Leslie steps down as Cougars head coach

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This article was published 09/06/2022 (1366 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be a new face behind the bench for the Southwest Cougars next season.

The Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League team announced on Wednesday night that Troy Leslie has resigned from his head coach position to pursue other opportunities.

“It’s something that’s been on my mind a lot,” Leslie said. “The U18 league is a great one for developing players, but it’s also a great opportunity for coaches to develop.

“I’ve been at this for a while now and I think it’s important for younger coaches to get a chance at this level.”

Cougars general manager Dennis McNish said he was surprised to see Leslie move on but also expressed his gratitude for having him with the program.

“When you have someone as experienced and as good as Troy is, you really enjoy the ride,” McNish said.

“We’re sad to see him go but we’re wishing him all the best.”

Leslie — who returned to the program in 2020 after coaching the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Virden Oil Capitals — was quick to give thanks to everyone involved with the Cougars.

He also paid tribute to longtime team president Grant Moffatt and treasurer Sam Phillips, who passed away in August 2020 and January of this year respectively.

“They’ve been on our minds all year here,” Leslie said. “One of the main reasons that I decided to come back this year was to carry on what they wanted and to take this team to the western regionals.

“I’m really thankful for the staff for the opportunity and everything that we did this year was in memory of Grant and Sam.”

The Cougars finished in eighth place in the regular season standings with an 18-19-3 record and were swept in the best-of-five quarterfinal round by the Brandon Wheat Kings.

After nearly two months off, the Cougars hosted the Telus Cup Western Regionals in Virden and reached the final after knocking off the provincial champion Winnipeg Wild in their last round-robin game.

They erased a three-goal deficit in the championship contest on May 1 and were a shot away from advancing to the Telus Cup for the first time in program history, only to see Notre Dame Hounds score with 17.2 seconds left on the clock in the third period.

Off the ice, the Cougars had two players (Josh Fluker and Luke Mackenzie) picked in December’s Western Hockey League draft, while 10 members of the roster were chosen in Saturday’s Manitoba Junior Hockey League draft, which was headlined by the Neepawa Titans selecting Nate Robson in the first round.

“I have nothing but good things to say about the group that was there this year and they deserve to be rewarded with the opportunities they are getting from junior teams,” Leslie said.

“We went through some adversity this year but I was really impressed with the way that the guys learned from that. It all culminated by reaching the regional final against Notre Dame and that tournament is something that I’m going to remember for a long time to come.”

When asked what’s next for him, Leslie plans to relax for a bit before determining his future plans.

“I really don’t have a set agenda right now,” said Leslie, who is a teacher at Virden Junior High. “Once the school year wraps up, I’m going to sit back and figure things out from there.”

The Cougars have officially started the search for Leslie’s replacement and are accepting applications for the head coaching position.

Those who are interested in applying for the job can call McNish at 204-761-4580 or send resumes to dennymcnish@hotmail.com

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