Molleken loved long WHL ride

Not many people grew deeper roots into the Western Hockey League than Lorne Molleken.

Now 69, the Regina product played in the league in the 1970s, and coached in it during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

“Obviously getting the opportunity to coach and be involved in one of the best junior leagues in the world was certainly a pleasure and an honour,” Molleken said. “There was lots of learning curves along the way but I was very fortunate to be involved with people who believed in you as a person and as a coach.

“To this day, I’m a huge fan of the Western Hockey League. From a distance, I watch scores to see how teams are doing and I obviously still have a lot of friends who are involved in the Western Hockey League.

“It’s dear to me. It provided me an opportunity to coach at the professional level and is something I truly appreciate.”

Molleken is the keynote speaker at Miniota’s second annual Sportsman’s Dinner on Saturday at the Miniota Community Hall.

As of Thursday, they had just two tables of eight remaining, which cost $480 each can be booked by calling Tricia Leland at 204-851-1003 or Traci McKean at 204-851-8221.

The funds raised by the event are earmarked for a pair of ambitious renovations to the arena at the Miniota Recreation Centre that will cost more than $1 million in two phases.

The first is installing an ice plant to serve the arena. The floor was poured on Sept. 8, the plant was delivered on Oct. 6, and it could be operating by early November.

The second phase is building on the north side of the skating rink where there is an add-on lean-to. They hope to take that off and build an addition with two dressing rooms and some bathrooms, with an additional upgrade for the Zamboni room.

The connection between Miniota and Molleken is Brad Cole, the Manitoban who played for him in Saskatoon. Cole asked him if he was interested in speaking, and Molleken was happy to help.

“It’s an honour to be asked to go out and try and help their committee and their community to raise money for their facility,” Molleken said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Molleken said during his time in the WHL, he spent a lot of time in smaller communities watching players and hoping to find that diamond in the rough. He noted he’s been away from the WHL for a decade, and in that time the game has increasingly gravitated to hockey academies and bigger centres. But it wasn’t always that way.

“The one thing I remember about Manitoba so well is when Kelly McCrimmon was in charge of the Brandon Wheat Kings and the majority of his lineup were kids from Manitoba, and small-town Manitoba,” Molleken said. “For Miniota to do what they’re doing to improve their facilities, and for small towns that’s a gathering place, so it’s really, really important.”

LIFE IN HOCKEY

Molleken spent four seasons in the WHL as a player, breaking in with the Swift Current Broncos and remaining with them when they became the Lethbridge Broncos, and then being dealt to the Winnipeg Clubs.

He jumped to pro hockey after the 1975-76 season, spending most of his pro career in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League.

He was a first-team IHL all-star in 1982-83, and won Turner Cup championships with the Toledo Goaldiggers in 1982 and 1983.

He retired after the 1984-85 season, and began his coaching career in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with Swift Current in the 1985-86 season.

He jumped to the Moose Jaw Warriors in 1988-89, and moved to the Saskatoon Blades in 1991-92.

After four seasons in Saskatoon, he served as a head coach for three seasons in the AHL in the Edmonton Oilers organization.

The Chicago Blackhawks hired him as an assistant for the 1998-99 National Hockey League season, and he was promoted to the top job that year, but fired a year later. After a season with the Regina Pats when they hosted the Memorial Cup, he served as an assistant with the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, and then returned to Saskatoon for eight years.

His final coaching job was with the Vancouver Giants in 2015-16.

In 2021, he was inducted into the Toledo Goaldiggers Hall of Fame, and a former broadcaster, Dan Saevig, had an old pair of his goal pads.

“I couldn’t even lift them, that’s how heavy they were,” Molleken said. “I always tell the kids now that if I had equipment like you, I’d still be playing.”

During his decades in the game, Molleken had a front-row seat to some incredible changes in the way hockey is played. While he’s still a big believer that hockey players should play baseball or at least golf to give them a bit of a respite from the sport during the summer, he’s impressed by the results of the 12-month hockey player.

“In today’s world, a lot of these kids are just focusing on the game itself and training and having personal trainers and things like that,” Molleken said. “The game is a lot faster, the players are a lot bigger, a lot stronger and certainly the equipment is a lot different now too.

“I would hate to be a goalie in today’s game wearing the equipment we wore back in the day, I’ll tell you that much. It’s completely different. The skill level is unbelievable.”

CHANGING TIMES

With his lengthy tenure as a player and coach and general manager in the WHL, Molleken has a unique perspective on much of its first 50 years. He said the biggest change came in 1990 with the institution of the draft, which replaced the system where teams were able to list players as young as 13.

While 13-year-olds were worth three spots on a team’s player list, Wheat Kings head coach Marty Murray was that age when he was added by the Spokane Chiefs.

He later joined Brandon in the franchise-changing deal for goalie Trevor Kidd.

“That’s when things really changed,” Molleken said of the bantam draft. “There were a few general managers in the Western Hockey League at that time, and in particular Kelly McCrimmon, who knew how important that draft was going to be. Back in those days, he made some big trades, like Trevor Kidd and Marty Murray, and in return got all these high draft picks and built the Brandon Wheat Kings up for a lot of success for a lot of years.”

Molleken was a frequent trader with McCrimmon, acquiring Brayden Schenn, Micheal Ferland and Brenden Walker over a two-year span as they built for the 2013 Memorial Cup.

At the time, GMs essentially used a three-dimensional model of their team to inform the decisions they made, including their team now, their squad next year and their roster a couple years down the road. With the unprecedented wave of defections from the WHL due to the changes to NCAA eligibility, that’s no longer possible.

“It’s very difficult,” Molleken said. “In my day, things worked in cycles where you could build a team and have a good team for a number of years and those players would move on and it was time to retool or rebuild again. Now, with the different rules and players leaving the Western Hockey League to go the NCAA, it certainly has changed the landscape of the game.”

Molleken isn’t behind the bench anymore but is instead mentoring the coaches at Prairie Hockey Academy near Moose Jaw, choosing instead to spend his time with his grandkids at his home in Regina Beach.

In 2020, Molleken’s work with the Blades was honoured when they added him to their Builders Banner, so he certainly hasn’t been forgotten.

He ended up coaching in 1,136 WHL games over 17 seasons, with 626 wins, 429 losses and 81 ties. That has him in fourth in WHL history for games won and sixth for games coached.

“You sit back sometimes and reflect on some of the players you coached and what they’re doing today,” Molleken said. “It’s been really rewarding, the people I met along the way, and the different places I’ve been and the different levels I’ve coached at. It’s something I would never ever change.

“I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

pbergson@brandonsun.com