Truitt to lead Falcons into new era
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Jeff Truitt
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By Katelyn Gendron
Reminder Assistant Editor
SPRINGFIELD This fall, fans attending Springfield Falcons games will bear witness to the renewed spirit of idealism and change that has overtaken the franchise in recent months.
Not only will fans be watching each game with over 580 new season ticket holders due to the monumental efforts of Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon's season ticket campaign but the fans will also witness a new era of leadership behind the bench.
On June 17, Edmonton Oilers the Falcons' National Hockey League (NHL) affiliate Vice President of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast announced Jeff Truitt would vacate his role as assistant coach to take the helm as the Falcons 10th head coach.
"This is a new beginning," Prendergast said in an interview with Reminder Publications. "We knew we needed a teacher, leader and somebody who knows how to win. In this league you have to be part communicator, partial father, part priest."
Prendergast added that the organization has complete confidence in Truitt's abilities to lead the team into the 2008-09 season, despite the fact that this will only be his second year coaching professional hockey.
"We regard him highly [within the Oilers organization]," Prendergast explained, adding that the intention was always for Truitt to take over as Falcons head coach. "We're way ahead of the curve [with regards to] where we were last year." Last year was the Oilers' first year as the Falcons NHL affiliate and was also Kelly Buchberger's first year as head coach.
Prendergast noted, however, that Truitt's transition into his role as head coach came faster than expected.
Truitt explained that his experience as Buchberger's assistant as well as his extensive experience in the Western Hockey League for 10 seasons and Alberta Junior Hockey League for three years will aid him in the team's development strategies. He noted that last year, Buchberger put him in charge of the power play and defensemen.
"It really gave me a lot of confidence," Truitt said of Buchberger's decision to delegate those responsibilities to him.
Truitt explained that he will continue with Buchberger's "building block [coaching] philosophies" but will also promote greater emphasis on "the offensive end of the game, [specifically] generating more offense."
He said he is eager to make a smooth transition into his new role as head coach and excited to face the challenges ahead.
"This is a team effort," Truitt explained, noting that as an assistant he played a more "supportive role" but now it's time to "set the sail of the ship."
"We've got a job to do to develop players and get them to the next level [of professional play in the NHL]," he said, adding that winning a Calder Cup is also a priority.
Truitt noted that Assistant Coach David Bell will also be returning for the '08-09 season. He explained that the organization is also looking for another assistant coach to be named prior to the season.
"We want one more guy the best guy for the job, the players and for us [the coaching staff] as well," Truitt said.
Landon said he his confident in Truitt's abilities and is looking forward to the new season. "He has tremendous respect from our players," he noted.
Landon added that the season ticket campaign has hit 580 full season ticket packages, with the ultimate goal of reaching 900 by their first game in October. Last month Landon announced that the franchise reached its first goal of selling 500 new season ticket packages in order to ensure that the team would not be sold.
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