Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “,….. proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community….
The Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League formally introduced Al Letang as their new Head Coach.
Letang was with the Owen Sound Attack for the better part of 4 seasons, first as an assistant coach and then taking over as head coach of the the club midway through the 2018-19 season.
During that period, Letang posted 34 wins and sits 10th all time on the coaching victory list with the Owen Sound franchise.
Last week, Letang made what was probably a difficult decision when he stepped down from the Attack with the primary consideration being a desire to be closer to his home and family in Sarnia, which is understandable.
A part of the difficulty in the decision making process would be leaving Owen Sound where he was entrenched and extremely familiar with the operation, compared to landing in Sarnia where it will almost be like starting over.
I thought Alan Letang did a solid job with the Attack, a team in flux following 2 lengthy playoff years and I had the impression that he knew his group, all of them.
For example, one night after a game in Erie, he and a player who had been a healthy scratch sat alone on the bus at length and the player was encouraged to stay with it & keep working.
The subtle difference is that many times hockey coaches at every level want nothing to do with their borderline players, often ignoring them for months.
Another night I watched a player who was playing okay, but certainly not up to his capabilities, walk into Letang’s office prior to a game at Kitchener.
Afterwards, prior to my broadcast interview with Coach Letang, I asked him what had transpired during the meeting with the player and Letang stated, ‘ he needed a hug ‘.
Keeping in mind that Letang played in the Royals-Sting organization for Marc Crawford, John Lovell, Shawn McKenzie, Don Boyd and Mark Hunter, I don’t imagine he had many hug meetings as a player.
Obviously Alan Letang has both learned from his hockey past and adapted to the current landscape of hockey coaching, assets he’ll transfer from Owen Sound to Sarnia.
For Pete’s Auto Body, I’m Fred Wallace.