Almost a month on from the controversial firing of popular head coach and general manager Neil Langridge, the Cold Lake Jr.
Almost a month on from the controversial firing of popular head coach and general manager Neil Langridge, the Cold Lake Jr. B Ice has taken steps to get their season back on track over the course of the past week, making the decision to bring a familiar face back into the fold.
Speaking exclusively to the Nouvelle last week, new Cold Lake Ice president Jolayne Wilson and vice president of hockey operations Corey Broadhead announced that former championship-winning head coach Paul Desjardins would be returning to the organization as a replacement for the axed Langridge.
"We, as a board, having made (the difficult decision to remove Langridge from his coaching duties last month) have decided to hire Paul Desjardins to be the new head coach of the Cold Lake Ice," Wilson said when speaking to the Nouvelle over the weekend.
"After a (whirlwind) past couple of weeks, we're now hopeful of moving forward in a positive light. We truly believe Paul can pull this team back together," Wilson continued.
Also speaking to the Nouvelle over the weekend, Desjardins said he was "excited" to re-join an organization he helped rebuild in the late 2000s.
"I feel honoured that the board saw fit and asked me to take over, right the ship and finish the season as head coach (of the Cold Lake Ice)," Desjardins said. "In one way, I guess it's a little disappointing coming in under the circumstances, but on the other hand I'm delighted to have been asked to come on board and I'm looking forward to whatever the future holds."
Much has been made of the organization's plans to re-hire Desjardins over the past couple of weeks, with many in the public eye and indeed those previously involved with the team believing the board and more specifically Broadhead "went behind everyone's back" in an attempt to replace Langridge with his predecessor.
Many believe that Broadhead was working to replace Langridge as a part of some hidden agenda, but in speaking to the Nouvelle last week however, Broadhead attempted to set the record straight, stating his only agenda was the longevity of the Cold Lake Ice.
"I guess this entire thing really did start with me," Broadhead said. "Two months ago we were having a hard time getting a quorum together as a board, we were short of volunteers every game so I made the decision to put a post out (on social media) asking and looking for potential new board members to come forward."
From there, Broadhead said he was "inundated with phone calls" from members of the public interested in stepping forward and taking on a role with the organization. Then, as the days dragged on, Broadhead said he started to hear murmurs from the public highlighting a "unhappiness" with the current coaching staff.
"People were calling and talking to me and essentially telling me the fans are upset and wanted to come to a board meeting to discuss things," Broadhead said. "These guys were talking about bringing their own head coach with them because they weren't happy with how (things were going) and they wanted to fix this."
Broadhead said these fans were concerned about a "deteriorating on ice product" and the "lack of any system or methods" on show in the team's play.
It was then that Broadhead first reached out to Desjardins in what he claims was "just a friendly conversation" as opposed to anything official.
"I'll be honest, once I heard from the fans I took half a day and then reached out to Paul," Broadhead said. "He's been a part of this team and this organization before, so I simply asked him, if it comes down to it and the board decided it wanted to remove (Langridge), would you help me out and come on board to keep this team going.
"He told me, if we were stuck and did not have a coach then to give him a call. That's as far as it went from there - there was no official job offer, no real official talks at all, just myself trying to put a plan in place just in case things transpired as they eventually did," Broadhead added.
Weeks later, the organization held what Broadhead described as its "first real board meeting in a while", which included three new members and the appointment of a new president - Wilson.
It was at this meeting when the board initially began discussing Langridge's long and short-term future with the organization, talks that eventually led to his dismissal.
"We gathered (for the meeting late in October) and, from what I understand, it was the first time in a while that everybody was there," Wilson said. "We went through normal business and the agenda as planned, but a lot of it was tabled because we were busy working and dealing with the financials.
"Right now, the team's finances are a mess, a huge mess," Wilson continued.
From there, Wilson states that a member of the board said he wanted to discuss the future of the current coaching staff. With those talks escalating, Wilson realized she had a "pretty big issue" on her hands.
"When they started talking, it became clear pretty quickly that they were thinking about wanting to remove Neil from his position," Wilson said. "The board went back and forth with pros and cons for probably 50 to 55 minutes and at the end of the day, as a board, they decided they wanted to do a vote regarding whether or not to keep Neil.
"I made it very, very clear to them at this point that this was a huge decision, one they should not make lightly. I told the board that they have to make sure they're doing this for the right reasons and that they would stand behind their vote, because this was (likely) going to (upset) a lot of people," Wilson said.
