The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Ryan Hoffman, former Bomber coach/GM, doesn't hold any hard feelings towards the Bombers. "We (his family) spent a little over two years here and enjoyed our time here and wish them (the Bombers) luck in the future," says Hoffman. The Bomber are 2-0 under the watchful eye of HBMS employee Brad Snyder, who was named interim coach/GM. Under Hoffman this season, the team played well but didn't get the results with a 1-9 record forcing his release. "I wasn't surprised,"says Hoffman, when asked how he reacted to the decision. "We kind of been tipped off the week earlier that it was probably going to happen after the weekend (against Nipawin) so, the 1-9 record and given the information that we had that it wasn't a surprise." Hoffman wouldn't divulge who tipped him off. Though he wasn't surprised, he's disappointed. "We came here to try and get things here turned around and make this a winning program," says Hoffman. "Not be able to try and finish the job that we wanted to complete is disappointing. But that said, given the record and where we're at, I understand the board and the reason they did what they did." See 'Future' P.# Con't from P.# The Bombers Board of Governors chose to release Hoffman before Nov. 15 because they feel the team still has time to make a run at a playoff berth. The agreement in his contract was that if the team wasn't in a playoff position by Nov. 15, Hoffman would resign. The organization feels "they're there to make decisions in the best interest of the club," explains Hoffman. "They thought the timing was right to make the trade in their eyes to bring a new coach, have him play Kindersley and pick up a couple of wins. It looks good on the organization and knowing what they did. I understand the timing of everything." As coach, Hoffman had a record of 28-73-18-6 in 125 games. So does he believe he has what it takes to coach at the junior 'A' level? "I think I do," says Hoffman. "...someone said to me, 'it was just kind of wrong place, wrong time' for me. I always said to my midget players, 'be very careful where you select to go play junior hockey because I think part of junior hockey's success is being in the right situation at the right time.' Obviously hindsight's 20/20, but you, know maybe this wasn't my time. We'll move on, regroup and I guess time will tell whether other opportunities pop up." Did he learn from this experience? "What did I learn that I want to say?" Hoffman says with a laugh. "I'm not even going to touch that." The topic of Hoffman's coaching abilities may spring up every once in a while in Flin Flon. Hockey talk does that. What some people don't question is his abilities as a GM. "The McCullough, Pajak, Leslie for Skrabek and Graham," responds Hoffman, when asked about his best trade. "You've got Andrew Leslie and Pajak playing on the number one line, and now with Geiger being moved, Blake McCullough's the captain of your team. So you got three guys that are important parts of the team this year. Once Pajak graduates this year, you still have two more guys who will probably have letters next year. I think without a doubt, that would be my best trade." What about the Zane Kalemba deal? The Bombers would be in big trouble without him between the pipes and several players on the team, if not all, agree that it's a huge confidence boost with Kalemba playing. In eight games, he owns a 3-5 record with a 2.98 GAA. He's even difficult to score on in practice. Hoffman admitted it was a bit of a gamble to give up future considerations for Kalemba at the time considering he had never seen Kalemba play. Hoffman relied on contacts and made several calls he made, including Princeton University, where Kalemba will play next year, before pulling the trigger. That trade makes him look like a genius. So now Hoffman and his family are busy packing their belongings, with a line of boxes starting from their apartment door. "It's funny," says the 31-year-old, on Wednesday. "It's really the first time since I was probably, actually, it's the first time in my life where I haven't been attached to a team in one way, shape or form, whether it's playing, coaching, or scouting. "Yeah, it's a little different, I guess. We'll get moved out of here in the next five or six days and head back to the lake and kind of regroup and decide what as a family, what direction we want to go, or moving on to. I guess, to get a real job and settle down and add a little stability." The hardest thing Hoffman says about the ordeal is not being in the locker room, talking to the players and assistant coaches Graham Garrett and Dustin Ernest, who has quit since the decision. "You know, I'm sure whether I decide to continue to pursue coaching or whatever, I'm sure that will be in the cards here at some point," says Hoffman. "It's just of matter of us deciding on what direction to go."
