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Difficult but exciting road ahead for Battalion

'It’s something that I have worked towards for a long time. I feel like I’m ready for it and I’m excited to take it on. I wish it would’ve come in different circumstances'
Adam Dennis speaks to media after taking over as General Manager of the North Bay Battalion
Adam Dennis speaks to media after taking over as General Manager of the North Bay Battalion.

Two decades, two cities and two men who were seemingly joined at the hip. Scott Abbott, the Owner of the North Bay Battalion and Stan Butler, Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach.

That’s the way it’s been since the inception of the franchise when they began as the Brampton Battalion in 1998. But on December 10th, 2019, that union was no more as the team shook things up for the first time in franchise history and not only will there be a new bench boss, but a new man pulling the trigger on the player personnel side as well.

Adam Dennis is the latter. He’s been in the role as Assistant General Manager since the summer of 2016. Ryan Oulahen, a former assistant coach, is now in as interim Head Coach. Butler, after 1588 games as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League, has been reassigned to a role as special adviser to owner Scott Abbott.

“It’s extremely difficult,” says Dennis to a North Bay media gathering a few hours after the announcement was made via press release by the team.

“I’ve only been part of one coaching change in my career as a player and it’s not something you want to be a part of. It just means you haven’t done things very well as a group. It’s a wake-up call for all of us.”

He added, “we’re all excited for a fresh start, a clean slate. We’ve got 40 games left, so that’s the one thing we’ve been telling our group is that they are going to be judged over the next 40 games. What’s happened has happened. We feel we’ve got a much better team than our record shows.”

The team is 5-23-0 on the ice, and in completely new hands off the ice. As Dennis puts it, every move that affects the team from a personnel standpoint is going to be dictated by him, Oulahen and the scouting department. One reporter asked if Butler will have any input on trades in his advisor role, and Dennis said he will not.

“It’s always been a group effort,” he says when it comes to trades and drafting.

“I’m going to be leaning on the coaching staff a lot. I think that’s important in my relationship is that Ryan and I need to be on the same page on a lot of things. Obviously, we’ll have disagreements as we go, but making sure I’m doing what the team needs is important and to have that open communication and discussion is going to be a key piece.”

Dennis and Oulahen have crossed paths many times throughout their hockey careers and Dennis is excited for the partnership they are going to build.

“It’s really cool, we’ve played against each other when he was with the Wexford Raiders. I know what kind of person he is and what kind of values he has. I’m really excited to get to work with him.”

Oulahen has been serving as a skills coach with the team since the beginning of this year and Dennis says he’s already having an impact on the team from a coaching standpoint.

“Just to see the practice that he put out there today. The energy, the philosophies. We’re in good hands.”

Dennis says the shakeup caught everyone by surprise and there had been no indication that something like this was going to happen before it happened, but he did say, “when you win five games out of 28, you’re always looking over your shoulder, so I guess there’s that side of it.”

He takes over a role that the person who hired him had occupied for over 20 years and he says this is not the way he wanted to get a role as one of the 20 General Managers of an Ontario Hockey League team.

“I never wanted to take the job in this light,” he says.

“Having said that, it’s something that I have worked towards for a long time. I feel like I’m ready for it and I’m excited to take it on. I wish it would’ve come in different circumstances.”

As for how he looks to handle the role, Dennis says, “I’m a guy that communicates. I want to hear from my whole team and my staff and make the decision that is best for the team.”

Dennis says that means the new front office team will re-evaluate the current roster of players, but don’t expect major decisions that will overhaul the landscape of what is currently pencilled in.

“We’re committed to the youth here," said Dennis.  

"We want to make sure that our guys are developing but we want to win hockey games. I think that’s important to understand. I think there’s no better experience than getting into the playoffs. Having said that, we are committed to this team and to the guys in the room and we feel that the solutions are in there.”

Dennis himself will move off the bench and no longer be one of the assistant coaches. Former North Bay Centennial Bill Houlder will join the staff on a full-time basis, he had been working with the team in a role as a part-time assistant coach. Scott Wray stays behind the bench as well in his third season as an assistant coach with the team.

Dennis feels that this is a coaching staff the fans and the players should warm up to right away.

“That’s the exciting part because Ryan is a guy who is excited to represent that jersey again. He’s been a player for the team and he’s been a coach for the team and he’s been in two different cities with this team. Nobody knows what the jersey is about more than Ryan. We added Bill Houlder to the bench and Scott Wray has done a ton of stuff with us and he is a really strong assistant coach and in a lot of other situations, probably could have done the job just as well.”

Now the focus is on heading to a strong finish for the remaining three and a half months. Dennis says, “we want to be a playoff team.”

He says, “I know it sounds funny when you are ten points out of the next spot ahead of you, but we feel like we are a way better team (than the record shows).

He says from a player standpoint the team understands that this means they have fallen far from any of the goals they set out for themselves at the beginning of the year.

“We’ve all failed in a sense so far," said Dennis.  

"It’s definitely not a happy day for our franchise. But having said that I think everyone is looking for a new opportunity to have a second chance at this season. This isn’t the one that everyone expected or wanted. A lot of mixed emotions but a lot of excitement for sure.”


Matt Sookram

About the Author: Matt Sookram

Matthew Sookram is a Canadore College graduate. He has lived and worked in North Bay since 2009 covering different beats; everything from City Council to North Bay Battalion.
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