According to Wilson, that vote concluded with nine members voting in favour of Langridge's termination, one voting against and two abstaining. As president, Wilson was unable to vote and she also asked that Langridge's mother Doris, a longtime board member, also excuse herself from voting due to a conflict of interest.
Unable to pin Langridge's dismissal on one particular issue, Wilson said the decision came as a result of "several discrepancies", including financial concerns, apparent player unrest and performance related issues. Broadhead went as far as to say he had "serious concerns" for the future of the franchise if things didn't change.
It was from this point on that Broadhead admits "mistakes were made", with the organization taking the decision to remove Langridge from his position on Oct. 28, the day before a big game with the Onion Lake Border Chiefs.
With Langridge out of the equation, the board made the initial decision to appoint Desjardins as interim coach. As a part of that move, with Desjardins out of town fulfilling other commitments, Broadhead invited Bob Lamoureux, a man slated to join Desjardins as a member of the Ice's new-look coaching staff, to stop by practice the day Langridge was fired.
From there, Lamoureux was asked by Broadhead to go and address the team, something the team's VP of hockey operations readily admits "was a mistake."
"When it came down to it, Bob was one person Paul had mentioned as coming on as a part of his coaching staff, so once we'd dismissed Neil and it looked like his assistant coaches were leaving too, I'm standing here thinking 'we have a game tomorrow and nobody behind the bench'," Broadhead said.
"I made what turned out to be a rash decision sending Lamoureux in to meet the boys. I didn't think the team should be meeting new coaches the day of a game and we really needed to have somebody in place to be behind the bench that night.
"My vision was that Bob would go in and make the team realize they have somebody there and in place ready to help them, but it turned into something else entirely," Broadhead added.
From that point forward, Broadhead said Lamoureux has had "absolutely no contact or affiliation" with the organization.
As things started to sour and the public started to turn against the board and organization for making what many saw as a bad decision, the team turned to Langridge's assistants Corey Wandler and Brad Paice. The pair were behind the bench for four games - leading the Ice to three wins and just the solitary loss on the road to Wainwright.
Since that point, the board called another meeting, which took place on Nov. 10. Langridge, Wandler and Paice were all invited and the board sat behind closed doors for nearly three hours as they sought to find a resolution to the issue.
Following what can only be described as public outrage stemming from the firing of Langridge, the board considered re-instating a man that led the Ice to over 120 wins in a three-year spell as head coach. That vote ended with six board members voting against bringing Langridge back and four voting to reinstate him.
Following the decision, at least three members of the board walked out, visibly upset by what had just occurred, apparently leaving their position.
Wandler and Paice also decided they wanted nothing more to do with the organization and stepped down from their assistant coaching positions. This after the pair had made continued pleas to the board to "rethink" their decision and reinstate Langridge as coach.
Following a team meeting the very next day between one board member and Ice players, forwards Ryan Rancier and Zach Sylvestre joined Paice and Wandler in walking away from the team. That takes the total number of players leaving the Ice since Langridge's dismissal to three following the earlier departure of assistant captain Tanner Corbeil.
With Desjardins now officially drafted in as Langridge's replacement, the organization is hoping to put what they described as a "huge mess" behind them. In Desjardins, they have a coach looking forward to "righting the wrongs" and "getting the team's season back on track."
"I've got five years of prior coaching experience with this team and that was back (when the team wasn't performing so well), so I've been through some hard times with this hockey team," Desjardins said. "When I was here before, we took the team over and really turned things around, bringing it up to the top-level, respectable organization it is today."
He added, "At the end of the day, ask anyone that has ever been a part of this organization, once you're an Ice, you're always an Ice. I just want to come in and help out as much as I possibly can."
With the team currently second in the NEAJBHL with 28 points after 17 games and the Keystone Cup on the horizon, Desjardins acknowledged there was much work to do to pick the team up and ensure they have a chance to finish the year with a fifth straight league championship and strong showing at Westerns.
"With the kids, the big thing we have to do now is pick them up and make sure they're in the best frame of mind possible to play hockey. Sure, they feel bad about the situation and we all understand that, but at the end of the day we need to move forward," Desjardins said. "We're here to represent the city and try and win the league, go to provincials, do well there and then come back and put on a good show with Westerns.
"We're going to make sure these kids are ready. We need to work on systems and really try to implement (a hardworking style of play). I truly believe the skill is there, we just have to work hard to ensure that comes through in the (on-ice product.)"
Desjardins will be behind the bench this coming weekend when the Ice welcome the Onion Lake Border Chiefs and Vegreville Rangers to Cold Lake on Friday and Saturday respectively.
