to work together off the ice to build a league. No competitive favour is offered but no request for off-ice help or advice is denied.

Hamilton and McCrimmon don’t chat a lot on the phone unless there is pressing league business. When they get together for WHL meetings, McCrimmon, Hamilton and Speltz make a point of spending time together.

What they seldom make is deals.

While the Wheat Kings picked up forward Brett McLean from Kelowna for their playoff run back in 1999 and a year later dealt Bart Rushmer and Jan Fadrny for Nolan Yonkman, Hamilton and McCrimmon don’t make many trades.

McCrimmon said with a smile that there’s a reason why.

“He’s too hard to deal with.”

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