The Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals are looking forward to a fresh start this upcoming season after a first-round exit from last year’s VIJHL playoffs amongst a season that had its fair share of ups and downs.
Since the day he took the position of general manager, without the interim tag, Rob Gaudreault has been steady in his vision for the Generals; hit the reset button and start from scratch.
It sounds like a simple philosophy but it’s one that Gaudreault knows will be important for the Generals organization if they want to find success both on and off the ice again.
“We needed to start from the bottom,” Gaudreault said. “There were lots of things that went on that could have been avoided but they happened. We can’t go back and try to fix it all, we just need to focus on what we’ve got right now and do our best to move forward.”
“We’re excited that we get to have that chance to start fresh and do things the right way from day one, which I feel like we’ve been able to accomplish so far.”
“We had great feedback on our Spring Camp and now we’re looking forward to our main camp before the season starts,” Gaudreault said.
Starting on the right foot was key and the Generals took a step in the right direction, hiring head coach Brad Knight to try and bring his winning ways to help the Generals this upcoming season.
Knight, who’s spent time as a coach in the BCHL (Cowichan Valley Capitals, Langley Thunder, Victoria Grizzlies) as well as in the VIJHL (Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League) with the Nanaimo Buccaneers, comes to the Generals after spending time as both the head coach and GM of the Victoria Grizzlies.
“We’ve got a good guy with Brad,” Gaudreault said. “He’s very focused, very keen and knows exactly what he wants to see this team achieve.”
“It’s been great working with him so far because we’ve been able to get on the same page right from the start and that’s an important thing to have.”
“We’re going to do everything that we can to build this team to have success both on and off the ice.”
Gaudreault has been hard at work with finding players to come to the
VIJHL and suit up for the Generals, something he admits has been more challenging than not.
But the first-year general manager isn’t set back from the challenges placed in front of him, in fact it’s the exact opposite for Gaudreault in his role with the team.
“I’ve been here for a while now, so I know what this team is capable of,” Gaudreault said. “They’ve got a great history here and we want to bring it back to those times.”
“This team has struggled the last couple of seasons, but we’re putting the right pieces in place, one step at a time, to turn things around.”
“It’s not going to be something that happens over night but more of a work in progress and I feel we’re going to have the right combination to make sure that work gets done to bring success back to this team.”